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This might be a pretty safe way to taper, as long as you’re not decreasing by over 20-30% per step. I’ve heard of some people doing 10% a week and having success that way. If you are an underweight male or female, a woman or trans https://ecosoberhouse.com/ male, or at risk of complications due to high blood pressure, you may want to consider tapering slower than this. This is offered to patients with moderate to severe Alcohol Use Disorder, having the goal of achieving abstinence.

• You’ve been conditioning your brain to work on alcohol, and over time, its structure has physically changed[2].
• One of the main reasons that alcohol has such a high relapse rate is that, like the majority of central nervous system depressants, it has some of the most uncomfortable and potentially dangerous withdrawal symptoms.
• When you are physically dependent on a substance like alcohol, your body adapts accordingly.

If you abruptly stop consuming alcohol, your brain may not have enough sensitivity to GABA, which can result in hyper-excitability and withdrawal symptoms. If you are tapering yourself off alcohol for the first time, it can be helpful to know what symptoms to expect during the process. Although the symptoms can vary for each person based on personal factors, many people share common experiences during this process. As the name suggests, this method involves gradually reducing the amount of alcohol you drink over time, so you consume less and less alcohol each day or week. The gradual reduction method can be difficult, as you must strictly control how much you drink daily. If you find it difficult to cut down on your number of drinks per day, try making your drinks weaker by using less alcohol per drink.

Long-Term Impact of Alcohol Use and the Need for Tapering

The chances of seizures and DTs are low if you’re tapering, but they happen even in controlled rehab environments. In this study on tapering with a benzo, about 1% of patients had a seizure after completing their taper. This does not, by any means, mean that you have a 1% chance of a seizure if you taper with alcohol according to the schedule above. The actual percentage could be significantly higher for tapering with alcohol. I couldn’t locate a study on people who tapered at home with alcohol, because it’s kind of hard to assess the topic, and no rehabs are detoxing people with alcohol. You need to make your own schedule and determine what’s best for you.

If you need help figuring out how to taper off alcohol, or want to find alcohol detox services near you, our treatment specialists at Vertava Health can help. Tapering off alcohol, rather than stopping all at once, is the most effective way to avoid serious withdrawal symptoms and other problems such as dehydration. Before you begin an alcohol taper, a little preparation can go a long way, especially when it involves handling your triggers and tracking how much you drink. Remember your motivation for cutting back and set realistic goals. Weaning off alcohol involves gradually decreasing the amount of alcohol you drink. This can be done by reducing the number of drinks, increasing time between drinks or choosing a weaker drink with a lower alcohol content.

How to Safely Taper Off Alcohol

Quitting cold turkey allows the shortest detox period and a rapid transition into the next recovery stages. When done under medical supervision, tapering off alcohol has few downsides. However, tapering can sometimes be unsafe if you attempt to do so on your own without a doctor’s knowledge. For example, if you start to suffer from alcohol withdrawal symptoms despite an attempt to taper, your symptoms may worsen before you have the chance to seek medical attention. For this reason, even at-home tapers should be done under a doctor’s care. Tapering off alcohol at home versus under medical supervision can also lengthen the process, for the sake of safety.

• People attempting to quit may turn to drinking again to prevent withdrawal symptoms.
• John C. Umhau, MD, MPH, CPE is board-certified in addiction medicine and preventative medicine.
• It’s typical for withdrawal symptoms to begin within hours to a day or two after you have your last drink.

Most of those who experience severe alcohol withdrawal symptoms do so because they’re going through their detoxification period “on their own” without the benefit of medical help. However, when you quit drinking abruptly, your body’s chemical balance will be thrown off suddenly, leading to uncomfortable side effects. You will have an imbalance of excitatory and inhibitory chemicals tapering off alcohol in your nervous system. This is why many of the alcohol withdrawal symptoms seem to be related to overstimulation, like shaky hands, racing thoughts, and insomnia. Programs such as inpatient or outpatient rehab, medical detox, individual or family therapy and support groups are available. Through these programs, our caring and dedicated staff can help you on your road to recovery.

Cold Turkey Method

At a rehab clinic, an alcohol withdrawal taper can be provided to slowly get you back to normal life. This form of tapering would likely involve medications to eliminate withdrawal symptoms. Slowly, to reduce the discomfort of withdrawal symptoms, you will come off the medication with the goal being complete abstinence from alcohol. Alcohol withdrawal refers to the physical and mental effects a person experiences after stopping prolonged and heavy alcohol use.

Quitting cold turkey can shock your system since it has become used to functioning with alcohol. Alcohol withdrawal symptoms can be greatly reduced or even eliminated with proper medical care. There are specific treatments available for anyone who wants to stop drinking—even after long-term, chronic alcohol use. The length of the tapering process can vary based on the needs of the person. People with a greater dependency on alcohol may need to stretch out the process to gradually reduce their alcohol intake.