Abstinence Challenge

[skullbabyland]

Abstinence Challenge

Great stuff Dun- keep it up my friend and you'll continue to feel good and have good sleep too.

[Poink]

Abstinence Challenge

I don't check in very often, but I'm still AF, I think this is day 26 that's about to end. Not much of a counter but think that's right. Now have to decide about taking care of some other issues.

Sam, if it was a cake-walk, it wouldn't be called a "challenge." No big deal, the water wagon doesn't move very fast. You can always jump back on. One of the most important things you can learn on this site is that to quit drinking, you have to keep quitting. No matter how many times it takes.

What they say is true: Sobriety is for quitters.

[dundrinkn]

Abstinence Challenge

Day 12 flew by. Now well into day 13. No plans or desire to drink.

I am having SEs again, which sucks. I am switching from liquid to pills. I used to think that members who complained about SEs being so bad that they would stop taking bac were sissies. I now understand, and offer apologies for my mean thoughts. I am only at 40 mg. of pills, with the other 140 liquid. The SEs are really nasty. Insomnia, a strange spastic thing that happens with my hands at night, and just feeling really buzzy. Yuck. The liquid is sooooo much smoother. And while I had some SEs on the liquid, they were nothing like what I'm getting with the pills. I have enough liquid to take the transition slowly, but I'd really rather not have to do it at all! Today I am cranky with LoOp.

[skullbabyland]

Abstinence Challenge

Sorry to hear about the SE's while transitioning to pills, Dun. That sucks, but it's still worth it if you don't drink. Keep at it and good luck.

Poink, you must be right around 30 days now, yeah?

How's everyone else doin today?

[Samandkatharine]

Abstinence Challenge

Poink, sobriety is for quitters....love it! I'm doing ok. Having some sober blues right now. I hear it's common. I'm also going up mg wise. Going from 80mg to 90mg today.

Dun, yes, the liquid is/ was better side effect wise. I've been taking pills once a day to get used to them. I like to think Lo0p is laughing at us in heaven saying "now you really love me!":wings: maybe there will be some pill poppers chiming in. There is a BAD BAC thread you can search for. Some brands are better than others.

Sam

[skullbabyland]

Abstinence Challenge

Day 95 AF

[dundrinkn]

Abstinence Challenge

Today is day 15. I thought I posted yesterday, but it must have gone into the ethers. No problems with craving, and not really thinking about alcohol. I have started to plot my way down to a more manageable dose. I'm pretty sure I switched the first time around 140 or 120. I think I drank through my switch this time and it was probably right about there. I'm thinking of heading down very slowly (5mg a week) once I hit 30 days. I will stay AF while titrating down. I don't think I'll go below 120 for a good while, however, based on my experience of being able to drink at that dose alcoholically. Because of the SEs I am having with the pills (they suck) I would like to be at a lower dosage by the time I move to all pills. Just thinking out loud here. We'll see how I feel about 15 more days AF. So far, so good.

Sam, the first week I was very blue as well. I started the Fast Metabolism Diet at the same time I went AF. The diet is a lot of planning, cooking and eating every 2 to 3 hours, so it is keeping my obssesive mind very busy. I have also lost 5 pounds in two weeks and feel pretty good too. I haven't felt that lost, empty feeling for a while. Although I do remember that the last time I titrated down, I went into a mega wicked Depression (notice the capital D). That's why I plan to go down really, really slowly.

[Poink]

Abstinence Challenge

Yeah Skull, the way I was counting today would be 30, but the way all of the "Sobriety Counters" on AA sites and places like them count, this is Day 31.

Went to a Super Bowl party yesterday with a big crowd of old friends and a few new ones and only my wife and I not drinking. Lots of good company, good talk, good food, good times and no alcohol. There was one time when the host changed from beer to whiskey and was pouring the drink right in front of me that was a little uncomfortable but overall it went really well.

Juan, thanks for putting this challenge up in the meds forum. Sometimes even those of us looking for better living through chemistry need to apply a big dose of willpower as part of our medical program.

If I make it through today, tomorrow will start a new calendar month of sobriety. Of course I started in a month with 31 days. Doh! My goal was 28 days. I haven't set a new goal yet, haven't thought that far ahead, but I know I don't want to go back to where I was.

In the news this morning is another reminder that there may be a finite number of relapses for each of us. RIP Philip Seymour Hoffman.

[Fred_The_Cat]

Abstinence Challenge

Man, I haven't checked on this thread since it had been exercise-centric, but back when Evan was posting about being abstinent as part of a health regimen he got on the subject of weight loss. He had mentioned on a couple of other threads how lifting was an extremely (brutally would be a better word) efficient exercise to lose weight. He was so right.

Last year a bitched and moaned about putting on antidepressant/antipsychotic weight. It reached a boiling point around September-October when, to my horror, I tipped the scale at 169 lbs. Cutting out the zoloft passively brought me down to 160 by the end of the year, but despite the decreased appetite I hovered at that weight until the middle of January.

That's when I started personal training.

My trainer broke down the kettle bell workout I was doing as mainly a cardio exercise. He said that the top two reasons people give up on exercise are feeling exhaustion after the first couple of sessions and thinking they're incapable, or doing exercises within their capability and reaching a plateau at which they give up. I was in the latter category.

The solution, as Evan pointed out, is to push yourself to complete failure each time. That builds muscle, which eats more calories in your downtime than sporadic cardio ever will. In about 4 sessions (with a sensible diet I must add) I lost about 7 lbs in 2 weeks. I'm down to 153 now.

I would also endorse getting a personal trainer, even if only for a few months. It's definitely not cheap, but it's absolutely affordable compared to booze. A good comparison between working out on your own and working with a trainer is my experience at going to a community college and then transferring to a major university. The textbooks and material were the same, but the community college left you to your own devices until test time while the university had many more resources to keep the pressure on you. While I was pooping out after a set number of calories on my own, my trainer knew exactly how to squeeze out the last bit of my being with exercises that were just a bit easier.

I should also add that getting a trainer is a wise choice if you're going to push yourself to failure as you are getting into a safety issue. They are not going to let you lift with improper form or otherwise hurt yourself now or down the road.

[dundrinkn]

Abstinence Challenge

Into day 16. No beer in sight. Met with the psychiatrist today and took prescribing guidelines and research study (thanks Colin!). She gave me a script for 180mg and on her own suggested Gabapenten for the nerve pain I'm having. I will try the Gaba, but want to keep the dose low -- just losing weight and don't want to get fat! Would rather have nerve pain. But that's just me.

I saw her a year ago and got a lower dose script that I only had to fill once, thanks to LoOp. So she is very excited about how well I've done on the BAC and is going to have some other patients try it. She won't do phone consults, but if anyone is in Colorado and wants a good doc, PM me and if I know who you are (on the boards) and you're not a dick (on the boards) I would share the name.

[Mandiekinz]

Abstinence Challenge

dundrinkin' - That's amazing news! So happy to hear it. I'll keep you in mind if anyone starts asking about docs.

Fred- Also, amazing news and results! Keep it up. But don't float away in the wind..

I also picked up some weights yesterday after almost two months off and finally picked back up my supplements and vitamins. I was getting a little lazy and depressed after all the events and this wretched weather. YUK! I need sunshine and birds chirping to hurl myself out of bed.

Everyone else...freaking awesome work! Sorry I haven't been checking in lately.

Some drying out time and focus is needed for a little bit. Had quite the weekend of cocktails at Evan's memorial.

7 days..

[Fred_The_Cat]

Abstinence Challenge

Another thing that bears mentioning is that a couple weeks ago I was in some pretty horrific abilify withdrawal but went to my gym appointment anyway. I got slammed so hard that the endorphins had erased all of the mental agony I was going through.

It didn't last though, as the despair was back in full force the next morning. Still, it goes to show what a powerful antidepressant exercise can be.

[Samandkatharine]

Abstinence Challenge

Fred,
I feel your pain with the Abilify withdrawal. My son went through that and it was awful. Turns
Out he was misdiagnosed and didn't need it. I felt like such a bad Mommy. Antipsychotics are not to be trifled with. I'm glad you found a substitute.

Sam

[Yourfriend6116]

Abstinence Challenge

Dundrinkin. That's great news about the scrip! Let us know what kind of pills you get and if your SE's decrease.

[dundrinkn]

Abstinence Challenge

On to day 17. Feeling down today. Not sure why. I have two teenagers who trade off being total jerks. But that's everyday, so not sure why today I was just about ready to scream and run away to a island where no teens are allowed. Really love that book on parenting "All joy, no fun." But aside from that... I guess I am feeling very mortal lately. The utter lack of control I, or any of us, really have, is frightening. And I don't like it. But I won't drink today because of it. I may have to work out to distract myself.