Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility How to reduce drinking safely – Help With Drinking

Need immediate support?
Please call 8-1-1 for 24/7 general health information and advice. Indigenous people across Canada can also call the toll-free Hope for Wellness Helpline at 1-855-242-3310.

How to reduce drinking safely

If you’re trying to wean yourself off alcohol, it’s important to be aware of the potential risks. If you suddenly stop or cut back on your drinking without a doctor’s help, you could end up with serious or even life-threatening withdrawal symptoms.

Safe withdrawal

When you suddenly stop drinking, your body can have a reaction called “withdrawal”, which is its response to the alcohol leaving your body. Some people call this “going cold turkey”. If you have a strong addiction to alcohol, withdrawal can cause strong symptoms, and some of them can be serious enough that you need emergency medical help.

During alcohol withdrawal, your body can become hyperactive. Some of the most common symptoms of this include:

Faster heart rate

Headaches

Fever

Shaking

Throwing up

Feeling sick

Sweating

You might also experience:

Anxiety

Restlessness

Trouble sleeping or not being able to sleep at all

In severe cases, withdrawal can lead to seizures and a dangerous condition called “delirium tremens” (DTs). DTs can happen when someone stops drinking alcohol suddenly, and it can be life-threatening.

Delirium Tremens (DTs)

The symptoms of DTs include confusion, fever, heavy sweating, fast heart rate, high blood pressure, nightmares and hallucinations. DTs usually starts 2-4 days after someone stops drinking a lot and can last for 1-5 days. If DTs isn’t treated properly, it can be very risky and potentially deadly.

 

“Shakes” or tremors are sometimes confused for DTs. Shaking in one or more areas of the body can also happen because of alcohol withdrawal, but it is not the same as DTs.

 

After you stop drinking alcohol, withdrawal symptoms can begin as soon as 6 to 24 hours later. They usually become the most intense within 24 to 48 hours. Most symptoms improve and then go away within 5 to 7 days.

 

Getting support during withdrawal

If your goal is to quit drinking alcohol, or if you might get severe withdrawal symptoms when you cut back or stop, your health care provider may suggest “withdrawal management”, also known as “detox”. During this process, you will get support to help you go through withdrawal more comfortably and safely. This may include medications and other strategies that help with withdrawal.

The detox day alone simply sobered me up for a day or two: like a mini break from my hell. During these detoxes, I was prescribed lorazepam. This was to stop me from having a seizure, which happens when one stops heavy drinking abruptly.

Heather, person in recovery from alcohol use disorder

What to expect

Before starting the withdrawal management process, the health care provider you see will talk to you about your past experiences with withdrawal. They will ask you questions to understand if you are at low risk or high risk of having severe symptoms. This information will help them determine the best support for you.

If you are at low or medium risk of severe withdrawal

 

If you have a low or medium risk of severe withdrawal symptoms, you can safely go through withdrawal management at home or at an outpatient clinic. To help you feel more comfortable, your health care provider may prescribe medications like gabapentin, carbamazepine or clonidine. See Medications for Withdrawal for information on these medications and what they do.

 

If your symptoms are very mild, you might find relief with common pain medication like Tylenol, or you might choose not to take any medication at all. You and your health care provider will create a plan for check-ins by phone and in-person visits during this process. Online or virtual care is also available as an option for those who cannot or prefer not to see a health care provider in person.

 

If you are at high risk of severe withdrawal

 

If you have a high risk of experiencing severe withdrawal symptoms, you will likely need to stay in a hospital or a treatment centre for some time. While you’re there, your health care provider may give you medications like lorazepam (Ativan) or diazepam (Valium), which belong to a group of medications called “benzodiazepines”. These medications can help manage your symptoms and prevent serious problems such as seizures during withdrawal. See Medications for Withdrawal for information on these medications and what they do.

 

If there are no overnight-stay withdrawal services in your area, you may need to find these services in a larger community or city, or at a nearby hospital.

WARNING: It is not safe to suddenly stop heavy, long-term drinking. Make a plan with your health care provider first, before you stop drinking.