still scared of withdrawals

[beatle]

still scared of withdrawals

Dolly Sunshine;795745 wrote: I'm not going to make it a pissing match. The way I read it was it was 4 at the most usually 2. I have also been treated by experts and I don't think weeks nor months are needed here. All it does is prolong things.

Dolly is right here. But if letgo can do it, tapering is the best for the body.

And letgo, you can go a little more quickly.

[ladyjan]

still scared of withdrawals

Hi been reading thru and I agree with Dolly, cinders,sheep, Jackie & beetle,
your drinking isn't excesive.. I was drinking 1litre of vodka daily plus wine & beer at the same volume if I couldn't afford the vodka which never lasted long as I would do all posible to get it..(and I am NOT proud to admit it..)
even to steal it from shops much to my shame but at the time the AL ha d the control and nothing else mattered I needed it..
I would have loved to have been able to get down to the small amount you are drinking..
I did have siezures when I first stopped but that was after 3 times detox and too ashamed to ask for help again and tried to do it alone..I didn't know the abstainance was the cause of it and stupidly thought "
wot the hell I try to be good and this is what happens...." so I stupidly wnt out at 6am to a 24hr shop for a litre bot of vodka and drank the lot, so to be informed is good...BUT I don't think you are in the bracket of a risk..NO I am not a doctor but have a lot of experiance with the probs of shit AL causes..

I think either you are not being truthful amount you drink, coz you would NOT have the such bad hangovers etc that you say and it wouldn't be that difficult to just have willpower to not have a drink as I don't think you are at addicted to the chemical of Ethanol which is alcohol, you are just addicted in your mind so it should be easy to quit..
or are you putting your "symptoms" down to other stess problems and blaming the AL..


also as said before by one of the othere members "if you are so concerned go to your doctor"

please don't take this the wrong way but to give you some things to think about
hope you get to grips with it,
you should find it easy once you truly understand alcoholism and it's true effects and symptoms

[Marshy]

still scared of withdrawals

letgolaughing;795423 wrote: , I need advice from MWO because I know that you can help me. It helped me before in October.

Did it help you then? It doesn't seem so. I replied to you back then along with lots of other people saying you'd be absolutely fine if you just stopped, and since then you've posted the same question several times. As you say, it's an irrational fear, but it seems to me that you're not getting the reassurance you seek here if you need to keep asking the same question.

How about talking to a doctor or therapist about this? They can advise you based on your history and what you're drinking etc and maybe give you some peace of mind.

I'm not saying don't post the same thread another 10 times if that's what you want to do but you could waste years doing that, instead of starting to make progress.

I hope you find a way to move forward. You know, counsellors say that a problem common to many of their patients is a feeling of being *stuck* in a situation/pattern of behaviour - they can help you get out of that.

Good luck!

[letgolaughing]

still scared of withdrawals

hi
i appreciate the responses. i am being truthful about my consumption. i realize that the amounts i drink are small compared to some drinkers, but they are still more than i feel is healthy, because i drink daily. i wish i had never googled alcohol withdrawal because i would not be in this "predicament". I would have stopped cold turkey and not known that yes, there is a small risk of severe withdrawals with daily drinkers. that's scary to me. i feel like that would just be my luck.

I have talked to my dr about it before, when i had to have surgery in '08, and he basically waved his hand of it. that satisfied me at the time so i could at least not worry when i had my surgery...but now, it's a year later and my brain says, well, now, you've tacked on another year...i have also spoken to a therapist, which helped at that time.

same thing marshy with the help i got in oct '09 here. that did help me, then. but now, my brain needs the reassurance again, because it's not exactly the same as it was in october, i had only 1 af day in december, so that makes my brain scare itself again.

i came here because it pushed me last time to take the AF leap hearing from real people who have experience in this. people who have had drinks everyday and stopped. i know that each person is different, but when i hear from someone who stopped and was drinking a little more than me(or a lot), that makes me feel better and gives me more courage.

i'm sorry if my posting this question again and again is bothersome. and i'm sorry if some of you are put off by it because i seem like a wimp or something.
i am. fear is a big part of my life, unfortunately. i'm working on it, the first step being getting out from under the daily drinking.

thanks for listening....i think i'll continue to taper as some of you have suggested, and maybe go a little faster so i'm not dragging it out forever, then i think i'll take one af day this week and see what happens. and go from there.
thanks y'all

[letgolaughing]

still scared of withdrawals

oh, and i think i forgot to mention, Marshy, that the need for constant reassurance is hallmark for OCD, which is what I have a faint taste of, unfortunately.

[Marshy]

still scared of withdrawals

Yes, I can see you have a problem with your fears. I believe what you say. What I was trying to say was that it might be more productive to talk to a medical professional about this. When you brought it up in conjunction with surgery, maybe your doctor was trying to set your mind at rest about the surgery instead of concentrating on the alcohol question. Have you tried going to see him specifically about your alcohol intake and your fears about stopping, and see what he says.

You're not being a bother here. Post it as often as you like. It just seemed to me that you have been going round in circles and I was trying to make a suggestion about how to make progress. People often find that taking action helps more than sitting worrying about something.

[letgolaughing]

still scared of withdrawals

marshy..i understand what you meant. thanks for trying to help me put one foot forward instead of just retracing my steps all the time.

i appreciate it.

[Cinders]

still scared of withdrawals

LetGo,

I am glad you understand what Marshy was trying to say. I agree with her wholeheartedly.

Why don't you put a schedule out there and follow it? To the tee!!

Once you get all traces of alcohol out of your system, you will feel so much better.

It does sound like you are very sensitive to alcohol and your body is letting you know it would be best if you never drank it again.

Good luck on whatever decision you make. We are all just hoping you get out of the hamster wheel and sally forth!!

Cindi

[beatle]

still scared of withdrawals

letgolaughing;795904 wrote: hi
....i think i'll continue to taper as some of you have suggested, and maybe go a little faster so i'm not dragging it out forever, then i think i'll take one af day this week and see what happens. and go from there.
thanks y'all

This sounds like a great plan. Stick to it and you will definitely have little or no withdrawal. Also, there are anti-seizure medicines (like lorazepam) that you can take while detoxing if you are so worried. I used lorazepam on many occasions to detox at home (cold turkey).

I never had a seizure after the first time I quit cold turkey -- at that time I had no idea the two were even related! I thought I had a seizure because I hadn't eaten in 3 days, not because I hadn't drunk alcohol in 3 days.

After extensive research, I found out about lorazepam and got some from a psychiatrist for my anxiety (which I really did have severely).

After that, when I detoxed at home (about 2 million times), it was always cold turkey (I am not physically able to taper -- unless somebody else controls the alcohol).

I always took lorazepam for 5 days (the risk period) after quitting, and after that I kept lorazepam with me in readily accessible places (in my pocket in the day, by my bed at night) because I heard that if you start to feel like you are having a seizure (you get an "aura" about 30 seconds before), you can pop the lorazepam under your tongue and it will act almost immediately (maybe not stop the seizure but make it less severe? -- I don't know because it never happened to me, but I think that's what I read).

Anyway, I just mentioned it because you may want to get some to ease your mind about the seizure, which I am personally certain won't happen, especially with tapering.

Stick to your plan! You are almost there!

[beatle]

still scared of withdrawals

p.s. lorazepam makes me sleepy and sort of like a zombie, so I can only take it continuously if I don't have to go anywhere or do anything (which you won't be able to do anyway if you go cold turkey from long periods of very heavy drinking). For your case, I would just keep it available to ease your mind.

[6Katz]

still scared of withdrawals

Letgo - good luck. I understand your fears b/c I have them too.

[Jackie M]

still scared of withdrawals

Lgl-
I have gone cold turkey many times and never thought about seizures...until, like you, I read that it is possible. I've gone through the same thing after reading about diseases on WebMD (oooh-do I have Lyme disease, MS, Rheumatoid Arthritis?). The fears are unfounded but when you suffer from ocd and anxiety it can be very hard to talk yourself down.
Have you ever tried meditation or hypnosis to calm yourself? For me it was very hard to quiet my mind at first but even a few minutes of getting your mind to settle down can do wonders. I have also found that it helps to have calming scents about (there are sprays and oils you can use).
Once you take the plunge (and you can do it) you will feel so much better. I'm sure there are many people here who were terrified when they quit and are now leading much calmer, happier lives. I know I am.
Peace,
Jackie M

[letgolaughing]

still scared of withdrawals

6katz..sux doesn't it

jackie..yep, exactly..webmd and google are my enemies. i have tried numerous things and mostly, i can use the coping skills i've learned through those things. sometimes they work and sometimes they don't. it depends on many things. this one has proven to be tough. once i do it this time, i am not going to go through this again. it's ridiculous that i am having what the french would consider normal amounts and i'm freaked out about it. rationally, i know that. but, oh well, my mind isn't rational. what can i say?

i do have xanax on hand if i need it. i only take it occassionally, maybe twice in the past year. i don't want to trade one problem for another, and frankly xanax scares me as far as addictions go! my ocd could have a field day with that.

anyway...i guess i have a plan...i just don't know how fast or slow to go.
i had 2 last night....my hubby is going to be out of town tues and weds, so i don't want to go af either of those days in case i need him medically...which kinda throws a snag into my af day this week. then he's out of town next mon-thurs!!
i'm scared to go AF without him around.

so, should i try to do one af day this week when he is here...i'm having a hard time working out a plan. this is ridiculous...i do realize that.

[Marshy]

still scared of withdrawals

Hi Letgo,

Me again! So does your husband know all about this? If he's away on Tues & Weds, how about going AF on Thurs, Fri, Sat or Sun and going out with him to see a movie or something to try to distract you from worrying about it? Does that sound like a plan?

[letgolaughing]

still scared of withdrawals

yes, my husband, bless his heart...he knows all about my weird fears and my drinking habits. he supports me if i want to have af days or completely stop or whatever. he's patient, usually, with my irrational fears. he thinks i wouldn't have any issues if i just did cold turkey, but yet, understands my need to slow down first.

if i have 2 tonight, 2 tuesday, 1.5 weds 1 thursday, do you think i could go AF on Friday? without fear of a freaking seizure?
geez. or is that too fast of a taper.