Misc hating/quitting alcohol, but still need something

hey all,

i've been a heavy drinker for a while, and a more casual drug user. most of my weekly (or even daliy) interactions with friends involves drinking to some extent, and i'm sure many of you can identify.

on the weekends, i tend to be in large social gatherings, and go out clubbing pretty often, and of course massive amounts of alcohol are involved. i've had some wonderful times, crazy experiences, lots of good, but more recently more bad.

i started to feel some severe negative affects this year from all the heavy drinking. first was getting the withdrawal symptoms and next day severe depression. more problematic however, was that i found significant amounts of alcohol no longer gave me much of a 'buzz' or any of the inhibitory social effects that it once did. i would drink, feel pretty much the same, up until the point where i start to lose all motor coordination and or pass out. moreover, i'd black out far before that (something that increased as i drank more through the years). now its to the point where if i drink, i won't even remember the night.

i decided to quit recently, and it's going well and i've made it through the withdrawal and the cravings. my problem is, i still have a good amount of social anxiety and really need something in clubs or those social settings to help me out. the closest thing i've experienced and enjoyed was mdma, but that's something i really reserve for special occasions.

anyone go through something similar, and find something that can help? i really don't want to get back on the wagon (or is it off the wagon?), and it's difficult in situations where everyone else is drinking and i'm being antisocial.

anway, any help is appreciated.

I know that they prescribe benzodiazepines for alcohol w/d and dependance. Sadly benzos are addictive themselves, the w/d from them is actually quite similar to alcohol w/d, but worse depending on dose. Perhaps you'd benefit from some good old fashioned MJ or perhaps even an anti-depressant.

Although, if you could keep yourself from using benzos daily you wouldn't have all that much of a problem. If you kept your use to once or twice a week you'd be fine. That's only if you CAN do that though. Don't trek into that territory unless you're sure of yourself.

Yes the Pharmicist is right because you would be trading one addiction for another. But benzos can be very helpful to take the edge off if you don't use them every day. I'm glad you were able to get past the initial phase of quitting and withdrawals. That in itself is a huge step. ~theresa

I too recommend the use of benzos in this situation. Since you seem more of the type of person to drink than to use illicit substances, Im guessing it would be easier for you to take a benzodiazepine with little worry of addiction. I personally, have a very addictive personality, yet I am able to take daily doses of 2 seperate benzos without becoming addicted. You just need to keep the doses low, which shouldnt be hard because all you need in this type of situation is low dose benzos....any high doses will simply get you giddy, high, tired, or make you just pass out.

I reccomend taking clonazepam(klonopin) because it is one of the longest acting benzodiazepines and has little hypnotic(sleep inducing) effects. A dose of 1.5 - 3 mg's a day should do the trick....also, you may want to space the doses out over the period of a day....i.e....one pill in the morning(~0.5-1mg)...one pill in the afternoon....and then another dose in the evening.

This should take care of any social anxiety as well as make it much easier to not take alcohol. Allthough you should be very careful if you ever do take alcohol, as benzos and alcohol mix together and make for a very potent "high".

If you do not like klonopin or simply cant get it, I would try either alprazolam(xanax....~1.5-3 mg's daily).....or diazepam(valium....~15-35mg's daily). Those benzos are also great at reducing anxiety withuot having very strong hypnotic effects. Allthough xanax is a short acting benzo, valium, if I remember correctly, is the longest acting benzo commonly prescribed for anxiety related issues.

I hope my advice helped and feel free to ask any questions you may have.

*It would be ideal if you could get these medications legally through a physician but if you want/must get them off the street or from friends, than that is no big deal in my opinion....as long as you know what you are doing, have done extensive research on the medication(s), and are taking them in the correct dosages for the anxiety you are experiencing....any abuse of these benzos could easily result in an addiction that could end up being an even bigger problem than your alcoholism. Benzo's, like alcohol, have the potential to kill you simply from the withdrawal effects.*

Benzos would of course work, but taking them for social scenarios is bad. You'll wind up taking a dose just so you can go into town to buy yourself dinner! "We're out of milk, quick, take .5 mgs!"

You obviously want to hang out still so just keep the nights out moderate or infrequent, pace your drinking, do not feel obligated to binge because others are. I find if i pace myself i can finish a whole bottle of spirits by the end of the night after say 8 hours of partying, & low & behold i'm one of the the last ones awake having a great time while others are passed out or vomiting.

doppelganga196 said:

Benzos would of course work, but taking them for social scenarios is bad. You'll wind up taking a dose just so you can go into town to buy yourself dinner! "We're out of milk, quick, take .5 mgs!"

You obviously want to hang out still so just keep the nights out moderate or infrequent, pace your drinking, do not feel obligated to binge because others are. I find if i pace myself i can finish a whole bottle of spirits by the end of the night after say 8 hours of partying, & low & behold i'm one of the the last ones awake having a great time while others are passed out or vomiting.

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It is DEFINITELY not bad to take benzos for "social scenarios" at all. It CAN be bad but alot of the time it is very beneficial.....especially to people who have severe social anxiety or any similar disorder.

Like me, I have severe panic attacks that are sometimes triggered by social anxiety so my doctor keeps me on 0.5 mg's klonopin 3x a day. It helps tremendously and allows me to go about my life as I would before I developed this "disorder". It is in no way like the way you were describing...."Were out of milk!...quick, take .5 mg's!"......that seems to be a little ignorant in my opinion. Some people do have serious problems with anxiety that are best addressed with medications such as benzodiazepines. Yes, there are people that abuse benzos unnecesarily to the point where they find themselves in a situation similar to the one you described but please do not classify everyone who uses benzos for social anxiety in that category.

jamesBrown said:

It is DEFINITELY not bad to take benzos for "social scenarios" at all. It CAN be bad but alot of the time it is very beneficial.....especially to people who have severe social anxiety or any similar disorder.

Like me, I have severe panic attacks that are sometimes triggered by social anxiety so my doctor keeps me on 0.5 mg's klonopin 3x a day. It helps tremendously and allows me to go about my life as I would before I developed this "disorder". It is in no way like the way you were describing...."Were out of milk!...quick, take .5 mg's!"......that seems to be a little ignorant in my opinion. Some people do have serious problems with anxiety that are best addressed with medications such as benzodiazepines. Yes, there are people that abuse benzos unnecesarily to the point where they find themselves in a situation similar to the one you described but please do not classify everyone who uses benzos for social anxiety in that category.

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No need to get so defensive, i'm just dissuading him from the the possible pattern he could fall into. Taking them socially generally means long term, every day, which it doesn't sound like he needs.

the proverbial rock and hard place comes to mind in the OPs predicament .
OP feels some irrational need to be under the influence of some chemical when socializing .

OP is in dire straights as dependency issues , cross addicting would be on the horizon .

Moderation of course is the only way to proceed . Please stay on the wagon, if nothing, else just to stay out of legal problems.

In the interest of harm reduction I would be more apt to snuffing out the habit rather than trading it off for another one. Regardless of your DoC it is likely that you will fall down the same path and be forced to suffer detox from a new poison.

The closest thing to a "suggestion" that I can give is to avoid anything that puts a heavy strain on your liver; I am sure it could use a break.

I definitely don't want to trade one addiction for another. I still think the worst in terms of getting over alcohol isn't over yet.

I still have strong cravings, but I'm fighting those off. However, I have general anxiety (not just in social situations) that's becoming increasingly worse. I think its part of alcohol withdrawal, its just tough to deal with.

My general experience with with benzos like valium and xanax are that I get fairly tired, and while they do help with the anxiety, perhaps its a little too sedative for a social situation.

I definitely want to exercise a lot more caution in anything I do in the future. My plan is to make it clean this month and see how things go from there. I'm not sure I trust myself enough with low doses of alcohol going forward, so that's why I asked the question.

But any advice is appreciated, especially those who've struggled with alcohol problems!

I am glad to hear that you are making a strong attempt at a recovery process! Personally I am not a drinker but I struggle with an opiate addiction/dependence. You are not alone

x2 @ thepharmasist

how do you deal with cravings for alcohol, im getting some strong ones now and feel like my nervous system is about to explode into a seizure

bignbrown said:

how do you deal with cravings for alcohol, im getting some strong ones now and feel like my nervous system is about to explode into a seizure

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theres not too much u can do... try eating or excercising, and hydrating, those are the best things u can do without using other drugs...

if u were to go to a doctor, theyd just give u some medication like a benzo, like xanax and shit, or some high blood pressure meds...and in SEVERE cases when NOTHING works, suboxone.

id just take a few hits of some medical marijuana and i bet u wont be caring nearly as much as u do now bout wantin a drink

Theres nothing you can do really.

I have done many drugs that might help you feel better, but the reprocussions and addiction and w/d of them is HELL and not worth it.

Your best bet?? Excersice and marijuana