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I can't stop drinking

Posted , 7 users are following.

rowena12066
rowena12066

I am addicted to alcohol, I want to stop but I am finding it difficult. I have tried the recovery partnership and AA but they are not helping me with my cravings. When I talk to my key worker he makes it sound that it's easy to say no but it's not. He says create new rituals and distractions but I can't do it, I've tried believe me! What can I do and what actually works?

0 likes, 5 replies

5 Replies

  • liz05654
    liz05654 rowena12066

    Posted

    Nothing can make you stop unless you want to. I'd say there is no pill in the world that you can take that will make you stop drinking, but apparently ther is. Namalfene? I've not tried it myself but some people on this forum have. Maybe they can help you?

     

  • rowena12066
    rowena12066

    Posted

    Do you have problems with alcohol?
  • liz05654
    liz05654 rowena12066

    Posted

    Oh yes. Terrible problems. You can probably follow my messages on here somehow,so you will see the full journey.

    To cut a very long story short, I was a total alcoholic from about 2009 until 2012. I drank all the time. 24/7. Many people, family and friends, told me I had a problem but I didn't want to believe them or even acknowledge it. It was in response to life occurrences. I.e rape, abuse, physical violence etc.

    i only gave up after I'd been on a 2 week binge and drank about 196 bottles of wine. I gave up cold turkey. Not advisable. As is suffered terribly. I couldn't walk, couldn't talk, couldn't get up the stairs to the bathroom so wore incontinence pants! And I vomited all the time. From my eyes, ears, mouth etc. it was awful. I could have died. In some ways I wish I had. 

    I was completely teetotal for about  2 years but then one day, the sun was shining, I was sat in the garden, and my family were drinking. 

    And the rest is history. I can go weeks/ months without a drink, but occasionally the urge takes over. I can't stop myself. Impish I could.

    do you know what the worst thing is????

    i can go into a shop, stand in front of a fridge and look at all the bottles of wine.

    i will stand there, and say to myself "you don't want to do this, you are stronger than this, it will only make you feel and look like sh*t," I can do that for at least half an hour, but the booze always rings out. Always wins. Always 

  • sue08
    sue08 rowena12066

    Posted

    When you are craving try having something sweet. booze is full of sugar, sometimes thats what we crave and mistake it for alcohol..

    Best of luck to you and YOU CAN DO IT smile

  • sophie02444
    sophie02444 rowena12066

    Posted

    Hi Rowena,

    Just a small message of hope.  What worked for me was an old medication called baclofene (NOT namalfene).  It just stopped the cravings. You know, these constant overwhelming thoughts that you have to get a drink.  When I say stop, I mean : stop. When I reached the right dose I went back to when I was 15 , tasted a beer and thought that soda was much better.

    The double blind vs placebo definite (French) study called bacloville (funded by the French NHS) will be published end of the year. The results are unknown of course.

    So, if the results are positive and what happened to me was not a placebo effect (placebo or not I take it, for the last 2 years, my average drinking is 0,7 unit a day), it will come your way.

    Until then, you need to be strong and keep you drinking to a minimum the best you can.

    All my love and support in your fight against this brain disease

    Vanessa

    PS depending of the person, high dose of this medication may be required so I would totally advise AGAINST trying it on your own. Mainly because, should you need a high dose, when and how much during the day, may be tricky to assess and you could ruin your chances of making it worked.

    PPS Inside health on BBC 4 radio had a patient testimony of how baclofen works for him.

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