Alcohol, Caffiene, Sugar & Diet - Advice needed.

[[BB...]]

Hi,

 

I am currently recovering from Xanax, Valium, Alcohol, Ritalin, Caffiene and Dexamphetmine abuse. I haven't touched ritalin/dexamphetamines since around October 2010 and I quit Xanax/Valium Cold Turkey and had my last doses around Mid November last year. I currently live in constant muscle pain and get burning sensations in my back, neck and hip flexors. I also suffer very easy muscle cramps in my back and neck, especially when carrying moderately heavy objects for even a short period or using a computer mouse incorrectly. I also still suffer some sort of brain damage which makes it difficult to focus when reading and learning. My full story has been posted in the introduction section of this forum.

 

Now my questions:

 

1. I quit alcohol back in early December last year (with the exception of 1 beer on Christmas eve and 1 in late February). I plan on staying off alcohol until atleast Christmas eve this year. Is 1 year long a long enough break from alcohol bearing in mind that I stuggle to stop at 1 beer and often end up pretty drunk? Or will it take longer for my brain to fully readjust?

 

2. My tolerance for caffiene  has dropped remarkable since prior to the abuse. I used to be able to smash down 4 cans of redbull easily but now days I get anxious and jittery after only 2. Is caffiene affecting my recover and if so, how long do I need to stay off the stuff?

 

3. Does high sugar foods such as chocolate affect recovery in anyway? and if yes how long do I need to quit the stuff?

 

4. Is there any other foods I should avoid whilst recovering?

 

5. Is there any particular diet I should follow to aid recovery?

 

thanks in Advance!

[[ve...]]

Hi.  Congrats on your benzo freedom. Chocolate does have caffeine so probably best to avoid if you are sensitive.  The alcohol can impact GABA and slow down the post benzo healing so good plan to stay clear through the end of the year.  I started a couple threads on nutrition and healing maybe last year.  I think they are in "general health" section of forum.  You might have to do a search.  If it doesn't come up, you might just go page by page. I don't know what page it might be on at this point though.  Generally, it's a good idea to limit refined sugars even if you weren't healing from benzo dependency.  Moderate diet, good fiber but not too much, no caffeine if you can manage that, (i was able to have a cup or two of tea a day but coffee did not agree with me).  An occasional treat is probably not going to kill you although the alcohol is probably best to abstain for a while.  Some folks find that B vitamins can rev up a system in recovery.  Anyway, I'm sure others can weigh in here.  A healthy diet and exercise, get some sunshine if you can on a daily basis... Healing can take a while.  3 months off is good progress but some find that they don't really start to feel better until 6 months or so.  You can also check out my "Post benzo freedom withdrawal support" thread here in withdrawal support.  Some may have posted about nutrition in the earlier days of the thread, I don't recall. 

 

Best,

 

Vertigo

[[BB...]]

Thanks Vertigo! I will search for your nutrition and healing threads. Anyone else want to comment?

[[Ga...]]

Hey BB Australia. I also gave up the booze late last year (although I had a glass of wine recently which I felt for a while aferwards). I was thinking Xmas too. I think a year might be OK although you'd need to assess it then and start slow. I have the same struggle with  starting and not being able to find the off switch but I do think that this experience has taken away much of my desire to drink.

 

I can tolerate a little caffeine daily in the form of a Diet Coke or 2 but not coffee (but then I never drank much). I also eat quite a bit of sugar- sugar craving is a known wd issue. Many report that caffeine and sugar make symptoms a lot worse but it hasn't been too bad for me. As for a can of Red Bull, for me, that's always been a can of anxiety. It might be wise to curb it since the caffeine content is so high it will make you more jittery and at this point, there's enough stimulation for us to deal with.

 

Others will offer better advice about a particular diet to follow. I haven't really followed one although I try and be varied in what I eat.

 

Congratulations on getting off the benzos.

[[el...]]

BB -

 

If you can’t stop at one drink, it may be best to abstain from booze forever. I know that’s not a popular option. Booze is what got me on benzos. Then benzos got me to more booze. Somehow I have been able to get off both and am recovering miraculously. If you resume drinking, your brain will remember exactly where it was when you quit and will start drinking at that “level” again. I have seen it and heard it thousands of times in the AA rooms. I have proven it to myself many times. The last time that I “went back out” (for 11 months) it almost killed me. It’s the kindling effect. It is VERY real.

 

My story is the same story of many in this forum and thousands in AA. You already know how hard this is. It only gets MUCH harder each time you repeat it.

 

I also had to abstain from caffeine for two years through this recovery but have been able to drink coffee and tea for about four or five months now. Good luck.

 

eli