Abstinence Challenge

[JDizzle]

Abstinence Challenge

Oh man I posted 7 days to go. Did u all know that is 1 week. This time next week, I will be smiling on my couch. Ooooo I need to check the rangers schedule and make sure there is a game that day.

[Lo0p]

Abstinence Challenge

I broke. Pm'ing JKitty must be close to PM(not saying it)ing. Drinking a beer right now. That makes 3 if you include the two I had yesterday partying with my dad.

Fuck. That's 4 if you include the O'Douls Juan gave me last weekend when he barbecued that tri-tip for us that ended up poisoning his own mind instead of mine.

Good thing I only signed up for one night. 30 must be...well I don't know. But I'm sure it's happened several times in the last few years without me noticing.

[Juan BH]

Abstinence Challenge

You know O'douls don't count dude. I'd be f*cked if that were the case because even though the addiction leach has been ripped off my brain, my arm is still trained to do a repetitive motion called the 12 oz. curl. It was good to finally meet you in person, Evan. Our cat Tweek even liked you and she doesn't usually care for humans.

[JDizzle]

Abstinence Challenge

Man y'all had a CA party and I wasn't invited? What did u talk about? Marijuana and employee rights? Hahahaha.

[Juan BH]

Abstinence Challenge

We don't need to talk about marijuana here JD. It's really easy to explain that you have an anxiety problem to a doc and get a "green card". Not so much with the baclofen though. Sometimes a "grass roots" campaign is powerful enough to change the laws and people's perceptions. I can't smoke the sh*t though 'cause it makes me paranoid. Who knew?

[skullbabyland]

Abstinence Challenge

emily;1532108 wrote: Just back home from the girls night out and was completely AF.

the AF wine to start with worked a treat, they did try to ram a couple of these shot things down my throat so had to put my foot down and just say no to those. Afterwards, I kept out of any rounds that were being bought, luckily I wasn't the only one doing this so that was fine and when I did go to the bar I bought tonic water and said I was drinking G & Ts.

Day 21 for me and was glad I didn't let myself down or you guys down just for the sake of a couple of beers.

Emily, your post brought such a big smile to my face as I was reading it! You're a serious badass. Good on you for sticking to your convictions, and going out to have a good time with friends while being AF. Seriously rad.

I may have to try that AF wine thing! Does it basically just taste like grape juice or does it have a "bite" like wine does?

[Juan BH]

Abstinence Challenge

I didn't mean to shove that stuff in ur face like that JD. I'm just trying to get my feet under me here like you are. Lo0p you will see me again on the new forum, but we still have a good week of the challenge left.

[skullbabyland]

Abstinence Challenge

Day 13 for me and having some thoughts of drinking tonight... but I will resist.

[JDizzle]

Abstinence Challenge

Juan BH;1532362 wrote: I didn't mean to shove that stuff in ur face like that JD. I'm just trying to get my feet under me here like you are. Lo0p you will see me again on the new forum, but we still have a good week of the challenge left.

It's all good dude. I'm actually about to jump out of this forum. I gotta be working with people man.. Not avatars. My passion is people that have failed in AA for many years... Chronic relapsers... And there are many of us. I've been in contact with some old timers at my old home group in Austin and with 2 doctors that have butted their heads against many walls with me over the past 20 years. I think I can be effective at helping many people around here. If I save one person, I succeeded. I have no interest in saving the world... I'm simply JD. I see a lot of AA bashing in here and I think it's unfortunate. We have a lawyer that is not making money right now to devote time to baclofen. We have thousands of success stories over the past few years. As far as AA, Millions of people since the 30s have completely devoted their entire lives and the lives of their families to go to the edge of the earth to save one alcoholic at a time. It's kinda like we sold a computer out of our garage and we start raving about how we r going to overtake apple. Anyways, there r plenty of people for us to be out helping. Has anyone in here ever gone to a detoxing person's house to offer them hope. I personally waste the time I could be helping people on here. I think there is already plenty of info on the Internet to guide people. But, as is well know in AA, but maybe not here.... Removing the booze is where the real battle begins. Like I have said, I was fortunate to have my background. I know how to work on my issues. I have a sponsor to help me check myself. I have a ton of resources to carry the message of baclofen. It's time to spread my wings and fly. I'm pretty much done with all the bickering that 100% of forums are going to have.... Which is why this is the first forum I have ever been on. Anyways, no harm, no foul... I just know my people skills r being wasted here. I lied I was on a forum for xbconnect when I used to play Halo 1 a long time ago, but I never posted


But u can bet I'm sticking around another 7 days to finish out this thread...it means a lot to me. I was actually really glad u started this thread Juan. I had kinda been shunned for talking about drinking, so I knew if we were going to have a thread like this, it had to be started by someone else. I told someone else, I got shunned more here for talking about drinking than I would have been announcing in an AA meeting that I was on the muscle relaxer maintenance program. Hahaha. Any AAers will know how funny that would be.

[spacebebe01]

Abstinence Challenge

JD while I think its good that you want to help people with the drink I have to disagree with you that time on here is wasted. I went to AA for a lot of years and it did not help me at all, if anything I believe it made me worse but by coming here I have now sorted my drinki problem I believe for good because I have never been told (or suggested) what to do by anyone on MWO but have had constant help and support when I needed it. People need to find there own way of doing things and posting on here is every bit or even more valuable than going to a detoxing persons house, it reaches more people whether its one, ten or more.

Stuck so happy to hear your doing so well, keep it up mate I do think its the meds I am on stuck, getting a diagnosis and treatment for my actual illness of bipolar has seemed to make the need to self medicate with alcohol redundant.

Emily its great you managed to enjoy your night out with friends without drinking, I am puzzled by why you needed all the cloak and dagger stuff but whatever works for you is great.

Over the years whenI have been off the booze I think Ive hardly ever been asked why Im not drinking I dont really think anyone cares enough,

Thanks for letting me pop onto your thread and good luck to everyone whatever your plans.

[emily]

Abstinence Challenge

Thanks for the nice comments guys, much appreciated.

Skullbaby - yeah the AF wine tasted just like grape juice, no bite but it was the right colour, that's about it, would have preferred a fizzy water. Keep going, you're nearly half way. I found that increasing my bac helped in the first couple of weeks.

JDizzle;1532388 wrote: But u can bet I'm sticking around another 7 days to finish out this thread...it means a lot to me. I was actually really glad u started this thread Juan. I had kinda been shunned for talking about drinking, so I knew if we were going to have a thread like this, it had to be started by someone else. I told someone else, I got shunned more here for talking about drinking than I would have been announcing in an AA meeting that I was on the muscle relaxer maintenance program. Hahaha. Any AAers will know how funny that would be.
Hey JD, boy am I going to miss you and regarding your post about drinking, at the time it was where I was too and it made a lot of sense to me, I think a lot of people read posts but don't comment. Fantastic you're here till the end of the challenge though but will miss your posts.

caro;1531957 wrote: The baclofen enabled me to drink a few glasses and stop but I still had the mental preoccupation with alcohol. It is easier for me to have none.

Congrats on your 7 weeks Caro and the mental preoccupation with alcohol is exactly where I was before the challenge, god, why can't I simplify my words like you have done here, the Challenge has stopped me having the mental preoccupation with AL, I am very grateful for this.

Xadrian and Juan, we're nearly there, whoop whoop.

Hope everyone else is doing great as well.

Thank you Juan for starting this, as Caro put it my last hurdle was getting rid of my mental preoccupation with AL and I have now done that, tick, tick, tick.

Day 22 for me today

[Xadrian]

Abstinence Challenge

JDizzle;1532388 wrote: I'm actually about to jump out of this forum. I gotta be working with people man.. Not avatars.

Are you serious man?

The avatars you're talking about ARE real people with real problems. It's not some kind of a game, nor is it some kind of joke.

I think you underestimate the power of a forum like this and also the impact of your posts.

But hey, it's your decision. But promise me to just drop by once in a while.
I will miss your posts.

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Abstinence Challenge

Hey all. Still loving the vibe. I guess I'm on a 30 days with you...Didn't want to make it a thing, and honestly when I initially thought about it (making the choice not to drink for 30 days) my initial reaction was a stubborn "But what if I WANT a drink?" hahaha.

But I didn't and don't 'cause it makes me feel fat, lazy and stupid. I have enough character flaws to work on without addressing the ones that make me feel badly about things that aren't true. And in the end, sobriety with baclofen is like any other sobriety...It's a mind game. If it's fun and full of life then it's easy. If it ain't, most people just stop taking the pills so they can drink again.

JDizz, many of your posts make me grin. Some make me laugh out loud. Like this one...I really, really want to find a place to say the following:

JDizzle;1531151 wrote: .... Hey I notice ur drinking soda... Yeah because I'm an alcoholic and I don't wanna ruin my life .. Is that ok with u lil miss perfect god why does everyone hate me ...JESUS.

(even though it would be a lie, it would probably be funny in the right circumstances. I mentioned it to Ed and he doesn't agree...But whatever. Humor, like all other aspects of our personalities, is individual.)

(A lot like what goes on in a forum. Bickering, for one person, might provide profound insight for another. I learned early on that I have NO IDEA what someone is going to find relevant/interesting/offensive. And goodness knows, I've offered up all three. Sometimes bickering is a misunderstanding, or a result of hurt feelings. I think one of the reasons that Ne (not me, but Ne) drives someone crazy is because I inadvertently called him old when he was first starting out here. Now it could be that he hangs on every word I write, and so is very dismayed that I deleted a single one. Or that he thinks my input outranks everyone else's here. But that's silly talk, isn't it? Humility...Sometimes it's a struggle to find. [Not in this case. I know for sure that what's going on there ain't about me. Ya' know? I take what I can use, give what I hope will be useful, and try really, really hard to leave all the rest behind.] It's all a balance. Balance is hard for a Ne, for Me and for human beings in general. God (or god, whatever) knows I don't have exclusive rights to a lack of balance...)

Speaking of balance, I mean humility, I mean humor...

One of the things I have found really entertaining (but not really laugh out loud) is the idea of someone walking into an AA meeting with a beer in hand shouting the benefits of baclofen with the wisdom of ages. It was really hard for me (and will be again when I go back) to think about disrupting that room in that way. For me, Spirit/God/etc is in the house whenever a group of drunks get together to share their experience, strength and hope. Be it here or there or anywhere...(Sorry for the reference to that hot-button-topic "spirit" folks. Stick with me for a moment longer!) It's not just that though. I also learned early on that I only really started learning when I really started hearing rather than knowing ALL the THINGS the minute I had an ounce of control back in my life. (I still struggle with that one, honestly. Obviously!)

I don't respond well to tough love, (does anyone?) and I really hate it when I use it in the wrong way, so I always appreciated it when someone gently reintroduced it when I had to hear it. Especially if it was before I made a complete ass out of myself. (omg. What I wouldn't give for a little pinch right before I do that the next time. Right?)

Where was I? Oh. Yes. Sometimes someone just has to call it out to my attention though. Straight forward. No digression. So here it is: (The Point! FINALLY!!!)

If you're still excited about drinking, and can't wait, and are setting up the evening with what you want to watch and do and who you want to be with and most importantly what you're going to DRINK (wooohooo! ???)

well, you might want to take a closer look at what you're calling a switch.

(And here's a bit of an explanation, but mostly, for those who really want to check it out, read some threads 'cause this is going to be in the language of AA and not baclofen) Baclofen doesn't just treat the physical "allergy", it's not just cessation of the actual craving, it treats the obsession of the mind. In almost all cases the "switch' is a bit of a misnomer. Oh, it happens and for sure. And when it happens the urge to drink (by definition) is switched...to off. Lots and lots of people can't choke down a drink. Even the ones that can have a hard time doing it. That feeling doesn't last forever for most people. And so most of us drink again. But for many of us indifference is just that. I don't think about drinking, I don't plan ahead to drink, I don't make sure that we have my favorite thing just in case I feel like a drink, and even if I feel like I want a drink, but I know that it wouldn't be a good idea because I am...trying to eat healthy and lose weight for instance, I just don't drink. And I don't care about not drinking anymore than I would if I did drink. You won't know until you get here, and you won't believe it when you are here.

HAYzeus. Sorry for the tome. This one's REALLY going to piss off someone, somewhere at some point. I guarantee it. oops.

jkttdp peeps. And Rock that Abstinence. It really does rock.

:disco:

[JDizzle]

Abstinence Challenge

Where the hell have u been? I was about to start a thread on the reasons why Neva relapsed. Glad I was gonna give it one more day. Dude I hear what ur sayin...I'm not doin 30 more days....gross. If u r correct, then I will be one of the people that drinks up to the switch. I think ur thoughts on going into a meeting with a drink are rad. I've definitely been to my share drunk. I've shared drunk and that was just special. But if u take a beer and some pills into a meeting, u have to shotgun the beer for dramatic effect... Then burp and say ur cured. Hahahaha. Oh I love it!!! I don't take what ur saying lightly. I totally hear it. But it may be worth a good case of the jitters to get a true understanding of ur condition (paraphrased).

[Ne/Neva Eva]

Abstinence Challenge

Cheers, brother. Be safe-ish.