Back to day one

[Gearhead]

Another two weeks dry followed by two days of moderation then two days of BINGING. When will I learn?? I CANNOT DRINK IN MODERATION!!! I have to accept this fact!

[Seethepony]

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Try Baclofen. I went from drinking 13 days out of 14 on average to not drinking 13 days out of 14 in a couple of weeks. Now I go three weeks at a time without even thinking about alcohol. The only times I do drink is when I forget to take the baclofen for a day or two...
It's a life saver, seriously.

[Guest]

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I thought it was easy not to forget to take bac?

[Seethepony]

Back to day one

Huh, UK?
I'm good at forgetting things. But I've also been experimenting with finding a minimum baclofen "maintenance" dose - 50 mg / day seems to be perfect, 40mg is a bit dodgy and anything less usually ensures I have a brainwave like "Hm, I've been such a good boy, why not have a beer or two...." and we all know where those ideas lead.
But I do find it easy to forget to take - especially if I forget to bring the stuff with me when I'm travelling. I have taken to keeping a few days supply in my wallet.

[Guest]

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I remembered that you posted a while back on how bac was helping you, and when I said I would be worried about forgetting to take it(when I've got something I 'must' do I can get right crotchty if I forget and often that leads to me drinking) you said it was easy to take - no problems, just 2 tabs a day and all your drinking thoughts were banished. So just wondered what was going on.

[moglor]

Back to day one

Gearhead: I was the same way. I tried the moderation game, but it was just that. A game, and I wasn't ever going to be the winner. The first few weeks of abstinence were really hard, but I am feeling a lot better for it now. Baclofen may be able to help you, come check it out on the meds board!

Ukblonde: It *is* easy to forget! Especially once you get over the initial love affair with it. I don't know how much STP is taking, but when I was at my highest dose, I was taking 8-10 pills a day. I had to be very careful to time my doses too. Pill boxes are invaluable.

[Guest]

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Moglor

That's one of the reasons I was put off taking it - 'having' to remember to take a med, especially when it's to prevent me from drinking just adds an extra stress to my day. I have an idea if I did forget I'd either berate myself, or use it as an excuse to drink.

See the pony says he only needs to take 2 pills a day too, and didn't need to go to the higher doses others seem to require.

[Sunnyvalenting]

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I took my bac very conscientiously especially early on. I set my iphone to alert me every 3 hours to take the medicine as I was on 10 mg every 3 hours during the day to get more even dosing and lower side effects.

I actually felt less anxious about having the schedule as I knew I wouldn't have to drink. Funny how we each feel differently with the same input.

I don't know if I needed as high doses as I took. I just followed orders. Never drank while on it. I had 43 years of alcohol abuse. Long enough to know my goal was abstinence. Long enough to realize there was absolutely NO up side for alcohol for me. I currently (11 months in) only take 15 mg at bedtime as much to help me sleep as for the anti craving effect if any at that dose. I have just come to trust and accept that I can now really make that decision for abstinence and carry through.

My life is so much better than it was a year ago. Hope you can see your way back. My advice: forget about moderating, it is a pipe dream and making you unlikely to ever reach your goal. I don't see a lot of success for moderators here.

Most common reason for relapse (in rats, in this order) exposure to the substance, exposure to place of use, stress.

Control what you can of these 3 (Substance and place, and try to learn how to handle stress in a different way or eliminate it where possible). I found that my stress level went down, in time, due to fact that I wasn't creating so many messes and having to clean up after myself as much as when I drank
Good Luck
Sunny

[Seethepony]

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Wise words, Sunny! The hassle of " 'having' to remember to take a med," is trivial compared to the colossal benefits involved.

PS. Believe it or not my wife accidentally put her iphone in the washing machine at 90 degrees C and it still worked when it came out. (Ok, the microphone was a little muted, and the screen was a little blotchy for a few days...)
Whereas the iPod touch I left on the garden table one night was killed - utterly! - by nothing more vicious than morning dew. There's no justice, I tell you!

[QuitinTime]

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I can't mod either - thought I'd try it again but it didn't work and one would think I've learned that by now - but the siren keeps calling. However I did reduce the amount of drinking days this week so far to 3 times since last Friday - best Ive done in a while. Can't or won't drink tonight and can't tomorrow as I'm going to be busy Sunday and need the clear head. So with some luck and perseverance I'll stay sober this weekend. Then on to next week. Can't do the sups so it's cold turkey with hypnosis files and some books to read. However all this being said I'm on day one again. So hang in there. Its when you don't have a day one or more is when youre in trouble.