Pros and Cons of Tapering Off Alcohol Intake

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsTapering vs. Cold TurkeyStrategiesChallenges

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

Tapering vs. Cold Turkey

Strategies

Challenges

If you or a loved one are struggling with substance use or addiction, contact theSubstance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helplineat1-800-662-4357for information on support and treatment facilities in your area.For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.

If you or a loved one are struggling with substance use or addiction, contact theSubstance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helplineat1-800-662-4357for information on support and treatment facilities in your area.

For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.

Whether you’re a daily imbiber, heavy drinker, or frequent binge drinker, you’re likely to experience withdrawal symptoms when you quit. Unfortunately, there’s little to no evidence that tapering off reduces theeffects of alcohol withdrawal, some of which can be severe or even life-threatening. Quitting with proper medical supervision may be more important than whether you stop gradually or all at once.

Tapering Off Alcohol vs. Going Cold Turkey

Tapering off is a standard medical practice for many other drugs. For example, healthcare providers usually don’t take patients off antidepressants suddenly; rather, they gradually lower the dosages to help reduce antidepressant discontinuation symptoms.

Typically,quitting cold turkeyfrom a 12-beer-a-day habit is going to be more stressful than tapering off slowly. In addition, home detox may not be effective, appropriate, or safe.

Individuals who’ve consumed higher amounts of alcohol over time can develop life-threatening complications when trying to quit. These complications can develop within a few hours or days and appear in the form of seizures, delirium tremens (DTs), and hallucinations, sometimes even leading to death.

If you or someone you know is quitting alcohol and experiences seizures, DTs, hallucinations, or other major effects, seek immediate medical attention or call911for help.

This is why it is important to stop regular, heavy drinking only under the supervision of medical staff. They can provide medications and additional support to make quitting alcohol safer, and more comfortable.

Generally speaking, alcohol home detox is neither the most effective nor the safest method ofquitting alcohol. However, it may be suitable for someone with a lower risk of experiencing alcohol withdrawal, or a person who has access to medical professionals at home.

Strategies for Tapering Off Alcohol

If you’d like to slow your alcohol consumption slowly over time versus quitting all at once, these strategies can help:

If you plan to taper your drinking in order to stop, make sure you limit your intake consistently, avoid fluctuations, and adhere to a weekly reduction schedule with a set date to stop. Tapering is not an open-ended process.

Challenges of Tapering Off Alcohol

Those who find that they cannot taper off the number of drinks for any significant length of time have likely developedalcohol use disorder, a condition commonly known as alcoholism. For others, simply cutting back the number of drinks can bring on alcohol withdrawal symptoms, making it more difficult to stop.

Moreover, substituting one kind of beverage for another does not help you taper off alcohol if you consume the same number of standard drinks as you usually have. For example, one 12-ounce can of beer contains roughly the same amount of alcohol as a 5-ounce glass of wine or a mixed drink containing 1.5 ounces of alcohol.

With these things in mind, it’s important to weigh the pros and cons of tapering your alcohol use to make a fully informed decision. If your health, wellness, and even life may be at risk, quitting alcohol should only be attempted with the help of a medical professional.

Final Thoughts

You may decide to seek medical treatment for your withdrawal symptoms or make the choice to enter a professional detox or rehab center. Whatever you do, it is better to act than not act. Even if you don’t succeed the first time, there are still plenty of treatment options you can turn to. Don’t give up.

What Medications Are Used to Treat Alcoholism?

4 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Wilson E, Lader M.A review of the management of antidepressant discontinuation symptoms.Ther Adv Psychopharmacol.2015;5(6):357-68. doi:10.1177/2045125315612334Atillia F, Perciballi R, Rotondo C, et al.Alcohol withdrawal syndrome: diagnostic and therapeutic methods.Riv Psichiatr. 2018;53(3):118-122. doi:10.1708/2925.29413Kaner EFS, Beyer FR, Garnett C, et al.Personalised digital interventions for reducing hazardous and harmful alcohol consumption in community-dwelling populations.Cochrane Database System Rev. 2017. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD011479National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.What is a standard drink?

4 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Wilson E, Lader M.A review of the management of antidepressant discontinuation symptoms.Ther Adv Psychopharmacol.2015;5(6):357-68. doi:10.1177/2045125315612334Atillia F, Perciballi R, Rotondo C, et al.Alcohol withdrawal syndrome: diagnostic and therapeutic methods.Riv Psichiatr. 2018;53(3):118-122. doi:10.1708/2925.29413Kaner EFS, Beyer FR, Garnett C, et al.Personalised digital interventions for reducing hazardous and harmful alcohol consumption in community-dwelling populations.Cochrane Database System Rev. 2017. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD011479National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.What is a standard drink?

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Wilson E, Lader M.A review of the management of antidepressant discontinuation symptoms.Ther Adv Psychopharmacol.2015;5(6):357-68. doi:10.1177/2045125315612334Atillia F, Perciballi R, Rotondo C, et al.Alcohol withdrawal syndrome: diagnostic and therapeutic methods.Riv Psichiatr. 2018;53(3):118-122. doi:10.1708/2925.29413Kaner EFS, Beyer FR, Garnett C, et al.Personalised digital interventions for reducing hazardous and harmful alcohol consumption in community-dwelling populations.Cochrane Database System Rev. 2017. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD011479National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.What is a standard drink?

Wilson E, Lader M.A review of the management of antidepressant discontinuation symptoms.Ther Adv Psychopharmacol.2015;5(6):357-68. doi:10.1177/2045125315612334

Atillia F, Perciballi R, Rotondo C, et al.Alcohol withdrawal syndrome: diagnostic and therapeutic methods.Riv Psichiatr. 2018;53(3):118-122. doi:10.1708/2925.29413

Kaner EFS, Beyer FR, Garnett C, et al.Personalised digital interventions for reducing hazardous and harmful alcohol consumption in community-dwelling populations.Cochrane Database System Rev. 2017. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD011479

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.What is a standard drink?

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