Going out to the bar for the first time since ive been off benzos.

[[...]]

Thought I would post this in 'The Bright Side of Life' because it is a positive that im even considering doing this. 
I am almost decided on going out to a bar tonight as I have been forcing myself to be around and communicate as many people as possible during this process. I feel its time for me to leave my true comfort zone and really get back into life. Its been just about 3 and a half months since I jumped and I did feel lots of bad withdrawal symptoms. I am not 100% but its important to me to push and be as "normal" as possible and do things that make me happy. 

My question is, If I go to the bar and have a couple of drinks, will it effect me in a negative way regarding PAWs? Has anyone done this that can give me some information? Thanks! 

[[Pa...]]

Hello @[...],

Good for you, it sounds like you're ready to take back your life and I'm glad!  By all means, go to a bar, engage in conversation, connect with friends and have fun but I would caution you about drinking alcohol.  Some members have been able to have a glass of wine while recovering from this but most report an uptick of symptoms sometimes lasting hours, days or weeks.  

I hope you have a great time tonight and I hope you'll be back here tomorrow to tell us how great it was to embrace your life once again. 

[[jo...]]

It might. Cant be sure, but you should really understand that it does some people. I had a few drinks a couple of times and was fine. The next time sent me into a wave. Very unpredictable. It's your choice obviously but my advice would be to not risk it at this point in time.

[[...]]

1 minute ago, [[P...] said:

Hello @[...],

Good for you, it sounds like you're ready to take back your life and I'm glad!  By all means, go to a bar, engage in conversation, connect with friends and have fun but I would caution you about drinking alcohol.  Some members have been able to have a glass of wine while recovering from this but most report an uptick of symptoms sometimes lasting hours, days or weeks.  

I hope you have a great time tonight and I hope you'll be back here tomorrow to tell us how great it was to embrace your life once again. 

Thanks Pamster! Im looking forward to the experience. Im definitely not planning on getting too crazy lol. 
 

[[...]]

@[jo...] thanks. Did you have beer or liquor?

[[jo...]]

Whisky if I remember rightly. Oh and guinness. I'd stay off the hard stuff. If your going to do it I'd go for a couple of light beers and monitor how you feel the next day or two.

[[...]]

Sounds good. Thanks for your advice. 

[[Ru...]]

Congrats. It's a huge step. I hope you have a wonderful time.

The first time I went out I spent the first 45-60 minutes looking for every and any excuse to go back home, plus the hours leading up to going. I worked myself up emotionally and was convinced I was going to have an awful time. Once I got past that and allowed myself to enjoy, I had a great time. I realized how much I missed it and it's become easier for me. I did not drink though as I was still tapering.

 

[[PE...]]

Please update us @[...] on how it was. I had 4 beers yesterday and it made me sleep for 24 hours. My goal was to turn my day into normal but here I am a day later just were i started lol.

 

[[Kr...]]

Im having some drinks occasionally with my friends and I feel the same symptoms as before. Better while I drink but the same as before the the next day. 

[[...]]

@[Ru...]  @[PE...] thanks a lot guys. It’s funny, my brain is thinking of any reason not to go right now lol. I guess I’m just so not used to this right now but I know what o have to do. 
I will update tomorrow! 

[[Ma...]]

@[...] I don’t want to be a Negative Nellie, but at 3 months you are still really early out. Alcohol is called Liquid Benzos for a reason: it’s the ONLY thing that affects the exact same receptors.

There are 109’s of stories, some just recently posted here, of people years out who have a small amount of alcohol and are immediately thrown back into acute-for months. Some develop akathasia having never experienced it.

I would really, really encourage you to have a terrific time with your friends, alcohol free.

Edited Thursday at 17:48 by [Ma...]

[[...]]

@[Ma...] thanks for the advice. Drinking isn’t a priority to me. The priority is being around other people. I have an extreme desire to move on from this and I will do anything in my power to do so and have the feeling that I’m making progress. 

 

[[Cr...]]

Kon, I think the general takeaway is that there are members that have gone on to be able to tolerate alcohol again just fine and also a lot of members that have had reactions ranging from minor to severe. No one here can predict which category you will be in.

We all want you to have a good time and to enjoy life again after going through such a horrible period in your life. I am sure many members are just hoping that if you do drink you don't come to regret it and end up wishing someone would have talked you out of it.

Also keep in mind that even if you are able to tolerate one night of drinking you should still be careful with assuming that is a sign that you will be okay to drink as much or as often as you'd like. I hope your night goes well, and I hope you continue to recover.

[[PE...]]

[[jo...]]

1 hour ago, [[P...] said:

Please update us @[...] on how it was. I had 4 beers yesterday and it made me sleep for 24 hours. My goal was to turn my day into normal but here I am a day later just were i started lol.

You really sleep 24hrs Peppe?

[[...]]

After reading all the responses, I will be much more careful what I drink than if I didn’t hear from everyone. I don’t want to trigger a wave at all. That being said, I may have 1 drink and hope for the best. 

 

[[PE...]]

5 minutes ago, [[j...] said:

You really sleep 24hrs Peppe?

I woke up a couple of times only to fall asleep again. It was really needed.. now I'm back to be superman 😅😁

[[WU...]]

1 hour ago, [[P...] said:

I had 4 beers yesterday

Beer as well as lots of coffee, breaking all the rules!

[[Cr...]]

1 hour ago, [[P...] said:

I woke up a couple of times only to fall asleep again. It was really needed.. now I'm back to be superman 😅😁

Were you at a bar? If you slept 24 hours after that last drink it might have been spiked. You recall a fizzing white pill on the bottom of your drink? 

[[PE...]]

5 minutes ago, [[C...] said:

Were you at a bar? If you slept 24 hours after that last drink it might have been spiked. You recall a fizzing white pill on the bottom of your drink? 

Lol no I was at home! It just made me sleepy that's all..

[[bw...]]

Bad idea. People have acute setbacks even 5yrs off benzos. Akathesia included.

[[C-...]]

I'll just put in my two cents here, I was in a panic doom state for almost 5 years, I now go play golf two times a week and have two or three beer every round ...also a glass of wine with dinner every night with absolutely zero consequences, all these people fear-mongering, not everyone is built the same I have drinks I have no issues with them, I wish you the best my friend

Edited Friday at 07:15 by [C-...]

[[Ma...]]

WTG @[C-...]! Good on you. He’s at 3 months. We’re not fear-mongering 🤦‍♀️. We are sharing evidence-based experiences for his consideration.

[[In...]]

Right, it's not fear-mongering. Just like its not fear-mongering to say that taking benzos long-term (more than two weeks) is not safe. These are just facts. Alcohol is a cross-tolerant drug with benzos. After a person has been altered by benzos, we don't know how alcohol (or benzos) will affect them. Anecdotes and polls won't help you to decide what is safe. At this point in human history, we don't know why some people can take a cross-tolerant drug again and why some people cannot. BUT, we do know that if something goes wrong and BIND is reactivated (which is documented and known), no one will be able to fix it...