Alcoholism Thread v. A sober life is a good life <3

[Allein]

I never really got hangovers (been off the booze now for 10 days), not the classic headache nausea kinda stuff I used to get years ago before I built up a high tolerance to it.

I actually found that more scarey I could drink half bottle of whiskey of an evening and get up at 7am and go to work no problem....and did everyday.

Don't get me wrong it was playing havoc with my digestive system and whilst taking an prescribed AD I had an internal bleed which was put down to the mix of the 2. Luckily my liver tests have all come back OK.

As far vas benzos go tomorrow is my last day on a Diaz taper, I got the stuff in to get me off the booze and ended up on 100mgs plus within a few days this carried on for about 8 weeks before I sought help for both the Diaz and the booze I had carried on taking.

I never used to drink in the day but the Diaz was so esy to keep taking and it felt good to get some reliefe during the day from anxiety.

For what its worth IMO if you have one drug problem you are unlikely to make things better by switchign to another drug, full alcohol dependance is going to require medical help due to the health risks during withdrawal but those risks are almost identical to benzo withdrawal

 

[n3ophy7e]

randomness thank you so much for sharing your story with us I suspect that your experiences with social anxiety and drinking are much more common than people might think, especially amongst young adults.
Where are you at with your anxiety these days?? Have you ever had any counselling/psychotherapy to help manage your symptoms?

I actually found that more scarey I could drink half bottle of whiskey of an evening and get up at 7am and go to work no problem....and did everyday.

Me too man (but several bottles of wine, not whiskey), which is why it's taken me so long to finally do something about it. I've been waiting to "hit rock bottom" and it's never happened. Nothing in my life was ever negatively affected by my drinking so I never felt forced to do something about it.

Luckily my liver tests have all come back OK.

Aren't livers amazing
My liver function tests have always come back normal, much to my surprise and relief! I'm about to go and have another one done, as my last one was about 18 months ago, and I'm starting my therapy tomorrow so they want some fresh liver function figures. Wish me luck!

 

[cosmic charlie]

i havent gotten drunk in months
things are going well

 

[deepswimmer]

a doctor told me to quit gradually, otherwise you go through what a lot of you are talking about. I've quit cold turkey before, but it puts in your mind the idea that quitting is hell.

I'm new to this post. Quit once for 7 years. Went back on. Now off booze for 5 months. I've found the trick is to find something useful to do, or something to get excited about. for instance, I'm writing a novel. The temptation is to have a drink to help with the novel. However, I've learned from experience that the drink does not help the novel. It only helps you to write stupid, useless things.

good luck everyone. I feel really good now and feel for you. The first few weeks are the worst. Another doctor told me that it takes 3 months to get off the addiction. There's life out there and it's good life. It's the kind of life that you don't have to worry about hiding bottles and not being able to go out and do stuff because you're drunk.

 

[Allein]

I've been waiting to "hit rock bottom" and it's never happened.

That rings so true with me, I said almost those very words 10 years ago when I had my first serious episode with depression, up until then I had always been a very up and own kinds person, But had always reallied on hitting the bottom and bouncing back.

Then once, partly through drug abuse and partly through a serious personal issue i just didn't bounce back. it felt like I'd fallen down a well and just kept falling but never hit the bottom, that time I managed to pull myself out of it...there were other factors around the personal issue that pulled me through.

Last year I experience the same feeling but seemed helpless to stop it and that falling feeling came back except this time I lost sight of the light completely and found my self in dark hole fast coming to the conclusion that there was only way out, it was at that point i admitted myself to residential care.

My advice , for what it's worth for anyone who feels persistently depressed is to seek professional help, for me I was lucky enough to have people around me who loved me and took care of me, if it hadn't been for those people I would not be here now.

This time around its been tough but I'm not in as dark a place as I have been because i recognized the signs earlier, I now accept that my depresion and anxiety are long term issues and not ones to be ignored in the vien hope they will go away, or to be drowned in drink and drugs

 

[randomness]

randomness thank you so much for sharing your story with us I suspect that your experiences with social anxiety and drinking are much more common than people might think, especially amongst young adults.
Where are you at with your anxiety these days?? Have you ever had any counselling/psychotherapy to help manage your symptoms?

Thanks I think you're right, a lot of people use (or abuse) alcohol the same way for treating social anxiety. I was lucky to have an understanding doctor who told me to quit drinking and then gave me Valium. Although some might say he was not doing me any favours putting me on it..well I did have to let's say...twist his arm quite a bit! I did get a referral to a psychologist and underwent CBT and self-assertiveness training.. ironically it was that therapy which made me pluck up the courage to go out to pubs in the first place. Before I had the therapy I was pretty much housebound and completely socially avoidant.

Me too man (but several bottles of wine, not whiskey), which is why it's taken me so long to finally do something about it. I've been waiting to "hit rock bottom" and it's never happened. Nothing in my life was ever negatively affected by my drinking so I never felt forced to do something about it.

Wow that's a lot you must have a high tolerance level.. the problem really starts when you do drinking at home all the time. I never drank at home unless it was one beer before going out somewhere.

Aren't livers amazing
My liver function tests have always come back normal, much to my surprise and relief! I'm about to go and have another one done, as my last one was about 18 months ago, and I'm starting my therapy tomorrow so they want some fresh liver function figures. Wish me luck!

Good luck with that! You're right livers can take an amazing amount of punishment and recover if you look after them.. Milk Thistle is a great herbal treatment for protecting and restoring the liver after heavy drinking or drug use.

 

[SubDude]

randomness thank you so much for sharing your story with us I suspect that your experiences with social anxiety and drinking are much more common than people might think, especially amongst young adults.
Where are you at with your anxiety these days?? Have you ever had any counselling/psychotherapy to help manage your symptoms?

When i was in my early 20's my dr told me it's common for young people to be anxious and nervous.... and for many it's a matter of energy build up without doing much about it. I started taking tennis classes and learned to play well enough for it to be fun... and after 2-3 sets I didn't have near the nervousness and anxiety around others. He also referred me to a therapist who agreed that benzos[valium] wasn't needed unless I still had the severe social anxiety a few hrs after the exercise.... which I did but not nearly as bad. So I guess it's part mental and physical.

Aren't livers amazing
My liver function tests have always come back normal, much to my surprise and relief! I'm about to go and have another one done, as my last one was about 18 months ago, and I'm starting my therapy tomorrow so they want some fresh liver function figures. Wish me luck!

I get a liver enzyme test twice a year and have been a drinker, drugger, and had Hep B & C along with Malaria. The hep C was /is on borderline and considered neg last time I took. My liver was fine until the last test and when the enzymes were elevated but apparently no treatment was needed. That was about 5 mos ago and still drink about 8-10 oz of vodka a day. If a shot is 1 1/2 oz then thats about what I drink. Anyway, good luck and I will probably need some myself....

 

[RevDrucifer]

Welll, last weekend I decided to have a few. Went 10 days without a drop. Drank Saturday night and most of Sunday, then nothing all week until Friday night, which hasn't stopped til my last drink, 45 mins ago.

Haven't really been sober since friday night, as I've woken up drunk each day and just started drinking again.

I was stoked at first to be sober, but due to certain circumstances, I'm going to need something to get through the next few weeks...

 

[n3ophy7e]

a doctor told me to quit gradually, otherwise you go through what a lot of you are talking about. I've quit cold turkey before, but it puts in your mind the idea that quitting is hell.

I'm new to this post. Quit once for 7 years. Went back on. Now off booze for 5 months. I've found the trick is to find something useful to do, or something to get excited about. for instance, I'm writing a novel. The temptation is to have a drink to help with the novel. However, I've learned from experience that the drink does not help the novel. It only helps you to write stupid, useless things.

good luck everyone. I feel really good now and feel for you. The first few weeks are the worst. Another doctor told me that it takes 3 months to get off the addiction. There's life out there and it's good life. It's the kind of life that you don't have to worry about hiding bottles and not being able to go out and do stuff because you're drunk.

Hi deepswimmer, firstly, welcome to Bluelight
Thank you for sharing your experiences with us, and congrats on being sober again! I wish you all the best with writing your novel, and hope to see more from you around Bluelight/The Dark Side

i havent gotten drunk in months
things are going well

That is awesome Charlie!! Congrats man, keep it up

Wow that's a lot you must have a high tolerance level..

Yeah I know....it's disgusting. I always had a high tolerance to alcohol though, even when I was a teenager. I always just put it down to genetics, because both of my parent's families drink a lot too.

Good luck with that!

Thank you! Thankfully my liver and kidneys tests came back totally normal. Phew!!


My update:
I had some surgery 2 weeks ago (elective, nothing major) so forced myself to pull together 4 days of sobriety before having the general anaesthetic (so there were no complications....I'd never had a GA before so I had no idea if I would react badly to it).
It was all fine, but because I'd been sober for a few days I just kept going with it after my surgery. I managed to stay sober for 11 days!! This is monumental for me and I am still really proud that I managed to do that.
However, last Wednesday I totally fell off the wagon and I've been drinking every day since. So RevDrucifer I can really relate to your post above, as well.
Having said all that though, I am sober now.
I don't know what tomorrow brings, I can't promise I won't drink, but I will not drink today.

 

[**hAyzzZZ**]

I don't know what tomorrow brings, I can't promise I won't drink, but I will not drink today.

My drug therapist told this to me today, in regards to drugs. (Well, she was referencing an alcoholic client of hers; anyways)

It's great advice.

 

[deepswimmer]

The solution is to quit drinking.

Ah we come here to discuss the issues that we have and yet we recognise them and others don't and yet we are some how still short of a solution. It sucks to be an alcho

I knew it sounds cruel and unusual but what you are doing to your body is more cruel and unusual. Quitting is the cure. Once the addiction wears off you can get your life back together. IT's that simple. Either you want to do it or you don't. MOst people don't for long periods of time. When you finally quit it's a blessing. Do something with your life. You can't just quit and sit around.

good luck. much love. etc.

 

[deepswimmer]

Yeah, I've found that after hospitalization, either in for detox or for something else, in my case heart related, that I find it easier to get sober. I'm going on 6 months now. I was in the ER for symtoms I thought related to heart attack but turned out to be withdrawal from Percocet I was taking for bad back. Anyway, the hospital experience usually gets me thinking about my health. The novel is half done now. I'm tearing the siding off of my house and doing a series of oil paintings. Before, when I was drinking, I was slogging around not knowing what the hell I was doing half the time, waiting to get drunk was all I cared about. This is better! It's not worth it to get high. The high only lasts for a few moments and then you dont' even get off after that because it takes so much. So there you go, some rambling for ya, thanks for listening. Good luck to all of you Aussies. Seems to be a lot of you on this. Go wrestle with a Great White. It's better for ya than tipping the beer all day!

 

[SkagKush]

When you finally quit it's a blessing. Do something with your life. You can't just quit and sit around.

boy is that ever true.......sitting around and boredom have made me relapse countless times.......

 

[deepswimmer]

Good luck, man. It just gets better with every day. Physically you start to feel better and then you feel better mentally and soon you'll think you can do anything, which you really can when your sober. Keep it up.

Deepswimmer, from Boston

 

[deepswimmer]

Once after I quit, back in the 90's, I decided my solution was to learn the drum kit. I got obsessed by it. And that got me off the booze for seven years. I played in a rock band and then started playing jazz. Even got some gigs. A lot of jazz musicians don't drink. Probably because they're alcoholics!

 

[deepswimmer]

Build on the stoked to be sober part. I know that when I'm drinking i'm useless. So why do it?

 

[michael]

i went to a wedding this past monday. i had no problem not drinking (for the most part, anyway).

when i told my doofus of a cousin that i don't really drink anymore he hit me with about 3 retarded lines...aa is for quitters, blah blah alcoholics go to meetings, etc.

all i could think was jesus dude, grow the fuck up. i have never understood people who are not happy for someone that has managed to quit destroying their life with alcohol or some other substance. what a tool.

 

[Allein]

Just a quick update from me no booze since the 1st of July, its been a bit tuff and have had to take a bit of Valium along the way but i haven't touched drop.
I've started my CBT and am back on ADs as I hit a really low point abut 4 weeks back but overall things seem to be more stable at least and at least I can talk to my partner of an evening rather than sit there with a bottle getting getting further and further away from her world.

Best Wishes to all

 

[Cyc]

i went to a wedding this past monday. i had no problem not drinking (for the most part, anyway).

when i told my doofus of a cousin that i don't really drink anymore he hit me with about 3 retarded lines...aa is for quitters, blah blah alcoholics go to meetings, etc.

all i could think was jesus dude, grow the fuck up. i have never understood people who are not happy for someone that has managed to quit destroying their life with alcohol or some other substance. what a tool.

It really depends on your relationship. My good friends give me a hard time to see if I'll cave. I don't think they mean it to be ignorant, just for whatever reason it fits the male social protocol. In the end, they respect it if I say, 'no'.

 

[michael]

i don't think he was just breaking my balls. i think he was being a doofus.