OK here goes. I also went back & copied an older post. It has been edited slightly to include where I'm at now.
I come from a family of drinkers: mother, father, grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. Family get-togethers always included alcohol, often to excess.
I drank once in high school, then twice in college. Can't say I liked it very much the first few times, as it made me very ill. But once I started working, it made me feel very sophisticated to go out for a cocktail after a long week or to order a glass of wine with a meal out. I drank socially and learned to enjoy it.
Over the next few years my drinking increased. I still drank "socially" but also drank at home most nights with my partner at the time. He & I would usually have a couple of cocktails, then wine with dinner. As he was a budding sommelier, we were always trying new and wonderful wines. By this time I was a "regular" or even "heavy" drinker, but it didn't seem to cause any problems in my life. (Funny how resilient the body is when you're in your early 20's....)
I was getting close to 30 when my drinking started to scare me a little. The hangovers got worse. I had "gray-outs" and often, the day after an episode, I would cringe as the memories of things I had done or said came creeping back into my mind. By this time I was single again (after 8 years) so my home life lost what structure it had had... and the drinking got worse.
One day at work I was so hung over that I couldn't think straight. I'm not sure I had even slept the night before. Anyway it finally hit me that I just couldn't go on that way. A friend of mine had told me he knew where there was an AA meeting in our community, so I called him & asked for details. That was on Wednesday. On Friday night, I walked into my first AA meeting. My knees were knocking and my hands trembling, but I did it anyway. Condensing the story a bit here.... I attained 7 months sobriety, felt great, and was loving life. I got tired of going to meetings, so I stopped going. I stayed sober w/o AA for some time. Eventually, though, the cravings got the better of me and I talked myself into having a beer. (A big "oil can" of Foster's.) That started me off on another round of insanity...
Fast forward to 2002, when I got my first (and only, I hope) DUI. Not just any DUI, but what they call in Arizona EXTREME DUI. Blood alcohol level was .216. I'm lucky I didn't kill myself, or someone else. After that I did 10 days in jail with work release, and enrolled myself in an intensive outpatient program. The program was basically shock treatment (to get you to understand how serious alcoholism is) followed by AA 101. Very 12-step oriented. And it worked for a while, again.... but I disliked the meetings, felt uncomfortable "sharing" at them, hated holding hands & saying the Lord's prayer at the end. Anyway I eventually gave up on it and went back to drinking. The drinking has gotten worse... I never drive, but that just means I sit at home and drink myself into oblivion while talking for hours on the phone. If I run out of booze and need more, I walk or take a cab to get more. (Don't want to go to jail ever again, or hurt anyone.)
So that is how I got to where I am now. I was told about this program by a counselor who had heard of it. She said that since AA hadn't worked for me, I might want to give this a try. And I am fortunate enough to have insurance to cover the doctor's visits and the meds.
I read the book and started the supplements about 6 weeks ago. I started the hypno cd's and medication 2 weeks ago. (My doctor and I decided to try Campral, for a variety of reasons.) And so far, so good, with the exception of one slip. I'm feeling better and having minimal (or no) cravings now. For people like me who have tried other routes and found them ineffective for us, this program is truly a godsend. I'm very optimistic that it will work, and am looking forward to sharing this journey with you.
I come from a family of drinkers: mother, father, grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. Family get-togethers always included alcohol, often to excess.
I drank once in high school, then twice in college. Can't say I liked it very much the first few times, as it made me very ill. But once I started working, it made me feel very sophisticated to go out for a cocktail after a long week or to order a glass of wine with a meal out. I drank socially and learned to enjoy it.
Over the next few years my drinking increased. I still drank "socially" but also drank at home most nights with my partner at the time. He & I would usually have a couple of cocktails, then wine with dinner. As he was a budding sommelier, we were always trying new and wonderful wines. By this time I was a "regular" or even "heavy" drinker, but it didn't seem to cause any problems in my life. (Funny how resilient the body is when you're in your early 20's....)
I was getting close to 30 when my drinking started to scare me a little. The hangovers got worse. I had "gray-outs" and often, the day after an episode, I would cringe as the memories of things I had done or said came creeping back into my mind. By this time I was single again (after 8 years) so my home life lost what structure it had had... and the drinking got worse.
One day at work I was so hung over that I couldn't think straight. I'm not sure I had even slept the night before. Anyway it finally hit me that I just couldn't go on that way. A friend of mine had told me he knew where there was an AA meeting in our community, so I called him & asked for details. That was on Wednesday. On Friday night, I walked into my first AA meeting. My knees were knocking and my hands trembling, but I did it anyway. Condensing the story a bit here.... I attained 7 months sobriety, felt great, and was loving life. I got tired of going to meetings, so I stopped going. I stayed sober w/o AA for some time. Eventually, though, the cravings got the better of me and I talked myself into having a beer. (A big "oil can" of Foster's.) That started me off on another round of insanity...
Fast forward to 2002, when I got my first (and only, I hope) DUI. Not just any DUI, but what they call in Arizona EXTREME DUI. Blood alcohol level was .216. I'm lucky I didn't kill myself, or someone else. After that I did 10 days in jail with work release, and enrolled myself in an intensive outpatient program. The program was basically shock treatment (to get you to understand how serious alcoholism is) followed by AA 101. Very 12-step oriented. And it worked for a while, again.... but I disliked the meetings, felt uncomfortable "sharing" at them, hated holding hands & saying the Lord's prayer at the end. Anyway I eventually gave up on it and went back to drinking. The drinking has gotten worse... I never drive, but that just means I sit at home and drink myself into oblivion while talking for hours on the phone. If I run out of booze and need more, I walk or take a cab to get more. (Don't want to go to jail ever again, or hurt anyone.)
So that is how I got to where I am now. I was told about this program by a counselor who had heard of it. She said that since AA hadn't worked for me, I might want to give this a try. And I am fortunate enough to have insurance to cover the doctor's visits and the meds.
I read the book and started the supplements about 6 weeks ago. I started the hypno cd's and medication 2 weeks ago. (My doctor and I decided to try Campral, for a variety of reasons.) And so far, so good, with the exception of one slip. I'm feeling better and having minimal (or no) cravings now. For people like me who have tried other routes and found them ineffective for us, this program is truly a godsend. I'm very optimistic that it will work, and am looking forward to sharing this journey with you.