How To Taper Off Alcohol

However, for people with an AUD, quitting cold turkey or tapering is not advisable. People with mild to moderate withdrawal symptoms may benefit from outpatient rehabilitation and safe tapering. Concerns about tapering off alcohol should be discussed with a medical professional. Tapering is not recommended for people with an alcohol use disorder . In this situation, tapering may lead to relapse, overdose, and serious health consequences. He earned a Bachelor’s degree at Lincoln University of Pennsylvania while pursuing his CAC-AD.

The Recovery Village Ridgefield medical detox center in Vancouver, WA, is a fully staffed rehab facility designed to help you wean off alcohol how to taper off alcohol in comfort. We offer 16 detox beds and around-the-clock medical care provided by a multidisciplinary team of addiction experts.

What is Tapering Off Alcohol?

Whether you feel like you drink too much alcohol, or you have an alcohol abuse issue, quitting drinking cold turkey can be dangerous. Knowing how to safely taper off alcohol can make all the difference in how successful you are in quitting drinking. If alcohol withdrawal is so dangerous, is tapering off alcohol necessary for everyone who drinks? If you’ve been drinking consistently for a long time, it’s a good idea to consider the safest way to stop when it’s time to cut back. However, weaning off alcohol isn’t always necessary for people who want to cut back or stop drinking. The most significant factor is whether or not you’ve become chemically dependent.

Insomnia is a common symptom of alcohol withdrawal, especially in the early stages of recovery. In fact, sleep disturbances can persist for months despite continued abstinence. Some studies have shown that sleep disturbances can increase the chance of relapsing…. Serenity Lane is here for all Oregonians in need of help to overcome alcohol addiction. As you know, drinking does not provide actual relief from the difficulties of life; instead, drinking often makes our problems worse. Develop a plan in advance for how you will manage triggering spaces and events (i.e., bars/restaurants, holiday parties).

How do I know if I need to taper off?

Heavy drinkers should never abruptly quit alcohol without medical supervision, as alcohol withdrawal symptoms can be dangerous. Tapering involves slowly decreasing alcohol use over time, which helps to reduce withdrawal symptoms and improve safety when quitting alcohol. An alcohol taper1can be an effective strategy to begin recovery and help set a realistic goal for people who are not ready to quit alcohol completely, but they’re not for everyone. Someone who has been drinking heavily for a long period of time may struggle with cravings and alcohol withdrawal symptoms, leading to relapse. Because alcohol withdrawal symptoms vary from person to person, anyone struggling with an alcohol use disorder should seek professional medical assistance before considering an alcohol taper. An alcohol taper is the process of slowly reducing your alcohol intake. When you gradually drink less instead of quit cold turkey, you give your body a chance to get used to smaller amounts of alcohol.

This may work for many people, but in practice each individual will respond best to a different pace, and each doctor will have their own recommendations. The risk of tapering too slowly is that you won’t stick with it, while the risk of tapering too fast is severe withdrawal. If you experience dangerous signs such as high blood pressure, racing heart, or arrhythmias, slow your taper and seek assistance. These include direct tapers, where you regularly decrease the amount of alcohol you consume, and substitution tapers, where you replace alcohol with another substance. These strategies work in different ways to help you quit drinking, and one or the other may be appropriate for you based on your needs. Some people choose to taper more quickly by cutting the amounts in half–for example 20, 10 5, 2, 0. But if you start having major withdrawal symptoms like bad shakes or pulse over 100 or high blood pressure you are tapering too fast and should slow it down.

Alcohol Taper Schedule

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• When you quit cold turkey without supervision, you’re more likely to relapse and binge drink, which increases the likelihood of overdose.
• If youdrink heavily, this includes making sure you have a safe plan for quitting alcohol.
• Monitoring you pulse and blood pressure can be a very good idea while you are tapering especially if you have high blood pressure.
• That is why alcohol detox and alcohol withdrawal treatment is administered by medical professionals.
• Dependence is often accompanied by tolerance, which is when it takes more and more alcohol for you to achieve the same effects that you experienced when you first started.