The Effects of the Cessation of Heavy Alcohol Consumption

Depending on the severity of a drinker's addiction to alcohol, a medical professional should oversee a cessation attempt. The bodies of chronic drinkers have become dependent on alcohol and abrupt cessation can cause symptoms ranging from mild and annoying to significant and potentially life-threatening. A health care professional can evaluate an alcoholic's level of addiction, based on frequency and quantity of alcohol consumed, to determine whether medical intervention is necessary.

Minor Symptoms

• Minor symptoms tend to occur with the cessation of drinking in cases of alcohol abuse. Symptoms of withdrawal stemming from alcohol dependence are more severe. Withdrawal side-effects following binge or isolated instances of alcohol abuse are headache, dehydration, sweating, nausea, vomiting, shaky hands and insomnia.

Hallucinations

• After an alcoholic stops drinking, he can experience hallucinations. These hallucinations occur between 12 and 24 hours after cessation, according to Web MD. This condition is called alcoholic hallucinosis. Although the hallucinations can be disturbing, most individuals are able to realize that they are not real.

Delirium Tremens

• Two to three days after an alcohol-dependent person stops drinking, she may develop delirium tremens, or DTs. In addition to causing severely shaky hands, a person going through DTs may become confused and disoriented. Heavy sweating, an increase in blood pressure and a racing heartbeat are also common. The symptoms of DTs are usually the worst after about five days of abstinence.

Seizures

• Seizures brought on by alcohol withdrawal usually occur within 24 to 48 hours after an individual ends his alcohol consumption. It is especially likely that people who have detoxified from alcohol several times previously will experience these seizures.

Hyperexcitability

• When individuals who have a history of heavy drinking stop or reduce their intake, brain neurotransmitters that were suppressed by the intake of alcohol are no longer held back. Extreme irritability, agitation and anxiety can result, according to Web MD.