soberinct

My last drink was in August 2016 but I still have really bad cravings to drink. I know I will relapse soon if I keep feeling like this. What I've tried:

-detox (have been detoxed in a hospital 4 times)

-intensive outpatient (twice)

-one on one counseling (on and off for 3 years)

-AA (been going on and off for 6 years), did the steps twice with a sponsor

-medication: Campral (which made be depressed so I had to stop). Naltrexone: I was supposed to get the Vivitrol shot but the nurse practitioner said I had to take naltrexone pills first to make sure I did not have severe side effects. I took 1/4 a Naltrexone pill the first day like the nurse said and I couple hours later I was extremely dizzy and throwing up violently. So the nurse said I was not a good candidate for Vivitrol.

-Taking Zoloft for about 6 months for anxiety

I feel like I will relapse soon if I don't find a way to get rid of the cravings to drink. Alcohol came close to ruining my life, I'm just now starting to rebuild my relationship with my family and my career. But I literally still think about drinking every day and I know I will cave eventually if I keep on feeling like this. I also got addicted to DXM after I quit drinking but have not used DXM for 60 days. Still have cravings for that too. Any advice is appreciated! Thanks in advance!

Ghostlight1

Wish I had a magic reply, but you've tried everything I would recommend.
Just try and keep yourself busy is all I can come up with.
Welcome to this place, you'll find a lot of support here.
Wishing you the best and continued sobriety.

soberinct

I started this post a while ago and figured I'd post an update. On Thanksgiving weekend I did drink, I only had three beers but then I was sick for two days afterward. Don't know if it was a hangover, withdrawals or maybe I just had the flu but anyway it was Not worth it. Tomorrow I will have 30 days sober and I guess I decided that the best way to deal with alcohol/drug cravings is just keep doing what I'm doing and try to live a healthy lifestyle. I hope this post helps someone, I know it has helped me to write it.

Stayingsassy

CongratuLatinos on your 30 days. Yes, I had to acknowledge there would be cravings but they lessen over time it's true that that more time you have between now and your last drink, the less cravings you have.

Mizzuno

30 days is great!

Do you have hobbies or another activity that is in replacement of the alcohol that you removed from your life?

I had to find healthy activities that gave me motivation daily. I run and use the gym as an outlet.

Keep moving forward!

paulokes

Hey friend con grats on 30 days sober.

The telling thing with this post is that it seems as if you knew what was coming. I can relate to that. You know it's coming, you feel you can't do anything about it. You posted here...s9rry you didn't get any more support. Did you reach out to any of your real life contacts in the run up to that drink? Did you tell anyone face to face that you felt like you were going to drink but didnt want to?

That'd be my only other suggestion of you struggle again

Dee74

Well done on 30 days soberinct

D

soberinct

I did start going to the gym and going to church in the past year so I guess those are my main hobbies. The only person I told face to face about cravings was my counselor. Her response was that, I constantly talk about my cravings, but managed to stay sober up until that point, so she thought I was doing Ok. I did talk to my old sponsors about my cravings, and they just said to pray, which did not help me much (no offense meant to anyone that feels that prayer helped them but I just don't feel it helped me much). I guess my problem is, I thought there was a "magic bullet" solution but maybe there isn't any. Maybe the answer is, keep trying to do the right thing, and sometimes just white knuckle it. My life is so much better sober, and I really don't want to lose everything I've gained.

Stayingsassy

Wow that was quite a spellcheck fail, sorry about that.

Mizzuno

I have thoughts about alcohol and those thoughts only come when I am overwhelmed emotionally.

HALT - Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired.

I know that all of the above can produce cravings for a person.

What is it that is making you crave?

I can relate to having a really low time a few weeks back and this made my head space a bit unbearable. I logged on here and talked about it. Soon enough that head space (after a few days) was normalized. I resurfaced. Seeing myself through that time has proven to be quite the powerful experience. I know you can do this because you are doing this. Keep moving forward and work towards the change needed.

There may be some emotion that needs to be identified that produces this craving?

Keep on moving forward!

Bird615

Isn't there something in AA that says nothing will help us more than working with another alcoholic? Advice to me from my sponsor when I felt like that was that I needed to get out of myself and go help someone else. That could be as simple as sharing in a meeting, or greeting a newcomer. Or even outside of AA, I could find ways to help someone else.

In regards to AA (which is what worked for me, so that's all I can offer), in my experience, I had to do more than go through the steps with a sponsor--I had to incorporate them into my life and actually live them as well as maintain a conscious contact with my Higher Power, so it was there when I needed it.

AA taught me a whole life change--the way I thought and behaved and looked at the world needed to change and that's what really took away the cravings for me.

tomsteve

the one thing that comes to my mind reading this is that i hope the
just keep doing what I'm doing and try to live a healthy lifestyle.
has added actions on what you were doing before. seems if ya just stick with what you were doing before, youd end up drinking again.
if you happen to have the bb, dr bob has in his story

Unlike most of our crowd, I did not get over my craving for liquor much during the first two and one-half years of abstinence. It was almost always with me. But at no time have I been anywhere near yielding. I used to get terribly upset when I saw my friends drink and knew I could not, but I schooled myself to believe that though I once had the same privilege, I had abused it so frightfully that it was withdrawn. So it doesn’t behoove me to squawk about it for, after all, nobody ever had to throw me down and pour liquor down my throat.

what drd bob did during that time was work with other alcoholics- he got out of himself. it must have heped because he never drank again

doggonecarl

If you have read the Big Book of AA, the phenomenon of craving occurs after the alcoholic takes a drink. Few have control after the drink, craving takes over.

You're current obsessed with the thought of drinking. Just thoughts. Tormenting at times, but thoughts none the less, and they can't make you drink.

soberinct

I really appreciate all the responses. I will try to be more active in helping other alcoholics. Even sharing more at meetings can help someone.

NYCDoglvr

Absolutely! Getting your hand up and sharing about craving is the essence of the program. I went through cravings after many years of sobriety ... sat in the front row and shared, the craving evaporated. Big hug!

calvinm16

I'm in the same boat 129 days in apart from attempts at medication. I'm scared to try that because honestly if meds don't work I'd probably go straight back to drinking. I've taken medication and had ill effects that actually caused me to prefer alcohol over them.

The temptations and abstinence really tortures me beyond what I could've ever imagined. I'm someone that likes doing what I want to do regardless of what anyone thinks.

I wish I had some advice but I'm definitely in the same boat.

Berrybean

AA (been going on and off for 6 years), did the steps twice with a sponsor

I reckon if you got rid of the the and off and did then the relief you got from the step work might carry on,and even get better.

The 12-step program isn't something we do and then stop. Steps 10, 11 and 12 are all maintenance steps. We continue to take personal inventory and to improve our contact with our HP, and to work with other alcoholics. If we don't keep doing it we can't expect the results those promises to keep materialising. At the end of all the meetings I've been to we say "it works if we work it". I'm yet to hear anyone say it works because they worked it in the past then stopped. No more than if someone loses weight and gets fit by eating well and working out then stops.

I hope you get some relief soon.

BB