Alcohol Problems

[jadef999]

I think this page is idle but I'd love to get it going again....I'm getting back on Atkins and am worried about sugar cravings.....NEVER craved sugar until I quit drinking and have choloate in the house as I type!!! But feel like I'm deprived on low-fat andf I choose to not drink so I decided I want my hot wings/ steak/cheese REAL salad dressing back!!! Love to try to compare...Atkins in relation to alcohol/ cravings/ etc.

[Karen]

YUM! I am with ya on that one! Especially the Wings!

[j4Christ]

just suscribing so I can read this through a bit at a time!!

[cathy07]

I've been ploughing my way through this for a few days. I can relate to so many points raised on here.
I've been orderd by my doctor to pack in the booze. I can't and I'm scared, I can't go to AA, I am not religious at all.
Whats worse is, if it wasn't damaging my health or making me fat, I wouldn't want to.I really enjoy every sip of my wine at night, one bottle some times two... I know, It's bad. I don't know how to get into the right mood to want to stop.
Any ideas???

[fairywings]

hi, just joined and this is my first post, imagine finding my way to this thread! This site is fabulous, have already made several of the recipes, lovely! But to the topic at hand. I'm like so many of you in this thread. I'm a 2 bottle of wine a night girl, way more on the week-ends. And of course it's mostly riesling (sugary). I lost 22 lbs. on Slim4Life (while not drinking of course) and have put all but 7 lbs. back on in about 5 months (drinking again). Sunday night I was such an a$$ to my poor husband (1 bottle riesling, 3/4 bottle merlot, 4 corona's throughout the day, disgusting isn't it?) so last night instead of drinking when I got home from work I changed my routine (I decided routine was part of the problem of my drinking pattern, get home, walk the dog, put on the tv, start drinking, make dinner, eat dinner in front of tv with more wine, clean up kitchen, watch more tv while drinking until bedtime). Boring... so last night, after walking the dog, sat on the balcony with a magazine for about 45 minutes (not drinking anything). Made dinner with a new recipe from my new lc book (no tv) . Ate dinner, did some puzzles in my word puzzle book, drank a glass of chocolate soy milk (no tv). Finally turned on tv, but was ok without the wine. And all this time thinking, thinking, you can do this, you wanna lose your husband, you want to continue to get fatter, you want to continue hating yourself for acting like a jerk? I know it's a process and who knows where I'll turn, but for now I'm going to continue to do a few different things each evening to mix things up and not fall into a rut. Maybe a change of routine might help you cathy07. And if I go straight home from work instead of the liquor store first, then I'm good. It's almost 99% sure I won't leave the house to go buy wine. I'm also checking out a bunch of sites on the internet for help and ideas to curb my drinking. I don't think I can do AA either, it's not an issue of religion (AA supposedly is based on spirituality not religion, that's what I read somewhere anyway), but my head just isn't in that place. Good luck to all of us who are struggling and in need of support. For me, maybe it was more than interest in LC that I found myself here...hmmm...

[cathy07]

Tried that Fairywings, I hope It works for you. I've been worse since I was told to give It up, strangley enough.I am glad to read, I'm not alone on this matter.
I wonder how all the other posters are doing?

[rett]

Hi All
I enjoyed reading all the input and again knowing that I am not alone in the journey of life's ups and downs. I have been in recovery for 23 years and I am so grateful...whatever works for each person is a God send. I replaced my drinking with SUGAR and I am still battling the 100lbs I have put on over the years. I am 60yrs old
and I so want to be healthy....I have heart disease, high blood pressure, high trigl and cholestrol, diabetes and ruematoid arthritis plus I take 20 pills a day. My bones hurt so much that everyday I say I am going to start exercising and here I sit! I have always been 100% or nothing at all type of person, I would just love to be addicted to exercise and healthy living. I weigh 220 now. I have done the atkins before...lost maybe 20lbs but then I stay stuck and then I can't stand the thought of putting another peice of meat in my mouth. Right now I have pretty well lived on soup and cereal...cherios!
I work in ER and this last week I heard the DRs and nurses talking about the lap-band surgery.....that it will be very hard for a person that has hypothroydism, I had a thyroidectomy 3 years ago. I was going to see it my Dr would let me do that....but now I know I just have to follow good orderly directions and do it the right way....I just don't know what to do. I have never been a real big meat eater and right now it about makes me sick to eat any kind of meat. I feel I am at end.....it is either start exercising and just bear the pain or die with alll these health problems. I have never been one to give up! I have a lot to live for but my weight and health get in my way of enjoying life like I want to. My addictions are still running my life they have just changed faces. I am going to the Dr friday....maybe he can direct me in the right direction. I am at a surrending point and that is what it takes for me. Any suggestions are appreciated and I will pray for all of us. Thanks and have a great day. Rett

[rett]

Hi All
I enjoyed reading all the input and again knowing that I am not alone in the journey of life's ups and downs. I have been in recovery for 23 years and I am so grateful...whatever works for each person is a God send. I replaced my drinking with SUGAR and I am still battling the 100lbs I have put on over the years. I am 60yrs old
and I so want to be healthy....I have heart disease, high blood pressure, high trigl and cholestrol, diabetes and ruematoid arthritis plus I take 20 pills a day. My bones hurt so much that everyday I say I am going to start exercising and here I sit! I have always been 100% or nothing at all type of person, I would just love to be addicted to exercise and healthy living. I weigh 220 now. I have done the atkins before...lost maybe 20lbs but then I stay stuck and then I can't stand the thought of putting another peice of meat in my mouth. Right now I have pretty well lived on soup and cereal...cherios!
I work in ER and this last week I heard the DRs and nurses talking about the lap-band surgery.....that it will be very hard for a person that has hypothroydism, I had a thyroidectomy 3 years ago. I was going to see it my Dr would let me do that....but now I know I just have to follow good orderly directions and do it the right way....I just don't know what to do. I have never been a real big meat eater and right now it about makes me sick to eat any kind of meat. I feel I am at end.....it is either start exercising and just bear the pain or die with alll these health problems. I have never been one to give up! I have a lot to live for but my weight and health get in my way of enjoying life like I want to. My addictions are still running my life they have just changed faces. I am going to the Dr friday....maybe he can direct me in the right direction. I am at a surrending point and that is what it takes for me. Any suggestions are appreciated and I will pray for all of us. Thanks and have a great day. Rett

[fairywings]

Hi, I'm not doing so great at this either, much better this week-end but not doing what I intended. I've been reading all the posts on sober recovery (a lot of other helpful links there too!) and MWO (the video clips are a must-see!!) very supportive and helpful. You don't feel so alone and like you're the only one. I ordered the Kudzu Rescue and will start it today. They are 300mg. each capsule so I'll do one mid morning than another right before I leave work. Am excited to see if it works for me as it seems to have worked for a lot of people out there. I'll report in at the end of the week with my progress!

[fairywings]

oh, just to clarify, I only drink when I get home from work, not during the day of course! I am hoping by taking 2 caps a day, spread out, will 'build up', if that's possible.
Don't know, the bottle just says take 1 - 3 caps three time a day with water. I'm going to start with 2 as 300mg seems like a lot, and from what I've read on the other sites, it doesn't seem anyone is taking that much. It's just experimentation at this point and I want to stay keen to any side effects as well (there isn't supposed to be any, but one never knows!)

[lindaokc]

Originally Posted by cathy07

I've been ploughing my way through this for a few days. I can relate to so many points raised on here.
I've been orderd by my doctor to pack in the booze. I can't and I'm scared, I can't go to AA, I am not religious at all.
Whats worse is, if it wasn't damaging my health or making me fat, I wouldn't want to.I really enjoy every sip of my wine at night, one bottle some times two... I know, It's bad. I don't know how to get into the right mood to want to stop.
Any ideas???

Cathy, I don't know why you think you have to be religious to attend AA meetings. You need to go and just check them out. The only requirement is a desire to stop drinking. I didn't even have that when I started. AA is NOT a religious program and you have to find your own way to a "Higher Power", nobody tells you what to believe. I have been in recovery for 13 years now and can tell you that nobody in recovery can do it perfectly. We all just do the best we can do.
I haven't read through the entire thread, just pulled up the last page. My heart goes out to those who are struggling, not just w/ alcohol, but food or other addictions. I also struggle w/ food, cigarettes, not so w/ alcohol now. You are so right, rett, that we only change the faces of addictions.
Rett, you don't have to love meat to do an Atkins way of eating. Fresh, low carb veggies are important, you need very small amounts of protein, depending on how much you weigh, and can make many good choices without eating meat. Eggs, cheeses, fish, shellfish, chicken if you like it. Besides starches, what else do you enjoy eating?

Well, here I jump in at the end of a VERY long thread and act like I have all the answers I don't. There were just a few posts that tugged at my heart and I wanted to respond.
We are all together and a part of each other in this journey.

[DizzyUpTheGirl]

This is very hard for me to talk about.... but I've been yo-yoing from 190's to the 200s for over a year now due to drinking.... Whenever I drink any motivation or strickness I have to LC flies right out the window and I end up going on theses drunken binges eating whatever I can get my hands on.... It's hard because all of my friends and everyone parties at my house on the weekends. So what ends up happening is that I will lose 5 lbs during the week and then put it all back on over the weekend so that I'm back into square one on Monday... I've been thinking alot about this lately and I know that I'm going to need to take a good couple months off of drinking to FINALLY get past the 190s.... It's just been hard because of all the stress of life and just needing to "get away" for a while.... Thanks for listening.. sorry for babbling on, but I think I just needed to get it out

[fairywings]

Well I said I'd come back with my report on Kudzu and here I am. It's hard to say if it's really working, I did feel the effects of my wine faster (after only 1 1/2 glasses) but it didn't stop me from drinking. I did drink less since I felt it faster and was more tired early on. But I still drank all week-end, other than that I did watch how many carbs I was eating since I was drinking them all! Upping the kudzu and praying it really starts to work, and for a healthy dose of willpower to boot!

[cathy07]

Is the Kudzo in tablet form or powder.I have tried the tablets and they were no use at all, for me.

[Doggygirl]

Originally Posted by cathy07

Is the Kudzo in tablet form or powder.I have tried the tablets and they were no use at all, for me.

Carly, I was going to PM you more details but you are not set up for that.

Quality seems to vary greatly by brand with many supplements, and Kudzu is definitely no exception. IMO, Kudzu (an effective brand) takes the edge off, but is NOT a magic bullet that will take away all thoughts and desires of drinking. You still have to WANT to choose not to drink.

I tood Kudzu regularly and LOTS of L-Glutamine to go with it to get a good anti-craving effect. Many recommend L-Glut in a powdered form to take sublinqually before "trigger" type events and/or when a strong crave hits.

Best wishes,
DG

[peanutte]

Hello everybody!

I used to post on this thread a lot and I found it very helpful to absorb what the successful quitters had to say. I hoped I would be there with them someday, and now I am returning to tell you all that I quit drinking a week ago Sunday--the 20th of July.

I've been ploughing my way through this for a few days. I can relate to so many points raised on here.
I've been orderd by my doctor to pack in the booze. I can't and I'm scared, I can't go to AA, I am not religious at all.
Whats worse is, if it wasn't damaging my health or making me fat, I wouldn't want to.I really enjoy every sip of my wine at night, one bottle some times two... I know, It's bad. I don't know how to get into the right mood to want to stop.
Any ideas???

Cathy, I know it's hard. But if the doctor is telling you to quit, take that as a sort of blessing because you can take your battle and file it under the directive of YOU MUST NOT DO THIS ANYMORE. It is very scary, I know, but when it came down to a medical imperative, I knew the decision was no longer mine to make. Hey, it only took me about five years of KNOWING I would have to eventually quit (without the doctor's orders, I mean) to actually doing it once I digested the reality that if I did not stop my habit, I would eventually die from it.

I don't mean it's going to be easy. But a good friend of mine quit this way some years ago and shared with me, and I followed her lead. You just have to sit down and think long and hard about whether or not you enjoy drinking wine enough to be willing to die. I asked myself that same question. I did not want to turn 40 in a few months and still be enslaved by this sometimes pleasurable, sometimes tedious, always pervasive habit.

I made a list of all the guarantees: "If I quit drinking: I will feel better, I will look better, my medications for thyroid and blood pressure and my antidepressants will work better. Guaranteed. My health will improve and I deserve to be healthier. My emotions will be genuine and not clouded by alcohol. I will not have to stress about how much I drank the night before; I will not have to feel thick-headed and sluggish all day; I will not have to struggle with whether to take my first drink at 5 or 6 or 7 in the evening. I will save money. I will lose weight." And so on. I wrote out every single guarantee I could think of and referred back to it often in the final week before I quit.

I told myself there was nothing to be gained from continuing to drink except for the fleeting pleasure of the first three glasses of wine, and that wasn't enough to justify continuing to drink every night. Anything beyond that was more of a chore than anything else. I was a two-to-three bottle a night wine drinker and toward the end, it felt almost like an obligation to keep drinking long past the point of a pleasant buzz. In some ways, it becomes your job, ridiculous as that sounds. You are wracked with shame and/or justifications, you are physically feeling pretty shitty all day and then the only thing that makes you feel truly good again is a drink--and another, and another--in the evening. Don't get me wrong; I didn't have hangovers per se--no splitting headaches, no vomiting or the shakes. I just felt tired and slightly off balance and my head felt thick all day.

I reasoned that although I really did love those first few glasses--and pretty much loved the ritual of opening the bottle, pouring my glass of wine, etc.--I had done enough of that, and it was time to try living differently. When I caught myself thinking romantically and longingly about a tall glass of white wine, all dewy on the outside and inviting that first taste, I would remind myself that it was okay to REMEMBER enjoying it, but I was done with that now. I kept (and keep) repeating over and over: I don't drink anymore. I'd lie in bed as I was falling asleep and repeat this over and over in my head: I don't drink anymore.

Yeah, it's hard to take in the idea that I may well have to be sober for the rest of my life, but I don't need to worry about that right now. I only need to worry about today, or even this moment.

The first week, I was floating on that rosy cloud of relief. I didn't have to think about going to the store, or how much to buy. I didn't have to notice the level in the bottle was alarmingly low and worry about now having enough. If I was hungry, I could bloody well eat my dinner and not postpone it until I'd had the chance to get my buzz on. After years of having at least two glasses of wine (if not four) before allowing myself to eat dinner, it was a revelation to simplify everything down to its most immediate need: "I'm hungry. I can go ahead and eat!" (rather than dull my appetite with wine and then binge later under the influence) That first week was easy because I could not believe how much energy I had and how great I felt. Having nothing to explain or rationalize is INCREDIBLY satisfying.

I did have insomnia, though. That kind of sucked. My body had no idea how to settle down and fall asleep naturally. I would recommend taking a half a Xanax or some OTC sleeping aid if you try this. I could not take either due to medication and cross-effects, so I just went with barely any sleep for the better part of a week--but I still felt much better than when I was drinking every night.

I did not have the shakes or any sort of withdrawal symptoms, thankfully.

Since then, I've had two nights where I wanted to drink so badly. I felt angry that I couldn't just go ahead and have a few glasses of nice cold wine to take the edge off all these sharp, alert new feelings I was having. It IS difficult to suddenly live your life in High-Def rather than the fuzzy static provided by wine's soft, enveloping security blanket, but I would remind myself that wine deceived me and never really helped make anything better at all; it was just a temporary illusion.

The couple of times I've been on the brink--utterly furious and desperate and practically ready to throw in the towel--I would sit quietly on my patio and repeat over and over and over to myself: "You don't have to be struggling like this--because you don't drink any more." The more I accept this, the truer it becomes. I can't guarantee I won't ever have a glass of champagne at a wedding or a glass of wine on a special occasion or even that I won't slip up and drink one night, but frankly, I don't need to be entertaining that possibility right now. My reality at the moment is: I don't drink any more. I'm just done. I've certainly tasted enough wine for several lifetimes and I doubt there is any aspect of it that I haven't already experienced. This is what I tell myself. "You've already done more than your share of drinking, honey, and now let's just relax and try this other way of living. It's much simpler, isn't it? It feels like a relief."

I am a very private person, but I tend to stand out in a group because I am articulate and funny with a lively, engaging personality. I'm not being conceited--this is just how it always works out. But I don't want to be the "star" of the group--I want to be humble and quiet and thoughtful, and I can be entirely honest with myself in such a frame of mind. Groups distract me and make me nervous, and turn my thoughts into a jumble of noise.

For that reason and other reasons, I did not care to do AA (I did open-mindedly try a women's meeting over a year ago and lo and behold, the superstar syndrome came into effect and everybody was SO impressed with me--phooey!). I dislike rigid dogma and find black-and-white thinking to be extremely repellent, having been raised in a strict Evangelical Christian home (and now being an atheist/agnostic). Being in a group does not help me be more honest; I'm more of a one-on-one kind of person whether it comes to friendships or therapy or whatever.

I totally respect that AA works for the people it works for, but we really need some other approaches for people who might not benefit from that model. The medical industry--and the vast majority of recovery culture--provides us with nothing other than AA, and it's high time that changed so more people can seek and get help.

So, who would have thought; I've been sober for eight days and today is the ninth. I was going to wait until I had a month of sobriety to post this, but what the heck.


I hope my sharing this might be of some help to someone here. If I can say one thing with certainty, it's that no matter how many times you have thought about quitting, you won't be ready until you're ready to give up and try the alternative. I said I was "trying" to quit so many times, but deep down I didn't want to and wasn't committed. I can admit that. I was willing to "quit", all right--until such a time as I felt like saying "ah, whatever" and pouring a glass of wine. It does feel different this time and I can't exactly tell you why except to say that I keep repeating "I don't drink any more". No matter how much I start to wrestle with wanting to drink, I tell myself "Yes, I know I want to, but really it's a moot point because I don't drink any more." That disarms the struggle and brings a sense of simplicity. Someone here once posted that she simply refused to "get into the ring" with alcohol any more; if you don't step into the ring, you won't have to box. That always stuck with me, so thanks to whoever said that months and months ago! Another way to say it is, if you don't want raccoons coming around your yard, stop leaving food in the trash for them!

[Doggygirl]

Conratulations Peanutte!! I remember us posting back and forth around this time last year. It's been quite a year of ups and downs for me - sounds like for you too. I am happy to report sobriety since May 22 - 70 days today. That's more sober days in a row than I have ever had in my whole adult life, and I'm 50 now.

Peanutte, I love your "guarantees." That is brilliant and I'm going to do that writing exercise myself.

For those who are struggling, I would like to suggest you google for a web site called My Way Out. There is a discussion forum but more importantly, there is a book available in a downloadable format that describes the My Way Out program. I have found that program incredibly helpful in this often difficult journey.

Never give up!!

DG

[peanutte]

CONGRATULATIONS, DG!!! That's incredible. Are you more used to not drinking now--does it feel pretty normal and comfortable at this point?

I'm gonna check out that website, thanks!

[Doggygirl]

Thanks Peanutte. Oh I still hear the call of the wild a lot, but I am also coming to really value many, many things about my sober life. Waking up feeling GOOD in the morning for starters, literally!

I've also really gotten into exercise which is known to help curb the desire to drink in addition to all the other benefits of exercise. I've never been an exercise nut, so the key for me was finding something I really enjoy. (Easier said than done sometimes!!) I go to Curves and it's now a regular part of my day (that I look forward to!!!) usually 6 days a week.

Funny - CARBS were calling my name yesterday and I admit to a carb out last night. Popcorn, snickers bars, you name it. I felt like crap this morning and I would honestly compare it to an "average day" hangover. Makes me also appreciate the value of healthy food and eating right in this mix.

My current eating plan is a little bit higher in carbs than say...Atkins (especially induction or even OWL for many). I do include fruit. Not in huge portions, but usually a couple servings a day. I think with all the exercise it's working out.

Another thing that has been REALLY important is working on balancing my hormones. I was so frustrated when I quit drinking last summer. I faithfully didn't drink, and also ate low carb, and even did a LITTLE exercise (not as much as now though). The scale just was barely moving and it was so frustrating. At first I figured yeast infection - and I DID have some pretty serious yeast going on. But even after treating for that.......my body just wasn't responding.

A few months ago I started reading in the Health section here about Thyroid issues. My research also led me to information about bioidentical hormones as I am also perimenopause. I found a good doc nearby and got all the hormone systems tested. My thyroid is a low so now I'm on Armour. I was making very little progesterone and my estrogen was also low, so I'm on compounded bioidenticals for that.

MY BODY IS COMING TOGETHER!!!! I'm glad to be nicotine free and alcohol free now, and working on my weight and my fitness level. Life is good. This journey is worth going through the rough patches to reach this good place. There are still bumps in the road and cravings - jeez the other day I had a strong craving to smoke of all things - that rarely happens any more. But the resolve to say "no" is with me now.

Wow - sorry this is getting so long. Do check out that other web site - it's a great support community much like this one is for Low Carb.

Have a great alcohol and hangover free day!!

DG

[peanutte]

Three weeks today, peeps. I'm doing fine!

[Doggygirl]

Good for you Peanutte!

DG

[Erica L. Butler]

I'm joining this thread-- I've gained a bunch of weight back, from drinking.. I drink due to anxiety. I'm quitting come this next Tuesday. (My day off.) I'm reading this thread through-- and I've found much inspiration here.

[LisaLovesLoCarb]

Hi,

I wanted to pop in and say Hi. My name is Lisa and I have 4 years of sobriety. My AA birthday is June 10, 2004. I was very into atkins before I got sober and then about a year into sobriety I just gave up on the low carbing. I have gained 25 pounds and would like to get back where I was. I appreciate this board and have been poking around the posts for the last few days. I just wanted to say thank you all for being here.

Lisa