Class of October 2015 Part 2
All the best Layali. I think the issue of sugar is a big one for me too. After a couple of days without alcohol I have in the past started to consume large volumes of chocolate, I assume to replace the carbs delivered normally by the alcohol. Of course it doesn't really help and the more sugar one takes in I suspect, the more likely one is to relapse.
My partner lost a lot of weight on a version of the Atkins diet and she takes the same view.
My partner lost a lot of weight on a version of the Atkins diet and she takes the same view.
All the best Layali. I think the issue of sugar is a big one for me too. After a couple of days without alcohol I have in the past started to consume large volumes of chocolate, I assume to replace the carbs delivered normally by the alcohol. Of course it doesn't really help and the more sugar one takes in I suspect, the more likely one is to relapse.
My partner lost a lot of weight on a version of the Atkins diet and she takes the same view.
My partner lost a lot of weight on a version of the Atkins diet and she takes the same view.
Kathleen DesMaisons has an excellent program for sugar addicts - she originally started her work with alcoholics actually. She's really knowledgeable on addictions and nutrition. Her program (radiant recovery) has 7 steps, and the first is to have enough protein, especially in the morning (the 7th step is to get rid of all sugars - aaahhh!)
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Join Date: Aug 2014
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Professional zombie fighter
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Texas
Posts: 341
Ugh, me neither. "No thanks" works when drinking isn't the point of the moment, but if my family was doing a brewery tour and required my attendance, I have no idea how I'd handle it.
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Not that it is good that others have the congestion thing but it makes me feel less like a weirdo That's awful that's it's harder the longer you go. Do you think it's because you have more cravings or because you start to think you have your addiction under control and can somehow manage your drinking if you decided to start again? dde02
Rar. I don't mean to whine. Sorry.
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Hello all. I am a 'serial returnee' here. Managed over ten months last year but then started drinking around the time my dad died (that isn't an excuse, just a fact). I've spent time looking at baclofen as a way to reduce cravings and have seen a consultant about it. On the stuff as of yesterday. Back, feeling positive and motivated. Nice to meet you!
The subject of drinking can be whatever you feel comfortable making it Nmd and Helpimalive. I'm very honest and tell people I don't drink anymore. If they pursue it I will tell them I'm an alcoholic. You can always tell them you're on a prescription that you're not allowed to drink with, you've had a stomach bug or you're stomach jus don't feel up to drinking. There are a million reasons why. You could simply say no thanks I don't want any. So however you want to handle it. I suppose you could just feel obligated to drink since you don't know how to handle it (of course that would be a terrible choice) or you could reach out to SR, Dee or people who have more time under their belt than me if I didn't help any here. Just a suggestion.
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Hi All, Day 2 for this battered and weary alcoholic. Again the resistence when I write that word despite the evidence is incredible.....I'll keep on pushing through said resistence. the way I'm feeling right now I can't imagine myself risking drinking again.....but I know the thought will come at me again out of nowhere....like in a haunted house in a theme park.....a ghoul just randomly jumping out at me....got to be prepared to kick it in the head......or like that game where there is like 20 holes and randomly a little head pops out and you've got a few seconds to bash it with your mallet......got to be ready to bash those thoughts with my mallet By the way, can someone explain "class of October"? does that mean if you are sober in October 2015 you stay on this thread indefinately with the people who are sober this month? or is it just a new thread every month? Well have a great day!!!
Once the month is over, the class thread moves from the "Newcomers" forum to the "Daily support" forum. Many classes from years past still see activity from class members who have been posting for years.
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That's strange, I read something very similar last night....how we can become addicted to negative spirals and just as equally to positive spirals (spirals of thought) so better to catch yourself before you slip into a negative spiral and seek the positive sounds like a cool course
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I've got to run off to work, but I wanted to say thank you for all the posts this morning! I love reading the posts in the morning - gets my head in the right place for the day. Juno- great list! I will be borrowing some of those ideas from you. Thank you!! Help- I often wonder if/when it will get harder for me to resist the urge to drink. Surely it won't always be that hard, right?! What scares me is if my past is any indication of my future, and I'm sure it is, it would be a long time before I tried to quit again. Usually one night of drinking turns into a 5 month binge, and I am in bad shape by the time I attempt to quit again. Keep fighting and keep posting. You inspire me daily. Today is day 25 for you right? Awesome!!!! Jilly and Beeme into double digits!! That's a milestone to feel great about! Keep up the good work
I say it's getting harder, but I guess time will tell whether these thoughts really are dangerous, or if they're just pesky. Maybe it's better to think of them as pesky: The thoughts come and so I know I've got to do a, b, and c to make em go away, and that's all there is to it.
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The subject of drinking can be whatever you feel comfortable making it Nmd and Helpimalive. I'm very honest and tell people I don't drink anymore. If they pursue it I will tell them I'm an alcoholic. You can always tell them you're on a prescription that you're not allowed to drink with, you've had a stomach bug or you're stomach jus don't feel up to drinking. There are a million reasons why. You could simply say no thanks I don't want any. So however you want to handle it. I suppose you could just feel obligated to drink since you don't know how to handle it (of course that would be a terrible choice) or you could reach out to SR, Dee or people who have more time under their belt than me if I didn't help any here. Just a suggestion.
I'm also pretty sure this situation won't arise for a good long while, though, so I'm figuring that since I'll be longer sober by the time it does happen, I'll have a better sense then of what to say.
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Beeme, jilly, Layali, everybody who's pressing on: great job! It sounds like things are getting better for a lot of us.
StrongEnough, I wanted to say: I know what you mean about the brain resisting very simple stuff like frying an egg. I've been flossing every night for a while now, something I'd always felt bad for not doing, and yet every night my brain is like, Staaaahhhp. Be lazzzzyyyyyyy. But I know when I let things slide, I let it all slide, and I get drunk. So I floss.
XD
On the great sugar debate:
Seriously?!?! Sugar can CAUSE cravings?
Okay, I don't think it does, for me. I've never been a huge sugar eater, I don't even like most sugar--cake meh, cookies no thanks, pastries shrug, candy what even is that--but having my nice (reasonably sized serving of) ice cream every night gives me a sense of routine and calm and reward before the bedtime preparation ritual. I like it a lot. It doesn't make me crave alcohol, I don't think. I hope I'm not wrong. Now I fee I should do further research.
Candida, too, man--I'm sorry that's the case for you, Jsbodhi :/ I just googled it because I didn't know what it was. I have a couple of the symptoms (chronic UTIs, concentration problems). I guess I should get checked out too.
StrongEnough, I wanted to say: I know what you mean about the brain resisting very simple stuff like frying an egg. I've been flossing every night for a while now, something I'd always felt bad for not doing, and yet every night my brain is like, Staaaahhhp. Be lazzzzyyyyyyy. But I know when I let things slide, I let it all slide, and I get drunk. So I floss.
XD
On the great sugar debate:
Seriously?!?! Sugar can CAUSE cravings?
Okay, I don't think it does, for me. I've never been a huge sugar eater, I don't even like most sugar--cake meh, cookies no thanks, pastries shrug, candy what even is that--but having my nice (reasonably sized serving of) ice cream every night gives me a sense of routine and calm and reward before the bedtime preparation ritual. I like it a lot. It doesn't make me crave alcohol, I don't think. I hope I'm not wrong. Now I fee I should do further research.
Candida, too, man--I'm sorry that's the case for you, Jsbodhi :/ I just googled it because I didn't know what it was. I have a couple of the symptoms (chronic UTIs, concentration problems). I guess I should get checked out too.
There's a thread about it and I have committed to posting about (hopefully) my progress.
Here:
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...-baclofen.html
Here:
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...-baclofen.html
Hey, not everyone is addicted to sugar or is as sensitive as I am.... we're all different. But, I think that once in the body, sugar turns to ethanol? I don't know, I could be way off. I as watching a lecture by Gary Taubes a long, long time ago..he talked a lot about that. Or was it Dr Robert Lustig? Arrrgh. They're both good people to look into though.
Also, when I say sugar, I mean everything that turns instantly to sugar and is addicting = bread, pasta, sandwhiches, perogies, pizza - basically all the things I love....too much....when I eat them, it switches on and off certain things in my brain. It affects leptin levels and other hormones, which tell you whether you're full, or starving in a famine. Things in wheat can affect the opioid receptors in the brain, just like other drugs. There is so much to know.... I've researched a lot, just because I seem to be incredibly sensitive to it all. Not everyone is as sensitive as I am. I still have a lot to learn, though.
But also. In someone who doesn't seem to be addicted to sweets, does it keep the addiction to alcohol alive? I don't know. But I do know that there is a very high relapse rate. And most people eat sugar and refined carbs. Research that Kathleen DesMaison looked into seems to say that, yes, it does affect it. I think... she wrote Potatoes Not Prozac. She seems to know a lot about this, and is active on her own forum for radiant recovery.
Actually, I think this ties into eating disorders too, and I am fairly certain that many people with ED's are also highly sugar/carb sensitive. Even anorexics. I have (sadly) experience with this.... it's almost as if you love food (sugar/carbs, but for someone who doesn't know what the culprit is, it seems to just be "food") soooo much, that it's hard to stop. It is a drug to me (and others).
But, if I do stop eating almost entirely, it is easier to continue not eating.... that is abstinence, from the drug, kind of. Except that you can't go on not eating.... if one knew which foods were causing the problems, which parts of the food were the "drug", then it might be easier to cut out only "those" things.
I know there is much more to ED's than this - but this I think is a main problem, and it's pretty much ignored in modern therapy. Professionals are all like "wah, such a high relapse ratefor ED's - it's so hard to treat!" but if you dare mention cutting out even one kind of food, it's like you've just suggested you all worship satan. "No, moderation in aaaallll things!" Ugh. They push that a lot. "There is no bad food!" but hey. An alcoholic can't do moderation. Some people can drink moderately, but alcoholics cannot. I don't think a sugar/refined carb addict can practice moderation either!!! It's fighting a losing battle. You DO have to cut out certain things.
Anyway I will shut up now.... It's hard not to go crazy when I talk about these kinds of things lol. Sorry!
Also, when I say sugar, I mean everything that turns instantly to sugar and is addicting = bread, pasta, sandwhiches, perogies, pizza - basically all the things I love....too much....when I eat them, it switches on and off certain things in my brain. It affects leptin levels and other hormones, which tell you whether you're full, or starving in a famine. Things in wheat can affect the opioid receptors in the brain, just like other drugs. There is so much to know.... I've researched a lot, just because I seem to be incredibly sensitive to it all. Not everyone is as sensitive as I am. I still have a lot to learn, though.
But also. In someone who doesn't seem to be addicted to sweets, does it keep the addiction to alcohol alive? I don't know. But I do know that there is a very high relapse rate. And most people eat sugar and refined carbs. Research that Kathleen DesMaison looked into seems to say that, yes, it does affect it. I think... she wrote Potatoes Not Prozac. She seems to know a lot about this, and is active on her own forum for radiant recovery.
Actually, I think this ties into eating disorders too, and I am fairly certain that many people with ED's are also highly sugar/carb sensitive. Even anorexics. I have (sadly) experience with this.... it's almost as if you love food (sugar/carbs, but for someone who doesn't know what the culprit is, it seems to just be "food") soooo much, that it's hard to stop. It is a drug to me (and others).
But, if I do stop eating almost entirely, it is easier to continue not eating.... that is abstinence, from the drug, kind of. Except that you can't go on not eating.... if one knew which foods were causing the problems, which parts of the food were the "drug", then it might be easier to cut out only "those" things.
I know there is much more to ED's than this - but this I think is a main problem, and it's pretty much ignored in modern therapy. Professionals are all like "wah, such a high relapse ratefor ED's - it's so hard to treat!" but if you dare mention cutting out even one kind of food, it's like you've just suggested you all worship satan. "No, moderation in aaaallll things!" Ugh. They push that a lot. "There is no bad food!" but hey. An alcoholic can't do moderation. Some people can drink moderately, but alcoholics cannot. I don't think a sugar/refined carb addict can practice moderation either!!! It's fighting a losing battle. You DO have to cut out certain things.
Anyway I will shut up now.... It's hard not to go crazy when I talk about these kinds of things lol. Sorry!
The subject of drinking can be whatever you feel comfortable making it Nmd and Helpimalive. I'm very honest and tell people I don't drink anymore. If they pursue it I will tell them I'm an alcoholic. You can always tell them you're on a prescription that you're not allowed to drink with, you've had a stomach bug or you're stomach jus don't feel up to drinking. There are a million reasons why. You could simply say no thanks I don't want any. So however you want to handle it. I suppose you could just feel obligated to drink since you don't know how to handle it (of course that would be a terrible choice) or you could reach out to SR, Dee or people who have more time under their belt than me if I didn't help any here. Just a suggestion.
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