Alcoholism Thread v. A sober life is a good life <3

[n3ophy7e]

I'm not sure if drinking non-alcoholic "beers" would set me back....i just love the fizz and the taste. Its just this thirsty feeling that I'm sure you guys know about.

Yep I know exactly what you mean man. I'm thinking that it's NOT a good idea...even though they're non-alcoholic. I know if it was me, I'd have a few and be like "This is shit, I want real beer dammit!" and I'd probably go out and buy some
I think even allowing yourself to have the taste and texture of beer is going to slow down the sobriety process.

That's my opinion though.


blahman did you end up calling the neurologist??

 

[blahman8000]

blahman did you end up calling the neurologist??

Yes, in fact I've got an appointment scheduled in about an hour. Hopefully I'll get some questions answered. Maybe he'll give me a prescription for something to put this to rest.

And chompy- I'll take your advice and knock back a few cups of water. Thanks

Edit: Just got back from the neurologist. He doesn't seem to think that the seizures are directly related to alcohol withdrawal. I do still drink but not as much, and apparently just a simple reduction (even when significant) isn't usually known to cause seizures. I was prescribed some meds and have to go back for some tests/scans. I wish it was just a result of withdrawals, and hopefully they're wrong; but now it looks like there might be something fucked up happening in my head. =\

 

[chompy]

n3ophy7e: I agree, I am just gonna stick to drinking water and gatorade

those non-alcoholic beers have 0.5% alcohol in them so it would be cheating myself

 

[paranoid android]

"This is shit, I want real beer dammit!" and I'd probably go out and buy some

This would be me no way could i drink a non alcoholic beer such as those 0.5% beers you get here in canada. They taste like piss anyway so id be like fuck this im going to go buy a case of guiness. Or 2

Also since alcohol deydrates you and fucks with your electrolytes drinking lot's of fluids that have some substance to them would help alot. Gatorade, water and cranberry juice would all be good. Also make sure to get plenty of vitamines as alcohol depletes certain vitamines especially b-vitamines b-12 and b-6. This is the cause of alot of nervous system, immune system and organ damage in chronic alcoholics especially those with poor diets.

So yeah lotsa fluids and good food can help alot. Taking a multivitamine would also be a good idea as well.

I think i may actually be swearing off the alcohol for good this time. I went years before without touching it at all so there is no reason why i can't do it again. The cons most certainly ourweigh the pro's for me especially since there arent even any pro's to drinking for me! I got drunk saturday night and i still don't think that my brain has fully recovered from that epic fail of a binge. My poor brain . I can't count how many double rum and cokes i had that night with beers all in the span of 2 hours. This was along with the bottle of wine i had started out with.

That was not one of my brighter moments

 

[SilverFeniks]

Damn, being (clean &) sober in the evening is a weird feeling. I'm never this coherent and awake after sunset.
Waking up without feeling foggy & groggy sure is refreshing, though.
Can't wait until my system cleans out completely. Maybe then I'll be able to sleep (sans nightmares).

Even if I wanted to keep drinking, these days I feel too guilty .. every day on the job I see the resulting destruction of countless lives caused by alcohol use, it is simultaneously disheartening and infuriating ... the 21st Amendment can suck it. I'm saving my hard-earned $$ for more productive addictions!

 

[batmanplaybaseball]

Drinking while detoxing from an opiate relapse tonight. Funny because I have enough pills to keep a crack house high for a week. Amphetamines, benzos and opiates of several colors each, and here I am sweating in my chair with hardly enough energy to reach for the beer glass. It might not be clean, but I couldn't keep going the way I was going. I slept two night last week. I knew I was heading toward a wall and still shifting upward. So here I am, back with the old reliable. *drink.

 

[Mariposa]

phenazepam for alcohol w/d/tapering if you have the perseverance to self-medicate. just read up on the damn drug before using it.

It's too difficult to dose for most alcoholics and it isn't a matter of just 'reading up' - it's the fact that it's just like most other benzodiazepines with a strong dose-response curve.

I fucked up and kindled again. Back to square one, as it were.

 

[chompy]

day 5 of no alcohol in 3 hours

 

[voxmystic]

after a 4-day party with a keg, a couple of bottles of fine liquor, much weed, and an 8th of shrooms each, i just decided "fuck this. i quit." i'm shaky, hallucinating, feels like i'm gonna puke any minute, and i've been having panic attacks. not fun.

also, the house is completely thrashed -- like, it's gonna take at least 2 days to clean it up, and i can barely manage to wipe my own ass. the dishes will have to wait.

after my vow to quit, i still sipped half a beer to try to tame this hangover, but i poured the rest down the drain, because i REALLY want to be sober! so i guess it was a only a half-failed attempt.

i'm looking forward to being able to sleep through the night again -- i'm one of those people that, if i have more than 1 or 2, i can't sleep well at all. i wake up after a couple of hours, then i can't get back to sleep. i've been laying around all day, trying to nap, but no luck. i'm stuck wide awake with the demons.

i hope i start feeling better soon. i need this so much, but wading through dt's and this crushing depression and fear is awful. i'll be glad when i make it to the other side.

 

[voxmystic]

finally got some sleep, with the help of a few valerian capsules, but i keep waking up drenched in sweat. ugh! i hope tomorrow is better.....

 

[chompy]

yea i wake up drenched in sweat. I sweated and shook for 3 days and had a bunch of unpleasant symptoms. Today is the beginning of day 7 without beer for me

 

[voxmystic]

had to pass this on -- milk thistle and kombucha tea have had incredible healing properties! i started taking them about 10 hrs ago, and although the sweats increased, the shakes, depression, and nausea began to subside soon after, and now i feel more or less back to myself, sans alcohol. it's only been 2 days, and i usually don't get to this point until the 4th day or so. wish i had thought of it sooner.

 

[batmanplaybaseball]

had to pass this on -- milk thistle and kombucha tea have had incredible healing properties! i started taking them about 10 hrs ago, and although the sweats increased, the shakes, depression, and nausea began to subside soon after, and now i feel more or less back to myself, sans alcohol. it's only been 2 days, and i usually don't get to this point until the 4th day or so. wish i had thought of it sooner.

Kombucha did a wonder of good for me when coming off of alcohol. Actually it has done a wonder of good for me all around, but I really discovered it when I was detoxing from drink. Sadly I lack a culture to brew my own from and the massive health foods chain Whole Foods has singlehandedly brought bottled kombucha to it's knees. I need no further reason to show that such consolidated business model is such a bad idea. If I needed, oh say, a dozen thousand I could consult the complete unabridged history of Wal-Mart and it's business dealings. It's like government on your plate. Or some evil benefactor who eventually shows their true personality in a dramatic scene.

'I made you and I can unmake you just as quickly!'


Ok, enough for the economic rant. Let's just cheers some nonalcoholic beverage, tonight it's protein shake for me. I went to a baseball game tonight and I couldn't help but notice how nice it was to not be drinking there. Everywhere you look people had beers (amazingly expensive and bad beers also), and I could not point to a single instance where the beer appeared to be making their experience more enjoyable. In fact, every person drinking a beer seemed to be enjoying the game less. Why? Because they ARE enjoying the game less, they are enjoying everything less, they are simply less. That is what they want, to become less. They think that they are alleviated their suffering but really they are alleviated everything. They are alleviating their lives themselves.

 

[voxmystic]

day 3 -- i was really apprehensive about today. i knew my husband had to go into town, and i knew he'd bring home beer. i didn't know how i'd do hearing those ice cold bottles crack open, seeing him slug them down. but he really did a great job taking it easy on me. he asked me if i minded him buying it, and i said it might make it harder, but i can't put restrictions on him just because i don't want to drink. so he bought his beer, but he only drank a couple, and he kept it in his shop, not in the house where i'd have to see and hear it. he also brought me some organic juices, and some sodas for himself, to drink in the house. i'm really grateful for his support! it's not nearly as bad as i thought it might be. whew!

 

[oliphill]

No booze for 33 days.

 

[stonedandrolling89]

so, i believe i have a drinking problem. thing is, i don't even really care for booze.

i've been drinking almost every day for the past three months, and am now tapering down. after experiencing something which resembled benzo withdrawal(which i am very familiar with) for the past few days around the 18-24 hour mark of not having a drink, i think it's time to calm my use down.

 

[n3ophy7e]

^^ It's great that you recognised that it's becoming a problem and you're cutting down now before it gets any worse. That shows great strength and foresight

he asked me if i minded him buying it, and i said it might make it harder, but i can't put restrictions on him just because i don't want to drink. so he bought his beer, but he only drank a couple, and he kept it in his shop, not in the house where i'd have to see and hear it. he also brought me some organic juices, and some sodas for himself, to drink in the house. i'm really grateful for his support! it's not nearly as bad as i thought it might be. whew!

This is really awesome to hear hun, well done!! (to both you and your husband!)


oliphil, awesome work mate, keep it up!!


chompy how are you going today man?

 

[n3ophy7e]

I could make a point(this is not to insult anyone anyway). Getting alcoholised takes years (10-15, even 20 years). If it's just partying and age under 25 IMHO it's just looking for fittable boy/girlfriend to get settled and marriage. With my experience i can say after 15 years or over 30 years old it's loosening of the game.

Hey M if you see this can you clear some space in your inbox? I'm trying to reply to you!

 

[voxmystic]

day 5 -- starting out kinda rough. insomnia. bl is helping, though. i'm too rural for AA, so you guys are it. thanks for the thumbs-up, n3o.

my mission is to be entirely drug-free, and i'm including cannabis, even though it's herbal. but, it occurs to me that valerian also has a definite physical (although not psychoactive) effect. i know it's a personal decision, but do you think it counts?

 

[n3ophy7e]

I think at this stage you should take one thing at a time. If you need to use valerian root to sleep, then use it for now. Worry about if you're going to cut that out later, once your sleep cycles have returned to normal.

The difference between herbal substances like marijuana, and things like valerian root, is that marijuana can have profound and long-lasting effects on the neurochemistry of your brain. Valerian root doesn't. Just because something is natural/herbal doesn't mean it's automatically better for you, and in the case of pot, you're right to want to stop using that if you want to be "clean".
But valerian root is pretty mild, doesn't alter your brain's neurochemistry, and doesn't really have any potential nasty side effects. So it's a bit different (in my opinion, of course it's ultimately up to you )