bluesteyes
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Mar 11, 2016
- Messages
- 126
I had a question that I am hoping the board could help me with. I suffer from chronic pain ranging from interstitial cystitis to inoperable retrolithesis and bulging discs in my neck to fibromyalgia. A couple of years ago I made the grave error of getting involved with percocets but was able to stop it before it blew into full blown addiction. I was moved over to subuxone. I take 6mg per day now, and it has done a remarkable job of lessening my chronic pain without having to take more and more of it due to tolerance issues. The only downside is the expense and the edema in my legs that started a few months after I started taking it.
However, like many other people who once enjoyed opiates, I have moved on to another substance: booze. Fortunately I drink only beer. I hate hard liquor. But still, it’s not good. For the past 8 months I have been alternating between a lager like Coors or Becks and an IPA in the 7% alcohol range. I power down 5-7 bottles per night, 7 days per week. I have decided that this has to go. For one thing, it is an extremely expensive habit. I am not exactly buying a 12 pack of Natural Light. I am gaining too much weight, and I already have a mild case of fatty liver disease. Most of all, it’s just making me feel lethargic and unhealthy. Now part of that is because I have very low testosterone right now…probably due to the long term use of opiates (and other things – I may have always had low testosterone for all I know). So I am taking a prescription medication to deal with that (it’s very mild. The intention is to not make me into a middle linebacker).
How do you suggest that I get off the beer? Can I just stop? I can’t imagine that 5-7 bottles of beer per night are enough to produce dangerous withdrawal symptoms, but I wouldn’t know. I expect most of the withdrawals to be psychologically oriented. I know I will miss the ritual of getting home from work and popping open a bottle of Coors. The other thing is that beer has a lot of calories when you add up 5-7 bottles with half of them being IPA’s. I have been eating a relatively healthy diet, but I am going to be seeing a huge cut in calories, so I am worried about that…..that I will be hungry all the time.
I appreciate any advice that you might have. Thanks. I have had some people tell me that within 2 weeks I will be feeling a lot better. I mean, I am not damaging my liver with a quart of JD per day, but what I am consuming surely cannot be helping my energy levels and overall health, and I will pay the price eventually. I must stop.
However, like many other people who once enjoyed opiates, I have moved on to another substance: booze. Fortunately I drink only beer. I hate hard liquor. But still, it’s not good. For the past 8 months I have been alternating between a lager like Coors or Becks and an IPA in the 7% alcohol range. I power down 5-7 bottles per night, 7 days per week. I have decided that this has to go. For one thing, it is an extremely expensive habit. I am not exactly buying a 12 pack of Natural Light. I am gaining too much weight, and I already have a mild case of fatty liver disease. Most of all, it’s just making me feel lethargic and unhealthy. Now part of that is because I have very low testosterone right now…probably due to the long term use of opiates (and other things – I may have always had low testosterone for all I know). So I am taking a prescription medication to deal with that (it’s very mild. The intention is to not make me into a middle linebacker).
How do you suggest that I get off the beer? Can I just stop? I can’t imagine that 5-7 bottles of beer per night are enough to produce dangerous withdrawal symptoms, but I wouldn’t know. I expect most of the withdrawals to be psychologically oriented. I know I will miss the ritual of getting home from work and popping open a bottle of Coors. The other thing is that beer has a lot of calories when you add up 5-7 bottles with half of them being IPA’s. I have been eating a relatively healthy diet, but I am going to be seeing a huge cut in calories, so I am worried about that…..that I will be hungry all the time.
I appreciate any advice that you might have. Thanks. I have had some people tell me that within 2 weeks I will be feeling a lot better. I mean, I am not damaging my liver with a quart of JD per day, but what I am consuming surely cannot be helping my energy levels and overall health, and I will pay the price eventually. I must stop.