One Step at a Time April

[NoraC]

Hello my friends......heading to bed so will catch you tomorrow. Goodnight........:fairy: the sleep fairy is here..............

[Rusty]

POETS Day, Everyone!

Big hellos to all my friends here and a belated and cheery welcome to Aihfl....so good to have you here with us! A special thank you to sweet Techie, and Stirly for popping in for a visit. Come back soon!

My computer guy has to go online with me in a minute but I will be back later.

[aihfl]

Thank you Rusty. But I've been here before under the username "Alky." I tried to log back in with that username but I guess the account was deleted due to inactivity.

It's back to the salt mines for me today after three glorious days off. The weather couldn't have been better this week in Central Florida. No Arctic blast for us, nor have we had the storms that have pummeled other parts of the southeast. Took advantage of the weather by cycling and kayaking. It's great to be back to my old hobbies instead of my other hobby which consisted of drinking and abusing my prescription medications.

Hope everyone has a great day!:victorious:

[Rusty]

Aihfl-wow, congratulations to you for being in recovery from two addictions...that is quite an accomplishment!!:yay: I do remember you from your previous posts. I used to "follow" you on a regular basis. I have a question for you...and it's going to seem EXTREMELY ignorant, so I am asking you forgive me in advance. How does someone get addicted to pain pills when they completely bind you up??? Seriously...what is fun about popping a Hydrocodone and then having to chase it with Miralax or something else that's powerful? Alcohol...I get. It TASTES good. It enhances a meal...wine with dinner, get a buzz, pass out, but pain pills...I feel no difference mentally and the physical effects are NO BUENO. Thank you for having the courage to share with us how your life had deteriorated and how you fought your way back. Please stick around....I think having you here encourages more guys to post here.

Well, friends, my pain is a bit better today. I got on the scale and no exercise for two weeks has meant 4 LBS were added to the scale. SHIT! Back in the saddle today, though.

Skendall-did you get the results from the MRI yet? I feel your pain...literally. You DO have a high tolerance for pain...I wish I did...I think I am a total wimp when it comes to pain. I haven't looked at your house on Zillow yet but I will. I feel so badly that you had to give all that up for your husband's "interests."

Nora-I am so proud of you! Your change of thinking with regards to AL is fantastic! You sound so calm, confident, and at peace with your decision to maintain the AF Life.

NE-Kudos to having an AF day and making steps towards finding a job! So proud of you!

Mama-sorry you had to fire someone. I am glad that your boss backs you up. What is wrong with people?? They just don't want to work, do they?

Pauly-I hope you're over your flu bug.

Liz-it sounds like Hubs' b-day bash was a complete success. So happy for you.

Red67-where are you, friend? Can you believe we got snow AGAIN!!??? I miss you.

Cheers to sweet Techie, Stirly, Mr. G, and anyone else visiting...so glad you stop in for a visit.

Off to get some exercise..have a lovely Friday, everyone!!

[aihfl]

Aihfl-wow, congratulations to you for being in recovery from two addictions...that is quite an accomplishment!!:yay: I do remember you from your previous posts. I used to "follow" you on a regular basis. I have a question for you...and it's going to seem EXTREMELY ignorant, so I am asking you forgive me in advance. How does someone get addicted to pain pills when they completely bind you up??? Seriously...what is fun about popping a Hydrocodone and then having to chase it with Miralax or something else that's powerful? Alcohol...I get. It TASTES good. It enhances a meal...wine with dinner, get a buzz, pass out, but pain pills...I feel no difference mentally and the physical effects are NO BUENO. Thank you for having the courage to share with us how your life had deteriorated and how you fought your way back. Please stick around....I think having you here encourages more guys to post here.

Thank you so much Rusty. I kicked my opiate addiction after a near overdose and my first medical detox. I found some of my dad's fentanyl patches (he had since passed on from Non-Hodgkins lymphoma) and put one on after having consumed a pint of vodka. I got hooked when I fell and broke my tailbone. All that can be done is to medicate the pain and back then, it was so easy to find an unscrupulous doctor who would prescribe opiate pain medication for the most specious reasons. Florida has since cracked down on the "pill mills" since we were the opiate addiction capital of the country at one time. What I had been abusing most recently was the Ativan (a benzodiazepine) prescribed by my psychiatrist for panic attacks. As far as the constipation goes, it was never an issue for me with opiates, I suppose because I was drinking AND abusing opiates, and alcohol loosens you up. My psychiatrist explained that we are all wired differently so drugs that do something for one doesn't necessarily do it for others. A girl I liked in college invited me to hole up in a motel room with her for a weekend of cocaine and sex and I HATED that manic stimulant high, but I was talking to a friend in AA who loved stimulants because as he put it "Wow, I can get shit done!" I'm a downers kind of guy myself. And as for the taste, well there toward the end, trust me, what I was drinking DID NOT taste good, lol. Occasionally I can still "taste" that cheap wine or vodka in my mouth and it makes me want to gag.

[Rusty]

Aihfl....ahh, Ativan...I had it in the hospital 4.5 years ago when I was first diagnosed with these herniated discs. Ativan gave me such a relaxed feeling, I don't dare be on it, because I would be hooked in an instant.

How much did you drink every day that you ended up with a fatty liver?? Was that a while ago and is your liver ok now?

My client's husband has been clean and sober for 25 years. He told her he can still taste cocaine in his mouth. BLECH!

[paulywogg]

Hey all,weird cuz I never liked the taste of alcohol! I only drank beer and these past few relapses I was drinking Bud Ice,homeless guy beer! Just to get the "job" done,I quoted job cuz I'm not quite sure what job I needed done? I know I never get happy drunk anymore so why bother? I drank to forget I had problems I guess, now I remember stuff three-fold,grrr,hope everyone enjoys their Friday

[aihfl]

How much did you drink every day that you ended up with a fatty liver?? Was that a while ago and is your liver ok now?

I posted on Ne's thread that during my summers off (I used to teach), I could polish off a fifth of 80 proof spirits in a 12-16 hour day, but there at the end, probably because of compromised liver function, "only" two 750ml bottles of wine did the trick, but I was taking benzos along with the wine, so that was a factor too. But when you polish off a fifth, needless to say, you wake up drunk the following morning and the cycle would repeat itself for weeks at a time.

My liver isn't ok - the detox medical doctor said it will probably take about five years of abstinence to return to normal. My enzymes are down, though. My last bloodwork showed AST down to 134 and ALT at 94 from a high of about 400. Just to give you an idea of what is normal, both numbers shouldn't be above 40.

I was drinking Bud Ice,homeless guy beer!

Funny! We talk a lot in AA about the progressive nature of alcoholism and addiction. I was a chronic relapser and with each relapse, I never ended up in the same place, it was always worse. In just six years I went from being a full time college professor to drinking cheap tall boys out of a brown paper bag behind a convenience store with homeless guys. I had a place to live, but as my ex girlfriend put it, "I was homeless with a home."

[Rusty]

Aihfl-thank you again and again for having the courage and TAKING THE TIME to share your journey with us. I am sure you have helped many people today.

Pauly dear, my only serious "drinking" friend switched to Bud Ice...and guess what happened...she drinks TWICE as much as she did before because it takes longer to get that buzz. UGH.

[SKendall]

Morning. Pauly when I was drinking box wine I had to hold my nose when I drank it!

Hi Rusty, will you be home this weekend?

aihfl, you have overcome a lot and you're enjoying life now.:goodjob:

I like my new back brace. It hugs me and I'm short on hugs these days.

Nice sunny day today so I'm off to enjoy it.

[Rusty]

Wow, Skendall, you plugged your nose because it tasted awful??? I guess I have always been a very picky drinker. If I didn't love the taste than I wouldn't drink it...even in my worst drinking years. I had gin in my cupboard for years because a friend of mine loved gin and tonics, but I couldn't stand the SMELL of gin, so I never tried it. BUT, I was a YET (You're Eligible, Too..to quote AA)). I agree with you on boxed wine...BLECH....I could light my grill with it. Yes, I'll be around all weekend if you are up for a chat chat chat.:happy2:

[Rusty]

Skendall-enjoy this sunny day! You deserve it. I am so willing to get a back brace...I think it will help a lot. How are Vivian and Peggy...and your daughter, too???

[aihfl]

Nice sunny day today so I'm off to enjoy it.

I saw a story on the national news about the crazy weather around the country. Fires and windstorms on the great plains, the Arctic blast in the midwest and northeast, strong storms and tornadoes in the southeast and the summer-y weather in the Pacific Northwest. Glad that the Pac NW weather is crazy good, though. We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful week in Central Florida. Highs in the mid 80s, lows around 60 and low humidity. I need to enjoy it while it lasts because it will be intolerably hot and humid very soon.

[Lizann]

Quick check in for me. Hope you're all ok. I'll post more tomorrow

[Rusty]

Liz!!! HEYYYY....great to see you!!!!

Red67-please check in...I miss ya!

Mama Mia-what's up, girlfriend?

Nora, Nora, Nora-how's your Mom?