# My name is komolono - I'm an alcoholic \[question about withdrawal hallucinations\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 22, 2010, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-komolono-im-an-alcoholic-question-about-withdrawal-hallucinations/554631 "2010-09-22T12:04:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![komolono](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/komolono/32/532_2.png) [@komolono](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/komolono)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-komolono-im-an-alcoholic-question-about-withdrawal-hallucinations/554631/1 "2010-09-22T12:04:23Z")
I have a history of heavy drinking. Several years ago, I was so fed up with it - I just stopped. Well, stopped drinking alcohol for a couple of weeks, but smoked marijuana, instead. Because marijuana had no effect on me, I was soon drinking alcohol, again. After this episode the state of withdrawl changed dramatically. I started hallucinating: > **[Delirium tremens](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delirium_tremens)** > > Delirium tremens (DTs), (Latin, "shaking frenzy"), is a rapid onset of confusion usually caused by withdrawal from alcohol. When it occurs, it is often three days into the withdrawal symptoms and lasts for two to three days. Physical effects may include shaking, shivering, irregular heart rate, and sweating. People may also hallucinate. Occasionally, a very high body temperature or seizures (colloquially known as "rum fits") may result in death. Alcohol is one of the most dan Delirium tremens typ... Among other symptoms, I started hearing sounds. First, I thought my neighbor was playing his stereos too load, but these sounds followed me everywhere usually trickered by another sound ie. ventilation, travelling by train… These hallucinations varied from fuzzy sports broadcasts to the finest music. I’m far from being artistic, so there is no way I could create this kind of music - hearing different instruments load and clear. Sometimes the jukebox kept on playing 24/7. What were these hallucinations - flashbacks from past experiences? Is it due to marijuana use? Is it common that marijuana has no effect (on alcoholics) - or do I just need a vast amount of it? ---
**Author:** ![FluffyBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecb155/32.png) [@FluffyBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FluffyBob)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-komolono-im-an-alcoholic-question-about-withdrawal-hallucinations/554631/2 "2010-09-22T13:02:41Z")
Hi Komolono. Do you hear the music clearly or through white noise? The old story of people hearing radio through their fillings has been convincingly explained as the brain filling in white noise with familiar sounds. In these cases the music is never quite clear, the announcers voices never fully resolved. Hallucination is often a similar process, with the brain running with a stimulus and filling in a familiar pattern. I’ve had a similar experience camping by a very turbulent brook (a cascade of whitewater really) and hearing snatches of voices and music. I was days from the nearest logging road in a pretty remote place - I knew there wasn’t anybody in miles, and it was a little spooky. You have heard thousands of hours of background radio in your life, there is plenty of material there for your brain to work with. Marijuana does not effect everyone the same way or even the same person every time. It shouldnt have a lasting effect. Effects of DTs should pass with detox. If you are continuing to hallucinate after detox you need to see your doctor. You probably know this from AA but marijuana or another replacement will not help you with your addiction. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-komolono-im-an-alcoholic-question-about-withdrawal-hallucinations/554631/3 "2010-09-22T13:18:45Z")
Go see a doctor. ---
**Author:** ![Apocalypso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Apocalypso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apocalypso)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-komolono-im-an-alcoholic-question-about-withdrawal-hallucinations/554631/4 "2010-09-22T13:27:35Z")
I had a girlfriend who had symptoms similar to what you describe. She was a partier, smoked marijuana heavily, drank heavily. At some point she was drinking very heavy and eating very little (not sure if that had anything to do with it). She started to hallucinate and hear voices, but continued to drink very heavily (I am not sure if she was using marijuana at the time). She eventually had a complete breakdown and wound up in detox for a year. Since I met her, she’s gone through a pattern of binging and winds up in detox every 5 years or so. She’s told me the few times she’s smoked marijuana since, it messes her up for days and makes her feel very strange and disoriented. She is on a number of medications and continues to have visual and auditory hallucinations. I don’t know if these would continue if she entirely quit drinking, she’s not been able to quit for long periods of time. I don’t know if the weed has anything to do with your hallucinations, but I would very strongly encourage you to seek professional help with your alcoholism. Watching someone go through this is akin to watching a slow motion suicide over a period of years. It’s a horrible experience for you and everyone that loves you. Alcohol is a poison - 100% pure alcohol will kill you in very small amounts, and it causes severe brain damage and all kinds of physical and mental problems. Please get some help. ---
**Author:** ![shamblesmaybe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@shamblesmaybe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shamblesmaybe)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-komolono-im-an-alcoholic-question-about-withdrawal-hallucinations/554631/5 "2010-09-22T13:27:40Z")
Stopping alcohol in the way you describe can be fatal, like it says in your wiki link. The weed is a seperate issue but I doubt very much that it would have helped! Go see a Dr. if you intend to stop, and good luck. ---
**Author:** ![komolono](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/komolono/32/532_2.png) [@komolono](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/komolono)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-komolono-im-an-alcoholic-question-about-withdrawal-hallucinations/554631/6 "2010-09-22T13:30:28Z")
> [@FluffyBob](#): > > Do you hear the music clearly or through white noise? The old story of people hearing radio through their fillings has been convincingly explained as the brain filling in white noise with familiar sounds Sometimes I hear three diffrent “radio stations” at a time. I can distinguish comtemporary jazz, country music and Gladys Knight, but then it sounds really fuzzy. Sometimes this music is something I’ve never heard - well, at least the lyrics so absurd - having no sense, but funny at the same time. But as I mentioned, sometimes I can really enjoy hearing top ten hits through the best HIFI you can buy. But I have no control over the broadcasts - sometimes the record is stuck repeating the same few chords. ---
**Author:** ![komolono](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/komolono/32/532_2.png) [@komolono](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/komolono)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-komolono-im-an-alcoholic-question-about-withdrawal-hallucinations/554631/7 "2010-09-22T13:41:24Z")
> [@Apocalypso](#): > > Alcohol is a poison - 100% pure alcohol will kill you in very small amounts, and it causes severe brain damage and all kinds of physical and mental problems. Please get some help. I’m also hearing this buzzing noise inside my right ear - as a cause of alcohol consumption, perhaps? The funny thing is that I “hear” these hallucinations from my left. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-komolono-im-an-alcoholic-question-about-withdrawal-hallucinations/554631/8 "2010-09-22T14:05:17Z")
> [@komolono](#): > > I’m also hearing this buzzing noise inside my right ear - as a cause of alcohol consumption, perhaps? The funny thing is that I “hear” these hallucinations from my left. Anonymous posters on a message board are not the proper way to deal with life threatening illnesses. Seek medical help. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-komolono-im-an-alcoholic-question-about-withdrawal-hallucinations/554631/9 "2010-09-22T14:13:56Z")
Auditory hallucinations can be associated with any number of disorders, some related to your substance intake, some not. Please go see a doctor, and let us know how it goes. ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-komolono-im-an-alcoholic-question-about-withdrawal-hallucinations/554631/10 "2010-09-22T14:14:01Z")
You’ve made some bad choices in life, make a good one and listen to the people that have said, see a doctor. ---
**Author:** ![komolono](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/komolono/32/532_2.png) [@komolono](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/komolono)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-komolono-im-an-alcoholic-question-about-withdrawal-hallucinations/554631/11 "2010-09-22T14:18:20Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > > [@komolono](#): > > > > I’m also hearing this buzzing noise inside my right ear - as a cause of alcohol consumption, perhaps? The funny thing is that I “hear” these hallucinations from my left. > > Anonymous posters on a message board are not the proper way to deal with life threatening illnesses. Seek medical help. I had three questions: Are hallucinations flashbacks? Can marijuana trigger DT? Do alcoholics need more marijuana getting high? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-komolono-im-an-alcoholic-question-about-withdrawal-hallucinations/554631/12 "2010-09-22T14:25:35Z")
Edited title to better indicate subject. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![shamblesmaybe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@shamblesmaybe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shamblesmaybe)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-komolono-im-an-alcoholic-question-about-withdrawal-hallucinations/554631/13 "2010-09-22T15:04:50Z")
1, No, not necessarily, but they can take on aspects from your past just as easily as they can be random. 2, God knows, but it seems likely that as alcohol withdrawal does and you just stopped drinking that it was the alcohol. 3, Drugs effect different people differently. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-komolono-im-an-alcoholic-question-about-withdrawal-hallucinations/554631/14 "2010-09-22T15:17:16Z")
> [@Apocalypso](#): > > Alcohol is a poison - 100% pure alcohol will kill you in very small amounts :::nitpick::: actually, as far as poisons go, it’s one of the least poisonous substances per gram. The reason it’s so deadly is that its window of fatality is very close to its window of effectiveness – take enough to get pretty drunk, then double that and you’re in a potentially deadly. If it were a new drug, the FDA wouldn’t allow that much potential for a dosage mistake. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2010, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-komolono-im-an-alcoholic-question-about-withdrawal-hallucinations/554631/15 "2010-09-23T04:08:39Z")
Marijuana can attenuate blood-alcohol levels, keeping them from rising as quickly, and perhaps even lowering them. It might thus make the withdrawal effects worse. Incidentally, alcohol and marijuana also have synergistic properties. My [cite](http://www.richfields.tv/release.html) is from a DWI lawyer, but it seems to be properly citing studies, and I can’t access the studies directly.