Gathering supplies in order to quit, but I'm scared.

[Mom21961]

Hi all,

I've been searching the web for months for help with my alcohol addiction. I found info on the Sinclair method and found a sympathetic addiction specialist doc last month to prescribe naltrexone. The problem is that I don't want to drink for the next 4 to 8 months for it to work, and the drug itself isn't helping much with cravings. i came across this forum and read the book. The multi-pronged approach makes sense to me. I ordered the supplements and the CDs and am meeting with my doc on Monday to discuss Topomax.

But I'm worried. I drink A LOT. More than anyone I've seen on the TSM boards or here. I drink from 2 to 4 bottles of wine a day, usually between the 3 and 4 range unless I'm trying really hard to cut down. Damn whoever invented boxed wine. I sometimes drink in the morning on the way to work, or I'll take a lunch break and drink then. Then I drink from the time i get home until i pass out. I should state that I've gotten very heavy since the drinking started, gaining around 80 pounds so I can manage that amount of alcohol without being glaringly intoxicated. I'm what would be referred to as a high functioning alcoholic. i hold down a good job as an IT professional, I have a loving husband and three wonderful teenage boys. I get dinner on the table and take care of the house, but I know my life is going down the tubes. I'm not being productive at work, there are things I should be doing at home that i don't, and I know I have to change.

Is there anyone out there in my situation that has been successful? I've only had 6 AF days in the last year, once in the hospital with a bleeding ulcer (3 days) and once when I white knuckled it (another 3 days). My main withdrawal symptom is insomnia. Any input from those in my situation who followed the program and have been successful would be appreciated. Thank you in advance.

[JackieClaire]

Gathering supplies in order to quit, but I'm scared.

:welcome: Mom2JTx3

Aww hun, it is scary taking the next step to getting control in your life. Like you I drank morning, noon and night and never lost my job. I was so unproductive so rather than being asked to leave I resigned to take up drinking as a full time occupation.

Although I haven't taken any of the medications advised here I'm so pleased that you have your doctor on board with you. I've had marvellous support from mine and needed a home detox supervised by her.

MWO has been a godsend for me. I'm over 3 years AF (alcohol free) and for someone who thought they would die trying this is just amazing.

Lots of advice and info in the tool box. Just click on the link

https://www.mywayout.org/community/f1...box-27556.html

I'm glad you found us. Welcome again.

J x
:l

[pixie]

Gathering supplies in order to quit, but I'm scared.

Welcome mom2jtx3!

I think you will find a lot of people here with similar stories. I too was holding down a job and from most outward appearances was doing just fine, but in my heart knew that I was most certainly not doing fine. I tried cutting back for years, with some short term success but ultimately falling back to unhealthy ways.

I'm now about 4 months AF, the longest ever for me by far. I'm taking many of the supplements, most notably l-glutamine, kudzu, B vitamins, and whey protein for the amino acids.But the biggest change this time around was between my ears - I'm just much more ready to say goodbye to it. I'm more appreciative of the positives, rather than focusing on the negatives.

Many have a problem with insomnia, including myself. I think you will find lots of suggestions here for supplements to help with that.

Hope to see you around!

[Dottie Belle]

Gathering supplies in order to quit, but I'm scared.

Hi mom,
I drank A LOT too...box wine....could drink half a large box...no clue how much that is....2.5L maybe...Your story sounds a lot like mine minus the kids...I hold down a stressful IT job and no one would guess what I did when I get home each night...I did better during the week but the weekends ugh...
I am on day 13 right now....no meds so far as I am afraid to have that show up on my insurance...but may change my mind...
Welcome and you can do this too...
Dottie

[Doggygirl]

Gathering supplies in order to quit, but I'm scared.

:welcome: You have come to a great place for help and support.

Mom2JTx3;1391939 wrote: I drink A LOT. More than anyone I've seen on the TSM boards or here. I drink from 2 to 4 bottles of wine a day, usually between the 3 and 4 range unless I'm trying really hard to cut down. Damn whoever invented boxed wine.
I drank a LOT of wine too, so I can relate to that. You are not alone. I too loved the boxes, and always had backup boxes for the backup boxes. In the end of my drinking years, I not only had the box going full swing but the huge jug of vodka as well. I drank for about 30 years nearly every day. I should say every day unless I was sick or something. Please do not think that you will not be able to find a way to stop due to whatever volume you consume. Many of us here have found our way out from very excessive daily drinking.

I sometimes drink in the morning on the way to work, or I'll take a lunch break and drink then. Then I drink from the time i get home until i pass out.
For many years I was "high functioning alcoholic" holding down an executive level job while drinking to excess every day. Like JackieClaire, I eventually quit my job so I could take up drinking full time. At that point, I started drinking ALL day long - usually deciding to skip morning coffee in favor of vodka. I would pass out in the afternoon, and then wake up and drink through the evening. I have no idea how I lived through that, but here I am sober as a judge. If I can do it, and all these other people here can do it, I know you can do it too! :l

Is there anyone out there in my situation that has been successful?

I took my last drink on May 21, 2008. Lots of other success stories around here as well.

I've only had 6 AF days in the last year,

That is AWESOME!!!! If you've managed to stay AF even one day, then you know you can do it.

I started out here at My Way Out by reading the book and as you did, ordering the supplements and CDs. I also ordered Topomax from an off shore pharmacy. When the CDs and supplements came, I was excited to get started so I got going before the Topomax arrived. I had second thoughts about the side effects, so ended up never starting Topa (or other meds).

I had 60 days AF, then a very difficult relapse. It took me a long time to get back on the wagon, but I finally did. That was back in 2008 after my last drink.

Quitting is SO HARD at first. Sometimes I had to take it one minute at a time or one hour at a time. The whole day was too long for me to focus on. But it gets easier with time and focus.

Here is a link to the Toolbox thread which is a good read. Might help you in putting a plan of action together. https://www.mywayout.org/community/f1...box-27556.html

Believe in yourself! You are not alone.
DG

[kuya]

Gathering supplies in order to quit, but I'm scared.

Like you I was a heavy daily drinker for 23 years!

My salvation was supplements and lots of them! Never took any psychoactive drug s as many are addictive and do further damage to the liver, and I was too scared about my liver already. If you wanna take the meds route get your liver health checked first, blood work AND scans cos blood alone may not show up a fatty liver.

I suppose my mantra nowadays would be ' take the damn supplements'

You also posed a question about insomnia. This is a major issue and one that is cited by recovery agencies as the number one reason for recidivism.

I was insomniac for most of my life ( yep even as a child!). I have traced this to the inability to manufacture serotonin ..... This also accounted for chronic anxiety. Both these problems I medicated with alcohol.

For sleep I use trytophan and melatonin. The only place I know for trytophan is biorecovery in the states. River pharmacy does not sell it. Some people use 5http, which is the precursor of tryptophan, but it is no where near as good since I want to sleep NOW.

Take tryptophan one hour before you want to sleep then melatonin half hour later ( regular melatonin not time released) and you will drift off quite naturally. The combination takes away the ' mouse on a wheel' thinking that occurs.

Hope this helps

[Lavande]

Gathering supplies in order to quit, but I'm scared.

Hello & welcome Mom2JT,

I was a big wine drinker too but that's all history now
My last glass, mug or whatever I was drinking from was March 25, 2009.

Doggygirl was one of my mentors & i wanted to quit badly enough so I listened to her
The MWO program is good & there are lots of warm, supportive members here. I did not use any Rx meds myself but I did find the MWO Hypno CDs to be very helpful. A strong commitment & a good plan will help you reach your goals.

Please drop in the Newbies Nest thread for ongoing support!
Wishing you the best!

Lav

[Mom21961]

Gathering supplies in order to quit, but I'm scared.

Thank you all for your replies. I am encouraged to hear your stories. It's almost too good to be true that this program really works, but I believe it will, and am hoping for the best. Thank you again! :thanks:

[Prairie Fairy]

Gathering supplies in order to quit, but I'm scared.

Hi Mom -

With you...like everyone else here - big fan of the box - and at the end - like Doggy had added the jug o'Vodka so I could kick the last glass of wine over with the knock out punch.

I'm on Day 55 of this quit - my longest so far. I'm a supplementing fiend - and I find that's a huge huge huge part of my success. I think the supplements listed at Biorecovery are by far the most comprehensive and if you are going to make a run for it - and you don't want to be a freak about research - they probably have the kits as organized as you are going to find them.

I'm a research freak and spent literally 100's of hours in the past year and a half reading everything - only to agree - they probably have it all the most easily laid out - and the fact is - yes it's expensive - but so are all the boxes we were buying...

If you are in the States - you can get a supplement called Theanine Serene at the Vitamin Shoppe in the mood section - it's great for the anxiety of quitting - many of the brain docs sell it at their web site for twice as much under their own label - when I get worked up at the witching hour - in addition to the L-Glut/Kudzu - this calms my nerves the best - and has kept me on the straight and narrow. Also - I joined the AB club this time - go see the med thread - but like a lot of people - don't want that on my insurance - so I ordered from an overseas pharmacy. AllDayChemist is the cheapest - but their customer service sucks and they are excruciatingly slow whereas River who sponsors this site shipped super fast and was great for service...This is a get what you pay for for sure...

You can totally do this - you are in the right place.

Another good thing to do - if you can muster up the nerve - it's helping me a ton this time - is on the ground support. Some people do AA, some people do Rational Recovery, I'm doing Celebrate Recovery. Whatever philosophy speaks to you - if you can find one that does - having someone look you in the eye and say GOOD JOB! You are here! You made another Week- or DAY - or whatever - makes a difference.

But welcome - we are glad you are here.

[hitting40]

Gathering supplies in order to quit, but I'm scared.

start again

Hello mom2jxt3 i am a big white wine drinker and what starts off in my head as a nice glass of wine to relax becomes 2 bottles, passed out on the couch so i have to stop - i had a few days AF last week after deciding to try to give it up but a surprise birthday party for me yesterday threw me and i broke and started with champagne then wine and 2 bottles of wine later same old me, passed out last night - hungover this morning and school run etc. felt awful this morning and wriggled with guilt and shame that i cant just be normal!! but i have spent a couple of hours reading through the posts and it really helps me see that i am not a bad person just need to stop drinking. so i am here with you on this journey and we can keep each other going along with all the other guys here - i need to change for my own health - i am 40 on thursday and would love to be able to say i was 4 days alcohol free by then.

[Mom21961]

Gathering supplies in order to quit, but I'm scared.

Hi Prarie...

Are the Biorecovery supplements the ones from this site? Those are the ones I've ordered. Thanks.

[kuya]

Gathering supplies in order to quit, but I'm scared.

Mom2JTx3;1393081 wrote: Are the Biorecovery supplements the ones from this site? Those are the ones I've ordered. Thanks.

Biorecovery are associated with Joan Larsen's site. HRC. they do many of the same supplements as river, they are the only one I know who sell trytophan for sleep.

[BlondeAFAmbition]

Gathering supplies in order to quit, but I'm scared.

Mom2-I am just starting out again too. And I'm scared. Scared that I will never be able to kick this thing that has taken over my life for the worse. This is about the 4th quit for me. I made it through today though, and that's all we can really do, isn't it? Be good to yourself, you're worth it. PS, I drank lots of wine too...about half of a box that holds 4 bottles. The thing with the box wine is that you can't see how much you are drinking, which is why I liked it over the bottles. That, and less clanking in the recycle bin! Good luck...we can DO this! MWO is such a great place for support. Stick around...I plan to.

[tammie]

Gathering supplies in order to quit, but I'm scared.

I to am starting again hopefully I can lick it this time week-ends are the worse because everyone else is drinking
I also liked the cast wine holds more
If I have 1 can't stop till about the 4th or 5th glass
so am going to give it another go

[hitting40]

Gathering supplies in order to quit, but I'm scared.

hi guys - god isnt wine a demon!! it has become so socially acceptable to drink wine that it has become the downfall of so many people. gas how we manage around problems like the clinking of the bottles so buying the cartons to disguise the noise,. we must be the topic of conversation among our neighbours as all you can hear at weekends is clink clink - my husband was so focused the other day about not drinking when he got home but all his colleagues in work were talking about what they were having red / white - stressful day etc - i told my husband to work through it and he did but there is so much pressure subtle / on tv add breaks etc that you really need to stay strong and have a plan. how do you guys work through these tough times