Day 17
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Join Date: Jan 2013
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Day 17
Cannot concentrate. Very miserable with school and feeling like I made a huge mistake. Thinking of quitting my anti depressants and anti anxiety meds because I think they make me not give a **** about anything, and I cannot concentrate or read for long periods of time. No energy, no passion-just fatigue. Don't know what to do, but I am not going to drink alcohol or smoke cigarettes.
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I think you should get more stable in your sobriety before quitting meds. I understand the flat feeling very well but right now you are trying to finish the semester. Maybe see doctor about dosage but overall you are doing very well. What about more exercise and are you eating good food plus taking multi-vitamin? Part of the "no energy" could be your body trying to recover after all it's been through. Are you eating much sugar or processed food? That won't help with concentration.
I used to wake up feeling that way all the time, and now I eat eggs every morning with some type of meat / veggies and plenty of olive oil / coconut oil. This "dials in" in about 45 minutes and I'm able to sit at my desk working for hours. I suggest you check out Mark's Daily Apple website and Paleo Diet. I'm not trying to sell any type of eating protocol but I really think this plan gave me some proactive tools to keep and "grow" my sobriety by regaining some healthy habits. He also talks about play, lifting heavy things, and sprinting as part of getting back into your body. Now that you are over 2 weeks sober, maybe it is time to look at more focused rebuilding strategies. You can do this, and the evidence is that you are doing it
I used to wake up feeling that way all the time, and now I eat eggs every morning with some type of meat / veggies and plenty of olive oil / coconut oil. This "dials in" in about 45 minutes and I'm able to sit at my desk working for hours. I suggest you check out Mark's Daily Apple website and Paleo Diet. I'm not trying to sell any type of eating protocol but I really think this plan gave me some proactive tools to keep and "grow" my sobriety by regaining some healthy habits. He also talks about play, lifting heavy things, and sprinting as part of getting back into your body. Now that you are over 2 weeks sober, maybe it is time to look at more focused rebuilding strategies. You can do this, and the evidence is that you are doing it
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Join Date: May 2013
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1. Never stop taking your meds without consulting your doctor and doing so under his/her supervision.
2. You are making an assumption that your inability to concentrate is due to the meds. You have 17 days sober. I would propose that it is far more likely that your current struggles with concentration, fatigue and apathy are due to your body still dealing with the being newly sober.
3. For all you know, if you weren't on your meds, you'd be drinking right now. Tell your doctor your concerns. Maybe they will alter the dose and/or type, but you have to admit something is working because you woke up sober today. Concentrate on your victories rather than your conflicts.
You are doing a great job. Don't let yourself convince you otherwise.
2. You are making an assumption that your inability to concentrate is due to the meds. You have 17 days sober. I would propose that it is far more likely that your current struggles with concentration, fatigue and apathy are due to your body still dealing with the being newly sober.
3. For all you know, if you weren't on your meds, you'd be drinking right now. Tell your doctor your concerns. Maybe they will alter the dose and/or type, but you have to admit something is working because you woke up sober today. Concentrate on your victories rather than your conflicts.
You are doing a great job. Don't let yourself convince you otherwise.
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Yes. I am taking multivitamin, starting to get on a normal sleep schedule. I slept well last night and woke up this morning, ate some food, took my meds. Going to read for class then spend about seven hours at school, then coming home and I want to cook something for dinner tonight. The stress of school is making me miserable, but I will deal with it somehow. I know my antidepressant cuts down on my cravings for alcohol and cigarettes, so my depression must be getting a little better. Tonight I will take my walk and run I am trying to get back into doing every night, but the work load is too much sometimes. Maybe my energy levels will get better soon. I was a binge drinker, not an everyday drinker, but I guess my body still is recovering from years of drinking a lot. Thank you guys and I am feeling better. No time to do all my reading.
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Anti-anxiety/anti-depressants usually take 3 to 4 weeks to normalize and provide benefit. You have quit/started the med thing a number of times in the past 4+ months Acheleus. You need to stick with it...you need to break the patterns you succumb to. Please try to stay on track...get beyond a month on the med's. Please stop sabotaging yourself.
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You know the Drill ACH. Take a break, take a walk, get some ice cream. All the talk of stopping your meds is purely the addiction trying to get you to succumb and drink again. And you know how to tell it to go away as you have done so successfully many times before.
It can take weeks, even months for your body to recover fully from the abuse of drinking, even if you didn't drink every day.
It can take weeks, even months for your body to recover fully from the abuse of drinking, even if you didn't drink every day.
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Back home and feeling better after eating. Staying on the meds and I was more talkative today, I can feel myself changing a little bit. Also walking now I am not out of breath at all. Thank you all for the good advice, I am not going to ruin things for myself like I usually do. Patience and endurance, these are the things I need now. Self-acceptance, too. It feels good to be 17 days clean and sober.
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Fishy no I don't know anyone in my town, I am reading and writing all the time. My philosophy books help me, they are like self-help books, but no I have no friends, probably my fault. I will go to the coffee shop if I feel too cooped up.
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I am not used to all these feelings. For some reason I feel stuck and afraid. I hope my medication will ease my depression more in the coming weeks. I wish I had energy and enthusiasm, but I feel like my life is over. How can I not have any relationships? It must mean I am not worth anything to anyone else. I hate what I have done to myself with alcohol.
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I want to feel like I can influence the way I feel and perceive things, but I feel more controlled and like hopeless about the future. My depression should get better with time. I could cry all day if I let myself. When I drank I could feel safe in the world, capable of pursuing my goals, strong, but that only lasted an hour before I became a drunk fool. Alcohol must be very damaging to the brain, because I feel like a stranger to myself sober.
Keep putting one foot in front of the other. I know you can do this. 
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I do not have a hometown. No one to call. My family lost everything and moved to a different state. My parents will burn in hell I hope for how much I lost. But no, I have no relationship with anyone except my dad, and we only bonded by drinking, so I have no one, and yes it is partly my fault but also due to my parents being unstable, going to jail, running to a different place to escape their problems.
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Nah, it's all your fault at this stage of the game. Go ahead and take that responsibility now, you may as well, unless you can foist yourself upon someone hopelessly co-dependent to temporarily relieve the condition. It would be better for you if you would just suck it up and make some sober friends.
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Originally Posted by Acheleus 
Yes. I am taking multivitamin, starting to get on a normal sleep schedule. I slept well last night and woke up this morning, ate some food, took my meds. Going to read for class then spend about seven hours at school, then coming home and I want to cook something for dinner tonight. The stress of school is making me miserable, but I will deal with it somehow. I know my antidepressant cuts down on my cravings for alcohol and cigarettes, so my depression must be getting a little better. Tonight I will take my walk and run I am trying to get back into doing every night, but the work load is too much sometimes. Maybe my energy levels will get better soon. I was a binge drinker, not an everyday drinker, but I guess my body still is recovering from years of drinking a lot. Thank you guys and I am feeling better. No time to do all my reading.
We look forward to your continued updates!
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