Progress thread for ne

[beckty]

Progress thread for ne

wrote: And I haven't had a drink about it! Or even thought about that, until now. That kind of thinking just doesn't exist anymore. And that, THAT is a hugely positive thing.

Whoa! That would be huge for me as well. I can't even imagine that kind of freedom yet.

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Progress thread for ne

Thank you, peeps. I am actually really enjoying the memories of her. Of course, walking into the house and not having her sheepishly jump off the couch (as though we don't know that's where she sleeps) to greet me is still brutal.

I'm thinking of fostering a litter of puppies. And some cats. Maybe a parrot or two. Though I'm pretty sure a zoo's worth of animals would not fill the void, it would be a welcome distraction.

(We actually found out she was sick because I took her in for her wellness checkup at the vet. All in preparation for getting a puppy! We're going to put that off for a while yet. A new dog would suffer in comparison to our beloved companion. Especially a puppy!)

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Progress thread for ne

The worst thing about the whole abstinence vs. moderation discussion is that it changes the dialogue to something much less important. It can also easily be misconstrued, misunderstood and misapplied.

Here are some important questions:

For newbies:
Does drinking mess things up?
If you're taking a medication to quit drinking, it's probably a good idea to focus on that as the goal. But no, it's not the end of the world. Unless, of course, something terrible happens. Terrible things happen to alcoholics that drink. Just something to keep in mind.

Can I ever drink again?
Maybe. Maybe not. If you're still drinking alcoholically, then chances are you aren't able to figure that out. Some of us decide never to drink again. Some of us decide to drink again. And some of us relapse. Or quit taking the medication. You'll have to decide for yourself when you aren't addicted to alcohol. In the meantime, focus on the goal.

Anybody else have any ideas? Someone want to start a thread about how we each navigated the decisions in early titration and sobriety?

I would love to have a discussion for old timers, too. How much is too much? How do you know? Where do you (personally) set your own limits? (One drink? One night? Whenever?) Do you have any limits? What happens when you exceed them?

I think that a lot of us might see that as no big deal, or not worth the discussion. I know it's hard for me to imagine it's that important. But it IS important. And maybe it's the most important? Baclofen changes the dynamic of our understanding of the disease. Shouldn't that be the point? (Maybe not. I don't know.)

[StuckinLA]

Progress thread for ne

New thread? Maybe new thread. If that happens, feel free to copy/paste this if I don't.

Does drinking mess things up?

For sure. I had a wonderfully pleasant titration up to 150mg/day while abstinent. There was some major sleepiness in the afternoons, and sleeping's always a problem for me well-past the early days of sobriety, but other than that I just took the pills and kept going. After I started drinking at 150, well that's where my thread started and it was a rough go. That does not mean that I didn't become indifferent to alcohol at 240. Indifferent right after a night of absinthe and bourbon, in fact.

Can I ever drink again?

Holy Christ I hope so! Until then, not taking baclofen and not drinking alcohol are what works for me. A little over 7 months abstinent last year, a surprisingly quick descent into alcoholic drinking and withdrawal early this year, and currently 2.5 months abstinent with no plan to break the streak. At least not this morning. I don't think it would be this easy without having been on baclofen in the past, but I never tried to sober up before then, either.

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Progress thread for ne

So. How'd you do it the first time? Why'd you stop bac? And how the hell are you doing it now? Especially with all you have going on?

Any chance you want to revive your old thread and we'll do a little old school MWO? (Actually, it's always been just like this. But whatever. I'm going with nostalgia.)

[Samandkatharine]

Progress thread for ne

Old school MWO is what got me here. I'm happily,to just sit back and read. I learned so much from you old farts :H

Sam

[StuckinLA]

Progress thread for ne

Old school it is! I'll get to my thread soon - there's probably some updating that needs happening anyways.

How am I doing it? I'm way too busy to drink, that's how! :H I just stopped, eventually. I stopped for 2 months because I was in the hospital for withdrawal and then drinking again right after and then in a hospital detoxing again. I was scared. And then I was taking bac and not scared enough anymore, and then I was at the switch and it drinking didn't seem to really matter anymore, so I went ahead and drank a little here and there and then thought why don't I stop taking the bac and get rid of the SEs and the leg pain, and then I realized that I'd been through all that and hadn't ever really stopped drinking.

So I had a few 30 day stretches, and a few more hospital visits, got some ativan and used that for withdrawal for a while, and after long enough just had had enough, ya' know? So I stopped. 7 months later drinking sounded like a really good idea, and since the streak was broken, some drinks on New Year's eve a couple weeks later sounded like a good idea. Then it was a week later, then a few days later, then the next day and then the next morning. Then the ativan was almost gone, and it was time to stop again.

Wow, when I write it all out I don't sound like the Sobriety Poster Boy I thought I was!

[spiritwolf333]

Progress thread for ne

Ne/Neva Eva;1663390 wrote: The worst thing about the whole abstinence vs. moderation discussion is that it changes the dialogue to something much less important. It can also easily be misconstrued, misunderstood and misapplied.

Here are some important questions:

For newbies:
Does drinking mess things up?
If you're taking a medication to quit drinking, it's probably a good idea to focus on that as the goal. But no, it's not the end of the world. Unless, of course, something terrible happens. Terrible things happen to alcoholics that drink. Just something to keep in mind.

Can I ever drink again?
Maybe. Maybe not. If you're still drinking alcoholically, then chances are you aren't able to figure that out. Some of us decide never to drink again. Some of us decide to drink again. And some of us relapse. Or quit taking the medication. You'll have to decide for yourself when you aren't addicted to alcohol. In the meantime, focus on the goal.

Anybody else have any ideas? Someone want to start a thread about how we each navigated the decisions in early titration and sobriety?

I would love to have a discussion for old timers, too. How much is too much? How do you know? Where do you (personally) set your own limits? (One drink? One night? Whenever?) Do you have any limits? What happens when you exceed them?

I think that a lot of us might see that as no big deal, or not worth the discussion. I know it's hard for me to imagine it's that important. But it IS important. And maybe it's the most important? Baclofen changes the dynamic of our understanding of the disease. Shouldn't that be the point? (Maybe not. I don't know.)

Great Idea for a new thread. Could really help the newcomer (IMO -of course)

[spiritwolf333]

Progress thread for ne

StuckinLA;1663401 wrote: New thread? Maybe new thread. If that happens, feel free to copy/paste this if I don't.

Does drinking mess things up?

For sure. I had a wonderfully pleasant titration up to 150mg/day while abstinent. There was some major sleepiness in the afternoons, and sleeping's always a problem for me well-past the early days of sobriety, but other than that I just took the pills and kept going. After I started drinking at 150, well that's where my thread started and it was a rough go. That does not mean that I didn't become indifferent to alcohol at 240. Indifferent right after a night of absinthe and bourbon, in fact.

Can I ever drink again?

Holy Christ I hope so! Until then, not taking baclofen and not drinking alcohol are what works for me. A little over 7 months abstinent last year, a surprisingly quick descent into alcoholic drinking and withdrawal early this year, and currently 2.5 months abstinent with no plan to break the streak. At least not this morning. I don't think it would be this easy without having been on baclofen in the past, but I never tried to sober up before then, either.

This post would have to be extremely helpful to any newcomer trying to quit alcohol. And my favorite part of all:
Can I ever drink again?

"Holy Christ I hope so! Until then, not taking baclofen and not drinking alcohol are what works for me."
-A truism -well stated.

[StuckinLA]

Progress thread for ne

spiritwolf333;1663495 wrote: This post would have to be extremely helpful to any newcomer trying to quit alcohol. And my favorite part of all:
Can I ever drink again?

"Holy Christ I hope so! Until then, not taking baclofen and not drinking alcohol are what works for me."
-A truism -well stated.

It's your favorite part because you want everyone to believe that baclofen doesn't work. I don't drink now because I'm not taking baclofen.

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Progress thread for ne

Samandkatharine;1663415 wrote: Old school MWO is what got me here. I'm happily,to just sit back and read. I learned so much from you old farts :H

Sam
The nostalgia I experience about MWO is probably for a MWO that never really existed. But one thing that made it really special is that there was a group of us that met here every day and participated in each other's lives.

StuckinLA;1663456 wrote:
Wow, when I write it all out I don't sound like the Sobriety Poster Boy I thought I was!

Oh, you're a poster boy. If I were clever-er and had more time, I'd make one just for you.

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Progress thread for ne

I gotta add that people's stories and comments are much more interesting and illuminating than someone preaching about stuff they think I should or shouldn't do. Right?

I've had WAY more than enough of that in my life. Which works better: Lo0p's thread about how he transformed his body or reading one of a gazillion books about what you should do? I didn't have to do Lean Gains or deadlift an elephant in order to find my muscles. But I did need the inspiration from someone like me and the information from someone real to actually start lifting.

I miss that body. *sigh* (Not his. Though I miss him, too, and we all know that his wasn't so bad to look at! )

[spiritwolf333]

Progress thread for ne

Ne/Neva Eva;1663588 wrote:

Lo0p's thread about how he transformed his body or reading one of a gazillion books about what you should do? I didn't have to do Lean Gains or deadlift an elephant in order to find my muscles.

But I did need the inspiration from someone like me and the information from someone real to actually start lifting.

I miss that body. *sigh* (Not his. Though I miss him, too, and we all know that his wasn't so bad to look at! )

Nice post NE. Great reminder.

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Progress thread for ne

Inspired by Stuck's update, I'll offer one. The short version.

I've got a 6 month delay until my next class working toward the RN. (There's a long version, filled with dying and death [grandma] and the norovirus [me]. It sucked.) I decided it would be a good idea to get an EMT certification and work on an ambulance. For those of you who don't know, those are the people who show up when sh*t goes really, really wrong.

I was sitting in class #2 today, and about two hours into it, I started to wonder what the hell I was thinking. Me? An EMT? oooohhh helll no. (The instructor was talking about "scene safety" and then told a story about a recent major tragedy in my area that included a baby in a stroller and a metal pole and cars.)

You know what I like? I like books. And hospitals. You know what I really don't like? Adrenaline-spiked emergency response in a field where I might literally be picking up pieces of people off of pavement. Oh. No.

So I dropped EMT and picked up chemistry (finally!) and statistics (yay!) and for the next 10 weeks I will be safely ensconced in my safe little study with big fat books.

And that summary is with a nod to Stuck, because he has taken on fires as well as booze, and my friend who knows all things chemistry and medicine because maybe I will be able to figure out something about something in that field in 10 weeks. Maybe. Statistics is just because. What's not to love about statistics?

EMT? ME? wtf was I thinking?

[StuckinLA]

Progress thread for ne

Ne/Neva Eva;1663801 wrote:

EMT? ME? wtf was I thinking?

Oh c'mon, you + those navy blue cargo pants? Hawt.