When I was drinking heavily, I had no idea that alcohol withdrawal could be dangerous. Now that I know, it makes sense that some folks are directed by their healthcare provider to taper their alcohol consumption down rather than stopping cold turkey. This is especially true for people who drink heavily or have been drinking for a long period of time.
I looked into the practice of tapering your drinking for a safer withdrawal so you can enter recovery. Here’s what I’ve learned:
You should get medical guidance before tapering your drinking if you may have withdrawal
It’s always important to seek medical care to manage alcohol withdrawal. This is because going through alcohol withdrawal (or a lot of people say “detoxing”) can be very uncomfortable and even life-threatening. Working with a healthcare provider, you can determine whether a slow reduction in your drinking will help you achieve your recovery goals without going through severe withdrawal symptoms.
If you decide to go forward with a slow taper, your medical provider will:
- give you guidance on how much to drink on what schedule
- tell you how to watch for signs of complicated or dangerous withdrawal
- provide instructions about if and when you might need to seek emergency medical care
There are several reasons your provider might suggest a slow taper
Slowly tapering your alcohol consumption can give your brain and body a chance to gradually adjust to lower alcohol levels. This means that some withdrawal symptoms, like anxiety, irritability, and mood swings, may be less severe. Some people find that their anxiety or mood swings will improve as they cut back.
Going through a steady alcohol reduction instead of a quick cold turkey may also allow you to develop stronger coping strategies and healthy mental and physical routines that can help you meet your long-term recovery goals.
And if you are considering a medically supervised detox (which is recommended if you have risk factors for withdrawal such as daily heavy drinking), you may find that a slow taper helps you more easily begin that clinical treatment for acute withdrawal.
These are the same reasons why YOU might prefer a slow taper
Alcohol withdrawal can be physically, emotionally, and mentally uncomfortable. Going through it is not only unpleasant, it can be triggering. This is especially true if you’ve experienced brief bouts of withdrawal that you’ve “treated” by resuming alcohol consumption. (I shared in a past blog post about the way I used to go through constant cycles of drinking and withdrawal, personally.) A slow taper can decrease your discomfort. Dr. Eileen Barrett, Senior Medical Director at Workit Health, says, “I wish more people knew what a good option a slow taper is, because it can really help reduce discomfort and help people feel better sooner.”
Alcohol withdrawal can also be dangerous. For many of us, the decision to change our drinking is at least partially influenced by health concerns. This being the case, it can be scary and feel a little counterproductive to go through a more dangerous withdrawal process than is necessary. Following your provider’s tapering recommendations makes withdrawing from alcohol safer.
Tapering your alcohol consumption can also help you schedule your entry into a recovery program. Many inpatient programs and detoxes must turn people away if their blood alcohol content is too high, and many office-based or telehealth programs have to refer people for a higher level of care if their withdrawal symptoms are too severe. This can be a real obstacle when you’re ready to get help to quit drinking (or cut back). With a slow taper, you can plan ahead by getting your consumption to a safer level by the date you will be starting care.
How “slow” is a slow taper?
This is not a one-size-fits-all process. Your body, your risk factors, your drinking history, your medical history—all of these are considerations. So you will want to work with your medical provider to establish a tapering schedule that fits your specific needs. Keep in mind that this article should not replace medical advice.
To give you a rough idea, often the recommended schedule may be to decrease total alcohol consumption by 10-20% every 1-3 days. So if you’re usually drinking a 12-pack of beer per night, your provider might suggest that you step that down by one beer per night, every day or every other day. But again, this will vary from person to person.
“A slow taper may seem too slow at the beginning, but can really help set someone up for achieving their recovery goals, regardless of whether those goals are reducing drinking or abstaining,” describes Dr. Barrett.