What kind of symptoms should someone expect from alcohol withdrawal?
The typical symptoms are autonomic hyperactivity (increased heart rate, blood pressure and body temperature), sweating, shakiness/tremors (esp. of the hands), anxiety, irritability, difficulty sleeping, lack of appetite, nausea/vomiting, headache, occasional hallucinations and possibly seizures. The person may experience some, many or even all of these symptoms. The severity of the withdrawal usually depends on how long and heavily the person has been drinking regularly. Then there’s alcohol withdrawal hallucinosis, which is uncommon. In this the auditory/visual/tactile hallucinations are more frequent and persistent. It can last days or even weeks. Alcohol withdrawal delirium (delirium tremens or the “DTs”) is the most severe form. It is not simply “the shakes”. It includes many of the typical withdrawal symptoms along with severe agitation and symptoms of delirium (clouding of consciousness with reduced awareness of the environment, marked confusion, disorientation, profound hallucin
