Post acute withdrawal syndrome is a group of symptoms that arise as a drug addict or alcoholic attempts abstinence from their chosen mood altering chemicals. 
These withdrawal symptoms which can include sleeplessness, unclear thinking and stress, generally appear 7 to 14 days into abstinence during the stabilization phase. This impairment is recognized as PAWS or Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome and can last 6 to 18 months after the addicts' last use.
While in active addiction, the addict/alcoholic experiences a disruption to normal brain activity which impairs clear thinking and how emotions are expressed. 
Additionally, short-term memory loss, lack of coordination, sleep disturbances and stress, are all part of PAWS. They can make the recovery process a long and difficult process. As a result of continued abuse of drugs and/or alcohol, the brain needs to make an adjustment in order to 'right itself'. It takes time as some neurotransmitters return to normalcy, and we acclimate to a life without mood altering chemicals.
Essentially there are 3 major ways that Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome can impact a recovering person.
They are:
1. Cognitively - racing or recycling thoughts coupled with impaired concentration and attention span.
2. Emotionally - either an absenceof or an excess of emotions, with a tendency towards over or hyper reaction.
3. Memory - short-term (30 minutes) memory loss is often the most noted problem.
These issues usually affect a person early in recovery. Therefore, it is imperative that family, friends and colleagues recognize the presence of these symptoms. Another factor that greatly affects the addict is stress. As a result, the recovering individual needs to understand that the lowering of stress is vital. Specific lifestyle changes need to occur. Healthy habits such as limiting caffeine, getting 8-10 hours of sleep, eating three balanced meals per day and exercising 3 or more times weekly will reap great benefits.
Additionally, meditation and/or other relaxation exercises are often recommended by healthcare professionals and implemented by Drug and Alcohol Treatment Centers as part of their scheduled programs.
Lastly, involvement in Alcoholics Anonymous, which means regular meeting attendance and an ongoing relationship with an AA Sponsor, is critical for several proven reasons:
1. The building of a sober support system outside the circle of family and friends
2. The introduction of the 12 Steps of Recovery as set down in the AA 'Big Book'.
3. A relationship with AA Sponsor is one of the cornerstones of AA and a key component of the recovery process
4. Like minded people with similar experiences are uniquely qualified for support
5. Active AA participation will reduce the severity of PAWS.
The implementation of the above should go a long way towards restoring the recovering alcoholic/addict to good health.
There is also another school of thought and treatment for opiate dependent PAWS sufferers which was somewhat controversial at one time but has gained general acceptance in the recovering community.
Because Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome can last for years, if not a lifetime, the best treatment for opiate dependents can often be a maintenance program issuing drugs such as methadone or buprenorphine. This course of action is meant to restore the brain’s chemistry to a more natural state thereby alleviating the common PAWS symptoms of craving, irregular sleep patterns, lethargia and mood swings and post acute withdrawal syndrome.
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8 responses so far ↓
1 Betty Lampkin // Aug 1, 2007 at
Please print articles in black and maybe a bit larger. My son who is the one with PAWS has seeing problems and cannot read your articles without magnification. He does have special reading glasses provided by the KY Dept of the blind, but still needs magnification to read most things. This would be most helpful.
Thanks,
Betty
2 admin // Aug 2, 2007 at
Thank you for your suggestion. A number of articles are actually podcasts. Clicking the yellow and blue icon under the title will allow you to hear the article spoken.
As a work around, at the end of every article is a 'print' icon. This will isolate the article from the site and allow you to either print it as is, or copy and paste it into Word, where you can increase the font and then print it.
Thank you very much for reading and participating in my site.
Bill Urell
3 DOnnie Rhodes // Aug 19, 2007 at
I wanted to comment on your statement that methadone or buprenorphine can be used to treat PAWS in opiate addicts. This is hopefully not an accepted course of treatment. I am currently suffering severe PAWS after a very slow Methadone titration, and havent used illicit opiates for years. Until I was educated about PAWS, I just felt like all the years of stress and poor decision making had taken their toll on my mental clarity. When I was told about PAWS, and further researched it, I found that the descriptions matched exactly what I was experiencing.
4 admin // Aug 19, 2007 at
Donnie,
My personal view sides with yours in not using those drugs over the long run. I am a bit old school, abstinence is abstinence. However, as stated, there is an opposing view that benefit may be gained by the use of maintainance drugs. Do a search on scholarly articles on "methadone, buprenorphine, PAWS" and you will see a number of studies, albeit with mixed results.
Bill Urell
5 Rosalyn // Oct 18, 2007 at
Hi, I just recently came out of PAWS after going through a year of hell by myself with no understanding of what was going to happen to me, and not until 6 months into it did I find out I had PAWS. I was on methadone for 6 1/2 years. By the time I found out, I had already gone so far without knowing what was wrong that it did not help my mental state to know. I was so sick I could barely take care of myself for at least 10 months, and I live alone. I don't know how I made it. Could my case just have been very severe or could it have been because I didn't have an understanding of what was going on?
6 sandra // Nov 22, 2007 at
I was wandering if there is any group meeting regularly. I would prefer female's group rather than mix. any idea how to find one?
7 Michelle // Feb 2, 2008 at
There should be settings on your internet browser (Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox) to make the print bigger. Try clicking "View" at the very top of your screen on the tool bar then clock "Text Size". Also, I use my CONTROL key plus my middle mouse wheel to increase or decrease text size. Hope that helps.
8 Michelle // Feb 2, 2008 at
I have been on low doses (under 10mg) of methadone for years simply because I couldnt go any lower. I switched to bupeprenorphine.
It is a fact that Methadone is one of the worst and hardest drugs to get off of. It takes forever.
Please educate yourself on the differences between Methadone and Bupeprenorphine. Anyone who wants to get off opiates for good should avoid methadone.
Buprenorphine differs in that it is a "partial agonist" (it doesn't block all of your brain's opioid receptors) and it better allows your brain to start making its own opioids. It is also much easier to get off of than methadone.
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