100+ days sober

I take it that you are under regular medication review by a psychiatrist?

 

Just FYI, Klonopin is a benzo. I too, hope that you've got a psychiatrist to review your meds on a regular basis. I don't say this to be negative, but the addiction risk of most benzos is such that you really gotta make sure you're keeping your eyes out for falling into the trap of replacing addictions. I'm quite sure Nexxo is a lot more well qualified to talk about that stuff though.

Out of interest, did you find you experienced many stomach troubles after you stopped? Obviously alcohol wrecks stomachs, so I'm curious if you experienced a lot of pain after you stopped? Also, have you given exercise a go? It's practically clichéd it's spouted so much these days, but it really does just make everything better.

Once again, fantastic news to get to 50 days! I hope you've got your next target, 60, 75, 100, whatever, just keep on pushing toward the next target! Sure does free up lots of time doesn't it?

 

Benzo's are tricky because they do not only carry an addiction risk, but taking them for more than a month can cause them to produce the symptoms that you took them for in the first place. Of course, they also have withdrawal symptoms so reduce them only under supervision of a psychiatrist, and expect to feel a little bit rough while doing so. Ideally, you should see a psychiatrist for medication review at least every 3 months.

Exercise is great. Apart from increasing fitness and energy, it helps stabilise the blood sugar management that was borked by the alcohol abuse (blood sugar swings can result in physical and psychological symptoms similar to those in anxiety and depression, and your particular combination of drugs can affect blood sugar regulation as an interaction effect). Exercise also lifts and stabilises mood.

Another thing that is a must is to eat regular, healthy(!) meals. Three times a day, on the clock, regardless of whether you feel hungry or not. Your stomach is not a reliable counsel at the moment. Don't hesitate to ask a nutritional expert for advice. Also keep regular bedtimes and getting up times, whether you feel tired or not.

Your body has been all over the place for a long time, so the first steps to self-regulation is to start regulating your body.

 

Booze does this?

 

Okay, so I do take a benzo, lol. I do see a psych doc every couple of months. She is very good at medicine as this concoction is the best I have ever had. I take only 0.5mg of Klonopin daily. Sometimes I take an extra if I am overly anxious. Never really had stomach issues. I am not much for exercise. I do bike and plan to more, but its 113F with the heat index today and has been for 2 weeks with really no relief in site. Maybe when it cools down a bit and my daughter goes back to daycare. Thanks for the replies again, it means a lot to me.

 

Oh, aye. I know this comes as a shock to you Scotts ( ), but alcohol is very similar to sugar as far as the body is concerned. It also interferes with all three sources of glucose (from the foods that we eat, the breakdown of the glucose stored in our muscles, glycogen, and production from other nutrients in the body) and with the hormones insulin and glucagon needed to maintain healthy blood sugar levels. Most alcoholic drinks also contain large quantities of carbohydrates.

Heavy drinkers deplete their glycogen stores within a few hours when their diet does not provide a sufficient amount of carbohydrates. Over time, excessive alcohol consumption can decrease the effectiveness of insulin, resulting in high blood sugar levels. Studies show that 45% to 70% of people with alcoholic liver disease had either glucose intolerance or diabetes type II.

 

Would this be a contributing factor the the ease with which regular heavy drinking causes people to gain weight?

If it works for you, you're comfortable on 'em, and you've got a psychiatrist prescribing, keep that stuff up! As for exercise, really, going for a run every couple of days or a flat our cycle really does make life just better. It's not just the feeling healthier part, ones mental state is immensely improved, in my experience.

 

Totally. Of course when the liver gets overloaded by alcohol and cannot process other toxins, these pile up in fluid in the abdominal cavity, so that also distends the belly.

 

Sorry, but the chemist in me can't process the word "toxins" anymore, what is it that piles up in the abdominal cavity? I fully believe the belly distention thing, I'm just curious about the cause.

 

Come over to the bike thread in GD if you want any cycling based advice, finding a trail to take the little 'un out with you can be a nice way to spend a morning before it gets too hot and you don't even notice you're getting the exercise.

 

Basically everything that the liver normally breaks down for secretion (from insulin to bilirubin to ammonia to anything that is a metabolic waste product or foreign substance) but can't because huge amounts of alcohol has overloaded it.

 

Glad to hear you're on the 50th straight and narrow day growing stronger. I'm happy for you, been a shitty day and reading this made it all feel much better.

Keep it up, there's no return now. And that's a good thing.


Forza!

 

Good stuff, man.

Always nice to see willpower exercised the right way!

Best of luck ditching all the vices you want to ditch - Keep us posted!

 

Dude, this is epic win. Congrats!

 

Fantastic news! Keep going! See you at day 100!

 

Congratulations on your achievement so far! My partner bought me a fitbit to aid my current weightloss and exercise regime. I thought it was an expensive gimmick but it really has been a great help. It's basically a fancy pedometer linked to a website but it is a great motivator to exercise more. I would highly recommend it.

 

That's looks pretty awesome. Expensive, but awesome. How well does it live up to all the functions it claims?

 

Glad to hear you're still going strong

 

It does them all really well but the sleep quality function is pretty useless. It's not monitoring your heart rate, only if your still or moving around but I did it for a week and I have a remarkably consistent sleep pattern. Testing it out at work it is very accurate in regards to stairs climbed plus it knows if you've taken the lift. If your particularly anal about it's accuracy you can record your time over a set distance on level ground (a smart phone "track my run" GPS app is deal for this) look at how many steps you've taken and work out your exact stride length.

As a subtle motivator to get more exercise I have found it to be very effective. I now nearly always take the stairs unless i'm carrying something heavy, will walk to the shops where I probably would have driven and if I've been sat at my desk for a long time at work I will go for a walk around the building. I have a daily target of 10,000 steps and if I haven't achieved it during the day I will go for a walk in the evening to hit my target regardless of the weather.

I also use a website called My Fitness Pal (MFP) for tracking my calorie intake as it has a better food database than fitbit. The fitbit and MFP sync to each other so if i'm particularly active MFP will up my calorie allowance for the day to compensate. 10kg's lost so far and I've gone from 36" waist to a 34" which is now beginning to get quite loose. I will personally attest to the positive side effects of losing weight and regular exercise. I'm definetly more motivated, upbeat and sleep a lot better.

 

Congratz on day 50 glad to hear that your doing well. Keep setting small goals for your self that are manageable and you'll keep meeting them.