Hi guys, I'm new to this group and I'm looking for some guidance if possible. The problem is after drinking alcohol the next couple of days I suffer from really bad anxiety, to the point where I feel so down and physically sick. Sometimes I feel so ashamed and I go in to depressed mode. Also the last couple of years I've been having blackouts after really heavy sessions. I keep promising myself I will never do it again but it plays a big part of my social life and I feel pressured at times. I dont always blackout but when I do, I've been told I become aggresive and start to pick arguments or fights with people. When I hear the stories I feel discusted with myself because I'm not that kind of person, I would literally do anything for anyone within reason. I'm not alcohol dependant although 10 years ago when I was 18 I drank everyday for approximately 1 year as I wasn't in a great place. Its just that once or twice a week I have a really heavy blow out and I feel so ill for days afterwards, the anxiety is unbearable. I've also noticed that once I start drinking I find it difficult to stop once I've reached a certain limit. But I can actually take it or leave it some weeks, but then I need a blow out. I've spoke to a few close friends and one of them suggested AA but I'm not really sure if this is the right idea ? I do suffer from anxiety and panick attacks but the alcohol just makes it worse. Especially with the blackouts, I dont seem to have any pre warning with the blackouts. I can be feeling merry one minute and then I wake up in the morning with hours missing from the night. I know its easy to say just dont drink but I'm finding a big struggle to completely avoid it. Any advice would be really appreciated
Hello RedMick,
It sounds like you realise that you have a problem with alcohol, and that you want to stop drinking for your own good. I have been in the same place as you, and I sought help from my GP and an addiction counsellor. It has not been easy to stop drinking altogether because my 'entourage' drink regularily, including my spouse. I am currently trying the Sinclair Method, which allows me to drink socially within a safe limit, as long as I take the medication Selincro 1-2 hours before the first drink. This may be a solution for you, too. Good luck with your efforts, and congratulations on tkaing your first step in acknowledging your problem.
Google 'The Sincalir Method' RedMick You will also find plenty of information in this forum about that. Other posts about the same thing refer to the drugs used 'Naltrexone' and 'Nalmefene.'
* Sinclair Method
Thanks Jacqueline, I will certainly look in to that. Its really difficult to avoid it full stop. May be I should book an appointment with the GP like yourself.
Thank you Paul, I'll have a good nosey around : ) I can't carry on like this forever
Hi Ya redmick
Sounds like (AWS) alcohol withdrawal syndrome? dont have to be alcoholic or dependent to suffer from this syndrome. Basically the Ethanol in alcohol attaches to Neurepinephrine which is the messenger in your body for your brain and body to produce more adrenalin. When you stop drinking the Ethanol detaches from the now large amounts of Neurepinephrine in your body which enter the blood stream and tell your brain to produce large amounts of adrenaline. Adrenalin helps to regulate your anxiety system and controls your flight and flee response (fear).
This puts you at high risk of developing a dependency in the future. Dont need to look for a reason in the future to decline a drink when offered? Just let your friends know you suffer from AWS? Chek it out anyway, i believe it is something everyone should be aware of.
Which ever way you choose to help "you" is your personal choice and i wish you all the best.
Allan
Alcohol is a depressant l guess u know, l use to feel the same would recover after 2 days, but now l take citalprom for depression l no longer have the same problem.
Thanks Allan, thats interesting. I used to think the anxiety was caused by the blackouts but even on nights I remember I still have the same symptoms, although not as bad
Yep, 2 days is roughly how long it takes for me to start feeling normal again. Then 3/4 days later I' ready to do it all over again
I here you redmick.
Just be aware that you are not self-medicating to reduce the feelings of anxiety? When alcohol goes in, its great it supresses the anxiety system which allows us to be more outgoing. Its when it comes out that it is at its most dangerous. Hightening any pre-existing anxiety disorders, eventually people like me subconciously or conciously reach for the very thing that is causing it "alcohol".
I have been abstinent for 9 years now ever since i found out about AWS. It is not some system developed to help you give up drinking, its just a biological fact discovered by a nobel prize winning biologist. I hope having this knowledge will help in your decission making, keeping you safe.
Allan
Great reply Allan and certainly technical. This should help RedMick I think.
Hi Redmick
I am very similar, I can keep off it for days and days but once I start I keep going until I doze off or can take no more, both of which I never remember.
The worrying thing for me is I obviously dont look out of it, as a lot of final consumtion of the evening will be at home with my wife, whereby I will doze off on the couch, and eventually persuaded to go to bed. In the morning I will have to ask what happened, much to her amazement.
I am fortunate that I dont suffer from what I understand to be panic attacks, although initially I wake conerned about what I might have done, and if I have been a little out of order ( I can get bit stoppy with drink, not violent just a bit verbally stroppy) I am racked with guilt.
After many months of contemplation I have decided to try Selincro, and bought some of the internet, today is day three and although I am confused about how to start I am determined to give it a try, total abstinace I dont beleive is an option for me, I need to find a way of slowing down. I will keep you posted on how it goes.
I would be very careful buying any medication on the Internet. You could be buying anything. People have ended up being poisoned by cheap fake medicines. Selincro is usually only prescribed to patients in conjunction with regular monitoring and/or counselling. Do you know exactly where the came from and the correct dose. I know it's a post code lottery, and some dr's will not prescribe it. The alternative is to pay for a private prescription, at least that way you know exactly what you're getting.
This TSM method is an interesting concept....I'm not a big fan thou because because our brains are producing "opiate" hormones to make us "feel good" while drinking..so simply put...I wouldn't take something that is blocking the opiate affect if I wanted to drink and ENJOY it.
I can't understand anyone wanting to drink taking these pills?
Taking away the "joy" of drinking is probably why the Sinclair method makes people eventually stop all together? Because drinking is ruined when taking the pill?
For ME..."Sinclair" would be good to keep in mind for a taper, but otherwise for ME I think it would fail for complete abstinence (but there is some studies that say it does help some people move on to complete abstinence). However, did you know? Another interesting scientific study was performed on these drugs and it has been found that black people do not have a certain gene....the gene that is necessary for higher success with these drugs...so the drugs do not help them as much as white people...
Why Sinclair would fail for me?
It sounds very similar to the Chantix drug for quitting smoking...they say you can smoke when you use the drug Chantix....and I DID try Chantix...and my cigs...tasted horrible - hence making me smoke less...but I finally decided...I wasn't READY to quit smoking and I quit Chantix instead. BUT...My friend used Chantix and quit smoking.
That said, with my mindset and my need to escape with alcohol - I know if I started taking Naltraxone and didn't get the escape I needed...I would stop the Naltraxone.
Also, I read that Naltraxone should not be taken when in a withdrawal state (at least for people who take drugs like cocaine, etc.) because it makes the withdrawal worse. So I wonder if people taking Naltraxone and then suddenly stop drinking altogehter if their withdrawal symptoms worsen as well?
In the US...it is also suggested to carry a card on you that says you are taking Naltraxone..because if you are involved in an accident or need pain medication....the Naltraxone will block the effects of the medication and the medics should be aware that you are taking this drug.
Lastly, for those taking "drugs" to get high vs. alcohol and thinking about Naltraxone... I read Naltraxone should not be taken by people in "opiate" withdrawal (not to be used for 7-10 days after stopping an opiate) or that could cause....them more severe withdrawal symptoms because of how the pill messes with the opiate "receptors" (now its getting too technical).
Hi vickylou
Thank you for your concern and advice, I used a UK company called Pharmacy2U I had to fill in a health questionnaire, list all the other meds I am on and do a 14 day drinks diary, a doctor responded with his Medical credentials and registration number. I know that some people will say it still could be a scam, but hey ho........
I did not want to wait 3-4 weeks to get an appointment with my GP who is concerned with my drinking, and who is also a total abstinace guy, I am not even sure our Health trust is supporting this drug, then a blood test, then an another appointment, referral to a drink related support service, if there is one.....all in all I took the risk.
I do liken it to a private perscription, when I next have to see my GP I will mention it, which by then I will know if I am comfortable with the drug or not, if not I will have to look elsewhere, if I am, I am lucky to be able to keep paying for it if not to be supported by my GP.
Cheers
HI Vickylou. Just to confirm with you that I have seen Pharmacy2u and they seem genuine to me. I would not worry too much and their procedures seem good. Best of luck and let us know how it all works out for you! Robin
"then a blood test, then an another appointment, referral to a drink related support service"
Been there, done that. It is terrible the way you cannot just visit your GP, say I have a problem, I know I have a problem, please give me something to help stop, right now. By all means give me advice, refer me to an alcohol support group. But do not make that a condition of prescribing me medication or force me to go through that process before you will prescribe medication.
So many people must just turn away, and return to drinking, because people are like water, they will choose the path of least resistance.
In most cases, it is only Diazepam (generic version of Valium) that they prescribe and even then, it is usually only about 10 days worth, so you are hardly likely to become hooked on it. Christ, my wife has suffered from depression a couple of times and they hand that out and Seroxat like sweets. It would be a lot easier to visit your GP and tell them you're suffering from depression and last time Valium worked really well for you, than 'fess up that you want to quit drinking.
The reason GPs stopped giving Diazepam or Chlordiazepoxide to people to do their own detox was that it was dangerous.
The mixing of large amounts of alcohol and benzodiazipine drugs (which both of these drugs are) is high risk as it can cause breathing problems. Simply giving a person a bottle of pills who may drink with them, take too many, or not enough (risking severe withdrawal symptoms) is considered too risky and deaths have occurred.
However, when GPs stopped doing it, they began to refer patients to drug and alcohol teams (many who have no clinically qualified staff) but this didn't help patients to get a detox. Some simply don't do it, others expect a person to keep a drinking diary for weeks (it doesn't work) and then, if that person manages to do everything they are asked to, they MIGHT get a detox many weeks later.
If a person needs a detox and has decided they want to do it, they need to do it within a few days, not weeks or months later.
It is right that GPs don't dish out pills for detox to people who have no support, but very wrong that there is nowhere a person can go to get a detox unless they pay to do it privately.
I understand what you are saying Paul. But if you have a decent understanding GP, that knows your history and knows you (mine refers to me by my first name, not because he is casual, but because he has known me for a long time), then they can probably evaluate the situation well. Also helps if you are married and he can give the tablets and schedule to her to administer.
At the very least, they should have the authority to direct you to somewhere that will detox you almost immediately, as you have said, when people pluck up the courage to ask for a detox, get them there and then, not three months down the line, maybe, if they jump through hoops, do a little dance and learn to ride a unicycle whilst reciting a hundred times, I am a bad person, I drank alcohol, I must self flagellate every night before bed.