People who have tapered back to a low dosage?

[Bminor]

People who have tapered back to a low dosage?

RudyB;1225729 wrote: well good, that's encouraging, b, that you still don't crave drink. (how long did you say you stayed at your switch dose?) i will listen to my body, thanks for the reminder. and i will order that book NOW. (bruun has been talking about it, too, and it seems like it will be helpful...)

Rudy,

I kind of tried to explain this in my "success story" on Ne's thread but I have no idea if I ever had a "switch"... but I was on HDB (over 100 and up to 300) for a year and a half or so.

Read that book! oh, and I love cursing!!

[AllyB]

People who have tapered back to a low dosage?

Congrats at getting to 0 B and good luck at staying sober on it.

With regard to the sex drive and function issue I highly recommend maca supplements. It comes in capsules and powder that you can have with a smoothie, it tastes pretty vile so I recommend starting with supplements and only going for the powder if the supplements don't help. Black maca is best but if you can't find that most regular maca contains some of the black stuff so is still very good.

Lepidium meyenii - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Bminor]

People who have tapered back to a low dosage?

AllyB;1226300 wrote: Congrats at getting to 0 B and good luck at staying sober on it.

With regard to the sex drive and function issue I highly recommend maca supplements. It comes in capsules and powder that you can have with a smoothie, it tastes pretty vile so I recommend starting with supplements and only going for the powder if the supplements don't help. Black maca is best but if you can't find that most regular maca contains some of the black stuff so is still very good.

Lepidium meyenii - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hey AllyB!

I actually have a whole bag of organic MACA powder in my shelf of goodies... I think I stated previously that I'm a human guinea pig and have tons of shit. Well, the MACA has just been sitting there so perhaps some research and proper experimentation is in order for this stuff. Good call, and thanks!

Edit: I just took 7 grams of raw organic Maca powder and holy hell I forgot how funky this shit tastes!!! I'm gonna shoot for 5 grams a day and see what happens.

[Bminor]

People who have tapered back to a low dosage?

Bump:

Day 6 with no Baclofen in my system. Feeling normal. No alcohol cravings. Sexual function has not returned to normal however. Having strange dreams which could be due to the melatonin/valerian/magnesium combo, however I was taking this while on Baclofen. Sleep has been so so.

[RudyB]

People who have tapered back to a low dosage?

heya b! thanks for keeping us posted.

freakin' great about 0 b and no sirens! i'm rooting at the sidelines for the return of your normal sexual function.

lately i've done the melatonin/mag combo, but have forgotten about the valerian. fortunately, i haven't needed it; my z's are of quality, if only i could put my pompis* to bed early enough. no strange dreams to report, either, alas. i sure do miss those epic and vivid asleep-films from early bac days, those ones that myths were made of (especially because i oft couldn't tell them from reality).

* butt, hind end; trasero

btw, what's with your name? are you a musician? a theoretician of a harmonious variety? man, the hardest course i ever took in college (besides advanced anthropology) was music theory. 'nuff respect to people who even know what b minor means!

[Bminor]

People who have tapered back to a low dosage?

Rudy,

lol yeah this morning I actually woke with "morning wood" so I take that as a positive sign. :H I just think it will take some time.

Maybe Valerian adds to the dream effect... not sure, last night I slept like the dead and don't remember having any dreams. It's been hit or miss.

I play guitar yes, hardly a musician though and can't actually read music. That's the beauty of guitar though, you don't have to be able to read music to play. I've been at it for 12 years on and off and I'm just self taught and mostly learn other songs by ear and just play my own stuff. Half the time I probably couldn't tell you whether a song was in the key of C or G or whatever... but anyway yeah, that's where the name came from.

Thanks for staying interested. I'm really quite pleased that nothing has changed. I can't say that I'm surprised though either.

[RudyB]

People who have tapered back to a low dosage?

well, you were on hdb for a long time... is that why you're not surprised? i've been on it only a few short months, and here i will stay for a while. fortunately, i don't need to worry about making wood (though i need a couple of cords to get me through the winter).

i couldn't tell you a thing about chords, either. guess that first-year music theory class did nothing for me (but i can read music if i squeeze my memory while squinting).

happy strumming and picking! let us know how that wood holds up...

[Bminor]

People who have tapered back to a low dosage?

Yeah I guess a combination of being on it for so long and then just having my mind right as well. It just took time. I used to be so embarrassed to refuse drinks in front of people... it was ridiculous. These days I quite enjoy it. I think deep down, some drinkers really respect people who just don't drink. I never get into my story or allude to being an "alcoholic" I just say I choose not do drink and usually people will either razz me a bit or just leave it at that. The biggest thing I am working on right now is just really trying to be MYSELF in social situations without alcohol running the show. It's a whole new world to me, as I haven't really had to do this since I was a child before I discovered what I thought was the ultimate social anxiety medication... ALCOHOL. Boy, was I wrong. I still feel a little guilty because I am using some Benzo's but I DO plan to curtail that pretty soon too.

I mean- this probably deserves a thread of it's own, but does anyone think anxiety or social anxiety is a TRUE disorder or medical condition? I struggle with this daily. Often, I just think it's how I choose to perceive situations that creates my anxiety. For example, being overly worried about what other people think of me, or how I look, or being worried that I may say something silly. I don't know, I guess it's complicated.

[RudyB]

People who have tapered back to a low dosage?

jeez, i got nothin' useful to say about anxiety, but there's already at least one good thread going on it...

[Bruunhilde]

People who have tapered back to a low dosage?

B, I think some people are naturally wired to be optimistic, like Rudy or Sunshine. I have a close friend who says she automatically sees the glass 3/4 full, which I don't think is due to her parents, since I knew them well. She says she inherited her outlook from one of her grannies.

My family on the other hand, is completely wonked the other direction. We have to fight those same thoughts and outlooks you do. Many people on this forum have demons like that, and I think alot of it is chemical/genetic. I know the power of the mind is such that we can supposedly change that wiring, which is where harnessing the power of the brain through training like meditation is helpful; however, I think even the really dedicated meditators or CBT'ers etc struggle, from what I've read here on MWO. There was a study of monks who had MRI's done to determine the brain activity, and the findings confirmed there was different brain activity than most people have. Whether this was a combination of nature and nurture, I don't know, but I would suspect so.

[Bminor]

People who have tapered back to a low dosage?

Good post Bruun. I really try to practice a lot of the CBT stuff, the self talk and all that stuff. But you're right, it obviously seems to come much easier to some people. I just wish I could find my "Zen" state lol. I'm a work in progress I suppose. But shit, I'm a million times better off than I was 2 years ago when I was nearly drinking myself to death :H

[redhead77]

People who have tapered back to a low dosage?

Bminor;1228376 wrote:
I mean- this probably deserves a thread of it's own, but does anyone think anxiety or social anxiety is a TRUE disorder or medical condition? I struggle with this daily. Often, I just think it's how I choose to perceive situations that creates my anxiety. For example, being overly worried about what other people think of me, or how I look, or being worried that I may say something silly. I don't know, I guess it's complicated.

It is complicated, B. Anxiety is a true medical condition, if it's bad enough to interfere with daily life. Do you feel like yours does? It seems you get out and do social things. I have this book, it's called Just Enough Anxiety. I first bought it because anxiety is in the title (I've owned it for a number of years). And I have received the diagnosis of anxiety. I didn't know it was written by a CEO and about leadership. We do need a measure of anxiety to function well in life. He writes about "getting comfortable with discomfort", "anxiety as the catalyst for growth", and something as simple as trusting yourself. I think when we've clouded our lives in a haze of booze, so we aren't used to feeling anything at all, it's hard to know what's normal and what isn't. I think most people worry about saying something silly, or what other people might think of them. Don't they?

I think you're really doing well, B. It just takes time.

PS. There is a thread around here about anxiety. Cassander started it. I know because I wrote in it recently, and that did give a bit of anxiety.

[Ne/Neva Eva]

People who have tapered back to a low dosage?

Bminor;1228376 wrote:

I mean- this probably deserves a thread of it's own, but does anyone think anxiety or social anxiety is a TRUE disorder or medical condition? I struggle with this daily. Often, I just think it's how I choose to perceive situations that creates my anxiety. For example, being overly worried about what other people think of me, or how I look, or being worried that I may say something silly. I don't know, I guess it's complicated.

I just read a study (actually a synopsis of several studies) that alludes to a different response in terms of social stressors for people that may be prone to addiction:

The results accordingly point to possible dysfunction of brain centers that respond to social stimuli and in turn regulate inputs to the HPA. Because the two FH groups are similar in drinking habits, it is unlikely that their HPA differences are caused by alcohol exposure...

(FH is family history. They looked at people with a family history of alcoholism, and people without. All of them social drinkers and not addicts. They found that there were different hormonal responses in the people with positive family history of alcoholism and those without. Kinda shocking.) (Also some interesting stuff about nicotine addiction. I haven't read those, but will because I'm gonna quit soon, dangit.)

From this really fascinating (imho ) article:
The hypothalamic?€“pituitary?€“adrenocortical axis in addiction


and hi, peeps!

[Ne/Neva Eva]

People who have tapered back to a low dosage?

P.S. There is a lot more related to just this topic (social anxiety and addiction) available. Some of it the-chicken-or-the-egg conundrum, some of it related to dealing with this stressor so that people can get well even after they stop abusing. Definitely something to think about, B, in terms of managing your anxiety medicinally (including supps of course!)

[Bminor]

People who have tapered back to a low dosage?

Hello Ne!!!

And thanks for the info. I'll have to look through it later when I'm at home. :thanks: