Define "alcoholic"...

[Joey24x18]

I'm 20 years old. My drug use is pretty extensive. I started smoking weed and drinking at 13. Cigarettes at 15. Between 15-18 I was addicted as FUCK to synthetic gas station weed. All while tripping cough syrup every day. I had a 6 month addiction to cocaine after I quit the spice, followed by a month addicted as shit to meth. I've tried heroin once. In between all of this I've done various psychedelics and pharmaceuticals. Dmt, LSD, 2c-B/I/E/P/C/D, xanax, klonopin, Valium, hydrocodone, oxy.

Basically, I've done a shit ton of drugs given my age.

Its taken it's toll on my mental and physical health. Spice really did a number on my mind, effects that I still deal with daily two years later. Constant anxiety, panic attacks, etc. I've managed to cut out EVERYTHING, except alcohol and REAL marijuana maybe twice a month.

I drink basically every day. My usual consumption is 12-15 beers a night. Somtimes more, sometimes less. If I manage to find someone 21 before 7pm, I get liquor. I drink with the same 2-3 friends every single night. We either sit in one of our cars, or walk out into the woods. There's rarely much else to do in the small town I live in. I quit cigarettes and switched to vaping a year ago. My lungs started not functioning right and I switched vaping for sweedish snus a little over a month ago. My lungs have not improved. It feels like only 1 out of 10 breaths I take I'm able to get enough air.

Lately I've been reflecting on my life. Where I'm at, where I want to be, and I honestly think I need to cut alcohol out of my daily routine. I feel like shit every single morning. I make bad decisions on a daily basis. I'm not even 21 yet and I feel like I'm leaning towards alcoholism. In the past, I rarely drank. Weed used to be my #1 drug until spice hit the market. Now when I smoke, it makes me feel weird and anxious, so I get drunk first to counteract the ill effects of thc in my brain.

I'm not sure what my question is here really. Any pointers on how to cut back on alcohol. I know "just stop" seems like the common advice, but somehow I just always find myself drinking. I also went through a hardcore phenibut withdrawal from 8 months of abuse in July. I feel like maybe I'm experiencing PAWS and self medicating with alcohol. Sound reasonable?

Idk. I really want to get healthy, repair my body, and drinking large amounts of alcohol every single day isn't the way to do it. I appreciate any advice guys.

 

[deos68]

im a boozer myself and honestly i dont want to stop either but i did cut back to 2 "standard" drinks a night
i can say this you might or might not exp some form of WD once you start cutting back
WHATEVER YOU DO DON'T GO COULD TURKEY you can easily have a seizure or DT's if you were drinking a low amount i would say go ct and have some ativan or valium ready but the amount you are drinking is a lot
you can either A. go into a detox center im sure there is a free state funded detox center
or B. taper off meaning everyday start cutting back a beer so if you drink 15 a day the next day only 14 then the next day 13 and so on
mind you this is a bitch to do but with a bit of will power it can be done i had a shit ton of crazy anxiety when i started cutting back i was drinking a six pack a night
then again i have an anxiety disorder you might not even feel anything other than crazy craving to drink just one more beer
if you dont already start taking multivitamins in the morning and keep hydrated drink plenty of water or gatorade staying hydrated can easily prevent a hangover
booze will deplete vitamins in your body
wouldnt hurt to get your liver checked out or even have a physical done

not sure what your goal is to either cut back or quit drinking but take it from an older guy with much more life exp booze isnt gonna get anywhere being your age is understandable but drinking daily at that age you are in the fast lane to no where
i would suggest to go into detox and just social drink on the weekends with your buds without having crazy binge drink sessions but keep it moderate

question you havent felt any physical or mental symptoms of any sorts?

 

[klania123]

Hello.

There are many possible-helping things you can do to stop or eliminate a bit your alchohol usage:
1: use gaba with little alchohol example 1g gaba with 3 beers a night and cut back very slowly
2: use gaba without alchohol at all or just 1 beer and try your best to cut back slowly
3: drink 3-4lt of water everyday , exercise , and eat 5-6 fruits and salads a day,eat as healthily as possible.
4: take vitamin c,e, selenium and multivitamins/multimineral because of their strong antixiodant and healthy properties.
5: take a long break from weed like 1-2 months[i have heard omega 3-6-9 are very good for the health and cleaning of thc] and then start smoking very slowly like 2-3 hits to fill the alchohol addiction you have now.

GL.

 

[Joey24x18]

I've never actually experienced alcohol withdrawal, which is odd because a year ago I was literally drinking a 750ml bottle of vodka every single night along with a few beers. This went on for months, and one day I just quit. I have bad anxiety naturally, so maybe I just don't notice? I definitely noticed phenibut withdrawal though Lol

I have tons of physical and mental problems, but I can't for sure blame that on alcohol since I've basically used every other drug on the planet extensively at one time or another. I have constant 24/7 anxiety if I'm not drunk. I feel this weird type of pressure in my head. I zone out a lot. I have twitches. I stutter sometimes when I'm talking. I'm always tired, like every single second of every day.

Honestly though I blame all that on spice. I felt perfectly normal before I started smoking synthetic pot.

 

[Rabbit]

This story reads like my own..

To answer your question, I would consider you an alcoholic. This isn't necessarily a really bad thing, I know plenty of people that I consider alcoholics that are functional enough to lead a career. The only real difference between them and a lot of people is the fact that alcohol isn't illegal and not seen as a huge taboo in society (outside of begin a drunk bum).

The idea of turning to it has crossed my mind many times but I watched my entire family struggle with it growing up. For some reason it was the one thing I never sought out too often although I know I do enjoy the effects and it does help take the edge off of things.

The jump to completely sober is hard to do and stick with. You've named off a bunch of things you jumped on and off, I did the same thing. I also spent a year with RCs that entirely changed me and make me a nervous wreck. My friends have noticed the change in me even though they won't talk about it to my face, I know I've become a moody buzz kill.

Anyway..what I've resolved to do is get it under the control with help. I've given up on the idea of getting that from the system, I've decided to find a doctor and keep it as private as I can. Maybe we'll find a magic bullet that makes it all better, if not I'd rather maintain on medication he gives me than go on attempting to self medicate my problems. The self medication never works out, it's either sobriety with pain and mental issues or it leads into over use and the eventual crash.

 

[deos68]

i fucked up and started drinking for my anxiety which truth be told it does help like a son bitch to calm anxiety down
but what i didnt know at the time was it was actually making my anxiety issues worse
i might say fuck it and quit all together because its a vicious cycle for me i have brought it down to 2 beers a night but i do have days of 4+
i did feel a big difference when i started cutting back anxiety became more manageable
might be placebo but
one week i drank nothing but 2 beers a night anxiety almost gone the following week i drank 4 to 6 beers anxiety through the roof
the week after that 2 beers and anxiety is manageable

i would quit all together bud and get back into school or getting a job can def keep you busy so you dont really have time to think about drinking or fucking with drugs
you are young and can easily bounce back from this
you really do have to ask yourself what your life is worth

 

[Joey24x18]

Yeah. I don't even know guys. I think I may just try and take a two break and see where that gets me. I also feel like maybe alcohol is giving me more anxiety rather than helping.

 

[deos68]

Yeah. I don't even know guys. I think I may just try and take a two break and see where that gets me. I also feel like maybe alcohol is giving me more anxiety rather than helping.

yeah alcohol can make anxiety a shit ton worse
goodluck on detoxing

 

[Joey24x18]

yeah alcohol can make anxiety a shit ton worse
goodluck on detoxing

Thanks man. Im sure I'll be fine. I went three days without drinking last week and didn't get any crazy withdrawals. Its just always around me.

 

[noone1]

I don't see how you can drink 12+ pack a night and not think you have some sort of a problem. If I drink 4 beers every night I start freaking out about GABA withdrawal.

 

[Joey24x18]

I don't see how you can drink 12+ pack a night and not think you have some sort of a problem. If I drink 4 beers every night I start freaking out about GABA withdrawal.

Really? Weird. I mean I've been through phenibut withdrawal. If I don't drink I just feel like shit for a couple days. I haven't had one sip so far tonight and I feel fine.

 

[Joey24x18]

I'm going to take a two week break from drinking. I'm just going to have to cut my friends off for a while I guess. I'm looking up alcohol withdrawal, and it says the first symptom is shakey hands. My hands are not shaking. Its been about 20 hours since my last drink. Does anyone think I'm going to have an issue here? I'be quit drinking cold turky in the past, and didn't really have serious problems. Now I'm reading Wikipedia and it's saying withdrawal can cause permanent brain damage and I'm a little worried Lol

I would try to taper, knock one beer off a night. But I live with my parents, and they'd kick my ass if I brought a case of beer up to my room.

 

[Slug_In_Ya_Noggin]

Dude you described my drug career almost to a T except of few other things like IV meth heroin and pills you did those jist not IV and for mot quite as long as me i guess but thats not at all what i think it is i thinks its especially with the synthetic I was addicted to it for three years too and I had to quit smoking for the exact same reason you described same feeling I even started using dip now you used snus but its sort of alike I've been to the ER because I couldn't get a breath one day its like a constant problem in my life the breathing thing it drives me crazy and scares the shit out of me I've been prescribed prednisone to help breathing but its given me a stomach ulcer in the past lately I've been chopping up like a qr of a thing of fresh garlic swallowing it like a hand full of pills it thins your blood so it can flow threw your lungs more and help you breath better I have chest pain as well do you?

 

[Slug_In_Ya_Noggin]

I've also been addicted to kratom for 8 or 9 months now but I don't think that's causing it I recently stopped it but my girlfriend broke up with me so I said fuck it and bought more

 

[nuttynutskin]

You're young, you can get away with more shit. If you keep drinking like that it will catch up to you quick the older you get tho. I know because I used to be able to drink heavily all month and then stop and have hardly anything but a mild hangover for a day, but now if I drink heavily for even 4 or 5 days straight I feel horrible for about 3 days.

 

[Joey24x18]

Dude you described my drug career almost to a T except of few other things like IV meth heroin and pills you did those jist not IV and for mot quite as long as me i guess but thats not at all what i think it is i thinks its especially with the synthetic I was addicted to it for three years too and I had to quit smoking for the exact same reason you described same feeling I even started using dip now you used snus but its sort of alike I've been to the ER because I couldn't get a breath one day its like a constant problem in my life the breathing thing it drives me crazy and scares the shit out of me I've been prescribed prednisone to help breathing but its given me a stomach ulcer in the past lately I've been chopping up like a qr of a thing of fresh garlic swallowing it like a hand full of pills it thins your blood so it can flow threw your lungs more and help you breath better I have chest pain as well do you?

Yeah man I get chest pains. Its fucking stupid how much my breathing went down hill so fast. It was like one day I woke up and couldnt breathe. went to the ER, they did tests and said everything was normal. Sent me home with some useless anxiety meds. I also have this constant pressure in my head. It feels like im just going to stroke out at any moment. Idk what to do at this point, except try to get healthy I guess. If im 20 years old and have COPD i may as well off myself. I'm going to try the garlic thing youre talking about. i have a bunch supplements that are supposed to work but they dont.

Luckily I was able to avoid the needle. It wasnt easy, as a majority if my friends were shooting up. I would just roll the bowl though. I swear though long term synthetic use is the worst. Me and the majority of the people I know who smoked it have loads of problems now. I know some kids who drive three hours to the beach, to the only headshops who sells blends, and buy 10 grams every day. They're going on five years of daily smoking the spice. Fucking stupid. I've tried to tell them how bad it's going to be later on, but of course they don't care.

I've done a lot of kratom too, I also bought some when my gf broke up with me. Somehow I didn't get hooked.

I'm at the point where im just like "I may as well quit drugs now, maybe I'll live a few years extra" smfh

 

[PriestTheyCalledHim]

Can you talk to your parents and tell them how you want to quit alcohol and other drugs, and how you are an alcoholic? Or at least see a doctor or medical professional and tell them this?

I would seek the advice of a medical professional about this.

 

[SKL]

I'm definitely an alcoholic. I drink enough to effect my lab work which might be a good start to a definition along with the complete inability to control myself once I already have a few drinks in me. I came to boozing seriously only after quitting hard drugs, never had a taste for the sauce before, probably hadn't been drunk from my sophomore year in college until I tapered off suboxone, then I needed a fifth of hard liquor and a fistfull of pills to sleep, then from there, booze was the only thing left after speed, heroin, psychedelics, suboxone, etc. Once I start I just cannot stop, so I have to limit myself in the quantities I buy. I am presently trying to taper down a bit at a time, but it's rough going. Tremors, insomnia, anxiety. Klonipin helps considerably and -drugs and benadryl for sleep. Perhaps even harder is how engrained alcohol is in my routine ... mix a few drinks after work, have a few more, stop by the liquor store, the guys behind the counter already know what to pull out for me ... consider me a cautionary tale. I'm older than you and you don't want to end up like this in your 30s. Fat, alcoholic, melancholic, medicated, isolated, with only a few other outlets (gambling is one and not really a positive either), winding up living only for my job which is pretty much the only time I'm not drinking and, quite a bit, for the memories of the "glory days," which, while fun and all, were what lead me directly here. Don't be this me.

 

[Joey24x18]

Can you talk to your parents and tell them how you want to quit alcohol and other drugs, and how you are an alcoholic? Or at least see a doctor or medical professional and tell them this?

I would seek the advice of a medical professional about this.

I've put my family through hell over my addictions. At this point I'm 98% sure theyll kick me out if they find out how bad my drinking is. My dad knows I drink, but he thinks it's like occasionally and only a few beers.

I probably should have a talk with my doctor though. Not really much they can do.

I'm like 25 hours since my last drink. I can't get to sleep for the life of me, and this is day two of no sleep because I stayed up all night last night. I think i may be in for a little withdrawling.

 

[Joey24x18]

I'm definitely an alcoholic. I drink enough to effect my lab work which might be a good start to a definition along with the complete inability to control myself once I already have a few drinks in me. I came to boozing seriously only after quitting hard drugs, never had a taste for the sauce before, probably hadn't been drunk from my sophomore year in college until I tapered off suboxone, then I needed a fifth of hard liquor and a fistfull of pills to sleep, then from there, booze was the only thing left after speed, heroin, psychedelics, suboxone, etc. Once I start I just cannot stop, so I have to limit myself in the quantities I buy. I am presently trying to taper down a bit at a time, but it's rough going. Tremors, insomnia, anxiety. Klonipin helps considerably and -drugs and benadryl for sleep. Perhaps even harder is how engrained alcohol is in my routine ... mix a few drinks after work, have a few more, stop by the liquor store, the guys behind the counter already know what to pull out for me ... consider me a cautionary tale. I'm older than you and you don't want to end up like this in your 30s. Fat, alcoholic, melancholic, medicated, isolated, with only a few other outlets (gambling is one and not really a positive either), winding up living only for my job which is pretty much the only time I'm not drinking and, quite a bit, for the memories of the "glory days," which, while fun and all, were what lead me directly here. Don't be this me.

Thats harsh bro. Its never too late to quit. I'm trying real hard right now. I would go get some benzos but I know that'd just lead me down another addiction.

It seems I'm out of recreational substances I can use. Weed makes me anxious. Alcohol is terrible for you. And everything else usually fucks your life up. Sobriety it must be.