3girls4me

If you have a problem with opiates but alcohol is not a trigger to use nor is it abused can you still drink alcohol and be in recovery?

pinkgurl87

Personally I would say no, because alcohol is a drug and i know for me crack was my main issue and i slipped on drinking and it caused me to want to use because it activated my brain. I wouldn't try it. Plus if your addicted to one substance it is easy to become addicted to another substance.

CarolD

Welcome...

I'm a recovered AA alcoholic...if I used drugs recreationally
I would feel compelled to re start my recovery...

Are you planning to use drugs? I sure hope not.

3girls4me

Thank you both for your input. I'm sorry I should have posted more of an introduction. I have an adult daughter (24) that is an addict. I found out last year that she was using opiates almost everyday, she attended an out patient program (which was a joke and a whole other story). She did get off the drugs for awhile but continues to have slip ups usually about once a month, she'll use once then she'll do good for about a month and then use again. She is not a big drinker, but occasionally she will go out with friends and have a couple of drinks. When she does use drugs she uses alone and not with friends. So it's not like she's out drinking and then decides to use. I'm trying to step back and let her decide how she is going to work on her sobriety and not control the situation, but I am also trying to educate myself.

Thanks again for the advice.

Congratulations on your sobriety and I wish you all the best.

CarolD

Thanks for clarifying...

When I was trying to deal with loved ones in various addictions
I found Alanon to be immensley supportive and useful

We do have Friends and Family Forums too..please check them out..

Blessings to you and your daughter

cope35

Hi 3girls4me,
She should probably be careful with drinking - opiates & alcohol affect the same receptors in the brain just causing different effects. Many people are co-addicted to opiates & alcohol (ding ding ding - me!). Tons of people told me to drink my way through detoxing off pills - now that I'm less crazy I see how insane that would be! I don't drink because I'm afraid I'll get drunk & end up using pills. My biggest fear is mixing & overdosing. Enough worst-case scenarios for u? Sorry about that! I wish her & u much luck. She has to want this! Best thingfor me was meeting other addicts who saved my life. Advice for u would be Narcanon or Alanon - good people/advice!

Threshold

Here is my experience.

Drinking did not trigger my drug use. But it DID lower my resistence and inhibitions and make it more likely I'd use drugs. Because I just didn't have the same level of resolve to NOT use, if I was tipsy.

In 12 step programs it is suggested we don't let ourselves get too hungry, angry, lonely or tired, because those things make us more vulnerable to using...well, I would add that taking any other drug also makes me more vulnerable to using my DOC. That has been my experience.

england

I have been clean from cocaine for almost 10 months but I started drinking again about 3months ago - I have only been drinking about 3 or 4 bottles of beers a month.

Luckly I am able to have 1 beer and stop but if this was not the case then I would not drink as it would lead me down the wrong path.

frankinnc

I've known addicts that quit drugs and continued drinking with no problem, but I would'nt reccomend it as its a dice-roll. Total abstinence is the safest way to go.

DanaXO

IMHO - Yes.

My experience - I never really drank heavily after high school because I didn't feel pressure to and I didn't really like the taste anyway. It's definitely not a trigger for me because I don't even like it.

That being said, I know everyone's different. If you have an addictive personality, it may only be towards certain things, or it could be to anything that makes you feel "numb". Do I think having a glass of wine at a family dinner would be a trigger? Probably not. But I wouldn't recommend going to any parties full of wasted people, to avoid temptation... and idiots. If your friends don't support you, they aren't your friends.