Posted by Tony P on March 12, 2004, at 16:10:23
In reply to Re: URGENT: Alcohol Withdrawal. Please help!, posted by Alara2 on March 12, 2004, at 9:17:46
> Tony, thanks for all the good advice.... [...some parts snipped...]
> The insomnia is something that I know will plague me for a long, long time.
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The famous "Jellinek curve", a big U showing stages of increasing problems followed by stages of recovery shows sleep improvement at least a third of the way up the recovery side of the curve, so, yes, don't be surprised if it takes a while.> I occasionally use Phenergan (antihistamine) as a sleeping aid - although I recently read some horrifying information about its potential side effects (similar to antipsychotics!) so I don't want to take this drug more often than I can help.
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Phenergan is very closely chemically related to the earliest amd worst antipsychotics (e.g. chlorpromazine), so I'd avoid long term use. Diphenhydramine (the constituent of most OTC sleep aids these days) is a lot safer. Consult your MD about anything stronger.
>
> I will stick to the light beer schedule [...] I seem to fare much, much better with quitting via the light beer because I don't notice its effects, which makes it less tempting to get drunk.
>
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If by light beer you mean 0.5%, by all means use it for a while - there's more alcohol in some fruit juices! I have mostly stopped drinking it, not because the tiny amount of alcohol has any noticeable negative effect, but because it reminds me of drinking and could act as a trigger for relapsing.
>
> I know that I need a plan too. Grief is the main reason that my drinking has spiralled so badly out of control lately - so I need a way of facing up to my feelings in a way which feels safe.
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I was sober for ten years, then had a one-month relapse immediately after separating from my wife, so I know how big a part grief (and anger) can have. I have been seeing a counsellor regularly since the relapse, and attended a treatment centre that specializes in "dual-diagnosis" - typically alcohol or other addictions plus depression/grieving.>AA does not really suit. Am thinking about taking a cognitive behavioural approach using the Smartec online program [...]
>
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Find what works for you, but don't give up on AA too early. It was somewhat of a last resort for me, and it took me quite a while to get past some of the heavy-duty "God-and-AA-is-the-only-way" line from some members. Today my philosophy is "take what you need, and leave the rest at the door". But AA is not for everybody, and the official literature itself says so. Use whatever works for you, but do get as much human contact as you can, whether (sober!) friends, other recovery programs, or your local government-run counselling or group therapy.> Tony, I take it that you have been sober for a while? Would be interested in hearing about your journey - triumphs, hurdles, good times and bad.
>
> Thanks again for the input.
>
> Alara
>
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My heaviest drinking was about 25-35 years ago. After getting well into recovery, I had several relapses at increasing intervals of years, until I finally worked the AA twelve steps thoroughly with a "committed step group" (the group waits until everyone has completed a step before moving on to the next). It was after that when I got my 10 years sober in, but I'll repeat that that's only my experience - there are many routes to recovery.I now have 18 months since my last relapse at the time of my separation, and it does keep getting better. Except for one or two white-knuckle days, when I called a lot of people to keep from going off the deep end, most days (and weeks) the thought of drinking just doesn't cross my mind at all. Long-term abstinence may seem beyond thinking about for you right now, but the most helpful thing I found early on was that I could stay sober for one day at a time - that much I could imagine without freaking out!
Best of luck in your journey,
Tony P
poster:Tony P
thread:321829
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/subs/20040130/msgs/323683.html