My attempt at an alcohol recovery timeline

I have seen the desire expressed several times for a timeline of recovery similar to the one available for quitting smoking. The following is my attempt which is cobbled together from various studies and websites. I'd be interested in any corrections, additions, or improvements. I did not get into the liver beyond fatty liver since the rates and prognosis of recovery vary so greatly between people. Enjoy!

  • Hour 22.5: Alcohol from consuming 5 pints of lager is no longer present in the blood.
  • Day 1: Cell proliferation increases across multiple brain regions.
  • Day 2: Visual, auditory, or tactile hallucinations (if present and not DT related) usually end. First burst of cell proliferation, which is widespread, particularly in the hippocampus and cortex. These cells will largely differentiate into microglia in non-neurogenic brain regions.
  • Day 5: Alcohol no longer detectable in saliva or urine tests. Symptoms of delirium tremens peak.
  • Day 7: Second burst of cell proliferation, which is regionally specific to the dentate gyrus subgranular zone. In the dentate gyrus, proliferating cells will differentiate over several weeks mostly into neurons.
  • Day 14: Neural progenitors begin to differentiate into mature neurons. Cognitive deficits regarding distractibility, mild confusion, and irritability are generally back to normal levels.
  • Week 4: Cortical gray matter volume increases. Fatty liver disease is typically reversed.
  • Week 5: One month after the Day 7 burst in neurogenesis, there is a two-fold increase in new neurons formed. This increase in neurogenesis during abstinence from chronic alcohol exposure may be related to the recovery of brain volume deficits and cognitive deficits in abstinent alcoholics.
  • Month 2: Cognitive deficits regarding attention and concentration, reaction time, verbal learning ability, verbal abstract reasoning, and verbal short-term reasoning are generally back to normal levels.
  • Month 3: Increase of white and gray matter as well as a decrease of cerebrospinal fluid. Alcohol no longer detectable in hair follicle tests.
  • Month 6: Alcoholics who drank late into life, but with at least 6 months of abstinence can exhibit normal cognitive functioning. Alcoholics who were abstinent for less than 6 months performed worse in cognitive functioning than the control group.
  • Year 5: Cognitive deficits regarding verbal abstract reasoning, verbal short-term reasoning, nonverbal abstract reasoning, visuospatial abilities, mental flexibility, and nonverbal short term memory are back to normal. The recovery rate of cognitive function varies greatly and is influenced by age, length of sobriety, and presence of interim drinking. Recovery from cognitive deficits can occur as early as a few months.
  • Year 6.7: There is no statistical difference in cognitive test results with a control group, except in the area of spatial processing.

Posted Jan 14, 2015, 5:44 PM UTC · edited

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