Progress thread for ne

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Progress thread for ne

Thanks for letting me poke fun, DG. You know I aspire to be as young as you are. Hell, I aspire to be you.

Missy, Thanks! He's never going to post. He finds the place overwhelming/irritating. Plus I think he figures I do it enough for the both of us. :H
He avoided the side effects because he had support. He took the pills regularly, at regular intervals, and increased with a plan. He took xanax on a schedule too, for about a month, to curtail the anxiety that HDB can bring on.
Sobriety is not a state of mind. Nor are there prerequisites to achieving it with baclofen. We were headed for a certain divorce, remember? It's forged from taking the medication that is used to treat the disease. Or from abstaining from drinking. Or from a religious experience, according to Dr. Jung. But it has nothing to do with being cared for. I couldn't stand Ed when I was going through HDB treatment, nor he me. He was anything but supportive for a great majority of the time. Fortunately I'd made close friends here to carry me through. It's a great relief to both of us that we like each other much better sober than we ever did when we were drunk. 'Cause otherwise, I was going to kick him to the curb. :H (Or he me!)

I'm really sorry that life is so hard for you now. I know of a way out that worked for me. Once again, I encourage you to try it. What, exactly, do you have to lose?
Much love bacatcha, Missy. Hang in there and don't stop fighting to find a way out!

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Progress thread for ne

Thanks for letting me poke fun a bit, DG.
Missy, the only thing my sobriety is contingent on is taking the medicine to treat it. I figure you'll give it a shot when you're ready. :l to you. Ed's doing really, really well. Ridiculously, outrageously well. He's even got a (relatively) regular spot on one of our local tv programs! I'm a little worried he'll start to get groupies soon. (Not really.) He avoided the SEs, I think, by taking the medicine regularly, increasing in regular increments, and taking xanax (regularly but not abusively) to avoid the anxiety that can come with the process. He's no longer using anything mind-altering on any kind of regular basis, even the xanax. (Still amazes me that we have a bathroom cabinet full of abusable stuff and a pantry full of booze and neither of us cares at all.)


I am suffering from something I can only call general malaise. I’m tired. All the time. Not the head-bobbing, eyes-clamping-shut-of-their-own-accord bac somnolence. This is a pervasive weariness.
I’m also eating nothing but sugar. Again, this doesn’t feel the same as the sobriety induced/no-more-alcohol sugar craving. Yesterday I prepared a couple of healthy-ish but yummy meals. They went mostly untouched. I got my calories from the two pints of ice cream and large bag of potato chips I’d bought the day before. And the peanut butter and nutella sandwich I had for dinner.
(Just to give a little perspective, we rarely have more than a pint of ice cream in the house. But they were on sale! So I bought 6 two days ago. I can’t remember the last time we had a bag of chips here. I bought 4, all covered with something sweet. And when I went to make myself that PB and J? We don’t have jelly. I unearthed a jar of nutella that expired in August. I think that stuff has a shelf life of at least a year. My point is this isn’t normal.)
I don’t feel depressed. I’m not pessimistic or sad or overcome with bad feelings. There haven’t been any radical changes in my life. No dramatic increase in stress, no financial woes, nothing to which I can attribute this change in behavior. I’m still going to therapy once a week; still exercising, though not regularly or formally. In general things have remained the same.
I have played a little fast and loose with my dosing schedule and the amount that I take, but nothing I haven’t done before. Nevertheless, I’ve witnessed enough people do this enough times to immediately suspect that it is the problem. Depression, malaise, general yuckiness or pessimism ensues. And then they usually drink. (Steady on, people!) And certainly the issue seems to have started when I started missing doses. Maybe?
Throughout this I have had absolutely no craving for alcohol. I had a celebratory 2 or 3 oz of wine 5 days ago. It was yummy. I left the refilled glass on the bar. Oh! And I drank half a shot of something god-awful. It was a toast from the host in our honor, and hard to decline with all those glistening, inebriated eyes on us. So we drank and then left, leaving behind a chorus of hoots and hollers about the fact that the party was just beginning. (really? Ugh. I’m so glad my definition of partying has changed.)

I strongly suspect that bac rights whatever was wrong with me. Call it anxiety if you’d like, though that is not nearly wide enough or deep enough to explain the changes in my life. I’m going back up again, a bit. Not looking for nirvana or euphoria, or anything related to alcohol. I’m simply looking for the balance I’ve lost somewhere along the way.

I’m sharing this here because I wonder if others might not experience something similar post indifference. I’m also writing this to encourage people, once again, to take their medicine in regular increments. I really think it makes a big difference, regardless of which direction one is titrating.

Hope it’s a wonderful weekend for everyone!

[Cassander]

Progress thread for ne

Ne/Neva Eva;1196095 wrote: ...
I am suffering from something I can only call general malaise. I?m tired. All the time. Not the head-bobbing, eyes-clamping-shut-of-their-own-accord bac somnolence. This is a pervasive weariness.
...
I don?t feel depressed. I?m not pessimistic or sad or overcome with bad feelings. There haven?t been any radical changes in my life. No dramatic increase in stress, no financial woes, nothing to which I can attribute this change in behavior. I?m still going to therapy once a week; still exercising, though not regularly or formally. In general things have remained the same.
I have played a little fast and loose with my dosing schedule and the amount that I take, but nothing I haven?t done before. Nevertheless, I?ve witnessed enough people do this enough times to immediately suspect that it is the problem. Depression, malaise, general yuckiness or pessimism ensues. And then they usually drink. (Steady on, people!) And certainly the issue seems to have started when I started missing doses. Maybe?

I strongly suspect that bac rights whatever was wrong with me. Call it anxiety if you?d like, though that is not nearly wide enough or deep enough to explain the changes in my life. I?m going back up again, a bit. Not looking for nirvana or euphoria, or anything related to alcohol. I?m simply looking for the balance I?ve lost somewhere along the way.

I?m sharing this here because I wonder if others might not experience something similar post indifference. I?m also writing this to encourage people, once again, to take their medicine in regular increments. I really think it makes a big difference, regardless of which direction one is titrating.

...

Hi K

You are probably right about the regular dosing...there must be a natural and human temptation to go down and to forget to dose regularly when you are feeling good. And then...

But also, don't get too nonchalant about the exercise. If its not "regular and formal" it may not be good enough! Get thee to the gym!

Have I ever mentioned another helpful book to you called Younger Next Year? Superficially, it is focussed on getting ready for retirement but in reality it is an excellent recipe for the life well lived. In particular, I think, it addresses the "emptiness" issue and offers a structure, a basis, a way to look at filling up a life.

Please take a look. There is even a women's edition (though I've never read that one )

Cass

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Progress thread for ne

Cassander;1196116 wrote: Hi K

You are probably right about the regular dosing...there must be a natural and human temptation to go down and to forget to dose regularly when you are feeling good. And then...

But also, don't get too nonchalant about the exercise. If its not "regular and formal" it may not be good enough! Get thee to the gym!

Have I ever mentioned another helpful book to you called Younger Next Year? Superficially, it is focussed on getting ready for retirement but in reality it is an excellent recipe for the life well lived. In particular, I think, it addresses the "emptiness" issue and offers a structure, a basis, a way to look at filling up a life.

Please take a look. There is even a women's edition (though I've never read that one )

Cass

aaaargh. I know. Your reminders about exercise reinforce what I already know that I know! And yet... But lemme tell you, I KNOW it's a key. Thanks for the confirmation/affirmation. Ditto the regularity of dosing/titrating. Drives me crazy that I don't take my own advice. Repeatedly.
I think I'll start with Spark. I like the title. I'll add the library to my list of reasons to get off the couch today.
:l

[Cassander]

Progress thread for ne

Ne/Neva Eva;1196121 wrote: ...
I think I'll start with Spark. I like the title. I'll add the library to my list of reasons to get off the couch today.
:l

Well, Spark explains why so many good things happen to and in the brain when you exercise. To my lay person's way of thinking it explains not only why exercise works better than alcohol (duh!), it may also explain in theory why exercise should be a natural complement to maintenance bac.

Younger Next Year explains how to build a whole life around regular exercise, a good diet, proper sleep, etc, and "caring, commitment and community". This last ingredient is the tough one in 21st century America and, no doubt, in most of the rest of the world.

I think it may well be the absence of the last ingredient, in many ways, that drives us to drink!

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Progress thread for ne

That's a profound thought, Cass. I'm having a hard time with those three C's atm! And sorely miss them. except, um, well... enough said...

DG-(et. al. I suppose. I can't clean out my pm box atm. Sorry.) Guess who's studying the endocrine system? Specifically the thyroid. Yep. Me. And guess what? I've got almost every single damn symptom on that list of hypothyroidism. (Trust me, folks, this book is no place for hypochondriacs! :H) To be continued after a visit to the ol' m.d. ugh.

Back to the general forum of bac-ers: Seems like it might be possible that my malaise is entirely unrelated to bac. So nevermind!

btw, welcome to the newbies, howdy to the lurkers (we know you're out there! But don't worry, no one can see you. ) :l to the lot of you. And to the thread-keepers atm, koko. I can't keep up, but I'm with you in spirit.
And to the oldie-newbies: wth!? You stop by, you say hi, and then you're off again without so much as a thank-you-very-much??? Come on fellas. What gives?

And to you! You know who you are...Much, much love. Will try again soon. :l:l:l The beast will die. Don't give up.

[Doggygirl]

Progress thread for ne

Ne - before you even get your blood work done for thyroid check out Thyroid Mistreatment, Hypothyroidism Scandals, and Thyroid Treatment Problems | Stop The Thyroid Madness™. Lots of terrific information so you can at least make sure your doc orders the full array of useful blood tests. Maybe you already have a thyroid enlightened doctor, but most of them are not. If they only test TSH, they are definitely not. Makes a huge difference if you are hypo to get that corrected.

DG

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Progress thread for ne

Thanks, DG. I'll bookmark it now.

Yer ticker? Ten years, huh? Nice...

[missyabby1]

Progress thread for ne

Hey Ne good to see you back. My sobriety is surely my own....no doubt about that. Won't be taking medicine to get it. Already have. Just needed to take a step back in my life to see what was causing such angst. What is Ed doing on the radio or tv, sorry if I got it mixed up. Is he promoting Bac.........sorry if I got that wrong.......it just followed on from him doing well on Bac. ? You said he had been in prison once ? It looks like Bac will keep him out of that horror again.? Honestly Karen, I don't really care if Bac is the only way to achieve sobriety, and I hope it is. I just hope it is a way for "everyone" to get there. You also had contact with Amieson at one point? Is that still the case? Honesty ,Karen is what I embrace, always and forever. I love your posts, who wouldn't, so entertaining and succinct. Sorry to hear about your tiredness, maybe a human condition or may be a prob with your thyroid? The soul of us can grow weary. Love you to the moon and back.

Missy xx

[Guitarista]

Progress thread for ne

G'day Ne and everyone,

Totally removing alcohol from our lives is the trick. For an hour, a day, a week, or what i recommend.....30 days to begin with to get some clarity. Then, one day at a time. Why not have a crack at 1 year off the turp's to begin with, with the relative clarity of mind no-one could argue with when that's done. It's not much of a sacrifice is it, and there could be no argument that in that 1 year AF, the punter would have grown some, and progressed toward their true path. (You've got, what, another 40/50 years left? 1 year is no sacrifice) We always see the merry go round and the circus continue while us problem drinker's drink, don't we? Tell me it isn't so. Commit to a year off the grog, then see how you feel. In the mean time, take care.

Yes, i'm sticking my fat lump of clay of a nose in.

Best wishes, G- bloke.

[Isolde]

Progress thread for ne

Doggygirl;1196403 wrote: Ne - before you even get your blood work done for thyroid check out Thyroid Mistreatment, Hypothyroidism Scandals, and Thyroid Treatment Problems | Stop The Thyroid Madness™. Lots of terrific information so you can at least make sure your doc orders the full array of useful blood tests. Maybe you already have a thyroid enlightened doctor, but most of them are not. If they only test TSH, they are definitely not. Makes a huge difference if you are hypo to get that corrected.

DG

Also do a Google search for hypothyroidism + coconut oil. I'm currently taking a therapeutic dose (3 tbsp. per day) for a few other things, but have seen it mentioned countless times for helping hypothyroidism as well. I've already managed to get off of my blood pressure meds solely due to coconut oil! It's good stuff.

[Doggygirl]

Progress thread for ne

Is - I'm really glad you've been posting about CO. I used to be very good about using it more than I have been lately. I really do need to work my way up to a few TBS per day like you are doing!!!!

DG

[Bruunhilde]

Progress thread for ne

Hi NE!

[RedThread12]

Progress thread for ne

Hey, Ne: Sort of beating a dead horse, here, because apparently it doesn't work for everyone, but l-glutamine definitely did the trick for me re sugar cravings. LARGE doses, like 15-20 grams, not milligrams/day. I've been without for a week or so. I also had a pint of ice cream and a bag of potato chips for dinner a few nights a week.

When I'm regular with the l-glute my blood sugar is rock steady. So much so, in fact, that I had to quit drinking coffee because it messed with my blood sugar so much. Me - the organic, fair-trade, grind your own, 1/2 & 1/2 heating and frothing, espresso maker. The 1/2. and 1/2 makes it a "breve late." I lost so much weight with the bac and supps that I could easily get by with it, but it made me feel so yukky I just quit drinking caffeine altogether. If you haven't tried it, you might give it a go.

[ik1966]

Progress thread for ne

hi, ne i had the low bloodsugar thing too probably it has to do with hormones i am taking high dose magnesium citrate pils which are especialy for that problem.my pschych told me the same... why don't give it a try ...i don't have any sugar and food cravings any more...
love irini !!!:h:h:h