Alcohol

[mboxfrogger]

i've been struggling to put down the booze for a couple of years. it's strange, i used to hate it, think it didn't feel that good, but it sortof crept up on me when i eliminated some other habits. the only success i've had is when using my ADHD medication there is a significant drop in consumption for me but i never seem to fully get rid of it except once... i was introduced to an obscure supplement call phenibut i once took for two weeks straight and it eradicated my alcohol problem in that time, it was almost too easy although as a fair warning i was taking very high doses and i did go through a very weird and unpleasant withdrawal fromt he phenibut that lasted a few days but once i stopped taking it and the benzos i started supplementing it with to cut the dosage, and made a stressful move and life change the booze crept back because i didn't have anything else to calm my nerves and my habit got worse than it was before i quit and i don't know why but the supplement stopped working for me after that one-off experience. so... any vets that have tips or tricks for quitting i'd love to hear, if anyone would care for me to elaborate on what has and hasnt worked for me and why, i'd be happy to help as well.

- S.

[BigGuy82]

I have really changed my drinking over the years but as of recently even couple of beers a night and I feel foggy for days. Kinda wish there something else to take the edge off at night. I mean I can go without a drink but then my mind tends run and I can't fall asleep. Then any sleeping pills give me the fog the next day. Sometime feels like there's no end to the cycle of anxiety or fog.

[mr nobody]

I have really changed my drinking over the years but as of recently even couple of beers  a night and I feel foggy for days. Kinda wish there something else to take the edge off at night. I mean I can go without a drink but then my mind tends run and I can't fall asleep. Then any sleeping pills give me the fog the next day. Sometime feels like there's no end to the cycle of anxiety or fog.

What do you consider "sleeping pills"? The z-drugs or ambien?

I find the current sleep meds give me a fogginess the following morning.

Lorazepam (Ativan) does not give me problems in the morning and is used in many hospital settings for edginess and to induce sleep.  Alcohol also tend to mess up the quality of sleep.

[MCS1964]

Ardbeg scotch is my weakness. I only drink it occasionally and have a couple beers per week. Love the Ardbeg.

MCS

[mboxfrogger]

Back in the day I used to be a pretty heavy drinker. Mostly beer but I did have a taste for Crown Royal. I was pretty mellow when I drank but I sure cannot say that about everyone. One of my best friends I grew up with, (would do anything for me), well every time he would drink he would become belligerent and want to fight. Now this guy when sober he was a tough SOB and there would have been no one else I would have wanted to cover my back in a sticky situation but when drinking he just got out of control. We tried to get him to seek help but like most alcoholics he was in denial. Well about 3 years past and he was in a bar drinking hard liquor and 2 guys started crap with him (I was not there). Well a fight ensued and my friend literally beat those 2 guys to death. This was a good friend of mine that when sober I would have trusted him with my life but when drinking, totally out of control and a different person. He is now serving 40 years in prison because of Alcohol and not knowing when to stop. I still enjoy a good beer with my steak and maybe a Crown & Coke but that's where it ends for me on alcohol. I am an advocate of MoM way more than Alcohol. A LOT less violence not to mention no hangover.

Everyone's body is different and acts different to different kinds of stimulants and you just have to find what works for you..

Peace Everyone

alcohol is my main vice and it has a vice grip on me, the best success i've had since it started is when i get my stim prescription... it seems counterintuitive but it helps much more than any GABAeric replacements, until the tolerance skyrockets and leaves me high and dry, so to speak. and the cycle starts again. right now i' in the good part of the month, when i only have one to two drinks a day... two weeks later my alcoholism bumps that back up to a healthy 2 digit number again. for those of you who are not like me and haven't used this method yet, there is a supplement that is cheap to get called phenibut that activates your GABA2 receptors, and has some weird feelings attached to it, but i stumbled upon it once and i kind of felt like i was on a constant low dose of MDMA and i quit drinking with it... down in new orleans no less. it's when i moved to te middle of nowhere that the problem came back and it seems like i like, burned those neural pathways that made phenibut work when it did and now it doesn't help me, like it once did. it's worth a try,and reasonably safe (and more importantly legal). just do your research. i just figured i'd throw you drunks a bone. just kidding 

[barq2]

i've been struggling to put down the booze for a couple of years. it's strange, i used to hate it, think it didn't feel that good, but it sortof crept up on me when i eliminated some other habits. the only success i've had is when using my ADHD medication there is a significant drop in consumption for me but i never seem to fully get rid of it except once... i was introduced to an obscure supplement call phenibut i once took for two weeks straight and it eradicated my alcohol problem in that time, it was almost too easy although as a fair warning i was taking very high doses and i did go through a very weird  and unpleasant withdrawal fromt he phenibut that lasted a few days but once i stopped taking it and the benzos i started supplementing it with to cut the dosage, and made a stressful move and life change the booze crept back because i didn't have anything else to calm my nerves and my habit got worse than it was before i quit and i don't know why but the supplement stopped working for me after that one-off experience. so... any vets that have tips or tricks for quitting i'd love to hear, if anyone would care for me to elaborate on what has and hasnt worked for me and why, i'd be happy to help as well.

Phenibut is extremely similar to baclofen, which some people use in high doses to eliminate the desire to drink. Dr Olivier Ameisen tested baclofen on himself and wrote a book about high level baclofen treatment as a "cure" for alcoholism (the book is called "The End of My Addiction" and is quite an interesting read - although it doesn't mention phenibut specifically). They are so similar that you might find people with equivalent experiences to yours among the "baclofen community". At the moment this is still an off label use for baclofen. So I suppose you might consider if baclofen is an option for you - but please do your research - I'm not necessarily recommending it! There's loads of good info online and proper scientific journal articles (those concluding it doesn't work generally are lower level baclofen trials).

As an aside... I tried baclofen a few years ago and it worked at high doses (~200mg). I could genuinely take or leave alcohol - have a sip then put down the glass and forget about it. But the high doses of baclofen were making me pass out. I was writing a book at the time and I was regularly passing out on the keyboard. I'd either wake up with a keyboard imprint on my face, or fall off the chair. Inevitably I eventually injured myself quite badly, and ironically everyone assumed it was a drunken accident. It was annoying because I hadn't touched a drop for ages!

For me I couldn't continue with the baclofen but some people get great results. Currently I drink in a moderately controlled way (more controlled than before, but not great). It is an unhealthy level, but stable, and I'm not drinking to the point where I do stupid things (yet - as the AA would add). I control what I have in the house which makes a big difference. Long term I want to quit totally, but I'm not in the right place yet.

Hope the baclofen suggestion sheds some light on your phenibut experience.

[BigGuy82]

I have really changed my drinking over the years but as of recently even couple of beers  a night and I feel foggy for days. Kinda wish there something else to take the edge off at night. I mean I can go without a drink but then my mind tends run and I can't fall asleep. Then any sleeping pills give me the fog the next day. Sometime feels like there's no end to the cycle of anxiety or fog.

What do you consider "sleeping pills"? The z-drugs or ambien?

I find the current sleep meds give me a fogginess the following morning.

Lorazepam (Ativan) does not give me problems in the morning and is used in many hospital settings

for edginess and to induce sleep.  Alcohol also tend to mess up the quality of sleep.

Just OTC stuff. Haven't tried anything else. Actually a sinus infection recently and got prescribed some codeine and it was the best sleep I'd had in a while but was useless the day after until I stopped it.

[dudcat]

Hi there.  I used to think alcohol was the solution for my PTSD and physical injuries, but how wrong I was.  There were great moments of introspection but what a cost...  I became a wreck and realized I needed to focus on my underlying problems, and had to stop.  I am so much healthier now.  Best of luck to you!

[barq2]

I agree it is odd the way phenibut just stopped working. I haven't heard the same with baclofen, but it would be interesting to discover if anyone has had the same there.

How long ago was your phenibut phase? I have heard stories of tolerance growing very rapidly for some people. It was one of the things that worried me about mainstream online shops (including the A-Z bookshop named after a river) selling phenibut. I heard a few stories about people buying it, getting great effects at first, but with no awareness of the addiction that was about to emerge.

[graham3735]

I have heard bupreneferon (subutex) can help rid yourself of alcohol