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    lilnev's thread

    .... sleep poorly due to the alcohol, so sleep late to catch up. vow to quit drinking, this time I mean it. get to work around 11, mostly wasting time online, maybe going out for a long walk because I can't stand to be around people. go home around 5 or 6, breaking down and buying beer on the way. play my computer game while drinking 8 or 10 or 12, until I crash into bed. sleep poorly due to the alcohol, so sleep late to catch up ....


    Howdy folks. I've been lurking here for a while but not posting, struggling on my own without much success. It's time to finally kick this thing. Mostly I'm writing this for my own benefit -- a sort of online journal that I can look back at later. But also if I create a public persona that's open about my drinking problem, I might feel that as pressure to clean up my act. I've always been someone who cared about other people's opinions of me. Too much so in fact, it's at the root of some serious anxiety problems and holds me back in a lot of ways. But since it's true, I may as well leverage it to reinforce the positive changes I want to make, eh? I've also confided in a pair of close friends, so ... hopefully I'll find strength in openness.

    History: I was the quiet super-smart kid that everyone respected, but no one would name as a best friend. In high school, my brother and his friends accepted me into their circle, and one of our chief entertainments was binge drinking. Lots of fun, but limited by availability. Went to college, tried lots of other drugs, at one point smoking more weed than was good for me, but managed to kick that without too much trouble. Once I turned legal, drinking settled down into more frequent but modest amounts, not a problem. Well, still occasional binges, but not much of a problem.

    About 3 1/2, almost four years ago, my fiancee and I split up. I was OK at first, working hard on my PhD. But started slowly sliding downhill into depression, with alcohol abuse close on its heels. Finished the degree and moved out here to Boston for a position, a little less than three years ago. I didn't have any friends out here, and pretty much still don't, not close friends anyway. Still sliding, and gradually drinking more, from a few times a week, to more nights than not, to virtually every night. From 5 or 6 beers, to 6 or 8, to 8-12. From applying myself at work, to falling behind, to failing completely (I'm a post-doc in a position that gives me way too much freedom with negligible oversight. I expect it'll blow up on me at some point, and I may find myself out of a job, but until then....).

    Finally last summer I took myself to the doctor and asked for a prescription antidepressant. She put me on Citalopram, which has been huge. I'm no longer living in a hole, and I actually feel like I have the strength to make some of the other changes I need to, especially quitting drinking. For a while this summer I was making progress, drinking on fewer days, and improving my diet and exercise while I was at it. Lost about 25 pounds, in fact, and brought my blood pressure down. But this past month I've really lapsed, as bad as ever....
    Q: How do I become the person I want to be?
    A: Practice, of course.

    #2
    lilnev's thread

    hi lilnev - I'm new to this board. and have a lifelong struggle with alcohol and drugs and depression, with a few nice long periods of sobriety. I lapsed back into the alcohol about a month ago and i'm completely miserable about it. Gained at least 10lbs of alcohol bloat and my world immediately got so small. Like somebody just turned the lights off. My heart goes out to you and I can totally relate. And Alcohol - lovely depressant that it is-makes the hopeless feeling ten times worse. I tell myself this too - don't buy into the black hole. Don't think and don't drink. In a few days without alcohol I ALWAYS feel so much better. I hope you (and I) make it . I plan on clinging to this board for dear life until I'm through the initial rough patch. Even though I would like a drink right now, as I'm writing this. yuk. totally crazy. big hugs and fingers crossed for all of us.......

    Comment


      #3
      lilnev's thread

      Hi lilnev and wonderworld

      Welcome to MWO. I would suggest you arm yourselves with all the tools you can gather. Read the book, then decide whether you wish to go with meds, hypno CD's, supps or a combination of all. Then make a plan and stick to it.

      Read and post often. It's not an easy ride but it can, in time, become an enjoyable one.

      Looking forward to seeing you around.

      Comment


        #4
        lilnev's thread

        Hi wonderworld. Thanks for writing. The depression and the alcohol definitely feed each other. When I'm drunk I actually feel pretty good, but then the next day I'm sunk. And when I'm sunk, I just want to drink. The Citalopram has really made a difference for me, kicking one leg out from under that stool (I consider social anxiety the third leg of my problem -- it too encourages me to drink, and to be depressed because I'm lonely; and in turn depression and alcohol discourage me from seeking out human contact). Don't know why I took so long to ask my doc for help. Pride/shame I suppose, and not wanting to be judged. But I did, and I'm better for it. Now about that alcohol....

        Hang in there, we can do this.

        peace,
        lilnev
        Q: How do I become the person I want to be?
        A: Practice, of course.

        Comment


          #5
          lilnev's thread

          Lilnev and Wonderworld,

          :welcome:

          Good posts, both of you.

          Yes, the alcohol "creeps" up on you slowly. At one time even imagining drinking the amounts we do would have been appalling. OMG!!

          Lilnev, it sounds like you know you are on a downward spiral. So, it is time to stop it and shake it up a bit.

          I imagine that you love what you do or you wouldn't have bothered going all the way to the "Piled Higher and Deeper" phase of your life. I hope if you can quit or moderate (I hesitate to use that because so few can but some people do try and we do have those here who do it well!!) and get yourself back into a passion for what you do.

          Your last post on L-Glut was great for me, btw. I appreciate it!! Thanks!!

          Wonder, we all hang on these boards dearly. They keep us going. It is my virtual "AA" only no reprisals and no "give us your number so we can call you" kind of thing. It is funny, because I am more dedicated to staying on this site than I would be in an AA environment.

          I hope both of you find your way out through this medium. Good people here, good advice, and lots of caring.

          "See" you around!!

          Cindi
          AF April 9, 2016

          Comment


            #6
            lilnev's thread

            lilnev MWO helped me a lot with cutting down I was so depressed and malnourished 8 months ago, drinking every night almost. I ordered the supplements and bought kudzu and L-glutamine and came here almost every day.
            I think writing your progress will rally benefit you. The people here are also really helpful if you are feeling down or just want to drink and need a friend to help you say no.
            hope you stick around and keep posting your progress. wishing you sucess

            Trix
            You can't turn a pickle into a cucumber

            Comment


              #7
              lilnev's thread

              and YES. We can all "do this" because trying and keeping on is what matters.

              The only "failure" here are those who just give up trying.

              Cindi
              AF April 9, 2016

              Comment


                #8
                lilnev's thread

                I wanted to welcome you both to MWO. I really also recommend the hypnotherapy CDs. They help with making that subtle mental shift that is critical in beating this thing. Hope to hear more from both of you! :welcome:
                I'm really easy to get along with once people learn to worship me

                Comment


                  #9
                  lilnev's thread

                  lilnev - your story of the beer and the amounts is very similar to mine. It is a tough place to be in especially since most of (or almost all of) the time we drink our 5-6 8-10-?? alone. That almost means this problem is ours and only ours to work on. Thank goodness for these posts cuz I feel less alone and more support than ever. I am on 2 anti depss. Our brains are probably freaking out like,... do you want me happy ... or not? I have not quit but have cut down dramatically. I want to know the the anti depss can really do for me...... good luck on your battle!!
                  :sigh:

                  Comment


                    #10
                    lilnev's thread

                    just want to say I think you guys (and gals) are so awesome and thank you for the warm welcome. the honesty on this board is phenomenal. I was never able to talk this way in A.A., that's for sure, where I felt so much pressure to be "good" instead of real. I'm so relieved ........ thank you. sniff, sniff :h

                    Comment


                      #11
                      lilnev's thread

                      Hi there

                      I can relate to your posts a lot. I am wondering how old you are. Maybe early to mid-20s? The first time you take anti-depressants can be amazing, but subsquently, the effect is not as intense and you always have to be on guard about depression.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        lilnev's thread

                        Hi all, and thanks for the support. Made it through last night OK. Not so much physically craving (I'm taking kudzu and L-glut), but restless and stircrazy and thinking about it. Found enough other stuff to do, though, until the time passed. I think tonight I'll go out to a movie. Change the setting for the evening.

                        nancy, I'm 33. I've been amazed at the difference the anti-depressant made, and I'm planning on staying on it for a while (at least a year; if I'm doing fine, maybe I'll try going off it then, but I'm in no hurry to go back in that hole). 20 mg is still the lower end of the therapeutic range, so if I need to boost it I can, but it's been working for me.

                        rapala, I hope the meds work for you. Different anti-depressants seem to work for different people, so if these don't work for you, there's still a good chance a different one will. It takes 2-4 weeks for them to kick in, though. Hang in there.

                        I'll be posting The Plan a little later (once I started listing the changes I want to make ... well, it's quite a list).

                        peace,
                        lilnev
                        Q: How do I become the person I want to be?
                        A: Practice, of course.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          lilnev's thread

                          Lilnev: I came to MWO in April & was in a similar situation as you, only w/wine instead of beer. I've had more (I haven't been perfect) in the 6 months that I've been here than I had in many, many years. Keep coming & posting. Mary
                          Wisdom, Courage, Strength
                          October 3, 2012

                          Comment


                            #14
                            lilnev's thread

                            Went for a walk yesterday, then to "The Darjeeling Limited". Pretty good. I was going to clean house today, but it's such a beautiful day out....

                            Oh yeah, The Plan. I know this is going to look overly ambitious. I only consider the first two as "musts", numbers 3 through 5 as "shoulds", and below that is "bonus points". So even though Better Diet is on the list, I'm not going to beat myself up for eating chicken and bacon pizza last night. (Actually it was worth trying once, but I don't think I'll order it again. Too greasy). It's a big list of changes I want to make in myself, but they're all synergistic. Even partial progress on some will help with the others.

                            1) No drinking. Well obviously. Someday I'd like to be a moderate drinker again, if possible, but I need to get back in charge first. The standard recommendation I see around here is 30 days alcohol free, but I think I need to aim longer. I'm afraid I'd get through three weeks on momentum, then spend the fourth "being good", so that I could get to my "reward". Then I'd binge for a day or three or thirty, and blow it all. So I think my target needs to be three or four months, long enough to develop some real non-drinking habits. Then re-assess.

                            2) Take my pills and supplements. This comes in the "must" category because it's so easy -- twice a day, a minute and I'm done. I'm taking Citalopram (20 mg) to keep depression at bay, plus 5-HTP (50 mg twice a day) for mood support. I still have some St John's Wort on the shelf, but it's not currently part of the regimen -- don't want to mix the soup too thick. Multivitamin, calcium/magneseum, anti-oxidant for general health. Kudzu (450 mg root + 100 mg extract @ 1% diadzin, two or three times a day) and L-glutamine (~5 g sustained-release powder, twice a day) for cravings. Plus I have a bottle of flax oil to splash on whatever I cook for dinner; omega-3 (or the omega-3/omega-6 ratio) may help with mood support, as well as cardiovascular health.

                            3) More exercise. For a while over the summer, I was getting 1 to 2 hourse of serious exercise a day, mostly cycling. With a better diet and substantially reduced alcohol (though I never completely quit), I lost 25 pounds in about 6 weeks. Then September and the first part of October happened. The back of the envelope says I drank significantly more than my body mass in beer, and I regained about 10 of those pounds. Anyway, one of my secondary goals is to get back to my proper weight, currently 20-25 pounds away. If I stop force-feeding myself 1400 empty calories every calories every night and I get back on the bike, I don't think it'll be too hard.

                            4) Keep a regular, earlier schedule. My job lets me set my own hours, which makes it all too easy to stay up late and sleep to 11. I think I'll feel better if I get up at the same time every day, and I'll be more productive at work if that time is reasonably early. Plus if I get tired earlier in the evening, that's less time I have to spend fighting the urge to drink, right? I'm thinking of setting the alarm for eight for now, aiming to move it up to seven over the course of a week or so (I'm sure some of you are groaning in jealousy). Maybe eventually even earlier.

                            5) Apply myself at work. I've really been struggling here, partly from hangovers and general "blahs", and largely from social anxiety. It's acutely difficult to be around my labmates. I'm afraid ask how I'm doing, and I'll have to make small-talk. Or worse, they'll ask how my project is coming along, and I'll have to bluff and obfuscate and make excuses. I've come to fear my boss asking for a progress report, because progress has been negligible. I might end up losing this job, but first I want to give it another shot by actually applying myself and trying to make some progress. And early morning hours could help, because many people don't come in until 9 or later. At worst, maybe I'll toughen my skin a bit. Plus a lot of my self-esteem is tied up in being good at what I do. Actually proving it would help me feel good about myself.

                            6) Better diet. Veggies, lean protein, veggies, whole grains, fruits, and veggies. Actually my diet is usually pretty good, occasional chicken and bacon pizza excepted. I generally avoid sugar/starch, and try to keep the protein lean. There's always room for improvement (more veggies!), of course, and I get bonus points if I do, but just cutting alcohol out of the diet is already going to be a world of improvement. So no stress here.

                            7) Develop social habits and make some local friends. Yeah, in the long run this one is going to be big, but it's always been difficult for me, always will be, so for now it stays in the bonus points section. I have been going to the climbing wall more regularly lately, and meeting a few people there, if only in the "casual aquaintences" category. I might try joining the chess club, or finding a local group to play soccer or hockey with on a regular basis. Something structured and safe like that. Would also serve to create alternative ways to spend my evenings rather than drinking.

                            So. Did I miss anything? Ambitious enough? Heh. At least it's an image of who I'd like to be. And it feels good to write it out, think about it, work on it even if it's only bits and half-steps at a time. I'm going outside now. Maybe I'll take some papers I need to work on, and maybe I'll just walk for a while.

                            peace,
                            lilnev
                            Q: How do I become the person I want to be?
                            A: Practice, of course.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              lilnev's thread

                              Lilnev,

                              Very ambitious!! but doable.

                              Good luck and stay strong. At the end of each day you will feel better and better.

                              Glad you are here.

                              Cindi
                              AF April 9, 2016

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