Help. Is my method good?
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2017
Posts: 2
Help. Is my method good?
Hello. So yesterday I drank a little too much and fell. I've ignored wake-up calls like this for 8 years. I'm at the point where I'm drinking too much. So I'm going to taper it off and once I'm not buying any more alcohol, I'll take the pills the doctor gave me. Yes, I did see an addiction specialist and am supposed to be meeting the counselor. I cannot afford to go to rehab because I can't really miss work. My idea is to drink one finger less every day. I cannot go cold turkey.
I'm really scared. I feel like crap every day. I can't do this to myself anymore. I don't want to die.
I'm really scared. I feel like crap every day. I can't do this to myself anymore. I don't want to die.
Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 211,445
Hi and welcome Fearless Voltron.
I think the best plan would be to see a Dr and explain exactly what you said here and see what they advise.
With detox, it's best to get professional advice where possible.
I could never taper worth a damn, but it looks like you've painted yourself into a corner, so I wish you all the luck in the world.
There's tons of support here - use it, man
D
I think the best plan would be to see a Dr and explain exactly what you said here and see what they advise.
With detox, it's best to get professional advice where possible.
I could never taper worth a damn, but it looks like you've painted yourself into a corner, so I wish you all the luck in the world.
There's tons of support here - use it, man
D
Guest
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Atlanta
Posts: 8,674
Your method is not one that would have gotten or kept me sober. I don't believe in tapering for a number of reasons, the biggest one being I would have kept putting off actual quitting.
It seems a lot of people mention addiction counselors - I know my psych couldn't get me sober. Nor can any meds- for detox (I went cold turkey and dealt with the rough fall out), nor for my sobriety maintenance. They are just tools for keeping my best self growing - i had to be DONE with drinking first.
For me, this means a dedicated, daily program of AA. My recovery is a living, breathing way of life that I work diligently to support.
Take care- you CAN quit if you want it more than you want anything else. I lied to myself for a long time about what to do, whether to do it (quit), everything. I had to go through what I went through to get to the stopping point.
It seems a lot of people mention addiction counselors - I know my psych couldn't get me sober. Nor can any meds- for detox (I went cold turkey and dealt with the rough fall out), nor for my sobriety maintenance. They are just tools for keeping my best self growing - i had to be DONE with drinking first.
For me, this means a dedicated, daily program of AA. My recovery is a living, breathing way of life that I work diligently to support.
Take care- you CAN quit if you want it more than you want anything else. I lied to myself for a long time about what to do, whether to do it (quit), everything. I had to go through what I went through to get to the stopping point.
Member
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: northern michigan. not the U.P.
Posts: 15,281
glad your here.
read around and you will find out how the tapering thing worked for others.
seems the vast majority dont work too good.
what pills are you referring to that the doctor gave you? if they are for withdrawl, then taking them and drinking is extremely risky
read around and you will find out how the tapering thing worked for others.
seems the vast majority dont work too good.
what pills are you referring to that the doctor gave you? if they are for withdrawl, then taking them and drinking is extremely risky
Canine Welfare Advocate
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Norfolk, VA
Posts: 10,962
Originally Posted by FearlessVoltron 
I cannot afford to go to rehab because I can't really miss work.
Detox under medical supervision...you won't miss that much work.
Forum Leader
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Wisconsin, USA
Posts: 16,945
Lots of good advice here already and welcome to SR fearless. Was this the method suggested to you by the addiction specialist? Or the doctor the prescribed your pills? Many meds can be very dangerous to take along with alcohol so please run it by your doc first. I would also agree that tapering is very difficult as it is an attempt to "control" our drinkng - and that's why we see here, because we can't control it.
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2017
Posts: 2
Originally Posted by doggonecarl
What if your fall had injured you to the point that you missed work? If you can afford drinking and risking hurting yourself, you can afford missing work to get better.
Detox under medical supervision...you won't miss that much work.
Detox under medical supervision...you won't miss that much work.
Forum Leader
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Wisconsin, USA
Posts: 16,945
Originally Posted by FearlessVoltron
I work from home. So I can't really miss work. It's just stuff that needs to get done day by day in order to keep my sales operation going.
Regarding your work, it's possible to take a few days off from any job if necessary for important health reasons. And quite frankly if you continue to drink it will affect your job more ans more. A lot of people end up losing their jobs due to drinking.
Member
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: Boston, MA
Posts: 1,601
Agree with the others. This is life and death. You cannot have any reservations - work, family, plans etc. about saving your life. I did the same thing as you and finally someone dragged me from my apartment and brought me to detox....she saved my life.
Guest
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Atlanta
Posts: 8,674
^^^I'll add to what Bunny said. A few weeks ago (maybe longer as time seems to fly quickly now that I am sober, which is funny!), I was part of my first intervention. My sponsor and I went to see a woman who desperately needed to go to detox and she decided with our help to go. My sponsor was able to work out the cost of the four day time in the hospital. Now, this woman is working on a plan based on AA. I hope she will stick to it (this is not her first rodeo, so to speak). She definitely can if she has decided to be sober for good.
There are a million different reasons we "can't quit." I had to choose between life and death - after much denial, bargaining, all kinds of stuff - and the final choice was AA...or nothing. Which meant death by alcoholism in about a year, 18 mo, according to my dr.
I have seen so many people face big obstacles- what SEEMED like big obstacles at the time, whether based on family, money, work, whatever- and successfully get sober. Personally, I have seen things work out as they are supposed to- and often way better than I could have imagined- as I have learned to trust in my spiritual condition and my AA program.
It really is life or death - whatever stage of alcoholism we are in, from the "not that bad" to the brink of death, it WILL get worse and more costly, in every way, if we don't quit.
I will finish by saying that a month can seem like "forever" to consider "giving" to getting well - but it truly isn't. It is an amount of time that can seem insurmountable or endless when thinking about it, but in retrospect (to me) it is such a small amount of time compared to the rest of my life in recovery.
There are a million different reasons we "can't quit." I had to choose between life and death - after much denial, bargaining, all kinds of stuff - and the final choice was AA...or nothing. Which meant death by alcoholism in about a year, 18 mo, according to my dr.
I have seen so many people face big obstacles- what SEEMED like big obstacles at the time, whether based on family, money, work, whatever- and successfully get sober. Personally, I have seen things work out as they are supposed to- and often way better than I could have imagined- as I have learned to trust in my spiritual condition and my AA program.
It really is life or death - whatever stage of alcoholism we are in, from the "not that bad" to the brink of death, it WILL get worse and more costly, in every way, if we don't quit.
I will finish by saying that a month can seem like "forever" to consider "giving" to getting well - but it truly isn't. It is an amount of time that can seem insurmountable or endless when thinking about it, but in retrospect (to me) it is such a small amount of time compared to the rest of my life in recovery.
Member
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: UK
Posts: 6,902
Well you'd have been missing work if that fall had done some proper damage anyway.
Is there anything that anyone could say in response to your question to convince you that, NO, ITS NOT A GOOD PLAN!!!! But you are still drinking so your AV is gonna get the last say (that's your alcoholic voice) because the nearer we are to our last drink, the louder that voice is. You already went to one specialist and discounted what they said because it's not what you wanna hear. And no doubt there's that little voice of your integrity piping up inside telling you "you know what happens once you've had one or two drinks - all the other plans go by the wayside" but your AV can soon shout that boring old party pooper down can't it.
If alcoholics could taper down by moderating to drink less and less each day unsupervised do you think there'd even be rehabs and AA and sites like this? I don't think so. People don't need help because they are weak. It's because alcoholism is not something we can tiptoe away from quietly. It doesn't let us do that. Basically what it sounds to me like you're saying is that you don't want to die, unless finding a way to live involves having to take some time off from work. Definitely AV in the drivers seat at the moment.
What pills did they give you? And when and how are you supposed to be taking them? I'm guessing they're ones you can't take with booze or you'd be taking them already.
Wishing you all the best for getting sober, and the wisdom to listen to someone other than your AV.
BB
Is there anything that anyone could say in response to your question to convince you that, NO, ITS NOT A GOOD PLAN!!!! But you are still drinking so your AV is gonna get the last say (that's your alcoholic voice) because the nearer we are to our last drink, the louder that voice is. You already went to one specialist and discounted what they said because it's not what you wanna hear. And no doubt there's that little voice of your integrity piping up inside telling you "you know what happens once you've had one or two drinks - all the other plans go by the wayside" but your AV can soon shout that boring old party pooper down can't it.
If alcoholics could taper down by moderating to drink less and less each day unsupervised do you think there'd even be rehabs and AA and sites like this? I don't think so. People don't need help because they are weak. It's because alcoholism is not something we can tiptoe away from quietly. It doesn't let us do that. Basically what it sounds to me like you're saying is that you don't want to die, unless finding a way to live involves having to take some time off from work. Definitely AV in the drivers seat at the moment.
What pills did they give you? And when and how are you supposed to be taking them? I'm guessing they're ones you can't take with booze or you'd be taking them already.
Wishing you all the best for getting sober, and the wisdom to listen to someone other than your AV.
BB
Member
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 1,183
Lots of good input above, but I am wondering, have you tried to cut back before? If so, how did that work for you last time, and why do you think it will turn out differently this time? Sometimes we ask questions when we already kinda know the answers, maybe in the hopes that someone will tell us what we want to hear. I have no idea if this rings any bells in this case.
For me, like many of us, I could not cut back for any length of time before I patted myself on the back and got good and drunk, again. It was just a cycle, until I gave up trying and just drank to avoid continuing to disappoint myself. Tapering was out of the question, if I could taper than I could have cut back early and not gotten so deeply stuck in the hole in the first place.
The only solution was a decision point, this is really it, I've already had my last drink and it's over, now.
For me, like many of us, I could not cut back for any length of time before I patted myself on the back and got good and drunk, again. It was just a cycle, until I gave up trying and just drank to avoid continuing to disappoint myself. Tapering was out of the question, if I could taper than I could have cut back early and not gotten so deeply stuck in the hole in the first place.
The only solution was a decision point, this is really it, I've already had my last drink and it's over, now.
Member
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Colorado
Posts: 3,781
How did the conversation with your addiction specialist go? Did they make any recommendations besides seeing a counselor? Do you have any group therapy available in your area? If so are you open to trying it?
What kind of medication did the doctor give you? When will you start this taper plan??
Just courious, really hope it works for you!!!
What kind of medication did the doctor give you? When will you start this taper plan??
Just courious, really hope it works for you!!!
12 Step Recovered Alcoholic
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: New Zealand
Posts: 6,613
It never occurred to me to try and taper. My pattern was to drink for three or four days, then I would be too sick to continue, so I stopped and suffered for a couple of days, then repeated the cycle. I never had enough control to drink in more moderate quantities. For me, one drink was all it too to set it all in motion again.
The exception, used in the past where medical help was not so forthcoming, was supervised tapering. That might involve less than half a bottle of wine administered over a couple of days. Just enough to ease the bumps of withdrawal. All over on two to three days. And always someone around to call a doctor if things got difficult.
The only solution anyone can offer for alcoholism is complete abstinence.
The exception, used in the past where medical help was not so forthcoming, was supervised tapering. That might involve less than half a bottle of wine administered over a couple of days. Just enough to ease the bumps of withdrawal. All over on two to three days. And always someone around to call a doctor if things got difficult.
The only solution anyone can offer for alcoholism is complete abstinence.
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