WANT to Stop - but do I need to detox

[janka]

WANT to Stop - but do I need to detox

Like UKBlonde, I also think you would have already experienced withdrawal. Good thing, though, that you will be around your parents in a warm, safe place. Focus on positive things. The anxiety will lessen once alcohol leaves your system, but it takes some time. Good luck, keep us posted, best j

[Rubyblu]

WANT to Stop - but do I need to detox

Ok, thanks everyone, I feel a bit calmer now. I will keep close, read and read, take my vits and start making a plan for my new life. One day at a time.....

Good luck everyone. Big kisses xxx

[janka]

WANT to Stop - but do I need to detox

Sounds so corny, but 'tis so VERY true, focus on what you can do good for yourself and another just for today. Repeat this prescription daily. The days evolve with you feeling better and better with a brighter future unfolding. Let time pass ... do not be impatient with time ... time heals. Best, j

[Hopeworks]

WANT to Stop - but do I need to detox

Rubyblu, Wanted to share my husband's story with you as it will encourage you as he his alcoholic history made recovery seem entirely hopeless. A dozen rehabs, even more instances of being hospitalized and near death with alcohol poisoning and more than a dozen arrests in his past. One drink and he simply could not stop and everyone had given up hope that he could ever stop drinking except God. I literally prayed that God would take him home or do whatever it took to set him free forever from the horror of alcohol addiction.

I believed I would next see him in a morgue but miraculously God showed up and he checked himself into rehab. That was 5 months ago and he is AF, off all meds (a huge key for him), active in AA and church and a long way from a drink.

When he was detoxing he didn't sleep for 13 days and hallucinated ... this was because he was detoxing from a number of prescribed medications for anxiety, depression and sleep disorder as well as alcohol. For many years he had been diagnosed as bipolar, anxiety disorder, depression and ADHD and he thoroughly believed in the adage "better living through pharmaceuticals"!

Against medical advice (the rehab he was at likes to keep patients on some meds) he weaned himself off of everything except nortriptolene and is titrating off of it now. It turns out that he is not bipolar, anxious and does not have sleep disorder but all of those symptoms were simply manifestions of his severe alcoholism. In his case, the drugs, especially the benzodiazepams sabotaged all of his previous efforts to get sober.

Every person is different and I would never dream of telling anyone to not follow their doctor's advice but very few doctors understand alcoholism and how damaging some drugs are to recovery ... especially benzos (practically drinks in pill form that set the stage for eventual relapse).

The addictive brain is very sensitive to medications and alcohol and once deprived of the chemicals it believes it needs just as the body needs oxygen it will use every trick in can to get you to pick up... remember that!

There are two visuals that helped us as Chris battled his cravings.... One is that his rational self was a rider of a huge elephant who was his emotional, alcoholic self. While the rider was small and the elephant was very powerful and large his rational rider self had an array of tools to keep the elephant in check. Whips, tazers, shackles and even an elephant gun if needed! We would joke about how hard he had to work to keep the elephant locked up so he didn't trample the village.

The second image that I think is very powerful is to imagine that you are sitting at the table and that your alcoholism is a gun and it is pointed at your head. The safety is off, the gun is loaded and cocked and your finger is on the trigger. When you make the decision to stop drinking you have taken your finger off the trigger and each progressive step you take towards being AF is another step towards moving that gun further away from you. One day at a time you take steps that equate to putting on the safety, uncocking the gun and finally laying it on the table. Then progressively you are moving that gun further and further away from you on the table. Eventually you will put that gun in your imaginary floor safe and lock it up. Someday you may even throw that key in the deepest part of the ocean or blow up the safe with dynamite.

I often ask hubby how is the elephant today and where is the gun... today he is sleeping like a baby next to me and the elephant is probably munching hay sleepily and contently somewhere and the gun is far, far away. We are blissfully happy and know that there is hope for EVERY alcoholic given the right opportunities and information to become AF for life!

You are in our prayers ... you can make it!

[Guest]

WANT to Stop - but do I need to detox

Very good post Hopeworks.

I really liked it and I agree with what you had to say about prescription drugs. It's also true of recreationals too - I was under the impression perhaps I could use speed, or marjuana to 'relax' with or have a good night out so long as it wasn't alcohol. I soon learned that any mind-altering drug would send me back to alcohol. Sometimes difficult for people to accept that, but it's definitely linked.

[Hopeworks]

WANT to Stop - but do I need to detox

Ukblonde;1031729 wrote: Very good post Hopeworks.

I really liked it and I agree with what you had to say about prescription drugs. It's also true of recreationals too - I was under the impression perhaps I could use speed, or marjuana to 'relax' with or have a good night out so long as it wasn't alcohol. I soon learned that any mind-altering drug would send me back to alcohol. Sometimes difficult for people to accept that, but it's definitely linked.

Alcoholism and addiction is incredibly complex and every person is so very different as well there is no easy answer and doctors like easy answers in the form of an rx pad. The statistitics are that most doctor's goal is to spend an average of 7 to 10 minutes with a patient ... this combined with the alcoholic's desire for a quick fix to feeling better ends up with a lot of prescription drug solutions that can set the stage for failure.

This is why I like this site so much because it presents all the possible solutions and a person can explore all of the options and study the different paths to sobriety.

The most difficult part of getting AF is the long period of time it takes to get the elephant tamed enough that your brain is not constantly battling you to pick up what it believes it needs for survival: alcohol. For Chris that was over 60 days before his brain began to come around ... it can take a year or more for the brain to fully repair neural pathways and Chris may have permanent brain damage. Thank goodness he had plenty of gray matter to start with! He is still struggling with memory issues and we are hoping that a lot of this will repair in time.

We are both so grateful for his miracle and know that there is freedom from addiction for every person who is willing to do whatever it takes. For Chris it was rehab and seperation from alcohol (he would do anything for alcohol... binging in conveinence store bathrooms if necessary). Locking himself up was what he needed...it is only a few percent of the entire alcoholic population that needs this drastic of a step... but if you need it...DO IT!

The other keys to his recovery other than getting off of mind bending meds was exercise... lots of it (he looks GREAT and people mistake him for a pro athlete) for the chemical releases that help mood. Eating healthy and using supplements. Prayer, meditation and working the 12 steps of AA including developing relationships with sensible, knowlegable sober men in the groups.

AA is not attending meeting it is working the 12 steps which is character development through spiritual principles... meeting attendance is obviously suggeted. Not all meetings or sponsors are created equal... there are a lot of very sick people in the meetings and lot of the leadership are still very sick themselves. However... there are a lot of well people trying to help other people get well too and if you can find a good support network it can make a big difference in your recovery.

Chris hated ... I MEAN HATED AA! He did over 300 meeting in the 4 months in rehab and for the first time actually worked the program and found a lot of wisdom and truth along with some hay and stubble. Eat the hay and spit out the straw...

Most of all we credit God for Chris's recovery ... we know He deserves the credit for saving his life and setting him free and he gets on his knees every day and asks Him to continue to bless him with the ability to stay AF and serve God and others with his new life...

[desperado]

WANT to Stop - but do I need to detox

Hey there I have decided to join this site, because I have realised that I have a problem. I tend to not know where to stop when I start drinking. I don't crave it, just love the relaxed feeling, but then after 2 glasses of wine I can't stop. I get out of control, can't remember what I say to my loved ones, and get aggressive. I am a very calm, soft person who changes with alcohol.

I need advice I don't know what to do at functions, and what do I say when I get asked why I don't drink anymore.

[Kimberley]

WANT to Stop - but do I need to detox

Hi Desperado and :welcome:

You might want to start a new thread in case your question gets lost on this one. Then you can ask all the questions you like.

Read as much as you can from the other posts here - the Tool Box thread is useful to begin with - and post as well.

I hope you can acheive your goals,
K x