Silt76

Hey you all,

I just came across this forum a few hours ago, and been reading.
Granted, I came to this forum for a reason.

Point is, I don't really consider myself an 'alcoholic', in the most traditional ways meant. But I do know I need to stop drinking. Which of course means I have a problem with it.
I have never hid alcohol from anyone, everyone I know knows and expects me to drink the way I do. And I think that because I'm mostly by nature a 'mind over body' kind of guy and when that doesn't work, I'm stubborn enough to make it work, everyone just assumes I'm good.

Unlike many of you, my drinking has never influenced my work, my relationships or day to day life.
For about the last 13 months or so, I've made into a habit to drink about 1.5 - 2 liters (0.4 - 0.5 gallons) of strong beer, every night. And it has never been for 'I need a drink', but for a 'why not?' factor.

Now, I want to quit, but it seems I have created somewhat of enigma (to me anyway) or painted myself into a corner for that matter.
If I stay sober, I get the chest pains, light headed, the shakes, and what I think it is you all call 'dry drunk' from moments to moments. Now, to make it worse, if I drink, I get fever and my skin feels like on fire while drinking and light-headed (without being drunk).
So the way I see it at the moment is that I'm damned if I do, and damned if I don't.
I live in alone in a foreign country, do I don't have anyone to really speak up to on these matters. But is there anyone in here that has similar experience and could give me advice as to how to deal with this?

Either way, to stop drinking is a priority. I just need some information on how to do it. Detox is not an option unfortunately, as I'm about to be transferred to another country. And I have no idea how long it will take me to get medical rights of that over there.

Any idea or suggestion would be of tremendous help.

Thanks in advance and sorry for how long that was.

firestorm090

Hi Silt76,

Welcome to SR. I only have 9 days since my last drink, so I'm not qualified to really offer much. There are many here who have shared your experience and hopefully will help you find your way out.

The only thing I can tell you is that you seem to have a lot of "yets" that you are lucky not to have experienced. I have experienced much pain and caused much pain due to my determination to "drink like a man", and I never learned how to successfully do that. The real test for any of us here is how bad do we want to stop? I have had my share and now want to stop above and beyond all else. I have learned that it is impossible for me to control my consumption of alcohol once I start drinking. That's why I'm here.

This site offers so many different avenues for each of us, so hopefully you can find the help and support you need. Welcome.

traid77

Welcome to SR, Silt. Sounds to me like you're going thru the first stages of denial about alcoholism that I went through. Common sense dictates that if something makes you sick, you never go near it again. Lots of posts here about the dangers of stopping drinking abruptly, you should have a look. No one here will give out medical advise, nor would tell you detox is something to take lightly, however if it's truly a "why not" issue, then why not cut back slowly then stop? When I went dry for a few months, this is what I did, and other than insomnia and night sweats, I was fine. When the body reacts to alcohol ingestion with symptoms like you describe, that may be indicative of a serious health problem. Be honest with yourself and don't take any unnecessary risks. Only you can make the right decision and enforce it, but the folks at SR will give you love and support thru the process.

Dee74

Hi Silt

Welcome to ya - regardless of whether you want to call yourself an alcoholic or not, you've obviously got a problem - the solution is to remove the problem...

The common denominator for any approach is having a sincere commitment to stopping drinking - thats the bedrock - only the support systems vary really. How you choose to do this is pretty much up to you, depending on where you are in the world right now, and what approach resonates most with you.

I know you're not in the States, but do look at this link - its not exhaustive but it lists the main programmes most people here use - you might get some ideas.

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...resources.html

And keep posting and reading here - we've got a lot of approaches at work here - find one that looks like it works, and you think might work for you...and work it

good to have you here
D

NewBeginning010

Hi Silt,

Congratulations on your decision to quit drinking, your mind & body will thank you for it.

You are going through withdrawals & they can be very serious, please check out this thread http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...at-we-did.html

It took me a long time to admit I had a problem with alcohol & to realize that I was in fact an alcoholic myself.

All of the best in your recovery,

NB

thirtybubba

Silt, welcome. Here is a place you can 'speak' to people on these matters. You wouldn't be the only one who relies on SR.

Alcoholic, whatever, I don't think it matters what you call it.

Like you, I never hid my drinking from anyone--never felt the need--and it never affected jobs/school/life much--at least nowhere near a point where it would be intolerable.

As for the chest pains, lightheadedness, shakes--see a doctor at least if you can't go through detox. Plain and simple. Candies/sugar can allay the shakes, but the other two... those can easily be fatal. There is no substitute for a doctor, they can give you a medication that will ease those symptoms.

If you can't get drunk anymore, I guess you gotta get sober...

Good luck.

tommyk

Welcome to SR.

Wolfchild

Good morning & welcome to the Sober Recovery community.

Silt76

Hello all of you, and thank you for your kindness.

Let me address some of the points that have come up since my writing

@ firestorm090: I can somewhat share your experience, but to a limit. I can stop drinking when I start, but I have always wanted to know what this 'drink like a man' thing was about. I never have, and based on my previous post, nor will I. Nor will I regret not going there.

@ traid77: As I said in my post, I got to this forum for a reason, and it sure wasn't for typing 'I am not having a problem drinking' into google. :P
I am having a problem. The way I see it, it's more of a physical problem than it is a psychological one. I could be wrong, and in denial, but the way my mind works, then at the moment, it appears to be physical. If I'm proven wrong, I'll gladly accept that. But I came here, because I do have a problem with my drinking.

@ Dee74, NewBeginning010, thirtybubba: Thanks for your links around here and your thoughts. Same goes for the other other ones

One can read a lot about alcohol abuse and alcoholism and still have nothing. Some orgs have a red tape plan to define you, others don't. In the end, it is up to you.
At the very moment, I think I am quite capable of quitting drinking, it's the physical stuff that scares me, to be honest. Too much reading, and the symptoms I get, are enough to do that do you.
As for quitting gradually. Seriously, I haven't had years of history of drinking or detoxing. If that is an option, then I sure as heck didn't know about it, nor do I even understand what 'less' even means. Take it as it goes? Drink less strong beer, same QTY? I don't know.
I'm new to this! haha!

But all jokes asides. The way I feel, then sure i could go to a doctor, but he'll ask me to go to detox, which I can't really do given my job and all.
I guess, what I'm really asking you all, is if you have heard of a doctor prescribing something something without detox for alcohol abuse (for it really is just that).
Where I'm going I will have family, so getting someone to watch me isn't that difficult.
Thoughts, comments?

And again, sorry for the length of the post.

tommyk

Silt76 - if the problem grows, and you suspect that your thinking isn't providing a solution, please consider trying some things you 'think' might not work.

Paralysis by analysis was one of my disease's favorite tactics.

Paralysis by analysis.

Keep coming back.

thirtybubba

Yes. That's what I'm on/ weaning myself off these days.