Sudafed as Trigger
 

Had an interesting experience the last couple of days. Took sudafed for cold symptoms and noticed that cravings returned with a fury. Was on the way to a job nterview, a little voice was screaming "just one Steele reserve, it will feel so good and no one has to know". Anyone have similiar experiences? Made it throught, but it was weird and a little scary.

When I first started trying to quit I used Benadryl to mellow me out before sleeping. It never gave me a craving for Alcohol. Who knows, maybe it did trigger some kind of buzz in you that made you want to hit the 211s. I used to hit the Steelers, two or three before sleep after 10 or so "lighter" beers so I could poison myself into an alcohol induced sleep.

I just am glad I haven't relapsed yet and hope the same for you. If the cold meds worry you, try to go without them.

Dunno - sudafed's never triggered me, but feeling sick can, EW.

D

Yeah, sudafed and any cold remedies triggered me. I think that's why I had a three week cold once.

But the Steel??? Oh god, no!

Hmm...
I dom't recall ever taking sudafed for anything.

I'm thinking it might have been the fact you were going
to a job interview. I always stressed over those....
so often would calm myself with a big slug of vodka.

Then get paranoid that I reeked of booze.....:eek:

Thus...another gulp or 2....mouthwash....out the door I sailed
Sometimes I actually went to the appointment....
sometimes to the nearest bar.....:c020:

I'm so glad those days are over for both of us EW
Forward we go ...side by side

yer, Sudafeds got Pseudoephedrine in it. You want to stay away from that if you're trying to stay sober/clean. I took some quite early in my sobriety and hated it as it reminded me ever so slightly of coming up on E's or speed. Basically I could tell that there was a chemical in my system and I hated it, made me really anxious. I don't take anything with any drug in other than Tea. That's all I want in my system now. So yes, I could see how this would definately bring on cravings for booze, no doubt.

Bear in mind that pseudoephedrine is used in the manufacture of Meth Amphetamine.

going for job interview is enough to bring on craving for me!!!
that is why stay stuck in jobs that have reached useby date as hate the thought of job interview possible rejection??? how will i cope????
due for job change now but in early sobriety scared to go through the process

I've known a LOT of people who go back out
because they went to the dentist
and the pain shot made them start craving.

That's wehre those medical supervisors come in handy.

I took Campral in early EARLY recovery
and along with he Program
I didnt' have that much mostly tho -
because I was so SICK.

High pressure/tense/nervous situations...Alcohol seems a good option in the moment a quick release from that mental stress...Often when ive caved in..Like neo dont bother with any of that chemical compounds for everyday colds/flu, such like...tea coffee juice,
true enough when your down with these things an feelin most miserable..The thoughts of a little pick me up do enter the brain...Hope you get the job EW,...Being sober rules...

Cold medicines, sudafed, benadryl, even Tylenol PM are all things that have caused me to think about drinking/triggers. This is just my own personal opinions on why...but I think it's because all those things have things like Diphenhydramine in them. Diphenhydramine is something that relaxes you a bit and slows your thought process down a tab and makes you sleepy....sound familiar? So for me at least, when I take that it almost makes me feel a little bit like I have been drinking, and when I feel that way then my mind says "hey...why not go for it?".

Steve

I made a similar experience to some of the previous posters.
The last one and a half weeks I had a cold that was so bad that I took some otc cold medicine this time instead of herbal remedies, and although it didn't trigger any drinking cravings and actually attenuated the cold symptoms, it had also the unwelcome effects of a stimulant and I could definitely feel that my mood was lifting because of the chemicals in it, not because I was actually starting to feel better.

I didn't like the way it made me feel so stopped taking it- and anyways it just seems to make your symptoms go away temporarily but doesn't help the body to heal. In my experience, it doesn't make you get rid of a cold faster anyways. So from what I experienced I can easily imagine that cold medicines can be triggers and like Neo said, some of them contain pseudoephedrine, and it's probably better to stay away from it. I know if there is some important appointment coming up and you have a cold you don't want to miss it because of it, it is tempting to just take this stuff, but it is probably not worth it.

I can't recall how many times on the way to a job interview that I lost confidence and stopped off in the local bar, only to leave at closing time