Can drinking alcohol during your taper completely prevent recovery?

[[el...]]

As much as 50% who are kicking benzos can do it with only minor discomfort. The reason why some are crippled after only 1 months use, while others can throw their medicine in the trash after 5 years is due to our individual brain chemistry.

 

It is hard for anyone (like myself) with heavy withdrawal symptoms to grasp that anyone can work through the withdrawal phase, even exercise, but again we are different, our symptoms are different. I have no problems what so ever sleeping, rarely any anxiety, but the moment I push my stress level I will have an almost epileptic like seizure where all my muscles cramp.

 

What I am saying here, is that there are only rules of thumb, and when it comes to alcohol most of us have heavy reactions the days after consuming, but some really don´t.

 

As I wrote earlier in this thread, I abstain totally from alcohol during my taper, because my reaction to alcohol even when I was just in tolerance withdrawal were pretty hard. Still I would come around in 3-4 days, and return to normal, so I continued drinking occasionally. Tapering, I am in a much worse state, so consuming now I am sure will set me back maybe several months.

 

To people afraid that the occasional drink consumed at a party a month ago, who have not experienced any real worsening in their symptoms, YOU ARE ALRIGHT!! You have not ruined your taper, and you do not have to be afraid!!

 

More important, if you more frequently use alcohol, maybe on a daily basis, and actually feel that it is helping in your taper, then you might just   as well continue using benzos. Alcohol binds to the same receptors as alcohol, and consuming is like taking a piss in your pants on a winter day to keep warm.

 

Excellent post, Noolie. 

 

[[sw...]]

Yeah - alcohol temporarily alleviates withdrawal symptoms from benzos, hopefully you will not be hit so hard tomorrow    

 

I have never experienced relief from withdrawal or being slammed from symptoms after with alcohol.

[[No...]]

Yeah - alcohol temporarily alleviates withdrawal symptoms from benzos, hopefully you will not be hit so hard tomorrow  

 

I have never experienced relief from withdrawal or being slammed from symptoms after with alcohol.

 

I ment to write "Alcohol can temporarily alleviate withdrawal symptoms from benzos"

[[sw...]]

Yeah - alcohol temporarily alleviates withdrawal symptoms from benzos, hopefully you will not be hit so hard tomorrow  

 

I have never experienced relief from withdrawal or being slammed from symptoms after with alcohol.

 

I ment to write "Alcohol can temporarily alleviate withdrawal symptoms from benzos"

 

I know, I was just weighing in. 

[[Ho...]]

Yeah - alcohol temporarily alleviates withdrawal symptoms from benzos, hopefully you will not be hit so hard tomorrow    

 

I have never experienced relief from withdrawal or being slammed from symptoms after with alcohol.

 

Ohh I definitely have  Good thing I am able to control my drinking and don't do it a lot!

[[Sa...]]

Before my current c/t, i made it to between 6-7 months post benzos.  I wasn't aware this site existed then so i was very naive as to the correct precautions to take when withdrawing from benzo's.  As far as the question many probably wonder "Can you withdraw correctly if your still drinking?" My answer to this is a 90% yes. I drank almost entirely throughout my withdrawal up to the 6-7 month mark and by then i was starting to feel like healing had really taken place.  I can remember many days that i would feel crappy with intensified s/x and the whole withdrawal process during those 6 months was a lot more intense because of the drinking than this time around.

 

In addition, by the 6 - 7 months mark i could have a couple beers, and not feel miserable the next day. I don't think it will be the same for everyone, but i seemed to be able to tolerate alcohol moderately well by that point.

 

Just my 2 cents

Sam

[[se...]]

I feel like the comment about if you drink everyday through your taper you might as well stay on the benzo's was fairly ignorant. Having a few drinks to relax is completely different from being a full blown alcoholic and is nothing like being on benzo's if that was the case I wouldn't have been on them to start with. If you can tolerate it and it helps do it, the road is rough and why not have a couple of smooth miles if you can. Be responsible do it in moderation an don't let it affect your daily life.

[[Ch...]]

I believe this has gone beyond the original question of the thread.  I don't think it's fair to stigmatize alcohol.  I personally don't find anything wrong with people who enjoy it responsibly.  I too plan on enjoying it once I am healed.  The question posed was whether or not it can completely prevent recovery.  I believe the answer here is a resounding No.  The caution posed be myself and others is based on personal experiences.  There are numerous antagonists to tapering.  Many of these are dependent on the individual.  I just believe it's best to be careful with things that have been pointed out by many to be one.   

 

Christopher

[[lo...]]

This is a great thread ... glad it was started. I haven't

touched a drop of alcohol for the two long years of my

taper.....and being 6 wks off, I will probably wait another

6 months before I try some, though I sure do miss having

a cocktail here and there!

 

I just wanted to say that like others have said here, it's an

individual choice as to whether you drink during or shortly

after a taper. Yet I cannot help but believe that with such effort

to slowly, carefully and diligently reduce our doses, why risk

a substance that the body could interpret as an updose? In

the medical field, we actually call benzos "alcohol in pill form".

 

Again, I would LOVE to have a wee bit of alcohol at times,

but this fight has been so hard and long, I don't wanna risk

it till I am fully healed. I guess I am just too chicken to "test

the waters" with a wee glass of wine or such. I hate feeling

like crap for so long, and just don't wanna risk adding to

my pile, ya know?

[[No...]]

I feel like the comment about if you drink everyday through your taper you might as well stay on the benzo's was fairly ignorant. Having a few drinks to relax is completely different from being a full blown alcoholic and is nothing like being on benzo's if that was the case I wouldn't have been on them to start with. If you can tolerate it and it helps do it, the road is rough and why not have a couple of smooth miles if you can. Be responsible do it in moderation an don't let it affect your daily life.

 

As Lovepema stated, you do in fact refer to alcohol as benzodiazepines in pill form. In my native language "tørsprit", which is directly translated in to "dry alcohol". Benzodiazepines have been widely used for the treatment of alcohol withdrawal symptom, and alcohol can alleviate the symptoms of benzo withdrawal. I would not consider having a few drinks every day to be moderate, but again we are all different, and I am not a doctor.