Going clean & sober

[ohgar]

In a day or two (I can't remember) I will have been clean and sober for one week. I'm doing outpatient rehab which includes three group therapy sessions a week with random testing as well as a requirement to go to three twelve-step meetings a week. It sounds dreadful but it's really great. I never thought I could sober up; I thought I was beyond all hope, that my problems were too great to be fixable. It turns out there are people much worse off than me who are managing to stay clean, as I was bound to figure out.

As an atheist, I've always been turned off by twelve-step programs, but then someone explained to me that "God is sometimes just 'doing the right thing.'" That has helped me a lot, as well as the power of the community of addicts and alcoholics collectively staying clean and sober-- truthfully, I consider the community to be "my higher power."

I don't know for sure that I will be clean and sober forever. I just know that I will be clean and sober today. And tomorrow, I will tell myself the same thing.

[Chino]

I was getting shit hammered 4-7 nights a week for a good year. Then I fell off the balcony. After that I continued for another 9 months or so. I met the girl I am in love with, and now only drink maybe twice a month. It's usuall only 3 or 4 beers, far better than the 18+ I'd regularly kill. Drinking is so tough though because my 3 best friends are alcoholics.

I stopped smoking cigs with the exception of the occasional bum off a buddy if we are kayaking or something.

Keep up the good work!!! 

[PuffyPat]

First off, good for you man! Getting clean and sober is a lot harder than a lot of people want to make it out to be, and I hope that you can stick with it. Personally I haven't gone through it, but my mom has gone through a lot. She's slipped up a couple times, but she's always gotten back on the horse and kept going. Currently I believe that she is almost 6 years sober, and i just have to say that she is truly one of my greatest inspirations because she wasn't afraid to admit that she's made mistakes, and not just that but she has fixed those mistakes and become my one of my biggest role models.

[Gadough]

That's good to hear. Keep it up.

[lonestar]

Hey bud. I just hit 14 months sober yesterday after 30 years of heavy drinking and drugging that almost killed me. I attend meetings 5 to 6 times a week, have worked the steps with a sponsor, and have sponsored people. If you need anything, pm me.

Good luck bud.

[theseoafs]

Good for you, man.  My father was in your shoes until he sobered up ~10 years ago with the help of AA.  It's a great program.

Keep it up.

[The King in Crimson]

Congrats and good luck!

[senecadawg2]

Congrats to everyone who has battled this!

[yeshaberto]

really cool to hear ohgar.
I will have 23 years in October from narcotics, and I can gladly say that it never goes away, but it does get much easier over time

[wkiml]

Congrats ....please use the program ..it works

My first try was 3 years ago in May I made it one year but didn't use the meeting or the therapy I just said I've got this beat. One year to the day I decided to celebrate, how by having a drink  within one weeks times I was in worse condition than the first time around ( when you relapse, you will go end up at a point as if you never quit I was downing a 1.75 of scotch a day) I checked back into a detox and this time around decided to work the program as it should be I can now say I have 26 months of a sober lifestyle. I attend  2-3 meeting a week have worked my steps with a sponsor, have reached out to others

I understand your uncertainity with a higher power, I was there too. I was raised Catholic but had alot of personal issues with the church and its teachings. I used the group therapy and the members of my meetings as my higher power as your are.

Just stick with it, it won't be easy but you have your group at home and a group here if you need it

Don't be afraid to reach out

[Nekov]

Congratulations man. Keep it up 

[rumborak]

I used to smoke 1.5 packs/day for several years, so I can feel somewhat the pain of going cold turkey. My doc told me a while ago that I quit in 2003, which I think means my cancer risk has gone back down to normal level.

rumborak

[jsem]

My doc told me a while ago that I quit in 2003,

I don't understand this sentence.. your doc told you when you quit? what?

[rumborak]

My doc told me a while ago that I quit in 2003,

I don't understand this sentence.. your doc told you when you quit? what?

I had forgotten when exactly I quit, but my PCP had it on file and he pointed it out to me.

rumborak

[CrimsonSunrise]

Well done Bro!!  I'm pulling for you!!

[splent]

Good for you!  Keep it up!

[Ħ]

Nice!

[Tick]

One day at a time!  Feel stronger everyday!

[Ben_Jamin]

Thats good yo. I've been wanting to do this as well, because it got old for me. Same shit every night, being conformed to fit the party. It bugs me because it seems I'm the only one who's really changed, the rest act.the same as they did 5-10 years ago. Its really hard being a caring person, giving in all the time just to not get them disappointed or down. My surroundings don't help much either as all my friends drink, but i'm the only one who's contemplating quitting/slowing down greatly.

[ohgar]

Starting on Step 1 of Narcotics Anonymous. If I'm not feeling like I want to use, I'm feeling like I want to fuck something. My sponsor says that's natural but I shouldn't act on it right now or I'll go back into active addiction. Really? OK. But there is so much tail at some of these meetings! Last night I walked out of there with blue balls just from all the hugs. Fuck!

[lonestar]

I know man. The thing is, teh poon will light up the same pleasure centers of the brain that the drugs do, that's why we try to avoid any strange for the first year. Also avoiding the emotional shit that can go along with it helps too, girls will still be there in a year or so, but if I drink, I know I wont be.

[wkiml]

I know man. The thing is, teh poon will light up the same pleasure centers of the brain that the drugs do, that's why we try to avoid any strange for the first year. Also avoiding the emotional shit that can go along with it helps too, girls will still be there in a year or so, but if I drink, I know I wont be.

ahh the 13th step  was warned about this when I started my meetings ..like Lonestar mentioned avoid relationships if possible  find something else to get the endorphines released I found working out helped

The first impulse is to replace one addiction with another , the idea is to make sure its a healthy one

[lonestar]

I buried myself in music, and ate a lot, which was ok since I lost 25lbs in my first week of sobriety.

[ohgar]

When I was going through puberty I found lifting weights and playing contact sports helped a lot. Guess it's time for me to get a gym membership...

[Chino]

Try geocaching.... tons of fun, good exercise, and it's probably the largest underground hobby I've ever come across.

[Akasha]

I'm 5 days away from being clean for 16 months from heroin, coke, and painkillers. I know how hard it is do. I'm also in physical pain daily and doing everything to avoid taking the Norco 10/325. I sometimes have to give in and take it. Monday I have my 2nd MRI in a few months, this time it will be 7on my cervical spine. They are now looking for pinched nerves in my C7. It is probably going to be unfixable as the injury is now 7 months old. If it is nerve pain there are the meds for it besides the opiates.


I'm pulling for you!

[lonestar]

Hope things work our Akasha, I've known a few people with the chronic pain /opiates dilemma, it can't be easy. Good luck.

[Akasha]

Hope things work our Akasha, I've known a few people with the chronic pain /opiates dilemma, it can't be easy. Good luck.

Thanks RJ. It is a huge dilemma for me. I rather be in pain then take the Norco for it. I sometimes give in and then I feel so guilty. It really sucks being in pain 24/7. I can handle the pain most of time, but it really fucks with my sleep.

[black_biff_stadler]

I lost 25lbs in my first week of sobriety.

They cut your dick off?



















But seriously, were you hospitalized for such a shock to your metabolism?

[lonestar]

I had an almost fatal case of pancreatitis, that's what put me in the hospital, and they wouldn't let me have any food or water for five days, cause I was being poisoned by my own body and anything in my system would have killed me. That combined with the three grand mal seizures I suffered during my alcoholic withdrawal, plus five days of the worst shaking and sweats, combined for the world's most effective diet.

[black_biff_stadler]

Well goddamn. I'm really glad you made it and are obviously doing a whole shitload better these days.

[lonestar]

Well goddamn. I'm really glad you made it and are obviously doing a whole shitload better these days.

So am I.

[slycordinator]

On twelve-step programs:
Absolutely don't get into a "not invented here" syndrome. I've known good, highly-trained addiction specialists that got hired to work in rehab centers only to have the coworkers look at them with disdain since they felt that the only people that can "truly" help addicts are ones who went through it themselves. Just saying that both have their place.

[lonestar]

I have seen that the most important thing is to work some kind of daily program for life, something to keep focused on sobriety, whether it be aa, smart, life ring, avrt or a professional cd recovery program. Someone who does a 30 day rehab and nothing more is probably going to relapse. I work a 12 step plus therapy, cause I'm just that special.

[slycordinator]

And if they do nothing but detox, the relapse is often severe. When you've gotten addicted, a lot of the receptors that the drug attaches to will move inside the neuron so they aren't able to be attached to (hence why it takes more to get the same effect), but when you've detoxed the reverse happens (and all those receptors are back in play). So if the person takes a similar dose to before, they get a massive response.

But I was just saying that combining the therapies isn't necessarily bad. I wasn't suggesting that it's an "AA vs rehab" thing. Both have their place and can be great together.