queenteree

Hi All,

My husband is an alcoholic who goes on month long benders. Then he's good for about a week or so, then back to the same old routine. He was sober over 14 years and started back again after he tore his rotator cuff and then had surgery and was out of work for months. When he stops drinking for a week or so, then he starts up again, he says he can't control it because of the carry over effect. I don't understand what that means and he can't explain it to me. Can anyone? Thanks.

Anna

Hi Queen,

Welcome, I'm glad you found us!

I'm an alcoholic and have been sober for almost 6 years. I haven't heard the expression 'carry over effect'. Maybe what he means is that once he starts drinking, he can't stop. I'm not exactly sure what you mean.

Ngokpa

When I got sober, I had a back injury that was work related, which was pretty painful, and I used alcohol to help with the pain. It helped with lots of things. But the pain wasn't just due to the physical stuff; it was also related to stress. Since alcoholism messes with your nervous system, it both causes stress and makes you less able to handle it--but since it used to work, and it works marginally on a short term basis, it's hard to understand that, especially since most of the pain happens when you're not drinking (which is when you're detoxing).

It took a few months of sobriety to find that out, but I had nothing to lose.