First Army Thread of 2015

[JackieClaire]

This time around the doctor wouldn't prescribe them...........got them in the past and did exactly what you did, Molls. He told me to look for more natural remedies...........I suppose it gave me something to do on my sleepless nights.........and I do sometimes resort to OTC Boots sleepy sleepy stuff............Nytol can make me feel hungover.

But I've always been a very odd sleeper even from childhood.

[NoSugar]

Gosh, Shambles, everyone is probably pretty mad at you for asking :egad:. (Just kidding, I won't go on and on).

Minimizing added sugar is good in general and especially for addicts.

Added sugar activates the same part of the brain that alcohol does. The mechanism differs but the outcomes are similar. So, while eating sugary foods can suppress the desire to drink, it can keep the craving pathway alive. The critical thing we need to do is "rewire" our brain and not keep that circuit active. This is why taking one drug can easily lead to another -- your brain wants that "hit" and will get it however you allow it. Sugar is a better option than alcohol for us, of course, but if you can get rid of both, more complete healing can occur. You crave both in response to hypoglycemia (which occurs in response to too much sugar or alcohol - starting the cycle all over again). I used to deliberately not eat for much of the day, making myself hypoglycemic and increasing the reward value of that first glass of wine. Crazy. Keep yourself full on high quality protein, fat, vegetables, etc. and you'll probably not crave either alcohol or sugar. If you do, L-glutamine can be used for both sugar and alcohol cravings.

Another issue is that the fructose part of sugar (sucrose which is made from glucose and fructose) is toxic in excess in the same manner as alcohol. Both can result in insulin resistance and its many consequences including weight gain (particularly the worst kind of fat around the abdomen), fatty liver (which ultimately can become cirrhotic), and liver damage as assessed by the enzymes.

There is a great deal of information in the links in this thread: https://www.mywayout.org/community/sh...ight=doggygirl.

I wanted to mention how great you sound - I thought you had been AF for much longer than you have. It sounds like you've done the work to really get your head in the right place!

[JackieClaire]

oooh I'm about to eat some high quality protein (roast beef) and a load of veg...........:applouse:

[NoSugar]

Another factoid: the sleeplessness of the early AF days makes total sense in light of another screwed up neurotransmitter (dopamine is the main one messed up by the sugar/AL thing). This one is GABA, the neurotransmitter that relaxes us (and that is released in response to drinking). Well, while we're drinking, we are very very relaxed thanks to the depressant we're chugging and so our brains sensibly reduce the number of GABA receptors (in a desperate attempt to keep us a little alert). When we take away the AL, it takes awhile for the receptors to be upregulated (without the receptor, it doesn't matter how much GABA is floating around --- we're not getting the message to calm down). So... we're over-stimulated in early sobriety, making falling (or for some, staying) asleep difficult, and making some of us anxious or agitated.

For me, understanding why everything was happening and knowing that it would pass made the whole thing a lot less scary and easier to be patient about.

[shambles70]

That's very interesting and good to know, NoSugar, thanks for posting for a noob like me. I'll research it further. Educating myself has been an essential part of quitting. TBH I've just been putting whatever food feels good into my body over the last 11 days, both healthy and...erm...differently healthy.

I do feel like my head is in the right place...as right as my head can be, anyway :stupid:...as Molly said, I'm not giving up anything, and gaining everything.

I'm going in for a (gentler) movie now. I'll probably be back, but if not, a good night to you all...and power to all the folks going back to work tomorrow. It's been great hanging round here lately.

[satz123]

well so much for me going to bed --- forgot there was a programme on the tele tonight that I must see so still up --- Joe's gone to bed and it's lovely and peaceful --- enjoy the movie Shams -- and like NS says - you really are doing so well --- we can make this is easy or as hard as we want to really --- trick is -- getting the head in the right place.... okay will be lurking if anyone's around and if not -- nighty night

The Haughey one -? am I right ?

[satz123]

Gosh, Shambles, everyone is probably pretty mad at you for asking :egad:. (Just kidding, I won't go on and on).

Minimizing added sugar is good in general and especially for addicts.

Added sugar activates the same part of the brain that alcohol does. The mechanism differs but the outcomes are similar. So, while eating sugary foods can suppress the desire to drink, it can keep the craving pathway alive. The critical thing we need to do is "rewire" our brain and not keep that circuit active. This is why taking one drug can easily lead to another -- your brain wants that "hit" and will get it however you allow it. Sugar is a better option than alcohol for us, of course, but if you can get rid of both, more complete healing can occur. You crave both in response to hypoglycemia (which occurs in response to too much sugar or alcohol - starting the cycle all over again). I used to deliberately not eat for much of the day, making myself hypoglycemic and increasing the reward value of that first glass of wine. Crazy. Keep yourself full on high quality protein, fat, vegetables, etc. and you'll probably not crave either alcohol or sugar. If you do, L-glutamine can be used for both sugar and alcohol cravings.

Another issue is that the fructose part of sugar (sucrose which is made from glucose and fructose) is toxic in excess in the same manner as alcohol. Both can result in insulin resistance and its many consequences including weight gain (particularly the worst kind of fat around the abdomen), fatty liver (which ultimately can become cirrhotic), and liver damage as assessed by the enzymes.

There is a great deal of information in the links in this thread: https://www.mywayout.org/community/sh...ight=doggygirl.

I wanted to mention how great you sound - I thought you had been AF for much longer than you have. It sounds like you've done the work to really get your head in the right place!

I am total awe of you NS :smile:
Just wish I could be like you and stop eating it !!!!

I can not have chocolate or anything sweet in the house ....... I will binge on it 'till it's gone.
Christmas was a challenge.
Just dumped the last of it in the bin ....

[NoSugar]

Just wish I could be like you and stop eating it !!!!
..

It definitely helps to have a metric. Seeing a high reading on a glucose meter is a useful tool to quit! It is a shame that that isn't a common thing in every home. So many more people are prediabetic or diabetic than know it. I'm pretty sure mine was AL- induced b/c no one in my non-drinking biological and current families has a problem. Interestingly, and this tends to happen in women, my post-prandial blood sugars were worse than my fasting one, which is the one measured routinely.

[narilly]

NS, deFinitely you are a wealth of knowledge.

[DreamThinkDo]

Morning all!

Who's back to work today?

[satz123]

Morning Dreams -
- one more day here 'cos I was working up to Christmas Eve and early last week too
Managed to pile on a massive 6 lbs over Christmas with chocolate and no exercise - NEVER did that with the grog :egad:

[satz123]

Is it any wonder.
I'm still in the feckin bed.....
It's all or nothing with me - no middle ground

[satz123]

oops !!:horse:

[DreamThinkDo]

oops !!:horse:

me too, but just wanted to say the pounds should come off quickly once things are back to normal. I hope so, anyway.