Archive for the ‘Alcoholism’ Category
New and confused
Hello everyone, forgive me as i am new to all this and not quite sure of my direction.
Well i am on here so i guess i have actually acknowledged that i have a drink problem, big question is where do i start to solve my problem and not bore you people to death!!
I have had major set backs in my life and pretty recently too, death and money problems have contributed to my drinking. Its got to the point where i wake up in a morning and if i dont give in to my craving then i will be physically sick and shake inside.
I really try and ignore the symptoms but its just easier to have a drink and make it go away, its just like taking paracetamol for a headache i guess.
I know its not the ideal solution but what helps the craving, the physical illness go away? I try to keep busy and keep my mind off it but it doesnt work, i always give in.
Any help and advice would be appreciated
John
Well i am on here so i guess i have actually acknowledged that i have a drink problem, big question is where do i start to solve my problem and not bore you people to death!!
I have had major set backs in my life and pretty recently too, death and money problems have contributed to my drinking. Its got to the point where i wake up in a morning and if i dont give in to my craving then i will be physically sick and shake inside.
I really try and ignore the symptoms but its just easier to have a drink and make it go away, its just like taking paracetamol for a headache i guess.
I know its not the ideal solution but what helps the craving, the physical illness go away? I try to keep busy and keep my mind off it but it doesnt work, i always give in.
Any help and advice would be appreciated
John
Need some help finding help…
First off - thanks to anyone who takes the time to read this and has any positive input / suggestions besides “stop drinking”, which I already have done.
Some background about myself as a person and my relationship with alcohol:
I am a 26 year old male (just turned), and started drinking at the age of 23. Before that I had not had a drop of alcohol besides that found in medicines. Since the age of 23 I have been going out and partying a lot on the weekends, mostly every weekend. It has been constant, but I do not drink every day nor do I possess any “cravings” for it. Honestly, the only reason I started to drink is because I found out it made me more open socially. I do however go for the harder kinds of alcohol (mixed drinks etc.) and shots.
Since Monday October 20th I've been having what I now think are alcohol withdrawal symptoms. It all started after going out to party for my birthday the previous Friday and Saturday nights (17th & 18th) and drinking hard. Since I work during the week I don't drink at all.
I've been to two different emergency rooms, an internal medicine doctor, and a Neurologist. I've had a brain EEG, MRI, and MRA done which I was told all came up "clean". I've had many blood tests from all the places I've been to and they have also came up "clean". No one has so far been able to help or tell me what direction to go in. The Neurologist was the one that suggested I was experiencing alcohol withdrawal symptoms, and when I asked him what to do about it he said "stop drinking" and left it as that.
My symptoms which seem to be completely random:
(I always feel "something" I have never felt 100% since this started happening.)
Fatigue, I don't feel "up to" doing anything that requires a lot of energy
Death is near feeling (not joking)
Brain fullness (feels like my head is swollen & going to explode)
Pain in lower back part of head (not a headache but a shooting pain)
Balance issues
Anxiety
Involuntary shaking at times (starts in chest region)
Some days I feel like I'm getting better, then the next I will be right back to where I was. I have been taking Vitamin B complex and Vitamin B1 hoping they would help some but haven't. I have also been trying to keep my diet on track by eating fruits and cereals with vitamins and drinking nothing but water. Everything is so random that I really can't tell what is helping and what isn't.
Total alcohol abstinence from now on. I do have the family and friend support already to make sure that will happen.
But for now if you can help:
With all the tests I've had done, would alcohol withdrawal not show up on any?
It's been 22 days since this began, how long should I expect it to go for?
What kind of doctor should I seek for help?
Shouldn't Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome or withdrawal symptoms show up on a MRI?
Some background about myself as a person and my relationship with alcohol:
I am a 26 year old male (just turned), and started drinking at the age of 23. Before that I had not had a drop of alcohol besides that found in medicines. Since the age of 23 I have been going out and partying a lot on the weekends, mostly every weekend. It has been constant, but I do not drink every day nor do I possess any “cravings” for it. Honestly, the only reason I started to drink is because I found out it made me more open socially. I do however go for the harder kinds of alcohol (mixed drinks etc.) and shots.
Since Monday October 20th I've been having what I now think are alcohol withdrawal symptoms. It all started after going out to party for my birthday the previous Friday and Saturday nights (17th & 18th) and drinking hard. Since I work during the week I don't drink at all.
I've been to two different emergency rooms, an internal medicine doctor, and a Neurologist. I've had a brain EEG, MRI, and MRA done which I was told all came up "clean". I've had many blood tests from all the places I've been to and they have also came up "clean". No one has so far been able to help or tell me what direction to go in. The Neurologist was the one that suggested I was experiencing alcohol withdrawal symptoms, and when I asked him what to do about it he said "stop drinking" and left it as that.
My symptoms which seem to be completely random:
(I always feel "something" I have never felt 100% since this started happening.)
Fatigue, I don't feel "up to" doing anything that requires a lot of energy
Death is near feeling (not joking)
Brain fullness (feels like my head is swollen & going to explode)
Pain in lower back part of head (not a headache but a shooting pain)
Balance issues
Anxiety
Involuntary shaking at times (starts in chest region)
Some days I feel like I'm getting better, then the next I will be right back to where I was. I have been taking Vitamin B complex and Vitamin B1 hoping they would help some but haven't. I have also been trying to keep my diet on track by eating fruits and cereals with vitamins and drinking nothing but water. Everything is so random that I really can't tell what is helping and what isn't.
Total alcohol abstinence from now on. I do have the family and friend support already to make sure that will happen.
But for now if you can help:
With all the tests I've had done, would alcohol withdrawal not show up on any?
It's been 22 days since this began, how long should I expect it to go for?
What kind of doctor should I seek for help?
Shouldn't Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome or withdrawal symptoms show up on a MRI?
a new start for me.
Just found this site earlier today and i am very happy that i did. I just recently came to the acceptance of being an alcoholic and as of yesterday am entering the journey that is without alcohol.....or going to attempt to.
for me, my problems stem from overindulging. i dont' have a problem with daily drinking but once i start i don't stop. my body has lost that off switch. even if i say before i start that i will only have a few, that few turns into a few too many.
i find myself crossing that line way too often. that line that brings on the apologies the next day. that line that brings out the worst in me. way too often i have hurt the ones i love with drinking too much. blacking out and saying the most hurtful things you can say to a person....to the love of my life. the love of my life i am trying to get back into my life.
i read a post earlier tonite regarding Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and this explains me perfectly. when i am not drinking, things are great. but when i start, i am a completely different person. i think its time that Mr. Hyde leaves town.
anyways, its after 3am for me and i am pretty tired so i will probably read this post in the morning and it will look like incoherent babble lol.
Again, i am very happy that i found SR because i know i will find the information and support that i need here.
for me, my problems stem from overindulging. i dont' have a problem with daily drinking but once i start i don't stop. my body has lost that off switch. even if i say before i start that i will only have a few, that few turns into a few too many.
i find myself crossing that line way too often. that line that brings on the apologies the next day. that line that brings out the worst in me. way too often i have hurt the ones i love with drinking too much. blacking out and saying the most hurtful things you can say to a person....to the love of my life. the love of my life i am trying to get back into my life.
i read a post earlier tonite regarding Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and this explains me perfectly. when i am not drinking, things are great. but when i start, i am a completely different person. i think its time that Mr. Hyde leaves town.
anyways, its after 3am for me and i am pretty tired so i will probably read this post in the morning and it will look like incoherent babble lol.
Again, i am very happy that i found SR because i know i will find the information and support that i need here.
I’ll jump in here
Joined earlier today, and have been poking around a bit. Feeling like I need to reach out and connect a bit.
I haven't had a drink since last Sunday night, so it's a few hours short of a week. So, I guess that's a good start. It's not the first time I've gone a week without drinking, but it's rare enough that I get this far that it merits a bit of acknowledgement... acknowledgement as an accomplishment (however small) and more importantly, acknowledgement as an opportunity.
I'm not generally a daily drinker, and I've never been one who drinks early in the day. More commonly, over the past couple years, I've been a 2 - 3 days a week drinker. The issue is that, when I do drink, I don't stop. I drink until I pass out. It takes a fair amount to get me to pass out. If I don't have enough, I'll find myself walking to a liquor store late at night to make sure that I do have enough.
I travel for business, often for a week or more. When I'm gone, I WILL commonly drink nightly, although I tend to more commonly keep it to a pint of liquor (usually brandy). Sometimes I'll get a pint and a baby bottle, because I know that a pint probably won't be quite enough.
I have some experience with addiction recovery. I haven't ever used hard drugs. I did quit smoking, however. In that process, I joined a support group like this, and was quite active for a couple years. During that time, I learned a lot about the nature of addiction in general, and to speak eloquently and persuasively to others who were going through the process of escaping that addiction. So, I feel that I come to this with the advantage of at least understanding some important general principles.
I've realized I have a problem for several years now. There's a cycle with which I'm sure many of you are familiar, of waking up feeling miserable, ashamed, and desperate after a night of drinking. Of persuading myself that I needed to stop. Of walking myself through what I believed the course would be. Of committing to that course...
... of bargaining my way out of that course one or more days later, drinking myself into a slump on the couch and waking up in my own urine. Somehow, putting it that starkly seems to clarify the nature of my problem.
I've spent great resources of mental energy on this problem. I believe I understand some of the physical reasons why I can't stop once I start. And, I believe I also understand some of the physical reasons why it's getting harder to keep it to 2 or 3 nights a week. I think I have a tenuous grasp on some of the mental reasons I've refused to break the cycle to this point.
One thing that was vitally important to my recovery from nicotine addiction (over 6 years smoke-free now) was having some insight into the road ahead. Quitting was really hard at times. Having voices there to tell me how the hard times were temporary, how to cope with them, and most importantly, in concrete terms, what I could expect down the road in terms of comfort (as it applied to nicotine).
I'm at a pretty crucial point in the process right now. I made it to 11 days back in July (aided by a stomach flu that made it easier to turn away from alcohol temporarily). It's been nearly 2 years since I made it more than 2 weeks (16 day), and that's the only time I've gone 2 weeks in probably 5 years. I'm fearful of the days ahead. I really feel like I need some positive visions of life after alcohol. I need to hear that there really is comfort beyond quitting.
My wife doesn't have the same problem I have. She has a problem, but it's not nearly as severe as mine. She can stop... but she has a hard time going more than a couple days without though. We really do have a pretty classic co-dependency relationship. She's the enabler/instigator. I'm the willing participant when she pushes the "go" button.
We both made a commitment to not drink until Thanksgiving. I figured that was a start. But, we've made these commitments a hundred times, and we rarely last very long before one of us uses the other's weakness to jointly break the compact. Tonight, I felt like it was happening. I saw her at work (she works in a pub) and she said in a tone of voice we both recognize, "I don't want to stay in tonight, what'll we do?" I didn't have the strength to shoot her down, but went home, and worried about what fate would bring me. Was just about at the point of resignation that I'd end up losing my week of sobriety once she got home.
She got in, and there was a sporting event on TV that she was interested in. She watched it for an hour or so, and both of us avoided the elephant in the room. I worked on some stuff for my job, and she watched TV. I started cooking something, and that seemed to be enough of something for her to grasp onto that she no longer seemed to be pushing (without saying so) for a night out. I focused on the meal, and by the time we ate, both of us seemed to have recommitted (again, without saying so) to at least making it through today. We won't drink tonight.
That's the basics. As I say, I've thought about my problem a lot. I could probably keep writing for hours. But, I'd rather post what I've written, and pray that some of you have some encouraging glimpses at life without alcohol to offer me. The week hasn't been easy. I gather there are harder things, but part of the insidious nature of addiction is the fact that difficult times are obscured by moments of ease. We then cling to those moments of ease to convince ourselves that maybe it wasn't so bad after all... and so forth...
Thank you for your help.
RP
I haven't had a drink since last Sunday night, so it's a few hours short of a week. So, I guess that's a good start. It's not the first time I've gone a week without drinking, but it's rare enough that I get this far that it merits a bit of acknowledgement... acknowledgement as an accomplishment (however small) and more importantly, acknowledgement as an opportunity.
I'm not generally a daily drinker, and I've never been one who drinks early in the day. More commonly, over the past couple years, I've been a 2 - 3 days a week drinker. The issue is that, when I do drink, I don't stop. I drink until I pass out. It takes a fair amount to get me to pass out. If I don't have enough, I'll find myself walking to a liquor store late at night to make sure that I do have enough.
I travel for business, often for a week or more. When I'm gone, I WILL commonly drink nightly, although I tend to more commonly keep it to a pint of liquor (usually brandy). Sometimes I'll get a pint and a baby bottle, because I know that a pint probably won't be quite enough.
I have some experience with addiction recovery. I haven't ever used hard drugs. I did quit smoking, however. In that process, I joined a support group like this, and was quite active for a couple years. During that time, I learned a lot about the nature of addiction in general, and to speak eloquently and persuasively to others who were going through the process of escaping that addiction. So, I feel that I come to this with the advantage of at least understanding some important general principles.
I've realized I have a problem for several years now. There's a cycle with which I'm sure many of you are familiar, of waking up feeling miserable, ashamed, and desperate after a night of drinking. Of persuading myself that I needed to stop. Of walking myself through what I believed the course would be. Of committing to that course...
... of bargaining my way out of that course one or more days later, drinking myself into a slump on the couch and waking up in my own urine. Somehow, putting it that starkly seems to clarify the nature of my problem.
I've spent great resources of mental energy on this problem. I believe I understand some of the physical reasons why I can't stop once I start. And, I believe I also understand some of the physical reasons why it's getting harder to keep it to 2 or 3 nights a week. I think I have a tenuous grasp on some of the mental reasons I've refused to break the cycle to this point.
One thing that was vitally important to my recovery from nicotine addiction (over 6 years smoke-free now) was having some insight into the road ahead. Quitting was really hard at times. Having voices there to tell me how the hard times were temporary, how to cope with them, and most importantly, in concrete terms, what I could expect down the road in terms of comfort (as it applied to nicotine).
I'm at a pretty crucial point in the process right now. I made it to 11 days back in July (aided by a stomach flu that made it easier to turn away from alcohol temporarily). It's been nearly 2 years since I made it more than 2 weeks (16 day), and that's the only time I've gone 2 weeks in probably 5 years. I'm fearful of the days ahead. I really feel like I need some positive visions of life after alcohol. I need to hear that there really is comfort beyond quitting.
My wife doesn't have the same problem I have. She has a problem, but it's not nearly as severe as mine. She can stop... but she has a hard time going more than a couple days without though. We really do have a pretty classic co-dependency relationship. She's the enabler/instigator. I'm the willing participant when she pushes the "go" button.
We both made a commitment to not drink until Thanksgiving. I figured that was a start. But, we've made these commitments a hundred times, and we rarely last very long before one of us uses the other's weakness to jointly break the compact. Tonight, I felt like it was happening. I saw her at work (she works in a pub) and she said in a tone of voice we both recognize, "I don't want to stay in tonight, what'll we do?" I didn't have the strength to shoot her down, but went home, and worried about what fate would bring me. Was just about at the point of resignation that I'd end up losing my week of sobriety once she got home.
She got in, and there was a sporting event on TV that she was interested in. She watched it for an hour or so, and both of us avoided the elephant in the room. I worked on some stuff for my job, and she watched TV. I started cooking something, and that seemed to be enough of something for her to grasp onto that she no longer seemed to be pushing (without saying so) for a night out. I focused on the meal, and by the time we ate, both of us seemed to have recommitted (again, without saying so) to at least making it through today. We won't drink tonight.
That's the basics. As I say, I've thought about my problem a lot. I could probably keep writing for hours. But, I'd rather post what I've written, and pray that some of you have some encouraging glimpses at life without alcohol to offer me. The week hasn't been easy. I gather there are harder things, but part of the insidious nature of addiction is the fact that difficult times are obscured by moments of ease. We then cling to those moments of ease to convince ourselves that maybe it wasn't so bad after all... and so forth...
Thank you for your help.
RP
sober club
Hi, I am fairly new to this site. I have been sober for 17 years and for the last couple of years some friends and I have been thinking about starting a sober club.
I was wondering if anyone on here had any experience and input about how to start one? does anyone know if it has to be a non-profit org? And would appreciate any personal successes and or failures in starting one.
Thanks
I was wondering if anyone on here had any experience and input about how to start one? does anyone know if it has to be a non-profit org? And would appreciate any personal successes and or failures in starting one.
Thanks
not sure what i’m doing
i have not been here in a while so heres the thing, i was clean almost 3 years
(two years 10 months) whent on a cruise with some family and drank i stoped again a few days after i returned. i told the people in my support group not (a.a) and did not drink again till halloween night and that weekend and have not drank again i have not been back to my group because i'm not sure how i feel or were im heading. at this point i know that i can not drink the way i like too so i need to just not drink easeier said then done. i'm embaresed to tell my group and i'm thinking i should just wait till after the holidays in case i slip again...i know it's crazy thinking but my mind is just not in the game i think it has not been since the cruies. any advice would help
(two years 10 months) whent on a cruise with some family and drank i stoped again a few days after i returned. i told the people in my support group not (a.a) and did not drink again till halloween night and that weekend and have not drank again i have not been back to my group because i'm not sure how i feel or were im heading. at this point i know that i can not drink the way i like too so i need to just not drink easeier said then done. i'm embaresed to tell my group and i'm thinking i should just wait till after the holidays in case i slip again...i know it's crazy thinking but my mind is just not in the game i think it has not been since the cruies. any advice would help
Sober Time Question.
Hi All,
I would like to know this. --------- If my sober start was 24/8/08 and between then and now I have had a wee slip does that mean I have to enter a new start date?
I would like to know this. --------- If my sober start was 24/8/08 and between then and now I have had a wee slip does that mean I have to enter a new start date?
Today is the day!!!
First off I am new to the forum. I found it while researching onliine.
Its 06:45am...and the begining of a new day. I have been drinking way too much for approx 6 years. I has affected my personal life and current relationship. Has not affected my career that much yet.(thank goodness)....but I can see problems down the road if this continues.
Now with a new born at home, and a wife I dont want to lose. Our relationship has suffered because of the alcohol.....
Today is going to be my DAY 1!!!
I have tried in the past but only made it about day 4-5. I have to make this attempt different than the others!!! This one HAS to work.
I started out having a couple beer every night after work to relax from my stressfull career. Now it has turned out to a minimum of 4 up to 8. I am not sleeping properly and my mood has changed dramatically in the last year to miserable.
Today is different....Today has to be different!!!
Thank you to all who have posted on this forum. After reading for a few days it has inspired me to change my life.
I will post to let everyone know how I am doing. Hopefully everything goes well!!!!!
Its 06:45am...and the begining of a new day. I have been drinking way too much for approx 6 years. I has affected my personal life and current relationship. Has not affected my career that much yet.(thank goodness)....but I can see problems down the road if this continues.
Now with a new born at home, and a wife I dont want to lose. Our relationship has suffered because of the alcohol.....
Today is going to be my DAY 1!!!
I have tried in the past but only made it about day 4-5. I have to make this attempt different than the others!!! This one HAS to work.
I started out having a couple beer every night after work to relax from my stressfull career. Now it has turned out to a minimum of 4 up to 8. I am not sleeping properly and my mood has changed dramatically in the last year to miserable.
Today is different....Today has to be different!!!
Thank you to all who have posted on this forum. After reading for a few days it has inspired me to change my life.
I will post to let everyone know how I am doing. Hopefully everything goes well!!!!!
This new season of Celebrity Rehab
The other thread got me thinking.
I like this show a lot and hate Intervention for some reason. Maybe I like to see people getting clean rather than in the depths of their addiction. Maybe that's something that happens in our brain, we get empathy back. It kills me to see someone using, but it makes me so happy to see someone cleaning up.
I absolutely hate Intervention because of two shows, a heroin addict they found in a drain and the girl who was addicted to canned air inhalent (which I didn't even know you could be addicted to until that show)
Yet, I watch Celebrity Rehab every week religiously.
I like this show a lot and hate Intervention for some reason. Maybe I like to see people getting clean rather than in the depths of their addiction. Maybe that's something that happens in our brain, we get empathy back. It kills me to see someone using, but it makes me so happy to see someone cleaning up.
I absolutely hate Intervention because of two shows, a heroin addict they found in a drain and the girl who was addicted to canned air inhalent (which I didn't even know you could be addicted to until that show)
Yet, I watch Celebrity Rehab every week religiously.
146 days on the wagon.
Why? ... who knows... I have no clue. FFT rules.
