went to the doctor today, put things in perspective
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Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 48
went to the doctor today, put things in perspective
about my flu, not drinking, since it won't go away
went to a new doc
old doc didn't really acknowledge my drinking or want to deal with it. she seemed like a nice person, just not a good doc for me
so anyway, she's asking some general "get to know you type of questions," "do you smoke," etc. etc. and then she comes to "do you drink."
"yes"
"and how much"
"a lot. quite a bit actually"
so she ventures a guess. and of course that guess is WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY less than how much i drink in a typical week. in fact, her guess on how much i drink per WEEK is about 20-25% of what i would drink in a WEEKEND.
i told her the truth and she gave me a talking to. i like this doctor.
as i walked out of the office, i realized that when i turned 21 and first started drinking freely (in the sense that i could choose when and how much i could drink, and not bound to finding someone to buy me alcohol or any of that), her guess would be "enough," or at least satisfactory to get me drunk. those days are long gone. i must have blinked, because how much was "enough" kept getting bigger and bigger.
anyway on day 8, and besides the illness i feel great about it. i feel like i've turned a corner here. i have a mini-vacation coming up this weekend and i don't feel threatened by the fact that i might drink - i have some medication that will "keep me honest" because i can't drink with it (i'm usually good about adhering to that sort of thing) but even without that medication i feel confident i could make it on my own.
went to a new doc
old doc didn't really acknowledge my drinking or want to deal with it. she seemed like a nice person, just not a good doc for me
so anyway, she's asking some general "get to know you type of questions," "do you smoke," etc. etc. and then she comes to "do you drink."
"yes"
"and how much"
"a lot. quite a bit actually"
so she ventures a guess. and of course that guess is WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY less than how much i drink in a typical week. in fact, her guess on how much i drink per WEEK is about 20-25% of what i would drink in a WEEKEND.
i told her the truth and she gave me a talking to. i like this doctor.
as i walked out of the office, i realized that when i turned 21 and first started drinking freely (in the sense that i could choose when and how much i could drink, and not bound to finding someone to buy me alcohol or any of that), her guess would be "enough," or at least satisfactory to get me drunk. those days are long gone. i must have blinked, because how much was "enough" kept getting bigger and bigger.
anyway on day 8, and besides the illness i feel great about it. i feel like i've turned a corner here. i have a mini-vacation coming up this weekend and i don't feel threatened by the fact that i might drink - i have some medication that will "keep me honest" because i can't drink with it (i'm usually good about adhering to that sort of thing) but even without that medication i feel confident i could make it on my own.
Member
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Omak WA
Posts: 1,049
Need to be Honest with your doctor & most doctors are okay with drug/alcohol issues..
I was admitted to our local hospital by the Program Manager of our Alcohol Program with a .32 alcohol level...walking & talking almost as if I had not had anything to drink. I had been drinking everyday & more on weekends for four years. I had agreed to a medical detox & this time I was doing it for myself.
I started drinking when I was 20 & the usual progression came along with me as each life event that affected me affected the amount I drank which was more & more until the alcohol had me & I had to have a certain amount of alcohol each day to function well enough to go to work. I waited to drink until after work & quit at 8 pm...a very controlled drinker due to my low-income status since my divorce four years before.
I wanted to be sober more than anything else in the world at this time & I had just moved back to this area so didn't have a doctor yet so I asked the doctor on call that evening for the ER if he would be my doctor so that was how I started my road to recovery.
I was treated for my alcoholism & major depression at the same time with a counselor for each one. It worked really well for me. I have been able to stay sober ever since but it took a lot of commitment on my part & a lot of changes in my activities of daily living.
I attended my counseling sessions, AA Meetings every day & gathered a lot of tools together for both my depression & alcoholism when I got into a place where I would be stuck & need help to get going again.
I hope it will work for you too. Seven days is wonderful! When I would try to control my drinking the longest I could go would be four days....then soon back to drinking mostly on the weekends but eventually some every evening while cooking supper.
I have a good life now. I am married, retired & so is my husband. Our children are all out on their own living good lives.
Keep coming back & don't worry about asking any question that you might need answered.
kelsh
I started drinking when I was 20 & the usual progression came along with me as each life event that affected me affected the amount I drank which was more & more until the alcohol had me & I had to have a certain amount of alcohol each day to function well enough to go to work. I waited to drink until after work & quit at 8 pm...a very controlled drinker due to my low-income status since my divorce four years before.
I wanted to be sober more than anything else in the world at this time & I had just moved back to this area so didn't have a doctor yet so I asked the doctor on call that evening for the ER if he would be my doctor so that was how I started my road to recovery.
I was treated for my alcoholism & major depression at the same time with a counselor for each one. It worked really well for me. I have been able to stay sober ever since but it took a lot of commitment on my part & a lot of changes in my activities of daily living.
I attended my counseling sessions, AA Meetings every day & gathered a lot of tools together for both my depression & alcoholism when I got into a place where I would be stuck & need help to get going again.
I hope it will work for you too. Seven days is wonderful! When I would try to control my drinking the longest I could go would be four days....then soon back to drinking mostly on the weekends but eventually some every evening while cooking supper.
I have a good life now. I am married, retired & so is my husband. Our children are all out on their own living good lives.
Keep coming back & don't worry about asking any question that you might need answered.
kelsh
Day 8. That's great! I've been very fortunate, in that I had a Dr. that was willing to help me from the start of my getting honest. That was huge for me, and has helped me put a few sober days behind me.
I worry about your comment "I feel confident I can make it on my own". Confidence can be a good thing, but when I get too confident my humility suffers, and my ego gets out of hand. Maybe I'm not like everyone else, but I am confident I CAN'T do it alone. If I ever could have, I never would have reached the point in my drinking that I did.
One of the things I have come to love about this program is that I no longer have to do it alone. Thats good, because I don't want to. I can look in the eyes of a new comer and see that it hasn't gotten any better out there. I can hear the sound of despair in their voice. If I was alone, all of that would go away.
Have fun on your vacation, but remember this...Our disease hits us when we least expect it. I can't count the number of times a nice relaxing family vacation ended in a relapse for me. It's true what they say..."our disease NEVER takes a vacation.
Good luck, God bless, and let us know how it all works out for you.
Brian
I worry about your comment "I feel confident I can make it on my own". Confidence can be a good thing, but when I get too confident my humility suffers, and my ego gets out of hand. Maybe I'm not like everyone else, but I am confident I CAN'T do it alone. If I ever could have, I never would have reached the point in my drinking that I did.
One of the things I have come to love about this program is that I no longer have to do it alone. Thats good, because I don't want to. I can look in the eyes of a new comer and see that it hasn't gotten any better out there. I can hear the sound of despair in their voice. If I was alone, all of that would go away.
Have fun on your vacation, but remember this...Our disease hits us when we least expect it. I can't count the number of times a nice relaxing family vacation ended in a relapse for me. It's true what they say..."our disease NEVER takes a vacation.
Good luck, God bless, and let us know how it all works out for you.
Brian
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