KAD

Been addicted to alcohol for nearly a quarter century. I used to quit from time to time - quit for 2 years once - but the last time I quit for more than a few weeks was a year ago. That was for 4 months.

I'm going to see my doctor in 2 days. I plan to level with her about how the drinking has gotten worse and ask about medications. I'd consider Antabuse. I'm a little worried about what other alcohol-containing products (cologne, mouthwash, etc.) might make me sick, but I would take it. I've heard some things about Naltrexone but have also heard you're encouraged to continue drinking in order for it to work (???). What other meds are available?

I've gone the AA route already and that doesn't do it for me. Did Rational Recovery. That was when I quit for 2 years, so it did have an impact. Apparently not enough of one, though. Read "The Easy Way To Quit Drinking." That one really didn't give me any ah-ha moments. I want to quit. I don't want to even attempt to moderate again. I've learned 1,000 times what happens when I do. I'm at my wit's end with this!

DarrenW

Yeah, I thought the book (easy way) was hokie. Just my opinion, may work for others. I am meeting with a psychologist tomorrow, and I am hoping to get on Nax. I will let you know how it works- unless someone else posts as to the effects.

suki44883

Not sure where you heard that you continue drinking while using Naltrexone. That isn't the case as far as I've experienced. I was prescribed Naltrexone after 6 days at a detox facility. It was originally used to blocks the effects of opioid drugs, but was found to be helpful with alcohol cravings. Talk to your doctor about it. I would try that before I tried antabuse, but that's just me. Your doctor would be a better guide.

Welcome to SR! You will find a lot of supportive people here. We know what it's like in early recovery and we will help you in any way we can. You can do this!

Anna

If there was an easy way to quit, then none of us would be here.

Quitting is hard, but it's worth it. I didn't use any medication to quit, but you would have to talk to your dr about that. The motivation to stop drinking and recover is so important. If you really want to live a sober life, then you can.

KAD

Suki, I hope you're right about not being encouraged to continue drinking while using Naltrexone. I heard about that idea from another recovery site I used to frequent. The theory was that Naltrexone "breaks" the association in your brain between alcohol and the pleasurable effects. Makes you indifferent, or so they said. For it to work successfully, you had to continue drinking and taper off. I will certainly ask my doctor about it.

least

I used to think I was hopeless but with the help of my excellent addiction counselor and my wonderful SR family I am celebrating two years sober tomorrow. And I thought I was a hopeless loser. It's not only possible, it's really worth it to live sober.

Welcome to the family.

KAD

I see an addictions counselor, but not often enough. Her primary operation is in another town over an hour away and she doesn't come to my area but twice a month at most. Also, it doesn't help that I haven't been altogether truthful with her about the extent of my drinking. I know that's stupid. How is she supposed to help me if I conceal the truth?

True2Myself

Good luck to you. And I say this as my own personal experience, I am not a doctor.

I was in the same boat. Exactly. Went to a psychologist and received the naltraxone injections (in the butt and last two weeks). Didn't work. Cravings were unbearable. So finally, my wife saw a segment on good morning america about a hard core french doctor that was in as bad, if not worse shape than us. And what he did was try baclofen. I ordered some online and took the dosage I had researched online (I won't say it here). The bottom line is that within two weeks I noticed I was drinking A LOT less! my wife even noticed. And within a year I realized I didn't really like alcohol. And I stopped near the end of June this year and haven't looked back. This is finally the life I have wanted to live.

This worked for me and I have no side affects because of the low dosage. I did notice though that when I tried to stop, I had anxiety and the cravings came back. Close call. Oh yeah, to get my Doctor to buy into this and prescribe, He had my rehab records from a couple of years ago and I was totally honest with him. I even printed out the medical studies that were done (they are online). Now he supports me and cannot believe it. I lost 60 pounds too!

Thanks for reading and happy holidays!

KAD

I have read that Baclofen has been found to be useful for addictions. My ex-wife took it once for something totally different, but I do remember reading that. I'll ask about it, too.

recycle

2 years is a good chunk of time Why did you go back to drinking?

KAD

A combination of things, not the least of which was becoming overly confident. I had just switched jobs after working the same job for 5 years. I went from being the man who knew everything to the rookie who knew nothing. I freaked. I felt stupid and in the way. Within 2 weeks, I caved. I reached for the one thing I knew I could get to make me forget about it for a while, and I've regretted it from then on.

That was 7 years ago. Ironically, I ended up performing very well on that job and became very useful. I panicked over nothing, and here I am back in the ditch again.

Adding to that, my marriage was falling apart - yes, even during the sober years, especially during the sober years, as alcohol had more to do with my marrying in the first place than it did with the failure of the marriage. A lot of things were unraveling.

Hevyn

GetMeOut - It sounds like you're ready this time.

I had to admit that alcohol no longer did a thing for me. For some reason I didn't want to come to that conclusion. I was always in search of the way it used to be - but the old euphoria I once felt was gone, & never coming back.

I had 3 yrs. once & started up again - 7 yrs. later I came stumbling into SR. These people changed my life. Not feeling alone anymore was huge for me. I hope you'll feel the same.

recycle

GMO if you are interested in giving RR another shot there is a good support thread down in Secular Connections http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...ml#post3126141

Not trying to discourage the prescription route, just throwing out another option. Best of luck.

KAD

I know well the delusion that I can get back all those great experiences alcohol once gave me (or I remember them as being great), but its gone for good now. The difference is, I admitted years ago that its gone for good, yet I keep drinking. We've all heard it before, but it still rings true...the definition of insanity: repeating the same behavior over and over again expecting a different outcome.

Yep, sounds a lot like me. Maybe there's something magical about that number 7? Nah, I know there isn't, but I also know if I don't stop this its going to kill me. I've never been in any legal trouble because of drinking, but it is doing ugly things to my body.

KAD

Thanks recycle, I'll check it out.

KAD

recycle, I read the link (thanks again). My problem with RR and AVRT - btw, I think the technique is a good one and it did help me - is that I just don't grasp how simply making a "Big Plan" will guarantee you never fail again. It always seemed too much like a confidence game to me. Jack Trimpey says once you make a Big Plan it is impossible to drink again. I made numerous Big Plans and ended up scrapping every one of them, which for me invalidated the whole idea. Then I felt like a failure and that something was very wrong with me because I didn't make it stick. I don't know how I could have been any more sincere when I made them. There must be something I am missing.

I left one thing out before in response to your question about why I went back to drinking after 2 years sober. I omitted what led to the sobriety in the first place. I'm a hider. I conceal my drinking. I don't get hammered, pass out, black out, get arrested, wake up in my own vomit, etc. I maintain a full-time job and keep up all the appearances of a productive citizen, while consuming up to a 5th of vodka/day. The objective is to achieve and maintain a steady buzz, all day long.

So, while I was still married and had one child, my wife at the time discovered my hidden bottle. She told me if I ever drank again she would take our child and leave me. That was the catalyst. It put the fear of God into me. For most of the next 2 years I barely even thought about alcohol. It was during that time that I read "The New Cure." It helped solidify my position.

As the marriage disintegrated, I began entertaining the idea that I could have my cake and eat it, too. All I needed to do was get better at hiding it. It worked. She never found another bottle. We're divorced now anyway because we never liked each other all that much to begin with, but it wasn't because of drinking.

recycle

I am not super familiar with AVRT, but it seems to me that would be relapse right there. The 'beast' was let out.

Drunks are clever lot. The other day, a guy in an AA meeting was sharing about how we used to sneak our booze, the old timer next to me turned and said "Did you know that a 50ft garden hose will hold a quart and a half?" Anyway insanity aside, I am pretty sure you can not get an anti-sneaking pill. If you are obsessed with drinking I am a afraid you find a way.

recycle

Wow I just re-read my post, and it came off a little cockeyed. I am not promoting AA or discouraging you from seeking the help or your Dr. at all. Whatever you can do get some space between you and the bottle is a good thing IMO, I just know a pill would not be a long term solution for me. I am a sneaker too.

Best of luck GMO.

Itchy

Get,
We sure sound alike except for the hiding. I quit smoking 2 packs a day 19 years ago when I was active duty, and before I had issues with alcohol. I lasted one year and six months using nicorette the whole time. My doc cut me off and I went back to smoking and within a week I was worse, back to 2 packs. I wanted to "see" what one smoke only would do to me without my tolerance and sure enough it made me dizzy. As if I didn't know what it felt like after millions of smokes since age 12. In hindsight I realized it was me, I was an idiot! I swore if I could ever quit smoking again I would never pick up that first cigarette ever again. I was unable to quit for 18 years but I had relapsed and learned a valuable lesson.

I slowly got to where I was drinking all evening and weekends, and then I quit my job (I have retirement income/don't need to work) and was drinking from scotch in my first coffee all day to the tune of 30 units plus a day of beer, box wine, and scotch in the evenings. But I kept my buzz and never got drunk, as in wobbly, slurring, or incapacitated enough to risk my life property and reputation drinking and driving. No one knew I was drinking three to four drinks an hour all morning noon and night. My tolerance was so high I drank to stay straight, and to just barely keep my buzz. I always had a beer in hand during the day and most thought I nursed one or two in the time I drank 8 after i retired again. I drank a scotch or two in my coffee in the mornings when working to get me going, but not at work.

The last two years were terrible as I felt I was destroying my body and health and being in my late 50's ( I didn't really have an alcohol problem until after age 45) I was pretty sure I would be dead very soon from slow suicide as I was drinking at a minimum 30 units a day, and smoking at a minimum three packs of cigarettes a day. I was sick and vomiting in the mornings and could sometimes not keep down the first of my alcohol laced coffee medicinal toddys.

Remember that lesson learned from quitting smoking almost two decades before? I decided I was not suicidal slow or otherwise and decided that if I could just clear the poisons out of my body I would never again be foolish enough to have the first smoke and that first drink and be free at last.

I did in hospital detox and stayed here and in AA for 3 months, but mostly knew that it was over thank goodness. I did use nicotine patches for 9 months by prescription and insurance paid for.

It is my firm belief that we need local and anonymous support, indeed all the support we can get. SR is a literal lifesaver worldwide and most people never heard of them.

It sounds Get, like you are where I was when I did my final quit. It sounds like you learned the lesson of the one smoke/drink and relapse, just like I did except with the alcohol. Get the support you need, even if it is just going to a meeting pro forma, or posting here pro forma. Then when you are done, be done.

No one can give you peace. Only you can take it for yourself. Take peace.

KAD

So, had my doctor's appointment today. I told her the drinking problem was still a problem and requested something to help stave off the temptation to drink. The only drug she knew of was Naltrexone, so she wrote a prescription. I have to order my meds through the mail (because of my job) so it will take a few days, but I'm anxious to get started. I sincerely think if something can help make the prospect of drinking less appealing, it will help me stay away from it.