• H&R Moderators: VerbalTruist

Alcoholism Discussion Thread Version 6.0

Status
Not open for further replies.
Can you go into a detox?
Or taper or use Valium......
I used gabapentin during my suboxone WD and it worked pretty well for me. The first few times I used it I literally fell asleep with my face in my dinner, but I got used to it and used it for three weeks.
Tapering requires a bit of planning but it will help with the WD too..
It sucks to be physically dependent on anything...
 
Hey B.L crew, I need your advice. Please.
Last night was the first night my sweetheart didn't have his regular amount of drink in from what I gather, many many years. He was a superstar through it. I could see his pains, from the physical to the emotional. He did have a glass of wine but from 20 beer a day for the past decade or more to one glass of grape, it was no small feat; and I am very proud of him.
My question is this, is there anything I can do to help him. Do I address how stoked I am for him regarding this or say nothing but quite silent encouragement?
again, going a night without his beer, well, I've never seen it before so this is new ground, a delicate day.

Any advice would be appreciated. please. How can I help?

kindly,
jgj.
 
In my case I like it when people don't say anything to me or be overly optimistic just be there when he needs you to

He has enough stuff going on in his head

But that's just me
 
Hey B.L crew, I need your advice. Please.
Last night was the first night my sweetheart didn't have his regular amount of drink in from what I gather, many many years. He was a superstar through it. I could see his pains, from the physical to the emotional. He did have a glass of wine but from 20 beer a day for the past decade or more to one glass of grape, it was no small feat; and I am very proud of him.
My question is this, is there anything I can do to help him. Do I address how stoked I am for him regarding this or say nothing but quite silent encouragement?
again, going a night without his beer, well, I've never seen it before so this is new ground, a delicate day.

Any advice would be appreciated. please. How can I help?

kindly,
jgj.

Just be noticeably cheerful around him. Try to make him realize how happy this makes you.

Maybe a quick little, "I'm happy you are sober tonight." and move on. Don't push it.

Also congrats to him. That's exciting. This is a big step, at some willingness to stop.
 
In my case I like it when people don't say anything to me or be overly optimistic just be there when he needs you to

He has enough stuff going on in his head

But that's just me

^This.

Like generic said some light encouragement and cheerfulness won't hurt, but don't get super ecstatic and act like he's done drinking - because with that kind of habit chances are he will get drunk again before he finishes completely, and if you are too enthusiastic about him being sober too soon he might take the relapse as a major failure and be really hard on himself for letting you down. Mostly just be there for him when he needs you, like generic said. Help him with basic stuff like preparing meals, getting him glasses of water and ibuprofen n such. If he's shaking and sweating bad a cold towel to his forehead might help, and at the very least let him know you are there to help whatever way you can. It's really quite fuckin' awesome that you are being so supportive, Be proud of yourself! Really you sound like a great person - your support will make it that much easier for him to get through this. :)
 
Yahoo

I'll say it again, quietly inside, 'YAHOO'.
Day three!!!!!.

So yes, he didn't drink his beer three nights ago but had one glass of grape to help with the shakes; the night before last he had a few but not his regular 12-20 and yesterday and last night, not a drop, not one drop. Nada!

I said n o t h i n g in actual words, just quiet support; didn't draw attention to it one bit, just let it happen naturally right? I don't want him feeling bad if he relapses but I am so, so very p r o u d of my sweetheart. I could see some fear in his eyes in some moments, like he lost a limb or a dear friend. I just held him when this happened without making it seem like that's why I was holding him. He rode it out like the star he is.

He was also proud of himself and I believe with each passing hour, his courage, determination and strength increased.
I got rid of any triggers, out of sight out of mind type thing and just went about things like every other day.
He did allot of pushups and went to bed early. This is a battle he seems now more than ever, willing to take on. For all the years I've known him, I've never seen him go a day or night without beer so this, needless to say, is H U G E

I know it won't be easy and that I ought not get my hopes up too high nor will I show my sorrow if he lapses back but he's doing it folks, he's doing it!
I want to thank all for sharing your stories, giving me better insight
.. I know its helped and I can't thank you enough and if you don't mind I'd like to give you all a big happy cosmic smooch from me to you. Again, I know this is something that will take time and he's worth every minute...

Today, another day. We shall see what happens. But I believe in him; always have, always will :)
 
Last edited:
^congrats to him! and to you, for being understanding and what sounds like amazing support.

yesterday was day 10 for me. i really appreciate your reply, GenericName12. there are aspects of it i found extremely relatable. i've decided not to torture myself anymore trying to limit. though the idea of losing friends in this process is terrifying. there is some distortion to wipe away there. overall, i seriously doubt this decision is going to negatively affect my relationships. i'll be a better person without it, and that's desirable. yeah, people think i'm fun when i drink. but they also think i have substance abuse problems. doesn't matter what substance they attribute the symptoms to, once those symptoms are gone it will be viewed as good.

are we allowed to vent about triggers in this thread? man, fucking media gets at me. not media that shows alcohol use as pleasant -- left that illusion behind long ago -- but film and photography that glamorizes destructive yet carefree drinking. i really like this stupid cartoon Archer, and even though it's the opposite of reality, their upper-class alcoholism is so fucking attractive. i know eventually it's no longer cool to not give a fuck about life. it's still very, very tempting. also, good beer. man, i was scouting event locations for my job. nonprofit means fundraising. which means alcohol. it's a bitch going to nice breweries, nice bars, and this week i actually went to some upper end liquor/wine store that holds sommelier hosted tastings in a private room. while i was waiting for the sommelier/owner, there wasn't anything to do but browse their amazing selection of stouts. rolling the bottles over in my hand and reading about what barrels were chosen for aging. but i put them back on the shelf after.
 
Last edited:
does anyone ever get scared of running out when, you still have lt least a two day supply. i guess it kind of evens out when i thiunk about how much of this suff i lose, but realy why should i go and get a 1/2 when i already have atleast a 1/5thleft to drink
 
o man, i always worry about running out even when I still have some. just wondering if anyone finds that being a pothead makes it too easy to also be a drunk. With pot i don't have to worry about feeling hungover since it clears up my head and stomach, however I feel that this is more detrimental than beneficial.
 
got so lucky yesterday, kind of. go picked up for drunk in public and just got thrown in the drunk tank, if i would of stayed down south id still be in jail for at least a few weeks.
 
congrats on not being in jail, glitter_kiss.

yeah, ikeibea, pot definitely makes drinking to excess easier. not only does it mitigate the hangover, but i think it helps a regular user drink faster and more without getting sick. though drinking for a long time helps with that too.

two weeks tomorrow. i actually dreamt about slipping up and having a beer last night. it was a summer and it was in a bucket of ice water. some really hoppy microbrew that i drank in one sip. and then felt horrible guilty about. dreamt about picking up at some point last night too. just a dream.
 
I finally plucked up the courage to admit to both my parents today that I do have a problem when it comes to alcohol. I'm so glad I have got this off my chest. They already had their suspicions, but at least its out in the open. I've just been on a 10 day binge and basically blacked out last night and nearly fell out of a window on the top floor of my house. My dad witnessed all of this. I've asked them for their support whilst I once again try to get sober. At least this time I'll have their support. Im just afraid that I'm already going to slip up again as i have the house all to myself this week and feel like i'll just stay home not go to university to work on my dissertation and get drunk. I'm planning on notifying my personal tutor at university about my problem. it is better that they have a knowledge of it i guess.
 
Checking back in. Not much luck reducing my intake since the last time I tried last year. Tho I have finally kicked liquor after some heavy drinking during the holidays that gave me some brutal hangovers and scary physical pain (just drink high-quality neighborhood beer or my buddy's homebrew now)

My hardcore alcoholic homie is a month clean now after suffering pancreatitis 5times last year, never thought I'd see the day.

I was alcohol-free Friday, day 5 of a psychiatric crisis. Clean & sober that day, no idea when I last managed that. Next day tho I went for a run, then drank until I passed out.
Thought I could start fresh today but had too much time to kill, and the lure of my excellent neighborhood breweries always keeps me beered.
At least it's A managable addiction for me as I no longer binge drink. I really shouldnt be drinking at all tho given my precarious mental health situation. Maybe Spring holds hope but I can't see much in my future.
 
13 days without a drink. I got out of alcohol detox last wednesday and I already feel much better, except for a slight persistent foggy feel in my head (alcohol PAWS, maybe?). Before going to detox, I had the most fucked up 10-day bender ever, during which I completely forgot to take care of my personal hygiene or eat anything. When I ran out of money, I ended up stealing hand sanitizer (70+% denatured ethanol) from public restrooms and drinking it as a substitute for booze (here in Finland alcoholic drinks are a lot more expensive than in USA, and the use of this kind of "substitutes" is common among hardcore alcoholics). When I went to detox, I was drenched in sweat, trembling and hyperventilating and I was immediately given diazepam when the doctor saw my condition.

I simply can't have a drink or two like normal people do, I always end up losing control and being shitfaced for several days. Alcohol is really a hard drug.
 
The rub on social imbibing is that it is social. That association may be the hardest to break.

I used to feel like going to a bar was horrible as an outlet, but I met a lot of interesting and erudite characters.

Later I went often enough to meet no one that wasn't a sloshed out brain dead monkey with only people to talk about.

If you are serious about turning around and away from alcohol then you need to stop feeling sorry for your excesses and just move on to another endorphin releaser.


Exercise will take up time, and provide you with a social outlet that is more manageable and physically positive.


I tap this out with a hint of excess on my breath, but that doesn't make things different for someone that is binging and is possibly in denial.
 
I finally plucked up the courage to admit to both my parents today that I do have a problem when it comes to alcohol. I'm so glad I have got this off my chest. They already had their suspicions, but at least its out in the open. I've just been on a 10 day binge and basically blacked out last night and nearly fell out of a window on the top floor of my house. My dad witnessed all of this. I've asked them for their support whilst I once again try to get sober. At least this time I'll have their support. Im just afraid that I'm already going to slip up again as i have the house all to myself this week and feel like i'll just stay home not go to university to work on my dissertation and get drunk. I'm planning on notifying my personal tutor at university about my problem. it is better that they have a knowledge of it i guess.

Good on you! Support helps greatly. Yes, sharing with your personal tutor may help as well. Get it all out there, you've nothing to hide. Getting out of denial mode is key from what I've read.
Nice to read of someone dealing with this head on.
good luck and power to you
 
18 days.

that's rough polymath. you have large incentive to quit drinking. i'm sure drinking soap from public restrooms is not your low, but is more than enough reason. congrats on over 2 weeks.

that's great that you have your parents' support, x2theC.

Silver, how is spring gonna help you quit drinking? holy smokes, i am wondering how the fuck i am going to get through spring. my porch was built for beer. but i'll be good.

i recently told my long-time drinking buddy that i don't anymore. he responded "that's awesome." he's a really good friend. that doesn't mean that's all gravy. a little later he said, "wait, but you're gonna drink at ****'s wedding, right?" na buddy. a lot of my friends will have that reaction. giving up alcohol is something positive, until it's time to drink.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top