PLEASE DON'T DRINK ALCOHOL WHEN YOU FEEL RECOVERED

[[ma...]]

Hey guys. So I've been drinking (relatively moderately) for a couple months now...and it's going fine. I haven't had any extreme negative effects from it. It's actually been really positive because it's expanded my social life again which was pretty non-existent after benzo stuff.

 

If anyone has any specific questions feel free to message me.

[[me...]]

Hey guys. So I've been drinking (relatively moderately) for a couple months now...and it's going fine. I haven't had any extreme negative effects from it. It's actually been really positive because it's expanded my social life again which was pretty non-existent after benzo stuff.

 

If anyone has any specific questions feel free to message me.

 

what kind of questions should they ask?

[[xe...]]

I seem to be experiencing what a few others on here have: after not having much trouble handling booze for most of the ~year and a half I've been off benzos, my body seems to not want to process it anymore. I was at a work event where I had ~3-4 drinks over an 8 hour period, which is something I've done several times in the past year, mostly without really noticing. In this case, despite staying otherwise pretty hydrated, I went to sleep at about 11pm, and woke up at 3am sweating and shaking, basically in the midst of a hangover, and continued to feel wretched for most of the next day.

 

I get that 3-4 drinks is a different thing than 1-2, but also feel that 8 months ago, the same intake would not have fazed me at all. So, I'm probably headed back towards zero intake for some extended period of time, because as much as I like a beer here and there, it seems unwise to ignore the blaring message my body seems to be sending me.

[[Si...]]

I drank 5 beers last night. It's the first time I've had alcohol since c/t'ing on May 5th. Been hung over today, which is mostly because I didn't eat anything until after drinking. I should have drank more water too. I haven't had any benzo relayed s/x that I can tell. The hang over has seemed to last longer than it use to though.

[Guest [ba...]]

Three 6.9% IPAs for me yesterday evening (before dinner).  I slept poorly, but not because of the beer (except maybe for a minor rebound, but no worse than years ago).  I didn't take any thing to help me sleep, so only got 3-4 hours.  Nothing today.  I generally only drink 2-3 times a month now.

[[Si...]]

I slept like a brick. I actually took a two hour nap today and still feel groggy. So I'll have to take it easier next time. I guess my CNS still has some ways to go before being fully recovered. I'm going to a house warming party this coming Wednesday night. So may give it another go with a little more moderation this time (I hope). It's for the guys I brew beer with, so may be tough.

 

Sorry for the poor sleep. That's certainly no fun. Hopefully you'll get more tonight.

[[Bo...]]

I seem to be experiencing what a few others on here have: after not having much trouble handling booze for most of the ~year and a half I've been off benzos, my body seems to not want to process it anymore. I was at a work event where I had ~3-4 drinks over an 8 hour period, which is something I've done several times in the past year, mostly without really noticing. In this case, despite staying otherwise pretty hydrated, I went to sleep at about 11pm, and woke up at 3am sweating and shaking, basically in the midst of a hangover, and continued to feel wretched for most of the next day.

 

I get that 3-4 drinks is a different thing than 1-2, but also feel that 8 months ago, the same intake would not have fazed me at all. So, I'm probably headed back towards zero intake for some extended period of time, because as much as I like a beer here and there, it seems unwise to ignore the blaring message my body seems to be sending me.

 

That sounds pretty intense.

[[...]]

I suggest changing the title of the thread:

 

Gary

[[me...]]

. I guess my CNS still has some ways to go before being fully recovered. I'm going to a house warming party this coming Wednesday night. So may give it another go with a little more moderation this time (I hope). It's for the guys I brew beer with, so may be tough.

 

 

 

sounds to me like you are perfectly fine and just need to move on with your life

[[Bo...]]

I seem to be experiencing what a few others on here have: after not having much trouble handling booze for most of the ~year and a half I've been off benzos, my body seems to not want to process it anymore. I was at a work event where I had ~3-4 drinks over an 8 hour period, which is something I've done several times in the past year, mostly without really noticing. In this case, despite staying otherwise pretty hydrated, I went to sleep at about 11pm, and woke up at 3am sweating and shaking, basically in the midst of a hangover, and continued to feel wretched for most of the next day.

 

I get that 3-4 drinks is a different thing than 1-2, but also feel that 8 months ago, the same intake would not have fazed me at all. So, I'm probably headed back towards zero intake for some extended period of time, because as much as I like a beer here and there, it seems unwise to ignore the blaring message my body seems to be sending me.

 

xerxes,

 

I experienced this last night as well. I went to a concert and had several drinks. I went to bed at 12 and at 2am I woke up to use the restroom and for 4 hours after that I had cold sweats and anxiety. When I got up at 8 I felt fine tho. I'm gonna take a break myself.

[[me...]]

I remain highly sensitive to alcohol's stimulating properties but vastly improved. 

[[JC...]]

I remain highly sensitive to alcohol's stimulating properties but vastly improved.

 

Actually, alcohol is a depressant.  I would know because I'm Irish and we know everything about alcohol. 

[Guest [Br...]]

I remain highly sensitive to alcohol's stimulating properties but vastly improved.

 

Actually, alcohol is a depressant.  I would know because I'm Irish and we know everything about alcohol. 

:laugh:

[[me...]]

I remain highly sensitive to alcohol's stimulating properties but vastly improved.

 

Actually, alcohol is a depressant.  I would know because I'm Irish and we know everything about alcohol. 

 

no alcohol is paradoxical

 

it is a depressant initially but a stimulate after several hours

[[ba...]]

around 3 years ago when i used to drink if i felt pain somwhere like a headache or aching part of my body like cramped neck/shoulders alcohol seemed to numb it the pain was gone after a few drinks, my bad set back was how i felt having a hangover since i would binge drink a 12pack of budwesier or busch most of the time occasioanlly i liked liquor on days i had a late start since i would take 8 hours sometimes drinking , liquor would take just 2 hours or less , i always remember one time i had on a cd drinking some bicardi 151 mixed with pepsi and ice on song #7 on the cd i was already too hammeered to continue *sigh* i miss those days

 

[[...]]

around 3 years ago when i used to drink if i felt pain somwhere like a headache or aching part of my body like cramped neck/shoulders alcohol seemed to numb it the pain was gone after a few drinks, my bad set back was how i felt having a hangover since i would binge drink a 12pack of budwesier or busch most of the time occasioanlly i liked liquor on days i had a late start since i would take 8 hours sometimes drinking , liquor would take just 2 hours or less , i always remember one time i had on a cd drinking some bicardi 151 mixed with pepsi and ice on song #7 on the cd i was already too hammeered to continue *sigh* i miss those days

Just remember that a 12 pack of beer at about 5% is about like drinking 18 ounces of 40% hard liquor, straight, and that's about 3/4 of what people used to call a "fifth". No one drinks long at that rate without serious health problems.

 

So you were probably young when you could do that.

 

Gary 

[[ba...]]

hi gary yes i started drinking regularly when i was 16 my first time was when i was 15,

 

heres a photo i saw online about drinking i wanted to share with you ppl LOL

http://i845.photobucket.com/albums/ab13/nanananabooobooo/oldladydrinkinlol_zps3442592b.jpg

[[he...]]

LOL

[[va...]]

So the whole time I've been taking xanax I've also had a beer here and there (I never overindulge) or a glass or two of wine.  It's never given me any symptoms of wd.  Now that I'm quitting xanax (tapering slowly), I have to give up a good beer every now and then?  It just doen't seem fair.

 

  :'(

 

~K

[[Si...]]

So the whole time I've been taking xanax I've also had a beer here and there (I never overindulge) or a glass or two of wine.  It's never given me any symptoms of wd.  Now that I'm quitting xanax (tapering slowly), I have to give up a good beer every now and then?  It just doen't seem fair.

 

  :'(

 

~K

 

I don't think you have to stop forever, especially if it's a low amount when you do. Unfortunately I'd say you probably should stop while tapering and probably for a while after if you don't handle dropping very well. You'll probably not want to drink if you do feel like crap. I've had some here and there in the last 4 months off. I waited around 2 to 2-½ to even try. I felt somewhat ok after a few times and like total shit a few times after. I tend to be stupid though and drink a ton. In the range of 10 beers in a night. Only you can decide if you can deal with the consequences whatever they may be for you. For me I know I'll probably be hung over for two days and then will have insomnia come back for a few days. So I know for myself that I have to pay the piper at some point to drink some. I'm slowly feeling less worse after each drinking episode. Which is usually only about once every two weeks or so.

[[va...]]

 

 

I don't think you have to stop forever, especially if it's a low amount when you do. Unfortunately I'd say you probably should stop while tapering and probably for a while after if you don't handle dropping very well. You'll probably not want to drink if you do feel like crap. I've had some here and there in the last 4 months off. I waited around 2 to 2-½ to even try. I felt somewhat ok after a few times and like total shit a few times after. I tend to be stupid though and drink a ton. In the range of 10 beers in a night. Only you can decide if you can deal with the consequences whatever they may be for you. For me I know I'll probably be hung over for two days and then will have insomnia come back for a few days. So I know for myself that I have to pay the piper at some point to drink some. I'm slowly feeling less worse after each drinking episode. Which is usually only about once every two weeks or so.

 

Siggy, when I was young, I drank like a fish, indulged in all kinds of legal and illegal substances, could drink most people under the table, and quit everything CT many times.  Never had a problem quitting.  I got sober in 1989, stayed off the drugs, but after 15 years sober I decided I wanted a glass of wine.  I couldn't even drink a whole glass. 

 

I guess I have a different perspective now.  I went to AA and CA for over 5 years and applied the principles in my life for a long time.  Still do some of them.  I became very spiritual.  So now when I drink alcohol, it's for the pleasure of the taste of a good beer or glass of wine.  No lagers, only expensive craft beer and red wine.  (I guess I'm what you might call a beer snob.  No offense meant to anyone who drinks those other beers, they just aren't my taste, and I realize most people don't prefer my taste in beer.) 

 

sooooooo...  It isn't that I want to drink for the high, it's that I want to drink for the pleasure of tasting a really good barleywine or stout or black IPA.  So sad.  I love those kinds of beers.  They're bitter and complex and heady (in taste).  I rarely drink more than one, two at the most, and it takes me an good hour to drink one.  I like the taste as the beer warms.  It brings out all the flavors, especially in darker beers.  It's a whole experience for me.  :'(  I think I'll live though.    I did it for 15 years (sobriety), but then again, back then, they didn't make those kinds of beers.

 

Thanks for the response.  It's always good to hear of other people's experiences.  That's what got me through my first 5 years of sobriety, knowing how others did it, and knowing I wasn't alone.  Plus, cute guys and I always wanted that next chip. 

 

~K 

[[Ni...]]

So the whole time I've been taking xanax I've also had a beer here and there (I never overindulge) or a glass or two of wine.  It's never given me any symptoms of wd.  Now that I'm quitting xanax (tapering slowly), I have to give up a good beer every now and then?  It just doen't seem fair.

 

  :'(

 

~K

 

I'm 2.5 years out and still drank occasionally throughout my withdrawal and recovery. What affected OP may or may not affect you. This blanket statement of "this is bad for you" is negative and counterproductive in my opinion.

 

Here's what I wrote a year and half ago on this thread and I stand by it today.

 

"Hell, I got so hammered on moonshine at 10 months off that we had to look at photos to piece the evening together. I was feeling pretty bad for a couple of days, but more physical than anything.

 

My opinion is an unpopular one, and that's that in some cases (there are always exceptions), the wave of ill effects are caused by anticipation and the idea that ingesting a mind and body altering substance might cause an effect is always lingering. Example: I take benzos for a decade, I withdraw from them in an unpleasant manner, any new or recurring substance is likely to create a wave of unpleasantness. We teach this in diving all the time in regard to deep diving and inert gas narcosis. If we tell someone they're going to be affected by a feeling of panic and doom, they always are. If we tell them it's no big deal and will probably feel some euphoria if anything, they report that it was no big deal. In both cases, inert gas narcosis is a real and measurable effect below a given depth, meaning everyone is affected. It's the role they assign to it that has the greatest outcome in determining if it was a good or bad experience.

 

For me, the worst trigger of side effects was simply coming and reading how bad people were doing here on BB. I had to stop reading here for months because it affected me too much.

 

This doesn't mean that some people aren't truly affected by alcohol 24-36 months out, but I find it more likely that it's psychosomatic in nature, with added stressors  that make up the vast majority of cases. Nobody has an easy withdrawal, we all travel the same road, but there's truth to the notion that it is exactly what we make of it. It's way too easy for our minds and bodies to revert, in times of stress, to a previous pattern of behavior that allowed us to function in a different way. Let's face it, we're always in a state of stress and it's a constant battle to keep out shit together on a daily basis. It's the larger version of losing our cool and then wishing we hadn't, this time it just happens to last for days, weeks or months. "

[[va...]]

 

 

I'm 2.5 years out and still drank occasionally throughout my withdrawal and recovery. What affected OP may or may not affect you. This blanket statement of "this is bad for you" is negative and counterproductive in my opinion.

 

Here's what I wrote a year and half ago on this thread and I stand by it today.

 

"Hell, I got so hammered on moonshine at 10 months off that we had to look at photos to piece the evening together. I was feeling pretty bad for a couple of days, but more physical than anything.

 

My opinion is an unpopular one, and that's that in some cases (there are always exceptions), the wave of ill effects are caused by anticipation and the idea that ingesting a mind and body altering substance might cause an effect is always lingering. Example: I take benzos for a decade, I withdraw from them in an unpleasant manner, any new or recurring substance is likely to create a wave of unpleasantness. We teach this in diving all the time in regard to deep diving and inert gas narcosis. If we tell someone they're going to be affected by a feeling of panic and doom, they always are. If we tell them it's no big deal and will probably feel some euphoria if anything, they report that it was no big deal. In both cases, inert gas narcosis is a real and measurable effect below a given depth, meaning everyone is affected. It's the role they assign to it that has the greatest outcome in determining if it was a good or bad experience.

 

For me, the worst trigger of side effects was simply coming and reading how bad people were doing here on BB. I had to stop reading here for months because it affected me too much.

 

This doesn't mean that some people aren't truly affected by alcohol 24-36 months out, but I find it more likely that it's psychosomatic in nature, with added stressors  that make up the vast majority of cases. Nobody has an easy withdrawal, we all travel the same road, but there's truth to the notion that it is exactly what we make of it. It's way too easy for our minds and bodies to revert, in times of stress, to a previous pattern of behavior that allowed us to function in a different way. Let's face it, we're always in a state of stress and it's a constant battle to keep out shit together on a daily basis. It's the larger version of losing our cool and then wishing we hadn't, this time it just happens to last for days, weeks or months. "

 

NitroxGuy, thanks for that bit of wisdom.  Before I found this forum, I joined a couple of facebook groups, but I rarely go to them because the people are so doom and gloom and almost all of them are having a really horrible time of it.  I've found people here that, while it hasn't always been easy, they seem to focus more on the positive.  I generally go to the xanax threads because that's the drug I'm tapering from, and I immediately found several people on whom to rely and who had a *relatively* easy time (as compared to many I've read) while going through their tapers.  I don't know if any of them drank while tapering though.  It never seemed to bother me while I was just using it as medication, but I wasn't looking for anything (symptoms) either.  I just try to stay focused on what I'm feeling, and try not to make too much of it.  I agree that just thinking about it too much can make you have a negative experience.  I realize they are just symptoms, and I'm not likely to have the exact same experience as other people (we are all different and our bodies handle things in different ways).  Since I never had problems going CT off any other drug, I'm keeping the faith that this won't be extremely hard for me to go through, just time consuming.

 

Again, thanks for the positivity. 

 

~K 

[[ba...]]

in a few years i hope to be able to drink in moderation like just a 6 pack once a week , i really miss those fun days of drinking 

[[Si...]]

I have a couple of beers every few days now and feel fine after. I've attended a string of weddings this month too where I didn't hold back much and feel fine. What really absolutely deep fries me though? Anything with MSG in it. I can eat something and tell pretty quickly that there is MSG in it.