Alcohol Alcohol Megathread

[Lucy20]

Congratulations on quitting so much. You got this no problem. Your taper sounds good because just quitting cold Turkey from booze can kill you. Legal drug but so damaging.
My uncle is a bad alcoholic (30 years/a bottle of vodka every day) and he did a taper with an addiction specialist and they also gave him Baclofen for cravings.
He found them work well and hasn't drank in 2 years.
You got a great head on your shoulders and a support system so you will be fine. I would inquire about baclofen though
Best of luck

 

[Wiserthanearlier]

Thanks all so much for the reassurance!

I have been concerned about severity of withdrawals and glad to hear i am unlikely to combat more than psychological challenges.

So i am now below a bottle of wine consumed. (Last night was about 4/5 as planned)
Since i have reduced from about 1.5 bottle to 1 bottle (thursday was first night of reducing) i have remembered my dreams every night. I used to remember them perhaps once a week

I will stay on 4/5 until Thursday night then onto somewhere around 3/4 or 1/2.
I do need to occupy myself in the evening better, the hobby suggestion is good idea. Need some good books to start!

Again thanks for support, i know its not a glamorous topic for this forum.

 

[jose ribas da silva]

man, that's the same old song and dance

Life sucks for most of us. We need something to relieve the pain, to take it away.

Some of us can get this relief from human relations or whatever else, others cannot. Those who cannot, they are not losers, life is a matter of luck as well. Life is not deterministic is probabilistic. In this probabilistic game, we are playing Russian roulette daily, we can be dead in the next second and everything is finished.

My point is the following

I have been addicted to alcohol and benzos, including the addiction of taking them together. I was looking forward to this moment all day.

Even on cocaine from morning till night, I was looking forward to that benzo/alcohol moment because I could not have them at my work. Along with alcohol, benzos, and cocaine, of course, there were tons of weed.

My daily recipe was, more or less, 1-2 g of cocaine, 10-15 beers, 3 mg of oxazepam, 3-5 g of weed

I have started like you, looking forward to something at the end of the day, because life sucks! My life, your life, one life, y'know? We are out of the luck's spectrum. There is no pot of gold at the rainbow's end, there is a pot of shit over there.

the solution?

Man, you can be strong enough to change your mindset and if you can achieve this, bang, your problem is solved.

On the other hand, if you are an ordinary human being or a specie of metamorphosed (through cowardice) human being-rat, first of all, it is needed to identify which are your triggers, why do you do drugs? Why are you addicted? The answers are very specific to each of us, you will need to find your answers. It may be something related to your family, childhood, frustrations with sex, traumas, absence of friends, finances, jobs (or lack thereof), and so on.

So once you figure out which are the triggers, you have your whole life to work on them at the same time that cravings for drugs are kicking your door down. And you need to be strong enough to stay clean and fight your fears.

Peace and Love.

 

[Lucy20]

Thanks all so much for the reassurance!

I have been concerned about severity of withdrawals and glad to hear i am unlikely to combat more than psychological challenges.

So i am now below a bottle of wine consumed. (Last night was about 4/5 as planned)
Since i have reduced from about 1.5 bottle to 1 bottle (thursday was first night of reducing) i have remembered my dreams every night. I used to remember them perhaps once a week

I will stay on 4/5 until Thursday night then onto somewhere around 3/4 or 1/2.
I do need to occupy myself in the evening better, the hobby suggestion is good idea. Need some good books to start!

Again thanks for support, i know its not a glamorous topic for this forum.

Any topic is glamorous here . Im happy things are going good . After drugs i had a hard time finding a hobby because getting drugs and getting high was my hobby my whole adult life. Im learning guitar so its ok. It is hard to retrain our brains but not impossible

 

[Wiserthanearlier]

Thanks and completely agree.
Im fortunate fo time this around commencing a new job so forming new patterns is a bit easier right now.

Quiting cathinones, that was tough, if i didnt have a family i doubt that wouldve been as easy.
Im reading a bit, still not sure about a new hobby. Middle of winter right now too so that makes it bit harder too.
Still, im doing well and am in very good spirits. 3/4 a bottle starts tonight.

Next week down to half on Monday night!

 

[axe battler]

Well done, you can do it! You could probably try having a night off at this stage to be honest, but if that sounds unbearable at this stage, don't push yourself too hard!

 

[Gaffy]

Lived of beer and ritalin for 3 weeks, actually gained wheight (I was very skinny at the time), so yeah, if it's not pure EtOH (that still can be used while in ketogenesis as a Energy source) your drinks probably provide nutrition.

 

[Lucy20]

Your doing awesome, the job will help keep your mind occupied

 

[ChemicallyEnhanced]

The NHS recommends cutting down by 2 units a day but that's enough so you don't seizure,
My alcohol specialist nurse cut me down by 3 units once a week (until the last 10 which we did 1 a day) and it worked a charm. She told me she's never had a patient seizure or complain of discomfort doing it this way.

Oh, and congrats! (y)
What you've done in really impressive! I lived with my parents at the time and had my dad wake me up at 6am each day with that days number of units.
IMO alcohol id the worst of all the withdrawals. Even worse than opioids.

 

[ChemicallyEnhanced]

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?

100% no. BIG BIG NO. At my worst I was drinking up to 3600 calories of wine a day (I ate a little sometimes so lets call it 4000). I weighed 97lb and was actually losing ~0.5lb a week. So the calories cant work because there's no way in hell you can be under 100lb and losing on 4000calories a day.

 

[ChemicallyEnhanced]

Lived of beer and ritalin for 3 weeks, actually gained wheight (I was very skinny at the time), so yeah, if it's not pure EtOH (that still can be used while in ketogenesis as a Energy source) your drinks probably provide nutrition.

You literally can live on nothing but alcohol (until you die or liver disease or similar). Alcohol contains all of the minerals necessary to sustain life in humans.

 

[Nicomorphinist]

If the body has a given number of surplus joules/calories or whatever of chemical energy floating around it is going to store it, the most efficient method being fat, correct? At the point this becomes necessary and possible, it must not make that much difference whether it came from a head of lettuce, an IV drip of glucose, a tumbler of vodka, a 40-Ouncer of malt liquor, a handful of cane sugar right out of the bag, an entire 24-pack of beer, or a measuring cup full of lard.

If I am not mistaken, a lot of the pressure behind listing fats on food labels had to do with the dawning of the realisation of the contribution of some kinds of fat, in the final analysis, to hyperlipidaemia and possible coronary artery disease. If one is on a diet regimen to lose or gain weight, the relevance of absolute and relative quantities of carbohydrates and fats and such things is a more complicated and subtle issue, no? It is not like carbohydrates are turned into heat or pissed out and fats go right on to the thighs or arse cheek.

So there are not "empty calories" from alcohol, it is just, if you choose to quaff an entire thermos full of Everclear versus a full meal of putenschnitzel, soup, rice and vegetables and so forth, you will be bereft the next morning because your supper did not have the vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients of the meal requiring more chewing.

 

[Lucy20]

The NHS recommends cutting down by 2 units a day but that's enough so you don't seizure,
My alcohol specialist nurse cut me down by 3 units once a week (until the last 10 which we did 1 a day) and it worked a charm. She told me she's never had a patient seizure or complain of discomfort doing it this way.

Oh, and congrats! (y)
What you've done in really impressive! I lived with my parents at the time and had my dad wake me up at 6am each day with that days number of units.
IMO alcohol id the worst of all the withdrawals. Even worse than opioids.

I live in eastern Europe and sadly i have many family members addicted to alcohol. I would get beat for smoking weed and my father made me drink a bottle of vodka at 12 because "i would like it and not need drugs. Thanks dad lol
Alcohol is more damaging thdn any other drug, well besides krocodil and methamphetamines .
Im so happy you are doing well and have a proper medical professional help you.
Just remember now your starting a new chapter in your life and at first you will be bored but in a few months you will probably be like me and laugh at yourself for not doing it quicker lol
Keep us updated on your progress, im very proud of you, i know its not easy but your doing it. You should be very proud of yourself

 

[ChemicallyEnhanced]

I'm actually three years sober from alcohol, but thanks anyway
^I'm sober, but not clean: I've been addicted to prescription meds for 7 years now. It started innocently with Sertraline (I have psychotic depression) and that worked so well I wanted to try an anti-anxiety med so they gave me Lorazepam. Then I got acute pancreatitis and spent 10 weeks on IV morphine and it all just spiraled from there.
But I love being alcohol-free. It's one of the best decisions I've ever made!

Are you still doing well with your tapering?

 

[Wiserthanearlier]

Thanks all for support. All has been going well but tonight (saturday) has been tough. I have consumed a full bottle of wine tonight. (8 units)

Im not upset, i know some weekends will be especially tough.
I will be back to 3/4 a bottle but monday night.
Will reduce to somewhere close to 1/2 bottle tuesday night.

Updates will follow but again, sincere appreciation for all the support.

 

[Wiserthanearlier]

Update.

Had some difficult news from drs about my son. We have been in shock but now worked through it.
We csn work though and manage and even mitigate our challenge. But last two days i have stepped back. Over 1 bottle of wine agsin last two nights.

Back to work tomorrow and will be focused again on reducing my alcohol.
4/5 of a bottle tomorrow at most!! Maybe 3/4.

Next tues or wed is now my day to get down to 1/2 bottle. (Again for anyone jumping in rather than following , this is in conjunction with sleep aids (doxylamine succinate) at so far only around 5mg nightly)

 

[Nicomorphinist]

A lot or most of the pressure behind listing fats on the food label was just marketing

They can just create a health fad out of thin air, studies and all, and then market behind it a whole new range of products to further their brands, as they can and do on the regular, present-day. "fat-free" was simply one of the first iterations of this type of marketing gimmick

A calorie is a calorie is a calorie but the human body doesn't break them all down the same. Certain nutrients are needed or if you get them every day from food and they don't hang aroudn that long then as soon as you start drinking beer without that mineral in it, your body starts being "depleted" simply by virtue of it needing to have some vital thing that it's not getting. The B vitamins come to mind as well as stuff like calcium. Also digestion is based on homeostasis

That hits the nail on the head -- I know enough about food chemistry to know that fat is what makes food taste good and holds it together in a lot of cases, so I had a bout of Schadenfreude when a big-time fat substitute, I am almost certain the trade name was/is Olestra, fell from favour and led to all sorts of interesting press when the side effect of Leaky Anus came to light. I for one am willing to be a guinea pig every once and again, but it seems like they were using the whole public to test Olestra without a lot of informed consent . . . Leaky Anus is a very high-impact adverse effect, well maybe not that adverse if you are out of poppers and need something in a pinch. Were I the FDA commissioner I would have, when not working on approving a water cooler which dispenses laudanum, issued a Class III recall on the stuff. Or Class II if someone shit themselves to death.

 

[Zonxx]

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

this is a solid taper, but having been through the rodeo myself, you sound like you'll achieve your goals but try not to use other drugs etc as a crutch either ^^

 

[jose ribas da silva]

I had problems with alcohol in the past, like during one year I was drinking 15 beers per day, plus cocaine, oxazepam and weed. I am clean now, except for weed.

For alcohol, the best for me was physical exercises. It seems to me that you use alcohol after your work, to relax and sleep. To avoid relapses, it is better to plan something to fill this time, on the contrary the boredom and memories of alcohol will kill you and make you relapse.

Try alternative ways to deal with insomnia, melatonin, zolpiden (at the beginning) can be useful.

 

[jose ribas da silva]

Also, it sounds to me that you are willing to taper as fast as possible, and I can understand that you are looking forward to this for a long time.

But, in my experience, you're going too fast, and maybe you're reaching the objective too fast too. Why am I saying this? Because this will increase the chances of relapsing.

First of all, you need to be accustomed to drinking less, mentally and physically prepared for that. Stay for a while drinking a quantity that is significantly diminished but still gives you pleasure, to be accustomed to it, a week or even more.

Be gentle with yourself, guilt and anxiety do not help at all. if you relapse, it is ok, just be focused on the ultimate goal and try to reach it everyday by doing the best that you can do on that particular day. If you cannot do more than you did, even when you did just a little, that's fine, you are doing something, preparing yourself mentally, all these factors are relevant as well.

Don't expect that things will be easy because they will not be, so that's why I am reinforcing this point, you must find something to fill the time in which you used to drink.