Triumphrob

I have decided after many years to quit. My Dr told me I had to yesterday as my blood pressure is too high and I think its about time anyway!!
I have been drinking a 12 pack most nights for years and dont think its safe to suddenly stop. So I was thinking of going down to 6 for a few days, then 4 for a few days and then 2 then 0. Any one have any thoughts on this. Also, I have been given Campral. Should I start it now or wait a while
Thanks
Rob

CarolD

Hi Rob... Welcome to SR!

I don't know about drinking with Campral...
I never used it.
To be safe..call your doctor or pharmacy.
Also...there should be a paper with directions
with your pills.

Like moderation...I think most alcoholics
experiment with tapering.

Tapering is something I never had success with
for very long. A few days and I was back in
full blown alcoholism.

Best of luck...keep in touch ...we do understand

parentrecovers

welcome, triumphrob - keep posting!

carol makes all good points. others will come around soon.

my daughter is 120 plus sober, i'm very proud of her and others that make this choice. i admire your strength.

she had a lot of professional help and also attends aa. aa really helps her.

blessings, and good luck in your recovery, k

collinsmi

Your doctor should know if stopping abruptly is safe for you. Keep in mind that in order to feel comfortable tossing down a 12 pack a night you may have made a few rationalizations, a habit that is hard to see or break.

Triumphrob

What rationlizations would that be, please explain more...Thanks
Rob

Salsa

Congrats to you Triumph in your efforts to quit. Moderation never worked for me. I tried countless times and ended up back to my old ways. I drank a pint to 3/4 a fifth (probably more at times) a night of Vodka. I too had high bp and knew I had to quit before I killed myself! I did lots of reading of all the damage alcohol does internally....it was a true eye opener. It's devastating to your body!

I quit cold turkey. I never discussed this with a doctor (I do recommend people do...I was too embarrassed). While I was lucky not to develop any life threatening withdrawal effects, I did have the typical restless sleep, sweating, irritability, etc. It was manageable (I drank lots of water and took B6) and I basically just felt kind of out of it for a while. I stuck with it....been over a year now and I've accepted that I can never have another sip ever again. I wish you the best of luck in your recovery.

Salsa

Tazman53

Welcome to SR Rob, not sure how long you have been drinking, but I drank for 40 years before seeing death waiting for me. I tried the entire last 10 years I drank to stop and or moderate my drinking, the only things this led to was me alternating from a miserable SOB to drinking just as much, but usually more then before.

You are a beer man just like me (Of course if there was no beer I would drink what ever was there, including cooking sherry!). The doctor I went and saw was a specialist in drug addiction and alcohlism, he spoke to me at length about my drinking and my health, he talked me into going into detox due to numerous reasons, one being my blood pressure and the other being the point I was at in my disease. Detoxing from alcohol can kill people unless done either under a doctors supervision or with the help of some one who has a lot of experience detoxing people the old fashioned way and even then it is a good idea to have a phone handy to call 911.

Long long story short, I got sober in detox, I followed directions given me to stay sober, went into AA, got a sponsor, went to 90 or more meetings in 90 days, and followed directions given to me by my sponsor.

If you can not get into a real detox place for what ever reason I would call your AA hot line and explain to them you need some folks to help you detox.

Good luck brother, trust me when I say "There is a solution", the solution for me and millions of others has been AA.

Mongo

Hi Rob, and welcome to SR

Good for you on your decision to quit. Although detox can be dangerous, sounds like you've told your doctor about your consumption, and he would have recommended supervised detox if he felt it was necessary.

Cutting down with an abstinence goal is a good method,I think. Good luck.

There's lots of help available, online and elsewhere. Don't hesitate to seek medical help if things get rough.

Keep well

Ron

Triumphrob

Thanks, but actually in doing this on my own, the campral are left over from last summer when I went to rehab which obviosly didnt work, I wasnt motivated like I am now...
However, when I was in the rehab and cut off, I had no signs of witdrawel at all. I also have a script of Lorepazam in case of anxietys. My main fear is not being able to sleep which is why I startred drinking heavily15 years ago..

collinsmi

In a nutshell, whatever got that beer in my belly!

mikedshadow3

Hey Triumph - thanks for posting. My situation is pretty much identical to what you described, high BP, 12 pack daily (sometimes more), and the Dr. said to try weaning myself over a period of weeks.

So I am very curious starting out with this concept, how did it go?

DKS

I was advised by my Dr to wean off the alcohol slowly and then start taking Campral. She told me not to quit cold turkey, but instead to cut out one beer per night. (i.e. drink my usual 12 or 13 the 1st night, then cut back to 11 the next night, then 10, then 9, etc.) She gave me samples of Campral but told me not to start taking it until I had stopped drinking. I saw her for a follow up and explained that the tapering didn't work out too well. I did OK until I had to drop below 9 beers, and then couldn't stop there. We went on vacation and then I was up to more than 15-18 again. She told me to go ahead and start taking the Campral before I quit drinking at that point. My husband and I picked a date to stop (after a concert where we were going to get plastered one last time.) I bought the book 7 weeks to Sobriety, and stocked up on all the recommended vitamins and supplements recommended in that book and started taking those a week before quitting too. I never was able to wean and ended up quitting cold turkey on June 12th 2006. It was uncomfortable and I never want to go through that again. After the initial discomfort wore off and the habits were broken, the Campral and other supplements (glutamine, vitamin C, etc) really did seem to help with the cravings.

Good luck to both of you.

chip

Hi and welcome triumphrob, & mikeshadow3
Some people were able to taper off to zero, including myself. It was hell. I constantly disappointed myself with my own lack of self disipline. In the process, I realized that my willpower doesn't work with alcohol. This lead me to the conclusion that I REALLY am an alcoholic. Once I accepted this fact, I was able to begin to work on recovery.

It's one thing to quit drinking. It's another thing to move forward into a life of recovery.

Alcoholism is a disease. Like any disease, it requires treatment to manage it in a healthy way. Staying sober is the only way to stop the progression of alcoholism. Having a goal of quitting is a good thing for anyone who drinks the quantities that you or I drank....but getting down to zero can be dangerous.

Keeping an honest line of communication with your doctor is a solid idea. Keeping an open mind towards recovery programs is another very good idea.

This website is a great place to get support as well.

We are behind both of you on your decisions to cut down to zero. Please keep us posted on how it goes. Congrats on the decision to move towards a better life.
chip

sobergirl77

I was one of the ones who were actually successful at tapering. But I started from a bottle of vodka and over the space of a couple of weeks, tapered down to nothing.

IT WAS HELL ON EARTH. There is a thread on this forum about my experience, if you click on my name and view my posts, you will find it. It's called "Need Some Help, Feeling Awful". Weaning from beer won't be nearly as bad.

Now, during my period of "tapering", I actually messed up a couple times and drank more than I was supposed to. But what really helped were the people on these forums who supported me throughout the process and gave me hope. Most importantly, I started attending AA meetings when I was down to the lower amounts. I got phone numbers and attended around 2 meetings per day in order so that I wouldn't be too tempted to drink more than I had planned in my taper.

And it worked. But it was the hardest thing I have EVER done in my life. It was like an extended detox. I never, ever want to go through that experience again.

I would get some sort of support system - either this board, AA meetings or family to help you, then cut back 1 per night. 10, 9, 8, 7, ... etc. You may experience some discomfort, and MAKE SURE to speak with your doctor beforehand.

Congratulations on your decision to stop drinking! Sober life truly can be fabulous.

CarolD

...Hi again mikedshadow3
Good to see you here in Alcoholism with us

Member Triumphrob has not ben here since 2-07.
I do hope he has found his way into health by now.

Here is the link Sobergirl was talking about

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...ing-awful.html

You too can recover!

Signal30

Grant it, this was written by a respected doctor in the 1930's. I am not a doctor, nor will I attempt to give anything remotely close to medical advice. I will give you my personal experience.

I too tried to moderate. It didn't work. Moderating to me was simply a poor attempt to cut back because I knew it was killing me, yet I was still too selfish to actually give it up completely. Not drinking for a day, only had me drinking even more the next day.

Even when I tried to moderate, I knew deep down it wasn't going to work. Will power couldn't do it.


Tom