Posted on 09/11/2015 1:25:51 AM PDT by UnwashedPeasant
For me it's been about 3 years since no booze, best thing I ever did although it didn't always seem like it in the beginning. I've heard of this drug (about 5 years ago before I realized I just had to admit defeat at controlling booze) ... and I've heard that it works for some completely, although as with most wonder drugs that work for all or many completely, I have not met one of these people :-). That's NOT to say it doesn't work ... that is a totally unscientific comment.
That said, if you quit totally 100%, once you get to the other side (when the obsession is gone, the craving, the desire) you wonder why you looked for so many complex solutions to what is a totally simple (if not easy at the time) problem. If anything else was negative in your life - and you knew the dangers, you'd kick it out immediately, entirely. Not so with booze, and it's not weakness of will or intelligence. I'm a second degree martial artists, run marathons, wikid smaht and all that.
So one man's opinion: If it's a problem, the solution is to give it up, 100%. It's very obvious in fact - especially when some time later you can't remember what it tastes like or remember what a buzz feels like, so there's no craving, but it's not obvious when you're in the middle of the fight, or the confusion about whether to give it up, which is frought with all kinds of ego stuff about 'letting something beat me' and 'well what's the point of life if you can't reward yourself' ... there are plenty of rewards once your body and mind adjust, and your life is consistently much better, peaceful, you get to a point where you don't even think about because you feel good most of the time. The bad times are short-lived, and you've learned they pass on their own.
So -
For heavy/alcoholic drinkers - there is a lot they don't know they don't know, as Rumsfeld would say. They will never be aware of all the negative that came from it, or all the positive they never knew about.
So, I have no moral position on it. But I will say this: If you want to maximize your happiness, quality of life, what you contribute to others' lives, connection to God if you have one ... and if you even have any question about whether the booze is bringing negativity into your life ... and you still think 'finding a way to continue drinking in a controlled way' is a good idea ... isn't that in itself a signal that it's an addiction, and if it's an addiction, isn't the logical (some would argue moral - I'm not arguing that here) ... isn't the logical rational thing, since it's a totally unnecessary nutrient, in fact it's a toxin, ... isn't the logical, self honest thing to do ... to kick it out?
That probably sounds like a lecture ... it's actually not ... it's just how I see it having been through it. There is nothing wrong with trying this, but I kind of feel like I'm totally on the other side of the river of sewage and far, far from it, on dry land in fresh air, saying 'why buy a raft that floats on sewage - that allows you to stay in the sewage but avoid the sewage? Why not just get out of the sewage river?'
Hope that helps, even if I totally didn't answer the actual question.
Heard a commercial yesterday for an implant that stops the craving for alcohol. Very disturbing.
I hope the stuff works, but I honestly don’t see treating symptoms as fixing the addiction problem-people who become addicted to something-a substance, sex-anything-have emotional issues that need to be addressed and worked through in therapy.
I grew up on a ranch in a family that embraces a natural lifestyle-as kids, we were also taught that alcohol and tobacco-along with sweets like cake and candy-were okay in moderation, but pigging out/overindulging was what people who had no self control did, and it led to addiction-and in the case of food, being fat-we were alxso discouraged from overeating.
I weigh the same 110 lbs I weighed at 17-still eat only fresh food-preferably from my garden, and only free range local meat. I never developed a taste for sugar, have never done drugs-prescription or illicit, and I seldom even take aspirin-I do drink beer or some wine sometimes and might even smoke 8 cigarettes per week, treating that like dessert.
Before I went into business for myself, I was a workers comp case manager-I’ve seen my share of addiction among injured clients-most of it to prescription painkillers and antidepressants. That meant in addition to a work-related injury, that person now had a secondary disability of substance abuse-and that made the insurance carrier very unhappy because it would cost big bucks-and made my job more difficult.
The company I worked for was contracted to make certain that rehab produced results, whether vocational or otherwise. We did not refer clients to AA, NA or other self-help groups, so I’m not a big fan of those-we made them an appointment with a psychotherapist for evaluation, and it went from there-usually they went to therapy once per week until they were able to deal with the issues they had-if they refused therapy, the insurance carrier cut off their workers comp.
If they were heavily addicted to painkillers or psychotropic drugs, they were required to voluntarily commit themselves to 30-60 days inpatient therapy at a rehab facility, period-and that really worked.
One of my neighbors was a rep for a big pharma company until he found a job he liked better, and he lives a drug free life-uses the same natural remedies that most of us do too...
Does it work for food craving?
Sounds promising doesn't it?
Thanks for that note. I'll pass it along where maybe it can help.
I have never had a craving for alcohol, but here is an analogy:
If I get a mosquito bite, it itches a lot and I am compelled to scratch. But I am able to apply my will power and "just stop scratching."
Once I got a bad case of poison ivy. This was a different kind of itch. I could not "just stop scratching." I scratched my legs bloody because it gave immediate relief that might last just a few seconds.
Some people can just stop drinking, but for other people, it is a different kind of itch.
For another analogy, you are physically able to hold your breath until you pass out. But the compulsion to breath is so strong, that few people can apply their will and hold their breath that long. If someone has that strong of a compulsion to drink, they cannot "just stop drinking."
You might be cured of the symptom of alcoholism, but the core of the disease can only be cured with The Steps.
Maybe.
Overeating and overdrinking are both behavior disorders.
If the behavior disorder is compelled by a certain genetic disorder, the Naltrexone would remove that part of the compulsion.
I know there’s one to save heroin users’ lives during overdose. Forget the name. Is that what you’re talking about?
I just heard about this drug yesterday on the radio news. It has been approved to keep on hand in CA high schools in case of opiate overdose.
(But Gd forbid they keep a gun which might save countless lives in case of shooter)
Is it on the same shelf as the condoms and LGBT pamphlets?
Not exactly the three Rs we grew up with.
Thank you.
You might appreciate this article. It gives some good information on successful treatment with naltrexone.
Yeah, how about for computer games?
I had the good fortune of being raised in a teetotaling religion, with several alcoholic in-laws of a different faith to provide frequent object lessons in the dangers of alcohol. But being of Irish descent, the addiction gene is still there, and I have to be "in recovery" from a number of bad habits like eating or marathon web surfing — even compulsions like overbuying the same items every time I'm at the grocery "just in case" and then having to throw half of them out. It's a daily process. Al-Anon and ACOA (Adult Children of Alcoholics — only for me it was "grandchild of alcoholics") helped me get a handle on it; and AA has helped one of my alcoholic friends transformatively.
Point being, that even the children of dry parents can still have the genetic make-up and must understand and monitor their behaviors accordingly. I read an article once that said that the children of Methodist and/or Baptist teetotalers are very vulnerable to becoming alcoholics if when they leave home and start experimenting with drinking, because they have little experience with it. So I guess my alcoholic granddads and uncles were a blessing in disguise. It was no fun watching the distress and destruction their behaviors caused.
I know, right? I remember that the rationale for taking prayer out of school is that it might harm the non-religious children's self-esteem. Wow. Now, we just reduce all the kids to twisted gutter behavior from Kindergarten onward. Problem solved.
Someone close to me was able to get of alcohol with the help of very low dose lithium asporotate - lithium salt capsules but far far less amount that what bipolar people take. Another thing that really helped was caffeine. He started out drinking maybe 12 coffees a day the first couple days. He was able to drop that down after a couple weeks. He’s been sober five years and still needs a coffee at least five times a day.
It wouldn't surprise me if lithium might be helpful to some alcoholics.
Does it work for nicotine addiction?
AA is valuable for those it helps but it is NOT necessary.
Once you get past stage one, removing the worst of the cravings, try to eat super clean and full and healthy. Forget weight loss and calories, and eat good food. Not many sweets, just lots of your favorite meats, fish, etc, vegetables with fat, fruits, potatoes, etc. add sources of resistant starch for your gut bugs. When they are happy, they make your brain happy. Eat well and be satisfied. Fill the body with good food and never forget the gut bugs. Good ideas for how to make gut bugs happy can be found at www.vegetablepharm.com .
Definitely psychological help is great for the “alcoholic personality” part of your addiction, but you have to go into groups or shrinks with a very introspective yet open mood. Sometimes you don’t want that. Definitely tell your closest friends what you are doing and how you need their help and support. Your drinking friends will NOT give as much support because they will “resemble themselves” and it will be up to you to decide to forgive them as they are in the same alcohol trap you were once in. But these days, many people will be very supportive.
Most drunks would say that the first drink is what starts the poison ivy ... or that in fact the first dink not only starts the poison ivy, but is also the first scratching of the poison ivy ... and hence the cycle.
It sounds like maybe what you're saying is "this person already wants to kick it out totally, the problem is actually kicking it out' rather than 'this person is looking for a way to keep it in his life, but controlled' ... If that's the case, that's my mistake in reading your original post ... I learned about it from a person who was not using it to quit, but to control it ... so I assumed that without even reflecting on it.
But even still ... I'm not sure exactly where you're coming at it from.
"just stop drinking' can mean 'once you've had one, only have, say, 3', in which case, your poison ivy analogy applies to 'once you've had the first' ... or, 'just stop drinking' can mean 'quit entirely' ... in which case your not talking about individual binges, but drinking in general.
I might (or might not) have insight that could help ... but I still don't know ... are you (or this person) currently. already, trying to quit for good, and failing at that? (no shame in that, I failed over and over and ... until I didn't, and then the poison ivy went away.)
So, do we have a case of already warning to stop entirely ... and the 'stopping' problem?
The AA ping list was infrequently kept by “RobfromGa”
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