alcoholism thread [merged]

[n3ophy7e]

sorry to be blunt, but that kind of attitude wont help. as well, your genetics didnt start you on alcoholism. everyone kind of starts slow and progresses from there. otherwise it would be a crack like effect of wanting more and more asap without any control whatsoever. saying o well, its purely genetics i cant do anything about it wont land you anywhere.

im not saying its wrong to be addicted, its wrong not to try to do anything about it. (over the age of 19 in my opinion, cuz when your young its very tough to make the right decisions.)

Mate, have you read any of this thread?? Or just the last few posts? If you had been paying attention you would know that I have discussed my problem with my doctor and consequently I am starting naltrexone treatment, so I definitely am doing something about it. From your post it doesn't sound like you know much about alcoholism, or if you do you're certainly not being very sympathetic.
Also, there is extensive evidence to siggest that alcoholism is in fact hereditary, therefore having it apparent in both sides of one's family would indeed increase the chance of developing a problem with alcohol. Obviously there are other factors too, but you can't argue with genetics.

 

[usdathashield]

Mate, have you read any of this thread?? Or just the last few posts? If you had been paying attention you would know that I have discussed my problem with my doctor and consequently I am starting naltrexone treatment, so I definitely am doing something about it. From your post it doesn't sound like you know much about alcoholism, or if you do you're certainly not being very sympathetic.
Also, there is extensive evidence to siggest that alcoholism is in fact hereditary, therefore having it apparent in both sides of one's family would indeed increase the chance of developing a problem with alcohol. Obviously there are other factors too, but you can't argue with genetics.

guilty as charged, i only read the last few posts. i apologize for making judgments without reading all the posts. im definatly not sympathetic for alcoholics. i never said it wasnt hereditary. im saying its still an excuse to say oh my genetics were always against me, so i have no shot. thats just giving up.

im only speaking from my experience. i personally benefited from the tough love approach. which is weird cuz im a super sensitive person. but it probably doesnt work for all addicts. im glad you have a prescription tho, and if it helps thats great. as well know usually its your life and or emotions that are in shambles as in addict, and i always found that when i made my life 100% manageable, as well with my emotions that cravings were much much easier to handle.

 

[n3ophy7e]

You were an addict but you're not sympathetic to alcoholics?? That's a bit hypocritical isn't it? I admire that you got through your troubled times but everyone takes their own approach to things, and you need to respect that.

My "doomed from the start" comment was to be taken lightheartedly, certainly not to be taken issue with. Again, if you had read this thread properly you would know that I am certainly not being weak and giving up.

 

[@lterEgo]

Do you think maybe going to a DUI Victim Impact, or Alcoholics Anonymous would help?.

if you're getting to the point where you don't trust yourself to make the right driving decision after a few drinks, it's probably only a matter of time before disaster strikes. it seems clear to me that you see it coming so maybe one of those programs can help you take proper control of the situation. a little bit of effort on your part might prevent a lot of harm so it's at least worth checking out. where are you located? if it's even a medium-sized city you might have a number of different options.

as another approach, maybe you could try to drive less to the party spots so that you won't be in such a dangerous position when it comes time to go home. plenty of alternatives (walk, get a ride, bus, cab, bike, etc.) could effectively keep you out of the driver's seat.

i could use a sober partner too. i agree that it would probably make things easier. good luck

 

[Mantis28h]

sorry to be blunt, but that kind of attitude wont help. as well, your genetics didnt start you on alcoholism. everyone kind of starts slow and progresses from there. otherwise it would be a crack like effect of wanting more and more asap without any control whatsoever. saying o well, its purely genetics i cant do anything about it wont land you anywhere.

im not saying its wrong to be addicted, its wrong not to try to do anything about it. (over the age of 19 in my opinion, cuz when your young its very tough to make the right decisions.)

Thanks man, I'll pray for you. I hope you do the same for me.

Just be glad you aren't an alcoholic. It's not fun. I wish we could trade places so I could be a pretentious dick and YOU could be the alcoholic.

 

[n3ophy7e]

I wish we could trade places so I could be a pretentious dick and YOU could be the alcoholic.

Hahahahaaa

 

[usdathashield]

Thanks man, I'll pray for you. I hope you do the same for me.

Just be glad you aren't an alcoholic. It's not fun. I wish we could trade places so I could be a pretentious dick and YOU could be the alcoholic.

for the record ive been physically addicted to alcohol when i was 19. i dont feel sympathetic for any alcoholic or addict that doesnt try to get help over the age of 20 to be honest. and i personally dont have any sympathy for any addict or alcoloholic. my sympathy wont get you clean. the wd's were some crazy shit. i dont know everything about alcoholism, but i know the intense cravings and all the family bullshit coming from one where every male is an alcoholic in mine.

i still have my run ins with a 26oz of smirnoff sometimes, as i love drinking it straight. lol am i an alcoholic? i fail every test online if you google them, not that they are the end all for diagnosis. ive been to rehab. that was partially for crack tho.

i know im in fantastic shape, as i bodybuild, so im not too concerned. plus, the great thing about being a functioning alcoholic is that i can maintain my physique, job, and social status. this was not going to happen doing hard drugs and drinking daily. so i know im set.

anyways, i think my remarks were out of frustration due to recent dealings with my 50 year old dad who is pissing me the fuck off cuz he just isnat trying with his addiction. he makes so many pathetic excuses, too many to list to be honest, so i admit that i harshly through categorized all alcoholics into one bunch. jaded, to say the least.

that being said i still kind of stand by the hard love treatment, as it seems to be used for any addiction, as far as that show intervention goes....

 

[n3ophy7e]

for the record ive been physically addicted to alcohol when i was 19. i dont feel sympathetic for any alcoholic or addict that doesnt try to get help over the age of 20 to be honest. and i personally dont have any sympathy for any addict or alcoloholic. my sympathy wont get you clean. the wd's were some crazy shit. i dont know everything about alcoholism, but i know the intense cravings and all the family bullshit coming from one where every male is an alcoholic in mine.

anyways, i think my remarks were out of frustration due to recent dealings with my 50 year old dad who is pissing me the fuck off cuz he just isnat trying with his addiction. he makes so many pathetic excuses, too many to list to be honest, so i admit that i harshly through categorized all alcoholics into one bunch. jaded, to say the least.

that being said i still kind of stand by the hard love treatment, as it seems to be used for any addiction, as far as that show intervention goes....

I'm sorry that you have to see your dad like that. It must be really hard for you. How are you coping?

Thank you for sharing your experiences with addiction. But everything that you've said just makes me think that you, out of all people, should be more sympathetic than most people on here! You've been there yourself, and I'll say it again, I really admire that you got yourself clean. And not only that, but you've seen first-hand the devestating effects alcoholism and other addictions can have on your family and yourself. To say that you don't have any sympathy for alcoholics is extremely hypocritical.

But having said that, you have caught yourself out by acknowledging that you've wrongly categorised all alcoholics because of your frustrations with your dad. While this is understandable, you should perhaps be more careful in the future about what you post on a public internet forum. You might be offending a lot of people, and you might be preventing yourself from gaining people's respect.

 

[B9]

for the record ive been physically addicted to alcohol when i was 19. i dont feel sympathetic for any alcoholic or addict that doesnt try to get help over the age of 20 to be honest. and i personally dont have any sympathy for any addict or alcoloholic.

I recall you posting smashed out of your skull - perhaps everyone ought to have told you to fuck off - yes?

 

[usdathashield]

I'm sorry that you have to see your dad like that. It must be really hard for you. How are you coping?

Thank you for sharing your experiences with addiction. But everything that you've said just makes me think that you, out of all people, should be more sympathetic than most people on here! You've been there yourself, and I'll say it again, I really admire that you got yourself clean. And not only that, but you've seen first-hand the devestating effects alcoholism and other addictions can have on your family and yourself. To say that you don't have any sympathy for alcoholics is extremely hypocritical.

But having said that, you have caught yourself out by acknowledging that you've wrongly categorised all alcoholics because of your frustrations with your dad. While this is understandable, you should perhaps be more careful in the future about what you post on a public internet forum. You might be offending a lot of people, and you might be preventing yourself from gaining people's respect.

i dont see how its hypocrytical in the slightest. any adult fully well knowing they have a problem and throwing caution to the wind is denial and w.e else. i still blame myself to this day for doing that time and time again when i was younger. anyone willing to get help, then hey thats good for you im totally behind you. that being said, i honestly do apologize, it was foolish of me to categorize a very very large group of individuals.

i try not to think about it. i dont need the stress, and he clearly doesnt want to change. so im letting him live the way he wants too. most of my family is active in al anon or w.e and they all feel the same way. we arnt going to let his sorry ass drag us down with him. if he blows his head off from loneliness or w.e ill obviously be in a pit of hell, but its still his fault for not manning up and getting help.

B9, your not listening. i feel more sympathy in regards to youths with addiction due to the fact that its tough as a teen with hormones, decision making and what not still developing. and no i just dont say this cuz i was in that position. personally, as i have said before in this thread, i benefited greatly from the tough love approach. so the difference is if i did that now, you could say it simply to me: you can saturate in self pity and your own hell for as long as you want, or you can dig in your feet and fight for a better life. thats really the be all end all choice for any addict, in any situation. although pills can help with cravings, unless you make your life managable, your going to be miserable as hell still. you need to do x amount of things in order to wake up most days with a smile on your face.

1)as best as you can, limit financial stress
2)get laid as often as possible
3)keep busy, do extra schooling etc
4)keep physically active.
5)get a group of non using friends.

i still struggle with 5, as i only hang out with alcoholics. now i know as alcoholics most of us get slaughtered with depression and anxiety. i still battle with it today. but keeping physically active makes you feel better, and as soon as you see some major changes in your physique, our naturally self critical side slowly goes away as you get more confidence.

hope this helps


thats my personal list. yours can be anything.

 

[fordee_winks]

 

[n3ophy7e]

i feel more sympathy in regards to youths with addiction due to the fact that its tough as a teen with hormones, decision making and what not still developing.

I have to disagree with you there. It can be JUST as easy for an adult to become an alcoholic, and it can be JUST as difficult for an adult to overcome it. It can also be JUST as difficult for an adult to cope with the emotional ups-and-downs, financial loss/strain, broken relationships, career problems etc caused by alcoholism.

i benefited greatly from the tough love approach. so the difference is if i did that now, you could say it simply to me: you can saturate in self pity and your own hell for as long as you want, or you can dig in your feet and fight for a better life. thats really the be all end all choice for any addict, in any situation. although pills can help with cravings, unless you make your life managable, your going to be miserable as hell still. you need to do x amount of things in order to wake up most days with a smile on your face.

thats my personal list. yours can be anything.

Thanks for sharing with us how you dealt with your addiction. It's very admirable that you are able to stay sober now, despite the fact that you have alcoholic peers. It's also very commendable that you managed to do it while you're still young, before you became even more addicted and did even more damage to your body and brain.

But you really need to understand and respect the fact that everyone is different. We are all unique in the way we deal with our problems. So there is no one answer and there is no best answer for addicts, and you certainly don't have the answers for us all. You have the answers for YOU, and only you.

 

[Spurs_1882]

I have to disagree with you there. It can be JUST as easy for an adult to become an alcoholic, and it can be JUST as difficult for an adult to overcome it. It can also be JUST as difficult for an adult to cope with the emotional ups-and-downs, financial loss/strain, broken relationships, career problems etc caused by alcoholism.
QUOTE]

I agree. When neuroadaption has occured, when you're physically dependent and when your neural reward systems have been hijacked by a drug, I don't think it makes as much difference whether you're a hormonal teenager or an old granny to be honest. You've still got to fight against what feels natural and right to you, and that is going to be hard at any age.

usdashield- it's really, really good to see you doing so well. I remember you were in a really bad way at one stage.

 

[thujone]

i gotcha back usdathashield. we've been thru some of the same shit man and i kno how well that tough love approach works. am i taking too much credit by syaing how much i preached that kinda shit to you? i kno your path was a bit different but our conclusions are the same.

i find that people who don't understand, just don't want to. we have no sympathy for anyone else because we're disgusted with the amount of sympathy we allowed ourselves to claim. i'm sorry to hear your dads is still going thru this kinda shit man. i almost lost my dad the same way early on till medical problems gave him the option of quit or die.

in the end though, we're the survivors who got through it fast even tho we dove right into the deep end of that fuckin hole. i think that's shit we can be proud of right there. i have to give credit to veteran addicts though. there's usually some deeper shit that caused them to fall so far, shit that perhaps we can't get because we're young enough not to have experienced serious, scarring pain yet. maybe that's why our dads are addicts.

i won't claim to understand that pain, but i do know that the choice is binary. you can either be an addict or an alcoholic or however you choose to classify someone who's chronically wasted, or you can not be. the tough love approach is good because it seriously promotes your thinking to a whole nother level where you envision yourself being ABOVE that shit, and sooner or later it comes.

you've been to the AA, you know how it is. people will pity themselves no matter how little or how much pain they've been through, and it's the only barrier between them and freedom. for some of us that barrier is higher than for others, or wider, or just thicker to break through, but one thing i've seen is that the people who "try" don't amount to shit. the people who get up and tell themselves they're going to man up are the ones who make it to the cure.

 

[n3ophy7e]

Epic Fail

I was going to go to the chemist and fill my first prescription of naltrexone and start the treatment tonight. But I knew I had beers at home, and I was very depressed today, and I'm in the middle of a big party season, so I convinced myself that I should wait until all these parties and drinking sessions are over til I should start the naltrexone.

So I skipped the chemist part and got home and downed 4 beers as fast as a could.

EPIC FAIL

The new start date is Tuesday 7th October.

 

[Spurs_1882]

I was going to go to the chemist and fill my first prescription of naltrexone and start the treatment tonight. But I knew I had beers at home, and I was very depressed today, and I'm in the middle of a big party season, so I convinced myself that I should wait until all these parties and drinking sessions are over til I should start the naltrexone.

So I skipped the chemist part and got home and downed 4 beers as fast as a could.

EPIC FAIL

The new start date is Tuesday 7th October.

Hey, it happens to the best of us. Don't let it get you down. The first time I realised I was physically addicted to booze I decided to go on a binge before detoxing and taking a break, so I completely empathise, especially with all the parties etc you have coming up. You've done well to get the whole treatment set up- you've taken the first step, and pretty soon you're going to take the next step. Why not fill your prescription (if you haven't already done so) and then have the stuff at home? Then whenever you have one of those moments when you are experiencing the negative effects of drinking, you can start there and then. Just an idea...perhaps it is better to do as you say and have a set start date. Good luck!

 

[n3ophy7e]

Thank you Spurs

How are you going by the way??

 

[Spurs_1882]

^Well, it's now a month since I last drank, and I still feel like absolute shite as I am far from recovered from the WDs. My nervous system is shot, panic attacks are almost daily, I have bad muscle spasms, my vision is blurry, brain seems to be only half working etc etc and worst of all I sometimes get these attacks of vertigo which are very unsettling. I honestly can't comprehend how severe my body's reaction is to drinking, and how much it has changed over the years! Still, I'm gradually feeling better- I actually felt beautifully fresh, clear and healthy for a couple of hours today...it's been a long time since I last felt like that. As soon as something stressful happened the old fatigue and anxiety set back in though.

In terms of the future, I will probably drink heavily on Thursday of next week as I am going to Poland for the Spurs game and it is too good a drinking opportunity to miss. If I am lucky I will start a job I have applied for at the beginning of November which will make it impossible, practically speaking, to get drunk for a while because if I do I won't be able to go to work. So I plan to go from 2nd October until New Years Eve without drinking, get wasted NYE then have a few days off work to recover...that's if I get this job.

 

[drug_wench]

But you really need to understand and respect the fact that everyone is different. We are all unique in the way we deal with our problems. So there is no one answer and there is no best answer for addicts, and you certainly don't have the answers for us all. You have the answers for YOU, and only you.

+1 - well put

 

[MethaContin]

How long for Alcohol to kill you????

I drink a half a bottle of vodka a day, to 2 bottles a day, i eat nothing but ONE Popcikle and one thing of jello a day, beacuse looking at food makes me sick...............

How long will it take for my liver to give out, I try not to drink water either because I know that the alcohol will fuck me up more..........

So how quickly can one drink themselve to death?