Alcohol after taper

  those who have had very minimal symptoms during the taper process, have you been able to have a drink with dinner once taper is completed and feeling healed?

Have a read of Sofakingdone four phases. That will give you a clue as to what should and shouldn’t do. This is a topic that divides opinion and I’d say the majority view is that alcohol acts like a benzo and so should be avoided.

 

G

for better or worse I drank small but regular amounts through both tapers. I don't think it was a good idea.

 

After my second taper I noticed that consuming enough alcohol to get anything close to a hangover, had become a trainwreck -- I would get really severe hangovers which would last for up to 2 days, from quantities of alcohol that didn't really make me feel "drunk".

 

I think that's probably still the case, I don't really know because I haven't had more than a drink or two in a day in a long time. So, I believe that benzos permanently altered the way I process alcohol.

 

Complete abstinence for a taper and 4-6 months following at least is probably the smartest thing to do, if you can stand it. Some people have a glass of wine every night all the way through and it's fine (and Ashton even alludes to this in her manual). However, people who drink more than a little bit during a taper, are definitely shooting themselves in the foot.

 

It's worth noting that despite drinking lightly through both of my tapers -- ultimately I was not successful in getting off benzos and reinstated after 4 years. Take all that as you will...

After my second taper I noticed that consuming enough alcohol to get anything close to a hangover, had become a trainwreck -- I would get really severe hangovers which would last for up to 2 days, from quantities of alcohol that didn't really make me feel "drunk".

 

I think that's probably still the case, I don't really know because I haven't had more than a drink or two in a day in a long time. So, I believe that benzos permanently altered the way I process alcohol.

 

Benzos have absolutely altered the way I process alcohol. I don't know if it is permanent and I have my doubts about whether or not alcohol actually substantially affects benzo healing, but at 8.5 years off benzos I still can't drink a single beer most of the time. I have tried it a handful of times over the past 6 years or so and maybe once or twice I did ok on half of a beer or maybe one beer, but the rest of the times I ended up with a nasty hangover that lasted for a few days.