help scare me/us straight

[Accountable for Me]

help scare me/us straight

CS04;642790 wrote: There was another episode on Oprah (now you guys are gonna think that all I ever do is watch Oprah) where a family was coming home late at night from a wedding, their car was hit by a drunk driver, and the little girl, who I think was 6, was decapitated in the accident. The mom was so in shock that she sat on the side of the road, holding the girl's head in her arms. And Oprah kept saying, "you sat on the curb, holding your daughter's severed head in your hands?" She must have said it 4 or 5 times. I don't mean to be gross or sensationalizing, but again, it was a horrible story to hear.

I saw that one as well. Truly heartbreaking. Horrible, horrible, horrible.

[blondechick]

help scare me/us straight

I saw i too. Absolutely horrifying.

[42cat]

help scare me/us straight

Hey Puddy .. how's things today?

[puddytat]

help scare me/us straight

Zenstyle, 42Cat

Hey, I hadn't checked this thread in awhile.

Zen -- thanks for sharing your experiences about Baclofen. That's really encouraing. Bac should arrive in a week or so from India. I'd like to check in with you about dosages - thanks for offering.

42Cat - tnx for asking how it was going. Tues. was a good day! Weds. (yesterday) got in the ring with AL for some reason... God! just a lost day. Vodka. just felt I needed it to get thru the day. yikes. gotta stick with beer.

well, at least I am reinforcing to myself that I need to abstain -- just can't moderate.

kindly, Puddy

[cacky]

help scare me/us straight

Pud, hey it sounds like you are doing awesome. Hey so is that tiger giving the guy a hug or what? anyway have a great day

[gyco]

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hi pud,mental illness is not nice,but amagine making yourself mentally ill by drinking to much, or drugging,you have a choice,i do no what inspires me to come here.the people looking for help,your not alone,we are different,something we have to face,i wish you wll gyco

[puddytat]

help scare me/us straight

Cacky, yes, definitely a hug. I forget the details of the story, but the guy was the tiger cub's trainer , and they were reunited years later...tiger remembered him, and give him a big, genuine long-lost-friend hug.

Gyco - happy b'day. Just trying to keep learning, doing, posting, and preparing. Glad you all are here.

[42cat]

help scare me/us straight

Puddy, love the new pic! I agree, with every step, be it forward or backward, you (we) are learning. Keep on it .. it's going to work!

Gyco, happy b-day to you!

[Popeye]

help scare me/us straight

Hi,
Good stuff.

I was drinking ridiculous amounts and I knew the risks but carried on for years.
There was more than one occasion when I would be literally lying on the floor with my heart racing, sweating profusely thinking that if I didn't stay conscious and move myself from the floor I would probably die the same way my step-father did, (I found him dead in his bed. He had choked on his vomit) or go into cardiac arrest.

A young man living across the road from me drank every day he could. He was admitted to hospital with stomach pains and was told if he took another drink his pancreas would fail and he would die. He stopped drinking for a few months then went and bought himself some cider and a bottle of cheap wine. He died that day. He was 24.

I chose to ignore these warning for many years. I've known many people who have died as a direct result of drinking and still I kept going. My alcoholism had taken away the basic animal instinct of self-preservation. I really didn't care what happened to me. As bad as this sounds, I really didn't care that my children could be fatherless as long as my thirst for drink was slaked. Alcohol had taken over.

There are many reasons why I chose to stop. There was still a part of my brain that wanted to have a real life. To find a little happiness and a level of contentment and gratitude and experience those things that help make a person whole. It's only since stopping that a little of the joy of simply living that I had when I was a youth has came back. I'm becoming more spiritually awakened and I have become less cynical and more sympathetic to the needs of others and I am much less emotionally unstable. I have found some dignity and inner peace and all in a relatively short time.
I am very lucky.

[Grim]

help scare me/us straight

Hello all, still can't get to post pics due a techie problem on my side. Was thinking of posting a pic of my arm after I fell off my balcony last Sunday. After numerous trips to the doctor and the usual dose of anti-inflammatories I was told all would be fine.
I was doing some self checking on Friday and noticed that now that the major swelling had receded there were 5 hard bumps on and around the place where I hit my arm on the split pole fence (mid upper arm).
Nett result is I have to go for ultrasound and lamp therapy for this week before they decide if they are going to operate to remove the multiple hematoma. Yikes, I hope the other stuff works as I will be useless behind a computer with one functioning arm.
I am totally terrified of going under general and really pray that this therapy works! Hold thumbs for me please guys or else I will only be able to hold one for myself not too long from now.
The things we do to ourselves whilst AL is around?!?!
Good night friends and regards to all, Grim.

[OverIt2007]

help scare me/us straight

Very moving and inspiring post Popeye. Im so glad you found your way out too.


Your post reminded me of something I read and posted about a while back.

It was a reference as why sometimes recovering alcoholics refer to themselves as "grateful" recovering alcoholics. Its about second chances and knowing where you came from and the gratitude of making it through to the other side.

I think your a strong and wonderful person.

[42cat]

help scare me/us straight

Wow, Popeye, that was some post. Thanks for sharing that.

You too, Grim. Hope all goes well with that arm and that you don't end up needing surgery. A good reason to stay sober though .. I mean, you don't want to be going into surgery either hung over or going through withdrawals. But let's hope it doesn't come to surgery at all.

Overit, I definitely feel grateful every day these days. Wow, so many things could have "gone wrong", and I'm so thankful that they didn't and that I came out the other side of things relatively OK.

[OverIt2007]

help scare me/us straight

Yes, Grateful.. 42 Cat. That is something to never lose sight of, even in the midst of hard and trying times. Things can always get worse.

Im grateful everyday when I wake up without a mind numbing depressing hangover. When my head is clear, I see all that I have going for me.

I have a beautiful loving son, a nice home, an ok job, a cute little puppy, and most of all, a wonderful family, and to top it all off, I have my faith in the Lord above to always be in control.

I feel very lucky today...

[puddytat]

help scare me/us straight

so many consequences

Grim, fingers-crossed for you about your arm, that it heals w/o need for surgery (gen'l anesthesia is scary stuff)

I too injured myself badly 3 mos. ago, stumbling around super-drunk, fell and twisted my knee sideways. Still owe $1,800 ER bill. It was real loose and unstable for months, so I kept re-falling and re-injuring it (generally while drunk), and now am sure the ACL is blown in addition to the medial collateral. It's just this past week that I feel able to even take a walk (w/ the brace on)

Popeye, congrats on staying sober. ...your step-dad's death is like that of a good friend of mine - her brother's body was discovered in Hawaii by his landlord - 4-6 days after falling and choking on his vomit. Gayle, her sisters, and especially her mom were just devastated - he was only 33. They had last seen him at a family funeral 3 mos before, and noted then how much he was drinking...

Alas, I'm on Day 2 - 36 hrs AF. that in itself is a minor miracle.
Grateful for everyone's posts and friendship.

[42cat]

help scare me/us straight

Oh Puddy! 36 hours - NICE! ... Are you on baclofen right now, or winging it on your own? I know how much you've fought with it. Very well done!