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Alcohol Alcohol Megathread

alcohol makes benzo withdrawal worse. it’s not that great for alleviating symptoms during and it’s hell after.
 
Just as the title suggests i am deciding to get off my dependence of alcohol.

I was dependant on weed from about 14 to about 23 where i switched to alcohol. My dependence on these two and with relenvance to the post alcohol specifically is to unwind to get to sleep. This has had varying forms whether in my teens was to escape trauma memories, to these days allowing me to unwind from a reasonably high pressure work life.

I have also had otther addiction issues along the way, the most recent was about 7 years on cathinones. I am now free of stimulants for about 6 months and ready to tackle alcohol.

I am a highly functional poly drug user. I operate a technical job in a well paid environment, father and husband and no one knows my addiction to stimulants (was about 5 days a week usage) and my work doesnt know about my alcohol usage, however my wife does.

Im in a supportive enviromen and keen to reduce my reliance on alcohol.
i did quite alcohol for 6 days about 2.5 years ago with 5meo-pcp. That was some luck, but also applied use of a wonderful chem. When i quit, (i dont remember my taper) i did use doxylamine succinate to assist sleeping. I did this with discussion with my GP, he believed that was better than me drinking still. We agreed we can deal with me using that daily down the track.

However, given i quit using 5meo-pcp it wasnt sustainable. I didnt suffer any withdrawals at all although again, the 5meo-pcp likely assisted in many ways.

So my usage over the last 15 years was about 1 bottle of wine average a night.
Last three years this increased to 1.5 bottles.
So lets say based on averages my recent consumption has been 12 units of alcohol daily.

I know this isnt significant but the length of time is more so.
My plan started few days ago, i have jumped down to 1 bottle only for last 4 days. I feel fine other than some anguish with the task.
Tomorrow im dropping to 4/5 of a bottle and likely introducing 5mg doxylamine succinate to help sleep.

My the end of the upcoming week i aim to be at 3/4 of a bottle ( about 6.5 units of alcohol).

Then i will aim over next week or so to get to 1/2 a bottle (4 units). After that i am unsure as i will be super proud of where i am at. I expect to be approaching 12.5mg of doxylamine succinate by this point.

Any thoughts, feedback, suggestions or experienced advice is welcome.

Thanks
 
Sounds like you have set up a fine taper and at least you weren't at Delerium Tremens levels of EtOH. Sometimes people dealing with high level EtOH cessation need a mild long acting benzodiazepine, but this can spawn a whole new hellish addiction to deal with.

If you find that your taper is a bit fast and driven by enthusiasm, slow it down if need be. Sometimes going too fast can backfire in relapse from difficulty of a fast taper. Doxylamine sounds fairly good and if you are in the states, Melatonin can be a big help too. If you visit health food or supplement stores, Valerian Root extract works like a mild sedative with zero abuse liability and is another good option if insomnia plagues you for awhile.

Keep up the Good Work WtE!
 
Thanks a lot. I do have melatonin on hand although i have never used it nor sure really how too.
I will get some valerian, great point.

What am i to expect?
Just boredom mainly as i lower the consumption?
Do withdrawals only apply after after complete cessation?
Am i low risk for withdrawals given the moderate consumption despite the length of use?
Im confident down to half a bottle (4 units) but not sure beyond... same deal, continue taper i guess?

Been a Long time facing this bad habit.
 
thanks

do you think that the lack of clonazepam in my system is causing me to crave alcohol? i can usually go a few weeks easily but this last week it's all i want to do.
 
I've been addicted to alcohol and benzos for years. Take it from me, adding alcohol will not make it better. In fact it'll make it worse. If you have to come off both one day god help you.
 
Yes, you're now a seasoned alcoholic. You're addicted to gaba so alcohol or other benzo's will temporarily alleviate the withdrawal.
 
Ok, from a common sense standpoint, if you understand how caloric content is measured, alcohol will naturally have more calories because of its energy content. But body metabolism doesn't work by just burning whatever you put into it. Alcohol is measured in a bomb calorimeter as approximately 7 calories per gram. Gasoline is roughly 8.15 calories per gram. Fats are typically estimated to be 7-9 calories per gram. Does this translate into energy STORAGE? Metabolism is a very complex process and in my research I have yet to find a mechanism by which the calories in alcohol are effectively stored as fat. Carbohydrates, while measured at an average of 4 calories per gram, contribute to weight gain because of how the body metabolizes them, and can very well cause more weight gain on average than fat. There are certainly other ways in which alcohol contributes to weight gain, and many alcoholic beverages are high in sugars and other carbohydrates.

But is your body really using all 7 of those calories?
 
g0to said:
I was heavily psychologically dependent on having something, anything at the end of the day to relax me and chill me out
Click to expand...
i know exactly what you mean. right now im down to cigs and its not fun.
 
I know a lady who effectively "survived" on alcohol as her main caloric source for some months, with an occasional meal of shitty food - I hesitate to say survived as she ended up almost dead from C.diff and malnutrition.

Ethanol can be oxidised to acetate and from there plugs into various metabolic cycles. So yeah, it's a calorie source, but IRL most mixed drinks primarily derive their calories from the sugar used in mixers.
 
A calorie, is a calorie is a .....
Obvv sugary drinks will have more Carbohydrate calories and this will be specified on the back of the bottle.

Additional effects from the Entity of Ethanol can be slowed metabolism from the relaxing nature of spirits which can induce a state of laziness, apathy and little to no productivity. This is conducive to weight gain. Additionally , Ethanol is GABAergic in nature so motivation will be synergistically thwarted.
Chronic drinking can bring about water retention, Liver compromise; which can prevent clearance of toxic waste and will definitely effect your thyroid production. You should remove "eternal debate" as there is nobody debating the true definition, bearing and potential of an actual Calorie. Save a few intoxicated gentlemen at your local Brit or Scott's/Irish pub.

Ethanol effect on thyroid functioning
 
I didn't think so until I tested too large a sample of poppy seed flavoured homemade šljivovica in a bomb calorimeter and blew the top open and damaged some of the instrumentation . . .
 
If you are only drinking in the evening and aren't having the shakes prior to having a drink, I doubt you're in much danger of having DT's. Your dependence is most likely almost all psychological, which is just as difficult really.
Great that you're quitting! It's not a bad idea to reduce gradually, as your body will still be accustomed to having alcohol every evening.
It's important that you replace the alcohol with something. more healthy. Are there any hobbies you can use to try and forget you're not drinking? If not it might be time to find one, preferably one that won't neglect your family!
Good luck with quitting!
 
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