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

[Ds]

NooooOOOooo

gonna be red velvet or something.

 

[ocean]

I'm wondering how hard it would be to find a doctor in my area qualified to dispense a benzo to help people survive the withdrawal process. I can't do it on my own, and I don't even get a 24 hour window before I start to fall apart, motor skills out the window, can barely talk, shaking.. can't stop or I fell like I'll die. don't want to keep doing this anymore but have no idea where to go

You might want to check out our Mental Health/Treatment Options Thread. There are a number of good links and such in there.

 

[blahman8000]

Alcohol doesn't even work anymore. Instead it causes me to act like a fool and there are many nights of the past few years that I don't have any recollection of.

The cravings are horrible though. I've turned into a thief so I can get booze. I don't have a job.

 

[Ds]

got 30days sober today. :D

hang n there blah, u ever thought about going to a state funded rehab? yeh they may not be as fancy as betty ford. i got sober in one before.
alot of people here can help u find one if ur interested.

 

[Ds]

Congratulations D's!!!!!!!!!!! You've definitely put the work into it!

lol, thanks jeff.
it feels good man, i pickd my keytag up last night, almost made some of my close friends here start crying.

got "how it works and why", so i'll be able to start working the steps.
i'm workin em everyday, but book work.. i should start this weekend.

 

[Mariposa]

Good for you, D's. Keep it up.

Others have mentioned that their families/friends/social culture are quite wrapped up in drinking. I haven't quit drinking |) but over the past few days, I have started keeping a journal about it and it was necessary for me to start taking my diazepam (prescribed) a bit more often now that I have cut down.

Overall I feel as though my body is detoxifying itself. It is uncomfortable - hot flashes, pins and needles feelings... insomnia... and we don't know if it's the detoxification process or fibromyalgia issues. I refuse to let it get me down too far.

I have a lot of events coming up at which there will be drinking. I need to figure out a way to manage those. A glass or two of beer/wine can so easily turn into... well, a lot more. Let's hope it doesn't turn out that way.

 

[Mehm]

Way to go D's! 30 days is no small feat for true addicts such as ourselves

Personally, every day I don't drink is a blessing.

 

[SubDude]

got 30days sober today. :D

hang n there blah, u ever thought about going to a state funded rehab? yeh they may not be as fancy as betty ford. i got sober in one before.
alot of people here can help u find one if ur interested.

Congrats...This is for you man... Maybe next yr for me...

 

[Ds]

thanks guys.

had a rough night last night, been bust today trying to stay out of "self" as much as i fuckin can stand it.

put in a few job apps.

my mother and i are once again on the spurts, so cant let that shit upset me.

gotta find a job.

(just for today)
fuck u (tommorow).

 

[Ds]

just got back from an AA meeting, picked up my 30 days chip (red chip). I've already picked up my NA, and tommoro going to get my 30 day CA keytag.

Was a good meeting, got there a little late because we couldn't find it. was in the rich suburbs of b'ham.

the new guy here that just started the halfway house pickd up his 24 hour chip and that was cool to see. glad i was apart of it .

 

[Ds]

Had a good speaker meeting tonight, guy has 28 fucking years of soberity. man he got sober in the early 80's. like right when crack came around.

also my sponsor celebrated 2 years, his family was there, and he gave a lil speach when he pickd up his medalion(sp). he called me out, and told me to hang in there. out of like 50 people, i was reconized for trying. shit would have never happend on the streets. hell my own family dont give me credit for trying.

been doing step 1 work in my text. going to go over it next week with him.

i tell ya i can go into a meeting feeling like shit, and leave an entirely new person.

 

[blahman8000]

Had a good speaker meeting tonight, guy has 28 fucking years of soberity. man he got sober in the early 80's. like right when crack came around.

After almost 30 years, he still needs to go to meetings? Like, he still gets cravings and it's still a challenge for him?

Kinda frightens me...

 

[blahman8000]

my sponsor has 19 years and continues to work on himself through stepwork. Its pretty much a program of growth. He doesn't have cravings and using drugs/alcohol is the last thing on his mind but there are other things the steps help us with.

I only know about other folks who have significant amounts of clean time (I only have a few months under my belt) but these folks want to give something back to others since they have taken from others for so long. We might not be able to get rid of all of our defects of character but we can always work on improving on being aware of the flaws that we have and working to beter ourselves.

Its a valid question and one I have asked myself. Some folks say that its no longer about the drugs after significant periods of complete abstinence. I get that to an extent but for someone like me, right here and right now, its ALL about the drugs first and foremost. I can't work on my personal flaws if I keep using so I need to take measures to eliminate potential triggers, self-sabotage and manufacturing unrealistic justifications to go out and use 'just a little'. Maybe in 30 years I'll understand what these folks mean when they say 'its no longer about the drugs' completely. I'm just not there yet

I've been thinking of trying AA out but I just feel like it wouldn't serve a purpose for me, since I rarely accomplish long periods of sobriety. I woudn't have anything positive to add to the meetings. I'd probably be hungover.

Although, as for some good news, I have been drinking a LOT less lately. I've had almost 48 full hours without a drop of alcohol, and I'm not having any withdrawals like I used to. The cravings aren't too bad, either. It's nice to wake up without a hangover, and to actually feel a bit more clear-headed. I can't say that I've decided to give up alcohol completely, but this is definitely a step in the right direction.

 

[Mehm]

^The only requirement for AA is a desire to stop drinking. You don't have to talk at meetings if you don't want to. However, if you get sick of being sick, I would recommend step study over conventional meetings as this was the original program created in the 1930s.

Like Overdone said, people continue meetings for many many years for a few reasons. The first is that the 12 steps is a guide to living in peace and happiness. Alcoholism is a symptom of dis-ease. Normal people can live in dis-ease and just be miserable. An alcoholic will inevitably revert back to drinking, which will quickly kill him. So it is important to continually improve ones health (mental and physical) and improve one's conscious contact with god.

Another big reason people stay in 12 step programs for their whole life has to do with the 12th step.

Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

Carrying the message of recovery to the alcoholic who still suffers is a big part of ones own sobriety. As one starts to live their life for others they reach personal fulfillment and peace.

 

[Cyc]

Family Guy aired an interesting episode last week about alcoholism.

Not sure if anyone else caught it.

 

[blahman8000]

Had a seizure today. Not sure if it was provoked by my drinking. I was sober at the time, but drunk last night. I've been sick to my stomach ever since I came out of it.

I feel like I don't ever want to drink again.

 

[SkagKush]

^ probably not a bad idea....

 

[Dragynfyr]

Been trying to cut back, but the rubber band snapped after two days of only allowing myself one 'drink' a day = a high gravity 40 one night and a long island at the bar the next. I woke up today feeling fairly useless.. went to the liquor store for the first time in a month and a half.. the kid that owned the store was my age, he died about a month ago, his picture was on the counter by the register. Diabetes and alcoholism don't play well together.

I'm hoping all this plays out, I'm waiting on an ADHD screening slot to open up. At the same time my cousilor is talking to my doc about benzos for anxiety, which would make not drinking anymore a hell of a lot easier.. trick will be to get both scripts to land at the same time because either one alone will tip the scales in their favor leaving me a useless lump or a manic tweaker on verge of arrest

 

[Jblazingphoenix100]

"You booze, you lose. You booze, you lose"...THis was a mantra that some hare krishna irish hippy dude chanted after his set singing and playing his guitar.

I liked it - it's true. One or 2 is enough alcohol for a week, anymore is too easy to spiral into 3 days of drinking in a week.

These one or 2 I can control - being borderline alcoholic, I stopped it before it had a chance to get really ugly 3 years ago.

One day a week - no more.

I know this now...and it's refreshing when it happens.

Since NYE, last week was the only week where I slipped out of my one day a week - my one day a week was originally one drink a week.

Maybe I will change it back.

 

[unsettled]

I average about a half a beer a month these days, I used to drink every day and night, I can't stand alcohol anymore. Maybe it's just the subs but I quit before opiates entered the picture as a daily habit.

So I'm not technically sober, but feel much, much better than when I used to drink all the time. Still adjusting to the non drinking life after a couple years now though, it really takes some getting used to.