PLEASE DON'T DRINK ALCOHOL WHEN YOU FEEL RECOVERED

[[ja...]]

I drank for several years risking cirrhosis since 2004 ... I have not touched anything, not even a beer 

 

I would be tempted when you are out to dinner with friends, but for now it's okay 

[[hu...]]

I won't try beer until 1-2 years after I feel completely healed.

I'll probably start with a bit of coffee, if I get anxiety or any other bad symptoms from it, then no alcohol experiments.

To some extent my anxiety issues in the past (pre benzos) have been a mind over matter thing.

 

[[Bo...]]

So I'm not proud of it, but I thought I'd post this anyway. Last Friday I went to a concert in ATL and drank somewhere between 10 -15 beers and several shots of whisky. Other than a horrible hangover that lasted 2 days I noticed no return of WD symptoms.

 

In addition at the end of September I went to another concert and had about the same amount plus several balloons of N20 and had no hangover.

 

In my experience once you've felt healed for awhile you're good to play a bit. I will say that I only go out about once a month and other than that I live really clean. Lift every other day and run several times a week. Hang in there. It gets easier and eventually you'll return to your former lifestyle.

[Guest [ba...]]

In addition at the end of September I went to another concert and had about the same amount plus several balloons of N20 and had no hangover.

 

You do like to party, don't you? 

[Guest [jc...]]

I have a couple drinks on the weekends when I go out to dinner with no problems, so yeah, everyone is different.

[[Mi...]]

1mg a day xanax user for 10-11 months.  Cold Turkey'd almost 13 months ago.  Still can't f&cking drink, half the time pot still doesn't feel "right", still have no social life, still get amped up and rigid from laughing too much or getting too excited about something.  (this is while sober, I take zero meds and eat very healthy, sleep awesome too)

 

I had 4 beers like 6 months ago and that was the only night it worked out pretty well.  Since then it only causes me to get really hot, dizzy, head pain, and anxious.  I'm not writing this crap to bring anyone down, but I did have a question.  I notice that the people who have had better luck with booze also seem to work out/exercise regularly.  Could this be the real trick to speeding up CNS recovery?  To really push your CNS to flare up on purpose so it gets used to the stress?  If I go on a long hike  or rake the yard or do any sort of hard work around the house, afterward I always get punished by that dizzy/headpain/confused/stoned/ultra fatigued feeling for like 1-2 hours afterward.  Even though hard work and exercise cause me to slip into a temporary bad wave, COULD THIS BE GOOD for a quicker CNS recovery?  Thanks guys!  Looking forward to your stories/opinions on this. 

[[Mi...]]

On a similar note, any pot smokers here?  Is that still hit or miss for you, or does that affect you normally again?

[Guest [ba...]]

Interesting theory about the exercise and recovery.  Maybe it's a component.  Activity is generally good for most people, so it shouldn't hurt if you don't overdo it.

[[va...]]

I'm in the process of tapering xanax.  I drank beer when I was taking it, not getting drunk mind you, but just drinking one or sometimes two, for the enjoyment of tasting a really good beer, stopped when I started tapering per the warnings by everyone to not drink.  I ended up having a beer last night because I was in so much pain (I have chronic back pain and have to take pain pills in order to function), and I had already taken more pills than usual and didn't want to take any more.  So, I just had the one beer.  It did seem to help relax me enough to help me eventually fall asleep.  (another drawback to chronic pain is not sleeping well.)  I probably won't do it again, but so far I haven't felt anything detrimental by drinking it.  I don't know.  I take all kinds of things that I've been warned not to take (herbs in tea to help me relax/sleep) but I'm not experiencing anything bad.  So who knows why things affect people differently?

 

About the exercise theory, that might have some truth to it.  Exercise does produce endorphins, so I think it's possible it also promotes healing.  I also think it's extremely important to keep a positive outlook.

 

Namaste. 

 

~K  :smitten:

[[hu...]]

Hi Vangog,

 

Slightly off topic, but I noticed "Namaste" in your sign-off, wanted to ask you if you are into Indian/Buddhist spiritual practice or stuff like that? Just a little curious.

I hope you wouldn't mind me asking that.

[[va...]]

I'm eclectic in my spiritual beliefs.  I've been to Buddhist ceremonies, Hindu, Wiccan, Native American, Catholic, and many others.  I've studied many different religious pantheons and mythologies, and I hold a deep connection to both Indian and Greek pantheons, as well as Native American Spirituality, and I see much beauty in the beliefs of Buddhism, and also Taoism and Sufism.  I guess you could say I'm a pagan, because I believe in a living earth and living energy, so I'm into earth based spirituality, but I also believe in science.  I don't believe in actual Gods and Goddesses, but I do believe they represent very specific energies that exist, and people can learn to direct that energy to get a specific goal or result, like active prayer.  IOW, if you call on Kali, you had better be prepared for some chaos to ensue, because she is both a creator and destroyer Goddess, a Loving Mother as well as a destructive force of nature.  So change would be the outcome.  It can gentle or abrupt, depending on if you're actually prepared for what she brings.  It's like spirituality and physics mixed together.  Do you understand?  I hope I didn't complicate my answer.   

 

But frankly, being human beings, I think we understand very little about our Universe and what is and isn't true.  I'm willing to admit that.  I know nothing.  Or very little anyway.    I am a student of life, and I make a lot of mistakes.  I do believe there is a universal energy that connects all things in the universe.  We are made from the elements of stars long dead, so the stars are our parents, in a sense.  Particles can be in more than one place at a time, and once we observe them they will change how they behave.  The entire universe is a living and dying and expanding thing.  Does it have a consciousness?  I don't know.  Probably on some level.  Do I believe in a God that created it?  Not in the sense most people think of when they talk about God.

 

I hope that makes sense.

 

Namaste.

 

~K  :smitten:

[[hu...]]

Wow, that's a lot but I think I understood some, if you write a book do let me know I'm gonna buy a copy, I think I just found my spiritual guru finally, I'm gonna pack my bags and join the ashram if you start one as long as it's benzo wise .

 

Right now Shiva is doing tandava dance in my head and Kali is twisting my guts, and feel like I'm hanging in between two different universes, I don't know what I did to upset them this bad, in past or present life. I want to spend more time in this universe I've known and hope gravity will pull me back.

 

Nice talking to you.

 

HB

[Guest [ba...]]

I'm eclectic in my spiritual beliefs.  I've been to Buddhist ceremonies, Hindu, Wiccan, Native American, Catholic, and many others.  I've studied many different religious pantheons and mythologies, and I hold a deep connection to both Indian and Greek pantheons, as well as Native American Spirituality, and I see much beauty in the beliefs of Buddhism, and also Taoism and Sufism.  I guess you could say I'm a pagan, because I believe in a living earth and living energy, so I'm into earth based spirituality, but I also believe in science.  I don't believe in actual Gods and Goddesses, but I do believe they represent very specific energies that exist, and people can learn to direct that energy to get a specific goal or result, like active prayer.  IOW, if you call on Kali, you had better be prepared for some chaos to ensue, because she is both a creator and destroyer Goddess, a Loving Mother as well as a destructive force of nature.  So change would be the outcome.  It can gentle or abrupt, depending on if you're actually prepared for what she brings.  It's like spirituality and physics mixed together.  Do you understand?  I hope I didn't complicate my answer.   

 

But frankly, being human beings, I think we understand very little about our Universe and what is and isn't true.  I'm willing to admit that.  I know nothing.  Or very little anyway.    I am a student of life, and I make a lot of mistakes.  I do believe there is a universal energy that connects all things in the universe.  We are made from the elements of stars long dead, so the stars are our parents, in a sense.  Particles can be in more than one place at a time, and once we observe them they will change how they behave.  The entire universe is a living and dying and expanding thing.  Does it have a consciousness?  I don't know.  Probably on some level.  Do I believe in a God that created it?  Not in the sense most people think of when they talk about God.

 

I hope that makes sense.

 

Namaste.

 

~K  :smitten:

 

Pretty much my credo too.

[[Bo...]]

1mg a day xanax user for 10-11 months.  Cold Turkey'd almost 13 months ago.  Still can't f&cking drink, half the time pot still doesn't feel "right", still have no social life, still get amped up and rigid from laughing too much or getting too excited about something.  (this is while sober, I take zero meds and eat very healthy, sleep awesome too)

 

I had 4 beers like 6 months ago and that was the only night it worked out pretty well.  Since then it only causes me to get really hot, dizzy, head pain, and anxious.  I'm not writing this crap to bring anyone down, but I did have a question.  I notice that the people who have had better luck with booze also seem to work out/exercise regularly.  Could this be the real trick to speeding up CNS recovery?  To really push your CNS to flare up on purpose so it gets used to the stress?  If I go on a long hike  or rake the yard or do any sort of hard work around the house, afterward I always get punished by that dizzy/headpain/confused/stoned/ultra fatigued feeling for like 1-2 hours afterward.  Even though hard work and exercise cause me to slip into a temporary bad wave, COULD THIS BE GOOD for a quicker CNS recovery?  Thanks guys!  Looking forward to your stories/opinions on this.

 

I did a lot of cardio when I was in WD. I slowly worked lifting back in. Occasionally if I lift to failure several times in a week I'll get a little anxiety in the morning but that's it. I think it's good to push yourself if you can.

 

 

[[Bo...]]

On a similar note, any pot smokers here?  Is that still hit or miss for you, or does that affect you normally again?

 

It gives me a lot of anxiety for days after. I only like sativa tho

[[va...]]

Well, I had another beer the other day, a barleywine, and no ill effects.  yay.  Perhaps having a beer now and then isn't going to affect me in a bad way.

 

Me happy. 

 

~K

[[ba...]]

i used to enjoy drinking it upsets me sometimes when i see the ad at the grovery store and my favorite beer (budweiser ) is on sale !!

[[Ni...]]

 

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 

 

No problem! I feel that some people get bogged down in feeling sad for themselves and that the way out is to really and truly know yourself. Benzo withdrawal will show you who you really are, but you have to accept what you see, keep moving on and improve your life on decision at a time. I see you're close to the end, and then the journey really begins. You got this, and I know you can do it!

[[...]]

i never was a drinker, smoker or coffee lover....

 

but i think it would have been nice to drink champagne every weekend, to roll some joint etc......

 

i started directly with the hard core narcotics-benzos.....

 

damn this garbage,,,, :tickedoff: :tickedoff:

[[Mi...]]

Not healed yet, feel about 20 - 50% last weeks.

 

Had a 50ml 12% wine 3 weeks ago, felt very subtly but clearly in positive way  no after-effects I think. Today had 2 gulps (100ml) of beer, feel tension like something (electrical storm  ) go through my body which lasted 5 seconds - IT WAS 1 MINUTE AFTER SECOND GULP(SIP), not fun. I think somebody had similar experience here in this thread. Now feel no good but I think it's more about scary horror alcohol stories so I need to chill out and go to sleep. Anyway I'm so sad and need to hug. I'm 24yo guy where wd kill my life, loved alcohol, It's over half year without alcohol, not much problem with it but I want enjoy my social life

 

There is 1L JACK DANIELS in locker (Safe) so much intense waiting for me

 

NEXT MORNING EDIT

 

I felt something between terrible tension/nerves and panic when I tried to fall asleep, slept for 2 hours, feel very bad today Have faster heartbeat than usually Hope I'll get better, also I'm gonna avoid alcohol in until 2016. In the assumption that I'll be alive.  :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'(

[[xe...]]

drank more than usual last weekend because of a company holiday party and a social dinner beforehand. I had a whole liter of beer at dinner, then had 2-3 drinks over the course of the party.

 

No problems with the alcohol, then, or the days after. The noise levels at the party were pretty excessive, but I always carry earplugs because of my tinnitus, so, no problems there. A few of my coworkers saw me putting the plugs in and said "that's such a great idea! I wish I had some of those!" -- I felt bad, I try to have extra pairs for those situations, and I didn't.

 

Anyway, I'm not looking to turn into a problem drinker, but I remember drinking a similar amount at a similar party 2 years ago and there being absolute hell to pay for it, so things have clearly improved and I don't think that even my long and storied period of benzo use has had a permanent impact on my ability to enjoy usual amounts of booze.

[Guest [ba...]]

Clearly, you've achieved full healing as per badsocref's alcohol tolerance assay. 

 

The tinnitus thing sucks.  We saw the latest Hobbit movie last night and I thought the sound was going to kill me at first.  I did get used to it eventually.  Movies sure are loud!

[[va...]]

I've been continuing to have A beer (meaning ONE at a time/per day) here and there throughout my taper (especially through the holidays) and so far, nothing.  I'm hoping it stays that way. 

 

~K   

[[ka...]]

hi every one ....dose any one have a scientific read out on how alcohol affacts the brain when on it, and when the brain is coming down from drinking .....thanks kate7

[[va...]]

So wow.  This thread sure did get buried once someone moved it.  Why was it moved?  It was always easy to find before.  Not so much now.