newbie, a different kind of drinker...?

[Guest]

hi there,
i've been reading through the site and postings for a few days and am excited but still hesitating...

i'm a binge drinker. i can go for days without drinking at all, and months drinking moderately, but then every once in a while i 'fall off the deep end' and don't stop till i black out.

is this program still right for me? the vitamins and cd's make sense but should i take kudzo every day even if i don't have cravings every day?

anyone else out there like me?!

[Guest]

newbie, a different kind of drinker...?

Hey Freddy,

That's a really good question, and I sure don't know the answer! You could probably do some research on google on binge drinking and maybe come up with some studies. I guess that the kudzu wouldn't hurt, though!

Has this always been your drinking pattern? How old are you? Does seem different than many of us, but there may be some ways that you are like us too.

Let's get to know each other more, okay?

Welcome to MWO!
Kathy

[Guest]

newbie, a different kind of drinker...?

thanks kathy!

it has always been my pattern, i'm in my 30's. i can go for long stretches where i don't 'fall off the deep end' as i put it, and i start feeling like i have nothing to worry about and it's not going to happen again, and then, out of the blue, it does.

and i don't want it to ever again! i've looked a little on google and haven't found anything, but i'll dig a little more...

thanks again for the welcome!

[Guest]

newbie, a different kind of drinker...?

Well, it sounds like your pattern is that when you start feeling like you don't have to worry, that's when you know from experience that you should start worrying!:rolleyes You're certainly not alone in that Freddy! So how can you help yourself not to get too complacent, since you are very clearly aware of your pattern?

Kathy

[Guest]

newbie, a different kind of drinker...?

Hi Freddy,

Thats a good question about the kudzu, as a off and on binger myself I am wondering if I need to take it all the time.


I was off alcohol for three weeks in January and no cravings. I just take these moods where I want to be buzzed or to drown my depression, which can last a month or so with moderate to heavy drinking. Hope that makes since. Please post and let us know what you find out.

Thanks
kitkat

[Guest]

newbie, a different kind of drinker...?

Hi I'm new and just getting started all my things. I'm a binge drinker too. In my mid 40's. I can go all week long without a drink until the weekend when I will drink 12 to 18 beers until I pass out. Tried AA a few years ago and was able to quit for 6 to 7 years but was misserable. I want to quit completely. I start getting cravings on Thursdays knowing that the weekend is coming. If I have any days off or vacation I drink almost every day. Waited all week for the cd's & supplements to arrive but they didn't come until Saturday. I had already left for a 3 day fishing trip on Friday and drank heavily on Friday & Saturday.

Listened to my first cd today and enjoyed it. I have a prescription for Campral and will start that and the supplements this week.

Hopefully, someone else out there might know if this program can be successful for my type of drinking. Thanks

[Guest]

newbie, a different kind of drinker...?

Geez, I am jealous of the fact you guys can go all week without drinking and not crave it....not something I have experienced yet.....I think you should cling to that and what you are doing differently during those days that make you not crave and maybe that will help with your binge drinking times....

[Guest]

newbie, a different kind of drinker...?

being very aware of my pattern in one thing, recognizing that it's happening when it's happening is another. it's so frustrating.

just knowing that i'm not alone with this is incredibly reassuring. i feel like finding this board is a really solid first step.

i think i'll just go ahead and order the book, cd's and kudzo. from what i understand, the kudzo basicly enhances the 'buzz' of the alcohol, theoretically causing you to drink less. i think i'll try taking it anytime i have a drink and just see how it affects me. this is an article i came accross:

www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7884540/

knowing i'm not the only one helps so very much- thank you all for responding!!

[Guest]

newbie, a different kind of drinker...?

it's such a tricky thing for me though- even when i go too far, i don't really feel like it's craving a drink as much as i 'have just one more' and then 'just one more' and so on until it's too late.
maybe there's something to that though... now that i think of it. the other times that i just have one or two drinks, i don't look at the second one as 'just one more', i just have one more and that's it, without that 'just one more' dialogue in my head...
hm...! something to chew on.
thank you!

[Guest]

newbie, a different kind of drinker...?

Hi Freddy,

What do you think the trigger is for your benders? This might be good for you to identify. Once you identify this, you may be able to encorporate the aspects of the program first that will help you with the triggers.

I thoroughly belive in working the entire program. I don't think you're are alone in your drinking pattern here. Lots of us go on binders as well. It is very common in our community.

Not having the "off button" or "stop sign" in our head. Although I drank several days of the week, I felt like I always binged. Though, I guess it might help if you defined a binge for you. For me it was 10 or 12 drinks in one sitting, but it is definetly different for all.

Welcome to the group. You will be amazed.

-Nina

[Guest]

newbie, a different kind of drinker...?

Hey........Kudzu grows all over my place!! Maybe I should dig up some roots and add it to some of my recipies! :rollin

Nancy

[Guest]

newbie, a different kind of drinker...?

Hi Freddy:

I am just like you, I can go all week long and usually get the urge on Friday night, Saturday and Sunday. Drink like a fish, go out an and get more.....it goes on! For me, its life pressures of running a household, working full-time, taking care of 3 sons, husband working ( sometime 4 different jobs at different times).....I looked forward to the relaxation and the buzz)....I wanted moderation, but now have decided its not the answer. I am awaiting the book, cd, Glutamine and Kudzu. I do plan on taking the Kudzu everyday. Right now, I don't have any urges, but nobody else would either if they were awaiting dwi trial!!! I was told by various counsellors to try and keep busy on weekends to not think about it, or go for a walk or find something that doesn't stress you! Good luck!

[Guest]

newbie, a different kind of drinker...?

Freddy-
Im like you too. I do not crave alcohol until I am in a social drinking senario. If I have one glass... something clicks in my head. I have quit for monthes (lol even a year once)... and then attempted to drink and binged. I crave alcohol only after I drink it. I think I get the numb displaced feeling and it is comforting to escape into. I think that is what drives my binging.
Im starting therapy to see if there are underlining causes. I read the book... and these women who where daily heavy drinkers began to not feel the urge to "have a second glass" in fact they began "not finishing the glass". If this program helped them, it could definately help us.

[Guest]

newbie, a different kind of drinker...?

I have found that the Kudzu doesn't really enhance the buzz at all, rather, it seems to take the 'fun' out of it. Not like antibuse or something that'll make you sick, for me it just makes getting a buzz a pain in the butt. It takes forever to finish a drink, and I find after about 1/2 of it, I really don't want it, making drinking in general a chore. Keeping that in mind, I wonder if it could be used for social situations. For instance; you know you are going out on the town with friends, if you munch 900mg of kudzu before you go and take 600mg along with you to take later in the evening, would it have the same effect? Point being, I know I'm not going to down 1800-2000mg of kudzu daily for the rest of my life, so could it be used in such a way as to avert binge drinking when you know that binge drinking could possibly occur.

[Guest]

newbie, a different kind of drinker...?

identifying what triggers me would be great, unfortunately i just don't know. at least not yet.

hearing that kudzo takes the 'fun' out of drinking is a rather exciting notion... thanks for your info madhatter. i'll definitely buy some and see. (is it taken in different forms? i though it was a capsule but you mentioned 'munching' it...?)

the thing i'm leary about with taking it just when i know a binge may occur... is that i just don't always know. it's not always when i go out with friends - it's happened in the past when i was home 'hanging out' alone. i blacked out and woke up the next morning at the bottom of a flight of stairs in my house, with a bloody jaw broken in 3 places. of course that shook me up a great deal and i was able to keep from crossing that line for almost a year, but that was a couple of years ago and i'm here on this board for a reason!

i think there must be more to it than one simple thing i can point my finger to, change, and be 'well'. maybe taking this kudzo daily will at least give me a chance to get some other aspects of my life in line... without having the fear of a binge predominate my thoughts and almost keep me stuck from taking actions in other ways... it's almost like until i figure out 'what's wrong with me' in this way, everything else is on hold. a bit of a vicious circle i think. maybe some positive action (i went to the gym today- yay!) will start to snowball and lead me to more answers...

?! thanks to everyone. i'm going to go buy the book pdf!