During medical detox, medical professionals obverse the side effects of withdrawal and can help provide the support and guidance you need to continue how to taper off alcohol your recovery process. They can also ensure you receive fluids to manage dehydration and provide balanced meals to minimize withdrawal effects.

On the other hand, if you engage in excessive alcohol use, you could experience severe alcohol withdrawal. In these cases, talk to your doctor before trying to cut back on your drinking. If you are struggling with severe alcohol use or addiction, tapering off alcohol at home may not be a safe option. The most effective option for alcoholics to stop drinking is to find a treatment program that offers medical detox services. If you are interested in medical detox, contact one of our Vertava Health treatment specialists to find alcohol detox programs near you. When coming off drugs or alcohol tapering is the best way to prevent severe withdrawal symptoms.

Impacts Of Alcohol Abuse

You may be able to detox at home and still attend outpatient therapy or support group meetings. The brain compensates for the depressive effects of alcohol by increasing its activity. When people who are dependent on alcohol drink, they feel normal. More serious alcohol withdrawal symptoms may require medical attention. If you have a friend or family member who knows that you’re trying to taper off alcohol, you shouldn’t be afraid to ask for help. They can take you to the hospital or help you get medical support. It’s physically dangerous, and it may also cause emotional instability.

Benzodiazepines are the most common medications physicians use to taper alcohol and reduce withdrawal symptoms. Before a doctor begins a tapering plan with medications, they will assess the medical stability, including vital sign stability, and pattern of withdrawal symptoms in the patient. The Recovery Village Ridgefield medical detox center in Vancouver, WA, is a fully staffed rehab facility designed to help you wean off alcohol in comfort. We offer 16 detox beds and around-the-clock medical care provided by a multidisciplinary team of addiction experts. We personalize every aspect of your detox and offer counseling, treatment plans, nutrition services and options for continuing rehab treatment at The Recovery Village Ridgefield.

Alcohol Tapering Calculator

An alcohol taper is a way to wean yourself off alcohol and avoid withdrawal symptoms. Although all forms of alcohol cessation should be done with medical guidance, tapering your alcohol intake may give you the ability to self-wean from drinking at home. People who try tapering off alcohol won’t have the guided support of medical professionals that they would at inpatient treatment. Nonetheless, quitting cold turkey might be the only way for people who don’t have an alcohol use disorder . In this case, having a strong support system, attending AA meetings, and talking with an addiction counselor is key to a successful detox process.

• Cutting down your alcohol intake may not be as easy as it sounds.
• The transition back to life outside of rehab is fraught with the potential for relapse.
• If you find it is difficult to prevent yourself from drinking too much and getting drunk, locking your alcohol up in a cabinet and giving your friend or family member the key can help.
• A substitution taper can involve substituting a prescription drug for alcohol.
• By weaning yourself from drinking, you give your brain the chance to adjust the amount of GABA it produces.

This can give your body the chance to adjust, helping you avoid the worst of withdrawal symptoms. To avoid severe alcohol withdrawal symptoms, you should slowly reduce alcohol consumption. Cautious tapering may take longer than medically supervised detox, but it will help you avoid major health problems. Although it is possible for some to quit drinking without any side effects, fit leads to painful alcohol withdrawal symptoms for most. If you have tried to quit in the past, but the side effects of withdrawal caused you to drink again just to find relief, tapering off alcohol may be more effective. It can be very hard to quit drinking, and isn’t something that should be done alone.

Who is likely to have significant alcohol withdrawal symptoms?

Bunmi is dedicated to helping her clients reach their full potential and build their toolkit of resources to support their long-term recovery. Throughout that process, he learned the importance of helping others and living by spiritual principles. Throughout his recovery, James has used his personal story to help make a difference in the lives of others. Over the years he grew into becoming an advocate for people in recovery or seeking recovery from substance use disorders.

You will be at serious risk of withdrawal symptoms, which can even prove deadly for some who suffer from alcohol addiction. When someone has developed an alcohol substance use disorder, this will require effective treatment in order to quit drinking. When you taper your alcohol, you slowly reduce your alcohol intake over time.