I WANT IT NOW!!!

[Guest]

Well, I know in my heart of hearts that AF is worth all the struggles, but I want to feel better NOW!!!

I keep cajoling myself out of the rut, then lo and behold.........I slide right back down again.
Am happy being AF, and life is sweet......got big plans now and know I`ll see them through. Honestly do not want a drink........I simply want to feel better.

I have 4 major issues:

a) I simply cannot sleep.........have been on here at 4 am!!!
b) Feel completely and utterly drained, like how I imagine a frail octogenarian might feel!!!
c) Have completely lost my appetite and have to remind myself to eat.
d) I am still pretty anxious, although nowhere near the level of anxiety I suffered when drinking.

So I guess the remedy to some of this must lie in the supps, only there are so many of the blooming things from which to choose, that I find myself thoroughly confused. Also, I just don`t want to have to take a whole range of supps, mostly because they`re quite expensive and I`m using the money I save on drink for decorating and refurnishing my home.

Can any 1 (or 2) supps address all of the issues that are showing me the miserable side of being AF?

Thanks,

Starlight Impress x

[Niblet]

I WANT IT NOW!!!

Aww Star, do you take Calmes Forte at night? I do not but others say it helps... I don't know quite what to say Hon... Do you take vitamins? I'm sure you do... do you take iron? I sometimes get "tired blood"(monthly seriously almost faint) Maybe you need some iron in your rigemine.. (sp) Maybe have your Dr. do some bloodwork to see if there is something going on... I don't know what to say... do you take topa? are you just adjusting to the dosage maybe... I understand that could take as many as 3 or 4 weeks... I sure hope that someone else has some better ideas than me... I just wanted to do my best... Take Care, Hugs,

[Guest]

I WANT IT NOW!!!

I don`t take the meds niblet, or any supps or vits.........feeling like a whole heap of s***!!
Just don`t know where to start with all supps and vits stuff.

Starlight Impress x

[xtexan]

I WANT IT NOW!!!

Starlight:

For me, if I only had $10 to spend on supps a month, it would be the basics.

My core supplements have always been.

Multivitamin, generic brand (AllOne powder is recommended by MWO for this, and it's high quality stuff)

Vitamin C (I take 500 to 1000 mg every day)

Vitamin B complex (I take 100mg B-complex every day)

Extra B-1 (I take 250 to 500 mg)

Those will perk me up every time it seems. Booze will sap the vitamin C and vitamin B like nothing else it seems.

Many booze related troubles are due to loss of vitamin B-1.

I try to remember that of the trillions of cells in our bodies, it takes time for them to all be reconstructed by our normal body repair processes. Thats why it takes time to heal up. Nerves are the slowest taking many months. They need constant feeding with essential elements to heal up.

Some folks can take a vitamin B-12 injection, and be up vacuuming the carpets at 2AM they have so much extra energy. Vitamins are chemical "spark plugs" for your good food nutrition. They are not food in and of themselves, but allow your body to make use of that food.

Thats what I would do if I wanted to start with minimum supplements.

Neil'

[memarcie]

I WANT IT NOW!!!

Star is the cost of the supps that much? Think of what you would spend drinking? Not necessiarily in monetary values.

[Guest]

I WANT IT NOW!!!

Star,
I agree that the cost seems a good bit in the beginning. But, we have abused our bodies for so long, we have to give back what we have taken. I purchased the package for $145.00, it lasts for about 3 months...you may have to replace a thing or two but it will be relatively cheap in comparison. I was fine after that and able to move on with nothing but a normal multi-vitamin and topa after that. YOU may or may not need the topa, I am not sure of your situation. That is a personal option. The supps help replenish your body and get your mind back to a healthy state....BEST 150 bucks I ever spent!!! Get you feeling good so you can enjoy your new surroundings!!!! You aren't going to enjoy your new furniture if your so tired and drained and icky feeling that you are miserable. I felt like a pill popping maniac at first, but after about a week, I was sleeping good, the shakey icky feeling was gone, and life started looking UP!!! I was so ready to feel human again, I was willing to give anything a shot, within reason. Go for it...

[irishguy1949]

I WANT IT NOW!!!

Starlight,

I'm sorry you're having these problems. I totally agree with XTexan about the vitamins. I did buy the whole magilla from MWO, but the package contains much of what he lists - most of which you can buy locally. I also add the Calms Forte as Niblet suggests and the Kudzu. I take three Kudzu and two Calms Forte when I get home around 6 or 6:30. That usually calms the anxiety caused by not reaching for the wine glass first thing. I also take three Calms Forte before bed. That does tend to make me somewhat sleepy. That's also available locally and it's not expensive. It's also natural and non-habit forming, they even recommend it for children.

I think these will help the sleeplessness and anxiety. I too have a lesser appetite, but in my case it's a good thing. Finally the lack of energy - I'm not sure about that one except maybe a vitamin deficiency?

Hope this helps a bit. Oh, if you really want to sleep, the hypnotic cd's (pricey) will surely do the tric, lol. I haven't heard one from start to finish yet.

Good luck and Much Love,
I

[meditation mama]

I WANT IT NOW!!!

Hey Star..

My suggestion would be the following, and not too expensive..

1. Calmes forte for anxiety (just take a few at a time to see how you do, thay can make you sleepy if you take too many)
2. Melatonin (get the sublingual 5mgs) for sleeping
3. A good generic multi-vitamin
4. And a B-100 complex for energy
Then later, you can get the l-glutamine if you still feel anxious, but is sounds like you are doing fine with yoru cravings...

Those first four things will help LOADS and wont cost very much. I do a lot of nutritin work with clients, so I can say that this would be a good start... Hope this helps..

MM

[chrysa]

I WANT IT NOW!!!

There is a term called "dry drunk"..sober but miserable...I humbly suggest looking into meds with a psychiatrist/psychologist. You r brain may jus t be wired that way. Why go through life depressed. That will not work either.

Supps do only so much, actually in my opinion very little for brain chemistry that is really off-balance. Just my opinion.

[Change]

I WANT IT NOW!!!

Hi Starlight,

I felt pretty ordinary too when i went AF for the first time. I wasn't drinking as much as some people may have been, but i was up to almost a full bottle of wine per night (sometimes more, sometimes a little less). Anyhow, the point is i felt tired, drained and emotional when i gave up alcohol. I didn't take any supps, i just took the occassional vitamin B tablet and tried to rest when i could, although i think exercise can help these sorts of things.

Now, i am going to do some shameless recruiting (!). We have an exercise thread running on the Discussion Board... hint hint! (i hope you don't think i am being too pushy).

[YoungAtHeart]

I WANT IT NOW!!!

Hi Starlight,

I felt physically lousy for 7 weeks. Weak, tired, unmotivated, etc. At the time, I was taking a multivitamin, an RX B-complex, L-glut 1000 mg 2x day, kudzu, 1200 mg 2x day. I was also taking topamax, which can cause tiredness.

The tiredness lifted after 7 weeks without alcohol. I have also recently begun to take fish oil, 3- 1000 mg caps/day and MWO's Amino Complete, because I'm not crazy about the Allone. Both are very reasonably priced. I believe that adding this to my regimen has helped a lot. I have had a few blue days, but it didn't interfere with my work or family life.

I think the supps are well worth the money they cost. In fact, I'm having an attack of the munchies right now, and I just realized that I forgot my evening dose of topa, l-glut and kudzu; I'll bet that's why. L-glut has the added advantage of stopping cravings of several kinds, including food.

Anyway, that's my take on the issue.

I wish you all the best Starlight.:heart: :l

[karma7171]

I WANT IT NOW!!!

The best thing about supplements

Is that there is a whole bunch left in the morning no matter what you spent.

It has taken alot of trying to find what has worked for me. I am just now keeping a log, so that I can determine the ones that really work and the ones that don't. I do know that when I am stressed I don't want to wait 3 days to find out if it worked. I can ususally tell within an hour. Some I am learning that I ditched off the bat because they made me tired are the ones that really work well for me now. I read that sometimes taking a new supplement will make you tired at first...but after taking it three or four times you get the full effect. Partly for me...I think I was just so damn exhausted at the time anything would have made me tired.

I too have had sleep issues. I am still working on the perfect combo for that. Many supplements give me vivid dreams...which can be exhausting. I am stepping out and trying some that I was "scared" to take because I was a drinker. My logic at this point is that I know when I sleep good I drink less. Somehow I think its works itself out in the end. If I continually over drank my liver would be way worse off...then taking something for a few weeks and not drinking all that much. Just my opinion for now. Best of luck...hope that you are sleeping tight tonight.

I just remeMbered from my days in AA...they kept telling me that no one died from lack of sleep. I finally hit a wall and screamed..."YES they do! It is called falling asleep at the wheel...which I think I did 3x today"....no one ever said that to me again!" I know that lack of sleep can make you crazy.

Karma

[Kyna]

I WANT IT NOW!!!

A lot of the replies to this thread struck a nerve with me. I can relate starlight - I didn't drink for eighteen months, but was obsessed with it the whole time ... and depressed a lot of the time, and definitely not sleeping, and I would not for minute have agreed with the dry drunk theory ...

Looking back on it now though I think: hmmm ... Just stopping wasn't enough. There does have to be real changes... and your nervous system is a great place to start. Anxiety's an awful thing; I sympathise, as it's one of the things I always have to watch out for - it becomes like a default switch you flip to. I don't love medication by any means - but for what it's worth, going on Avanza has really helped ... It's indicated for anxiety, and sleeplessness ...

If there's any way you can, get on some of the basic supps indicated above. It's simply invaluable.

Failing that, have you tried a Kava and Valerian mix?
Best of luck,
Kyna

[lushy]

I WANT IT NOW!!!

Star, I agree with what everyone said here, esp., Luvuall. Your body is crying out to be replenished from what was drained from alcohol. The B vitamins are extremely important. I shopped around before I finally bought from here and I found these to be the best value/quality and they help SO much. Even if you are not a drinker our bodies need a little extra help because none of us eat the perfect diet day in and day out.

[secondchance]

I WANT IT NOW!!!

Star...I am with you...I have been a bit shy of 30 days AF with 2 slips (and minor at that), but I have yet to feel that well, HIGH I was hoping for after quitting drinking at least a bottle of wine for so many years I lost count. But actually, I feel MORE tired, I sleep better, taking the calm fortes and listening like crazy to the hypno cd's...and I excercise ALOT (always have), but I was truly hoping to feel way better than this. I bought the 30 day kit, and took it religously for the first 2 weeks, but felt even more tired (some people have the reverse affect with B vitamins) so I backed off some of the supps. So, I too am at a loss?????