14 months off. No symptoms for 10 months. When can I drink beer?

[Guest [pe...]]

I waited until 3 years off, had been feeling 90% normal for atleast 5 months before I decided to get hammered at my buddy's 40th and I've been in a setback on and off for like 8 months. I absolutely regret it. I think I would be healed by now had I not allowed myself to indulge, but who knows. It's just not worth the risk as far as I'm concerned. Yeah, you might be one of the lucky that can tolerate alcohol and have no problems. But is it really worth the risk? What if you aren't? I wish I would have listened.

 

Sounds like you were not healed at 3 years off and then drank. This stands to reason. I have been healed 10 months. Different factors totally.

 

What is your gut telling you?

[[am...]]

Life doesnt stop because of a brain injury. I drank beer during my taper and after I jumped. Sometimes it would rev me a little, but usually no issue. Quit trying to tell other adults how they need to be so fearful of alcohol. Drink a lil bit and see how it effects you. Please don’t tell me I wasn’t very sick either, because I have suffered 4 years from a brain injury. I enjoy a drink now and then and live my life like I may not be here tomorrow. You want to wait years have at it.

[[Cr...]]

Life doesnt stop because of a brain injury. I drank beer during my taper and after I jumped. Sometimes it would rev me a little, but usually no issue. Quit trying to tell other adults how they need to be so fearful of alcohol. Drink a lil bit and see how it effects you. Please don’t tell me I wasn’t very sick either, because I have suffered 4 years from a brain injury. I enjoy a drink now and then and live my life like I may not be here tomorrow. You want to wait years have at it.

 

I agree, this is how I feel. I dont have a brain injury.  I have been healed 10 months and off 14 months. The only benzo symptom that remains is the fear of not being able to resume life with things like society drinking with friends.  Being held hostage by fear of other with extreme factors is the last hurdle to this process.

[[Ha...]]

Life doesnt stop because of a brain injury. I drank beer during my taper and after I jumped. Sometimes it would rev me a little, but usually no issue. Quit trying to tell other adults how they need to be so fearful of alcohol. Drink a lil bit and see how it effects you. Please don’t tell me I wasn’t very sick either, because I have suffered 4 years from a brain injury. I enjoy a drink now and then and live my life like I may not be here tomorrow. You want to wait years have at it.

 

I agree, this is how I feel. I dont have a brain injury.  I have been healed 10 months and off 14 months. The only benzo symptom that remains is the fear of not being able to resume life with things like society drinking with friends.  Being held hostage by fear of other with extreme factors is the last hurdle to this process.

 

I don't think that's a benzo symptom mate, it's natural to be wary of hurting yourself. But living in fear isn't living. There are extreme cases on this forum, because only the people really suffering seek out help. Have 1 low alcohol beer on a Friday night when you have Saturday free. After 10months I doubt 1 beer will put you back into Acute.

[[Me...]]

If you do it, will you tell us how it goes?

[[Sh...]]

Theres no timeline to any of this. You may have been fine to drink 3 months off. No one knows. Ive read stories of ppl drinking booze while withdrawing and they still healed. Give it a go but start slow. 2 or 3 beers one night and if you are fine then go from there.

[[Cr...]]

I figure most people come off benzos with little issue. Most are not in support groups to tell them not to drink after benzos. Who would even think of this. I know it effects some but really??? A two year rule across the board? A guy who tapered with only a couple months of withdrawal symptoms has to wait 2 years as well as someone who cold Turkeyed 6mg of clonazepam.  Has to wait the same 2 years? I dont buy it...

[[Me...]]

Try non alcoholic drinks first because they contain trace amounts of alcohol!!!!

[[Jo...]]

I have heard of people with no symptoms drinking alcohol again and everything came back with a vengeance. If i got better i would just never drink sgain.

[[mi...]]

Go for it, bro. Do it slowly but if you want to enjoy a beer or two, just go for it !

[[Jo...]]

Here is a post about someone who drank and made it much worse again. I dont know if i can post links?

 

http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=76180.0

[[Ha...]]

Here is a post about someone who drank and made it much worse again. I dont know if i can post links?

 

http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=76180.0

 

Think there's a difference between someone that's taken 37 months to heal, and someone that only took 4 months after a taper personally

[[Cr...]]

Here is a post about someone who drank and made it much worse again. I dont know if i can post links?

 

http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=76180.0

 

The person in this story according to the signature is or was on 4 major psych drugs including benzos. Not even a comparison to my situation.  I was only on .5 Clonazepam and slow tapered.

[[Sh...]]

I’ve had one every now and then without an issue. It’s ur life! Live it I say. I think we can all agree not one persons recovery is the same as another’s. If u read between the lines a couple is ok but getting drunk probably not. I personally hope one day to have a big old scotch after I finally get off this shit. Bring it on

[[or...]]

After about a year following my taper, I started having the glass of wine I used to have with meals. No problem.

 

But everyone's different. If you have no s/x, and are at 14 months off, if I were you, I'd give it a go. Maybe one beer just to test the waters. 

 

Best to you,

 

Katz

[[Ju...]]

This is the kind of post where you're going to have a million answers but nobody knows the answer, because everybody's different.

[[Jo...]]

the real answer is, nobody will be able to tell you. youre not long off, but could be fine.

 

theres 2 things that can happen.

 

1) you drink and youre fine

 

2) you drink and even a small amount sets you back into acute withdrawal, youre kindled and its much worse than last time and youve basically fucked everything for a drink.

 

nobody on here will be able to tell you which. with such a short time off id guess the risk is huge, also id guess even if you can handle it itll be really really small amounts. but then again maybe you werent that dependant and damaged by benzos?

 

the people that are fine to drink pretend its fine, the ones set back will obviously tell you NO WAY  NEVER.

 

i will say, you cant think about it like a normal person can. you cant think "its only 1 beer, and 1 beer is completely safe and does absolutely nothing, no way 1 beer can cause a problem"

because for people in benzo withdrawal.... it REALLY can. literally a few sips can take someone from feeling fine right back to feeling like theyre in acute after a cold turkey. healing to the point of "feeling fine" and healing to the point of actual full healing is completely different.

hence why people usually say to not try alcohol until 2 years AFTER feeling 100%. the receptors needed to hold someone at a stage they feel good is different than the amount needed to handle a gaba agonist as strong as alcohol, even small amounts.

 

 

so its up to you buddy. if its worth the risk to you, none of us can tell you youre stupid. its your life, you control it. my advice would be to not see your life as abnormal just because you cant drink. id go live a totally normal life, just without alcohol, for a few years.

remember even if you can drink, im 99.99999% sure you couldnt "get drunk". that will be a few years minimum i think (unless youre super lucky which is rare). so the whole risk is for like 1 beer. is the gain of being able to have like 1 beer, not even get drunk, worth it and does 1 beer change your life that much and take you from an abnormal life to a normal life..... and thats worth potentially risking everything, and then itll be MUCH longer until you can get back.

 

if its worth it. go for it.

 

nobody will be able to tell you more than i just have. theres no possible concrete answer

[[Jo...]]

just to add. you dont seem as bad as others though. you say youve been "healed" (you dont know this, you just feel healed, true 100% healing comes a fair while after you feel healed) for 10 months, and only off for 14.

 

so if you had 4 months only where you felt in withdrawal. maybe you werent that bad in the first place.

 

you could be a guy that can handle shit now. one of the ones not really that damaged.

 

i wouldnt, id give it another 6 months minimum even if youre thinking of it. 6 months is nothing. and could make all the difference.

 

but this is just advice you do you

[[Ju...]]

I really liked that last few answer, it was said very well. It's not worth the risk if you're going to get thrown back into a cute or feeling like you're in a cute again. Speech-to-text typos.

 

There is one more thing that could happen, last September I had a couple of beers before court after doing a cold turkey the month before, and I had extreme withdrawal symptoms for a couple weeks before it went back to the state of was.

 

So my acute withdrawal didn't start back over, but it knocked me back a couple weeks and gave me severe anxiety. Was it worth it? Not at all.

 

But in a way it was good for me because it reminded me how much I hated alcohol and why I'm better off without it. It kind of gave me a dehydrated feeling and a headache, but I didn't even get drunk. It was just a crappy beer buzz.

 

I've always been the type where I enjoy getting ish faced on some good liquor if I'm going to drink, that way at least I have fun and get loose. But just drinking a couple beers, makes you feel all lazy and run down. It's not a good feeling really, I would rather get high.

 

That's not really the best advice either, but it's just honest. If you can get some medical marijuana or even recreational marijuana from a dispensary, I would think that would be a lot more fun. But that could also throw you into the wave.

 

Recovery is a tricky thing. The only safe bet is to not do anything, even safer to not take any meds at all if you're worried about symptoms.

 

But I'm not a doctor and I don't want to give you medical advice, and I don't want to advocate for any kind of substances either, especially while you're recovering. My advice would be find something to keep you from getting bored and stay as healthy as you can and try to avoid any unnecessary issues if you don't need them.

[[Cr...]]

After about a year following my taper, I started having the glass of wine I used to have with meals. No problem.

 

But everyone's different. If you have no s/x, and are at 14 months off, if I were you, I'd give it a go. Maybe one beer just to test the waters. 

 

Best to you,

 

Katz

Thank you for a very intelligent reply. I appreciate your experience.  I figure I have low risk factors.  I would start with one and go from there. 

[[Cr...]]

just to add. you dont seem as bad as others though. you say youve been "healed" (you dont know this, you just feel healed, true 100% healing comes a fair while after you feel healed) for 10 months, and only off for 14.

 

so if you had 4 months only where you felt in withdrawal. maybe you werent that bad in the first place.

 

you could be a guy that can handle shit now. one of the ones not really that damaged.

 

i wouldnt, id give it another 6 months minimum even if youre thinking of it. 6 months is nothing. and could make all the difference.

 

but this is just advice you do you

 

I appreciate the insight but I think you above example is fairly extreme.  Yes, those with major factors should probably avoid it a full 2 years off. Yes, I guess you could say 14 months is kind of early.  But I have researched this quite a bit and almost all who have issues with this subject are cold turkeys, on other medications or multiple times on and off. I plan to wait to 18 months off and test a half a beer. To say you could go back into full acute withdrawal well guess possible,  is probably extremely unlikely.  If anything feeling like shit a few days would be more realistic.  Hundreds of thousands come off these and drink right away with no issue. No support groups to tell them not to. The reality is it's a very small percentage of hard core withdrawal cases that have issues. I agree with you on using caution. Did you have a bad experience with this???

[Guest [Ka...]]

I have read about so many bad things happening drinking after withdrawal , even people that did long tapers. I am 2 years off and very minimal symptoms and I miss my scotch more than you can imagine. Just the thought of it messing me up mentally has me waiting another 2 years symptom free before I have a drink