Aislin

Well done Noolan, welcome Scram

Sandy, I am trying to do the tapering method. I have written out a timetable for myself and told my husband what I am doing and that he needs to support me. I used to drink two bottles of wine each night so I am knocking it down to one a night for the first week. I know this will be really difficult for me and it was yesterday but I held fast and my husband who went to the shop only brought me one bottle so once it was gone it was gone. Next week I will reduce it down to a couple of glasses. This will be much much harder.

The reason I did this was because I was getting really bad heart palpitations and got myself very wound up about what would happen if I quit cold turkey. I already have high blood pressure. Of course I have no medical background so for anyone reading please don't take what I am doing as a method. Best talk to a doctor first

mayg

Good to see so many of us.
Lots and lots of AV this evening but didn't go there. Was looking for coffee and found some wine with probably half a glass in and tipped it straight down sink as I was chatting with myself about going and getting a couple of bottles to go with it. Gawd. Vigilance. Mayg x

Nerina

My time to come here with my head down in shame. My positivity and strength was too good to last. At least I know now that there can't be any beers in the fridge. The temptation gets to big. I'm mad at myself, but I know it's a struggle and it's easy to slip and fall. All I have to do is get up and try again. I'm not giving up. I just have to get strict and not let there be any alcohol in the house. The worse thing is I feel I haven't just disappointed myself, but you guys too. But I know we all struggle and we're all in the same boat. That's what I like about this place. If you do fail everyone here is supportive and try's their best to pick you up again. I know that the only person who can really make a change is myself, but the support here does make it easier.

mcfearless

As someone who has stopped drinking and convinced myself that was it and I had learned from the last time and blah blah blah...no fewer than 4 times.....here's a fifth.

I was on here last year sometime again lecturing, mentoring and philosophizing about how alcoholism was all a state of mind etc. I stayed clean for a long time and saw many benefits, however deep down it was a struggle. The first few weeks etc I struggle to sleep, I was depressed, bored, listless, unsocial and flat. I eventually started drinking again socially, and then nightly ....and blah blah blah...back to nightly drinking and all out non stop weekend binges etc. I was functional and not drinking excessively to the point that I had any external pressures inspiring me to stop again.

Two friends of mine (first one then he inspired another) have had a Naltrexone implant. They had flown into my city and I went to spend the weekend with them. Two ex heavy drinkers and occasional recreational drug users who have been totally sober for months....and me....drunk.

I made us go to a casino, they had a lovely meal while I drank and gambled away lots of money and unwittingly made a fool of myself. I promised to cook them lunch and fell asleep on the couch, drove home and didn't see them the rest of the weekend. That Monday at work I felt like hell (as I often did...so maybe not that functional really). My friend phones to convey his (not preachy) disappointment in how my drinking had ruined our weekend plans. In my state of hangover I decided that enough was enough and told him to book me the appointment for the implant. He said he would but only if I was serious. It would be very embarrassing for him if I did as he would have to call a favour. I said go ahead. That evening I had a drink and felt better and laughed it off. It was just a drunken weekend after all.

He did book it though. Sober people actually do what they say they will.

I got a call the next day to say I had the appointment in the next week and he had to pull strings to arrange it as the scpecific doctor was in great demand. I quickly started up with excuses that I didn't have the money right now, that my boss wouldn't give me the day off etc. All nonsense. And he called me out on it. The he asked me this " Dude, you're a good guy, but don't you want to start to be less of a bullsh!tter ?"

And it rang so true.

I could't drink 48 hours before the implant which was indeed tough. I drove in and went ahead with it.

The results :

For me....and I know this is not everyone's experience...but for me Naltrexone has been something of a miracle drug. That same night in conjunction with a drug called "naltima" and a sleeping pill I slept like a baby.

Unlike all my other sober experiments where I was mostly somber and it required a stern will and focus on effort to actively not drink.....this has been very different.

The next day and the 9 days since I have woken up not only sober, but mildly euphoric, clear mind, energetic, sociable....I laugh from the gut ! I have no anxiety suddenly ! I'm zestful and wistful and playful ! Not drinking is an absolute joy ! And for me....for me at least...I have yet to have some single craving for alcohol. I haven't even considered having a drink. My family and friends keep asking me how it's going being sober this time. My honest answer is that not only is it (for me) extremely easy this time, I'm having a blast ! I'm being super productive ! I'm losing weight and exercising. I'm pitying my housemate who is still drinking and his silly escapades.

So for me this form of sobering up has by far exceeded my expectations. However I absolutely would not suggest anyone make a decision based on my experience as I am sure result may vary. My two friends didn't have any of this euphoria i experienced rather they labour under the impression if they drink they will get sick or die. That was my initial impression of what the benefit would be....that I simply wouldn't have a choice but to not drink so I'd grudge on through it. But here's the kicker....never in my wildest dreams did i think I'd actively be making a happy choice not to drink!

I'm already saving for my next implant in September.

mcfearless

My experience over and over again was like yours. Read my post above and maybe consider this option. It takes free will out of the equation and re boots your brain chemistry.

SansaS

Wow I wish you could get those implants in Australia. I've never heard of them before? What do they actually do?

mcfearless

Game of thrones fan I see ?

As far as I know you should be able to get them there. I also only heard about this a few months ago when my friend (who was hospitalized the second time after a booze and drug binge) went for it. It's legal here in South Africa (where the medical profession is very first world and legislated) and FDA approved. The side effects are little to none. It's not cheap here by our standards running at around $500(us) an implant.

Basically (my rudimentary understanding ) it inhibits your neurotransmitters in yor brain specifically dopamine and serotonin (pleasure receptors) from being able to be manipulated from outside chemicals like alcohol and drugs, Then over time your brain flushes out its collective memory and chemical addiction. The recovery rate is very high for people who follow through for 6 months (2 implants, 3 months apart) to a year(4 implants).

The science aside it has killed my cravings, anxiety and depression, heightened my mood and blocked almost all my negative thoughts. I'm 36 years old and have been a heavy drinker for around 15 years.

Nerina

Thanks for sharing, but I don't think that's something for me. I don't want to have to take anything or implant something in my body to be able to get sober. I do have a drinking problem, but I think it can be fixed without medication. I've ended up in a bad place over the years, but I think just changing my life and the people I surround myself with would be a huge improvement.

Dee74

I think they are available in Australia SansaS but it's like anything - whats worked for others may not work or even be suitable for someone else.

Anyone interested - best to ask your doctor

D

mcfearless

I absolutely agree, and I wish I had been able to quit that way too. But for after a few weeks without booze I sunk into agoraphobia and would just avoid people and trying things. So the loop would complete itself back to drinking. So for anyone who relates to that this is a good option. I am going to dinner with friends tonight who drink for example as I have done a few times since the implant and I have no doubt that I won't spend the night sulking that I can't join in. For me this is a huge thing that stopping drinking doesn't = stopping enjoying life. That is what the implant has done for me. But as I said in my post I don't mean to imply it will have this effect for everyone,

mcfearless

Agree and I was careful to put emphasis on that. My friends who had the same thing have stopped drinking and do feel better but their results are not as profound as mine in that they reported it as "easy and enjoyable".

I haven't even stopped drinking for long enough to start to enjoy the health benefits yet or to be over the magical "3 months" phase, so please don't anyone read too much into my report. I'm just saying this is making the tough 3 months you are meant to go dry through until you really start to feel normal again a lot easier (for me, compared to times when I tried before). Or has done so thus far anyway. I'll keep reporting my experience if anyone is interested.

Noolan

I'm really happy you've found something that has allowed you to achieve sobriety. This a community of like minded individuals and we should share everything at our disposal. That said, I wouldn't tout this as a miracle drug that removes all desire to use(I'm glad that's it's effect for you):

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/17110818/

The above found said drug to be quite helpful in reducing heavy drinking, but not a magic bullet to sobriety. There are plenty of medicines out there to help with treatment of alcoholism and most, if not all are used in conjunction with treatment via therapy, 12 steps, support groups, etc.

Dee74

I hope it continues to work well for you mcfearless

D

Nerina

I'm happy you've found something that worked for you. That's great!

Noolan

Day 12.

I'm checking in before I embark on an 8 hour drive. At the end of said drive, a week of vacation on a lake awaits. I'll be MIA today, but I'll check in tonight.

It's amazing what a week's difference can make. This time last week I was in the midst of withdrawals, no appetite, and just white knuckling it in the hopes of a better day. I made it to the other side and never want to look back!

Anyways, I leave you all with a song that's given me a lot of hope. We all know what we should do, doing it is the hard part.

Cause the things people refuse
are the things they should use
do you hear me?

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xbt...acoustic_music

bblackbirdflyy

Hey all... The morning after 14 sober days. Feeling pretty awesome. I'm sitting at my sale, made $18 so far lol, was hoping to make about 30x that after all is said and done. We will see. Right now it's just me and the mosquitoes.

Nerina, I can't have alcohol in the house. I'm not sure if it'll be that way forever, but right now I can't trust myself when it's that available. Good job coming right back. :-)

Welcome back to the interwebs Troy. :-)

Hi mcfearless

Good job dumping the wine may!

Nerina

Ugh, feeling horrible. This buzzed feeling I get after a couple of beers isn't even that enjoyable. I liked the two last days when my head felt clear. I'm gonna do some thinking today and tomorrow. Create some kind of action plan on how I'm going to handle cravings, situations, emotions and so on. At least I know now that there can't be beer in the house so the boyfriend needs to know that.

keep strong everyone I'm proud of all of you who can count another day sober today

TroyW

blackbird, congrats on 14 days sober, and sounds like you're doing great, even with a bump or two in the road.

mayg, sounds like you're still pushing along strong, and kudos to that.

mcfearless, I don't know, but I'm the type that's adverse to even taking aspirin, let alone getting something like that done. All the best to you though!

Nerina, sorry to hear you fell. Time to get back on the horse, yeah? Honestly, I'm in the same boat as you right now, but I need to get back on the horse starting tomorrow morning. Just ramping up my work load now, and being drunk isn't allowed.

TroyW

Ok, confirmed. For anyone debating how good a drink would be, trust me, not that good.

WTF is the point of this? There's absolutely no reason for it, at all. There's definitely no benefits, let alone a reason. Alright, I'm going to sleep, and back on the horse tomorrow.

bblackbirdflyy

Night troy, back at it tomorrow.:-)