eJoshua

I'm glad things are going so well!

I quit drinking (temporarily) last year and got so excited and enrolled in school. Unfortunately, the stress of it drove me to drink again, or rather I should say that I didn't prepare myself for the stress of school and work full time so I chose to drink again to escape it.

The only reason I mention is so hopefully you can prepare yourself for it better than I did! FWIW, I'm back in school now, but I have planned out my life a lot better and although it is stressful I am dealing with the stress in healthy ways and not letting it overwhelm me.

Best wishes to you in your journey!

SeekSobriety

Thanks so much for sharing your story here. It sounds like you are really working towards turning things around for yourself! That is really great.

I would like to certainly echo the other comment regarding speaking to your doctor about detox and suboxone. Any medication and detox should be done under medical supervision. If you do not have a doctor you could find a referral to one by calling a local university medical school and speaking with the staff there, they can give referrals or offer lower cost visits via the medical school.

Best of luck to you!

Lmaonaise

I guess I forgot to mention that I am prescribed, the doctor just seemed somewhat lackadaisical about everything.. So I have doubts as to the knowledge he has(I doubt he himself has been through opiate withdrawals, although I could be wrong) and the validity of his practice. When I went outside for a smoke after my second visit someone told me they go to him for "everything" and proceeded to list, percocets, xanax, vicodins etc... Granted I'm not a physician, But I do look up EVERYTHING online, extensively. And the question I had, I could not find an answer too(which is rare). Anyways, I only went back because he had the medicine that I researched about, and decided to use to help me get away from my demons. Call me an existentialist(if something should go awry, then so be it my cross to bare), but that's how I feel. I honestly trust my knowledge more than the doctor I'm referring to, and was simply asking for opinions, not medical advice.


::edit:: P.s. I just re-read this and realized I came off sounding snobby, I'm sorry. I had no intentions of that. I appreciate EVERYONE on here for their support, I do. I just get upset when I'm trying so hard to do what I feel is the right thing, and it's not "correct" enough for everyone else.

::edit #2:: Handling day 7 quite well, perhaps I'm a little crabby.. But I'm not a saint.

gr8ful42day

:ghug3

freshstart57

I think this is essential to recovery. You know that your solution will come from inside you. Time to become that best friend to yourself, that friend you have needed for a long time. It will be better every day.

Lmaonaise

I went to my first na meeting yesterday... It was good in a way, but I don't buy the god crud... I also have an issue with saying I'm powerless, If I were, how do I get through the last 7 days... Anyways, I took 1mg suboxone yesterday morning around 9 am, today it's around noon.. If I don't feel any worse than I do now, I won't take anymore ever again.

Fenris

I felt that way at first too. But I encourage you not to let those two aspects of the program turn you off to it. Millions of people have gotten and stayed sober using twelve-step programs like NA...if that particular meeting didn't suit you, try another. Take what you need from it and leave the rest behind. I've been more-or-less agnostic all of my life (still am), but it's always been because I was pretty apathetic about anything outside of myself. AA has really helped me further contemplate and understand my spirituality. Not everyone needs that; maybe you don't. The key behind 12-step programs is the belief that I cannot get and stay sober on my own (I can't); and to do so, I seek a power outside and greater than myself. My "God" belongs to me -- nobody else. I didn't find Him in a book or in a building. Your Higher Power could be the group itself. An old timer with 30 years of sobriety told me last night that he started out with an oak tree as his Higher Power. :: shrug ::

Just something to think about.

--Fenris.

freshstart57

Lmaonaise, there are some folks like us who have trouble with the spiritual and helpless aspects of AA. Fortunately, there are secular cognitive approaches to sobriety that SR also considers along with the more familiar spiritual 12 step programs.

Some discussion of alternatives can be found in Secular Connections. A technique that is heavily discussed there is called AVRT.

There are many paths to sobriety, we just have to find the one that clicks.

Lmaonaise

Unfortunately my cousin who has a similiar but different issue stopped two days before me and gets a lot more than I from these meetings so I'm kinda forced to go.

Day 1 with no subs, GRAVY BABY.