Nothing is working

[sliebschner]

Nothing is working for me. I am a working professional and all at work is going well, but when I get away from work, I want to drink. I have quit going to bars. I do not associate with my drinking friends anymore. I am doing better than I was. But I am not free of alcohol. I do not keep it in my house. If I want any, I have to buy it that day. Which I do. I have been on Campral. I have been in counseling for a year and a half. I tried Revia, but it made me very sick. I know I suffer from depression and anxiety. I have tried many medications, but have been only able to tolerate ativan and lexapro. Everything else either makes me so tired I can't do anything or so nauseous I can't do anything. Does anyone have any advice? I have read everything and I continue to suffer.

[bloggy]

Nothing is working

Hello Slieb-

I like you tried everything but couldn't stay away from it for any real length of time.

I tried Revia (naltrexone) in October but also got really nasty side effects and stopped after about 10 days. I started it again three months ago, but this time I started with a tiny dose- less than a quarter of a tab, just a nibble off the end. I carried on like that until I did not feel anything, then upped the dosage slightly- made sure I didn't get any nausea for a number of days before I upped it again. I can now take it without any side effects at all.

I take 25mg at around 5pm each day- many days that stops me picking up. If I do take a drink, I don't really get the same buzz anymore, and after a maximum of 3 beers I have had enough- generally I don't manage to finish the third, I throw it away.

Good luck, keep checking back, one day you will read something here and the penny will drop!

[Blue Sky]

Nothing is working

Coming here and reading and posting will help. Look at the Toolbox under the Monthly Abstinance Forum. Then make a plan.

Good luck, Stay Strong.

[Lavande]

Nothing is working

Welcome Sliebschner,

You've found a good place, there's lots of info, support & encouragement to be found here.
Sounds like you've worked very hard to achieve sobriety but haven't gotten good results. That's discouraging, I know.
You mentioned your anxiety/depression issue - that was a big one for me too. Lexapro didn't help much, it certainly didn't stop me from wanting to drink. Back in January I stopped Lexapro and started on a good herbal product called Amoryn. My anxiety is gone and I feel great. Once I had that problem licked I was able to jump on the MWO wagon and have had great success. I am now 6 weeks AF, very happy & grateful. I personally believe that ridding myself of the anxiety/depression prepared me for everything else I needed to do to achieve my goal.

Check in often, there are many success stories here to help motivate you. You will see that there is no one right way to do this. You need to find the right way for you and you will.

All the best,
Lavande

[shirazgirl]

Nothing is working

I do not personally accept the principals of AA due to the fact that I don't think that I am powerless over AL. I do not think I am powerless over anything that is a choice and to me, drinking is a choice. I believe it is a primitive part of our brain that tells us that the numbing effect of al will bring us comfort. I decided to challenge that part of my brain and everytime it spoke to me, I would silently scream back at me, swear and ask it if it was trying to kills us. After about a month or so, the voice was less and less, I think it was afraid of being reprimanded. I also had an epiphany. The last time I got drunk, I was supposed to go to my elder ailing father's house. I was so hungover I sent my husband in my place. The next day, my Mother called me to tell me they were rushing my Dad to the hospital and it looked serious. On my drive to the ER all I could think about is if this is the day my Dad passed on, I would have forfeited the last day he was alive and could have spent time w/ him because I was hungover. I knew I would NEVER forgive myself. When I feel like drinking, I automatically relate to that feeling and it's like a sickness that sweeps over me. I was lucky, I got a second chance and my Dad recovered. I understand the energy around me and the warning signs in place. I have chosen to adhere to them and realize my worst day sober is still better then my best day drinking.......Hope this helps...

[DeeBee]

Nothing is working

Welcome Sliebschner,

Have you tried any of the supplements recommended in the book?
Personally I have found them really helpful to reduce cravings, detox the system as well as getting my energy levels back up again.

[FloridaBoy]

Nothing is working

:welcome: If you have depression and anxiety AL will only exacerbate them. Been there too. Get the Kudzu from this site. Use it and l-glutamate for cravings. You can get the glute in bulk powder form. Read a lot of posts here and you will find that you are not alone.

[sliebschner]

Nothing is working

Revia

Dear Marbella--Thank you for your advice. I am trying what you did--just starting out with a small amount of the Revia. So far, no ill effects. I also noticed that my prescription was for 50 mg/day--double the 25 mg you said you take. And I am a small person. Hopefully, I will find some relief. I would love it if something finally clicked with me on a long term basis. I owe you so much for responding and giving me another hope for treatment. I will let you know how I do. God bless.

[sliebschner]

Nothing is working

Thanks to all who responded to my request for help--I have some new things to think about in the course of my treatment and am encouraged rather than discouraged once again. I will keep all updated on progress.

[sliebschner]

Nothing is working

Dear Shirazgirl--my dad was just in the hospital for back surgery yesterday. He came home today and is fine. Your comments made me think, though, what if something would have happenned while he was in the hospital and I was drinking and could not go? I would never ever forgive myself either. I love both my parents dearly and they have always taken care of me to the point I don't know what I would ever do without either of them. I too need to remember that my worst day sober is better than my best day drinking. Although I have struggled with sobriety, I have recently been able to stay more sober than not and have spent a great deal of time with my parents. Often before, I would stay away because I had been drinking or be out at a bar or with my drinking friends. I am so glad for the improvement (I don't go to bars and do not hang out with the same crowd anymore), but ultimately would like not to drink at all or on a very limited basis, if that is possible for me. Thank you for your words of encouragement and for putting things in a real perspective.

[shirazgirl]

Nothing is working

I'm glad if I helped. There are things that we ultimately can't stop from coming and there are things that we can. I accept the things that I don't have control of take responsibility for the things I do have control of. You and I are lucky to have both of our parents and although I realize that my parents are coming to the end of their journey, it is important to me to know that I have done the best that I could to be a good daughter and tend to them now as they did me as a child. It's the natural rotation of our lives. Go to sleep knowing you have done the best you could for the day. Scream at those voices in your head when they tell you that AL is comforting. We are all in this alone but together.

[Evie.Lou]

Nothing is working

I can tell you that baclofen was a GOD SENT for me. Have you read the book "End of my Addiction " ??? It talks all about Baclofen and how it is used. It might be worth a read ???

[ceprise]

Nothing is working

I'm a MWO Program Guy

I'm 6 weeks into the MWO Program and 19 days AF. Now I've had some special circumstances, two non-AL hospitalizations in the past week. But in the 5 weeks leading up to the hospitalizations, I faithfully followed the MWO program in Roberta Jewett's book, Topa, supplements, Hypno CDs, Community Posting, Exercise/Diet, and one day found my desire for alcohol to be gone. I'm still doing the Community Posting and CDs while in the hospital.

I had a 15 to 20 shot per day Scotch and Vodka habit. I was self-medicating for arthritis in my knees and hips. Following the MWO Program allowed me to stop the alcohol. My knees and hips still hurt, but I'm sober.

I had to learn and convince myself about the MWO Program and sell it to my PCP in order to get the Topa script. I researched drugs for alcohol withdrawal. I believed that MWO with topa gave me my best chance to beat alcohol.

Please tell me where you guys were and are following the MWO Program. Did you start and stop? What did you find worked or didn't?

I'm trying to assess what is my long term chance for continued success.

[bloggy]

Nothing is working

sliebschner;608068 wrote: Dear Marbella--Thank you for your advice. I am trying what you did--just starting out with a small amount of the Revia. So far, no ill effects. I also noticed that my prescription was for 50 mg/day--double the 25 mg you said you take. And I am a small person. Hopefully, I will find some relief. I would love it if something finally clicked with me on a long term basis. I owe you so much for responding and giving me another hope for treatment. I will let you know how I do. God bless.

Slieb, I have only just seen your response- I know of a few people who have taken 50mg as the first dose and have become very very ill!

Drs. Sinclair and Eskapa (Author of the book "The Cure for Alcoholism") recommend starting at 25mg for 3 days, then upping to 50mg a day...but I found even that too much. I did take 50 mg for a while, after upping my dose very slowly, but I did not find it gave me any benefits that I wasn't getting at 25mg, so I thought why put extra stress on the liver and bank account for nothing and went back to 25mg.

Please let me know how you get on- I have researched and read just about everything written on Naltrexone I think, so please PM if you are still struggling- I will see the PM even if I don't log onto the boards for a few days.

[Pan]

Nothing is working

I don't know what to advise, except keeping in your mind the very reason you want to give up in the first place. What do you stand to gain by drinking? More importantly, what do you stand to LOSE? Is what you stand to lose more important? You have a simple task here. Obviously it is not that simple, but if you look at it this way, "Do I lose everything I want in life by the simple, destructive task of lifting my arm and putting alcohol into my mouth?" And, how will I feel after?