Question about returning to health?

[Bpyboy]

Hi guys,
how is everyone?
I quit drinking a couple of weeks ago (ok, broke down one day, but for the most
part for like 3 weeks). My appetite is coming around and I'm feeling a little
bit better, but not too great.

How long does it take before your body more or less heals itself?
I've been really trying to eat a lot of healthy stuff and drink a lot of water.
But my stomach is still wasted, and I still get sick sometimes when I wake up.

I'm seeing the doctor early in the week to see if he can check it out.
thanks
john

[rosie readandpost]

> I'm seeing the doctor early in the week to see if he can check it out.
> thanks
> john


great idea john!
lots of us have severe problem with our digestive systems, due to the excessive use alcohol!

i use to use booze to "kill the pain" of my ulcer!
DUH! (i'm a nurse too!)

--
read and post daily, it works!
rosie

say the best...... think the rest.
.........................c. seibold




"Bpyboy" <bpyboy@aol.com> wrote in message news:20030713115523.04108.00000218@mb-m14.aol.com...
> Hi guys,
> how is everyone?
> I quit drinking a couple of weeks ago (ok, broke down one day, but for the most
> part for like 3 weeks). My appetite is coming around and I'm feeling a little
> bit better, but not too great.
>
> How long does it take before your body more or less heals itself?
> I've been really trying to eat a lot of healthy stuff and drink a lot of water.
> But my stomach is still wasted, and I still get sick sometimes when I wake up.
>
> I'm seeing the doctor early in the week to see if he can check it out.
> thanks
> john

[Michael Rapp]

On 13 Jul 2003 15:55:23 GMT, bpyboy@aol.com (Bpyboy) wrote:

>Hi guys,
>how is everyone?
>I quit drinking a couple of weeks ago (ok, broke down one day, but for the most
>part for like 3 weeks). My appetite is coming around and I'm feeling a little
>bit better, but not too great.
>
>How long does it take before your body more or less heals itself?
>I've been really trying to eat a lot of healthy stuff and drink a lot of water.
> But my stomach is still wasted, and I still get sick sometimes when I wake up.
>
>I'm seeing the doctor early in the week to see if he can check it out.
>thanks
>john
--------------------
Hi John, if you see your doc and your liver checks out ok. I shouldn't
worry about the rest of your body, it'll come around just fine (when
reading this statement please bear in mind that I'm neither God nor an
MD ;-))
What I did when I realized that my bod was doing fine by itself I
turned my attention to the hurts and wounds in my mind. Those scars
were a lot deeper than just the bodily wounds and took a lot of time
and effort to "heal". I realized that I could not manage this all by
myself (althoug miracles and exceptions do happen, I was not willing
to bet my future life on it). Whatever kind of help you want to seek
is up to you, for me it was four months of stationary therapy and then
a self help group to go along with it.
For me, the choice of the self- help group was bitchy: it had to
complement my therapy and I was not supposed to feel comfortable in
it.
In my understanding, "comfortable" is sitting in a circle, donut and
coffee in hand and small talk. That's not a self help group. On the
other hand, we're not sourly sitting around and blame ourselves all
the time, a sessioned guilt trip. Laughter and jokes are ok, but tough
questioning and brutal honesty, too. That's the part I mean with
"uncomfortable"
Michael.

[Bpyboy]

thanks,
I'm just not drinking, and you're right, the scars that probably caused all
this misery to begin with are MUCH deeper. working with some therapists on
that too. but it's one of those deals where they are leary of any sort of
medical treatment until the booze is gone, and of course, i'm leary of not
drinking until my mind and thoughts are straightened out a little. It's one of
those vicious cycles that I need to break, and it's been a real bear, but not
drinking was the first and hopefully most difficult step.

I have a good sponsor, and you're right about things being a bit
"uncomfortable". Last time I talked with my shrink, she said "you look a
little nervous" and I thought "I'm talking to a fucking psychiatrist! How is
that SUPPOSED to make me feel?"

but i'm getting over that too. burrying a couple of hatchet and old battles
and other emotional baggage that is only weighing me down.

Still, I wish this would hurry up. they checked out my blood after I
confessed to the drinking, and they seemed to think it was ok, that with proper
hydration and food it would be fine. I think years of that crap maybe just
really wore me out and aged me prematurely.
but with food and some excersise and plenty of fluids, it is an enormous step
on the road to health. (now if I could just give up smoking too?)

anyways, i'll talk with the good doctor about all this crap, but he's never
been through it, and a lot of you guys have, so there is always a strange sense
of trust and respect.

thanks for the advice though, I'll keep it in mind.

talk later
john

[Moonraker]

"Bpyboy" <bpyboy@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20030713205151.24714.00000394@mb-m01.aol.com...
> thanks,
> I'm just not drinking, and you're right, the scars that probably caused
all
> this misery to begin with are MUCH deeper. working with some therapists
on
> that too. but it's one of those deals where they are leary of any sort of
> medical treatment until the booze is gone,

Sounds like the docs are not wanting to make things worse....

and of course, i'm leary of not
> drinking until my mind and thoughts are straightened out a little.

Of course, alcohol has been your "friend" and kept your mind clear all
along. Wouldn't want to stop now, would we? ;>)

> but not
> drinking was the first and hopefully most difficult step.

It is....

Last time I talked with my shrink, she said "you look a
> little nervous" and I thought "I'm talking to a fucking psychiatrist!
How is
> that SUPPOSED to make me feel?"
>

How do you think she would have reacted had you said that to her? Probably
fell off her chair laughing?


> Still, I wish this would hurry up.

We all did (and do)

>they checked out my blood after I
> confessed to the drinking, and they seemed to think it was ok, that with
proper
> hydration and food it would be fine.

Did they say anything about taking a potent multi-vitamin? They told me
to...


>I think years of that crap maybe just
> really wore me out and aged me prematurely.
> but with food and some excersise and plenty of fluids, it is an enormous
step
> on the road to health. (now if I could just give up smoking too?)

Be good to yourself. Good luck..

>
> anyways, i'll talk with the good doctor about all this crap, but he's
never
> been through it, and a lot of you guys have, so there is always a strange
sense
> of trust and respect.

Unfortunately, all too true of the medical profession.

>
> thanks for the advice though, I'll keep it in mind.
>
> talk later
> john

[Bpyboy]

I didn't mean to imply that drinking "straightened my thoughts out"--it just
really dulled them so they didn't SEEM too daunting. Then my PHYSICAL health
started to go completely to hell, and so drinking to get over anxiety problems
that are caused by physical discomfort/illness became unbearable (that only
took like 2 years to figure out).

and the lying and trying to "out smart" the doctors, and drinking in the garage
late at night so my fiance wouldn't know...... It's a story I'm sure many of
you know about.

it's just been about a month of having to conciously re-work lifestyle habits.
Eating properly, drinking enough water, .... The whole thing that I was famous
for not doing.

My doctor is actually quite good. when I inquired about sleeping medication
(prior to confessing to the drinking) he gave me some stuff. and anti
depressants. And i got really freaked out one day, and it sort of dawned on me
"should you REALLY be sucking down antidepressants with a can of beer?"

it reminds me of that old Deep Purple tune "highway star" where the verse goes
"we were pounding all the whiskey just to steady our brains 'cause there was no
tequila"

when you're usually REALLY high wired (just naturally, no drugs or anything),
the beers went through a (albeit short) phase where things calmed down a bit
and I could concentrate on things, but unfortunately it would almost never
stop until total anihilation. Then it was back to a pot of coffee to wake up
(during the week), or a couple of bloody mary's on the weekends to "take care
of it".

I thought, the first couple of days that I didn't drink that I missed those
days. but now have been spending a lot of time getting my head around the fact
that I miss the KID who could (at least physically) handle that sort of thing.
The fact that i had to worry about student loans.......

I don't know what happened, but it just seemed really important to put my shit
back together, and attempts to just "slow down" with the beers would only work
for a couple days, then it was WAY back up to where it was. So drinking had to
go--the only way to put it all back together.

anyways, my doctor seems to think that i have an anxiety disorder, and judging
from a family history, it's probably a safe bet.
still, anyone who's comfortable going to the doctor should have to go to the
shrink! if that doesn't make you nervous (come on, a LITTLE nervous?) is
seriously crazy. I don't like it, but have tried to be as honest with her as
I can. And the honesty itself seems more theraputic than the freaking fortune
the appointments cost.

thanks again guys,
I gotta run and have some dinner
john

ps, I DID ask her "I'm talking to a fucking psychiatrist, how am I SUPPOSED to
feel"
honestly, it cleared the air, at least on my end. She's a shrink, all sorts of
crazies come by her, i'm sure it isn't something she hasn't heard before. It
made me feel better, and for the money it's costing, that's cool with me.

[Moonraker]

"Bpyboy" <bpyboy@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20030713224852.03088.00000239@mb-m27.aol.com...
> >
> My doctor is actually quite good. when I inquired about sleeping
medication
> (prior to confessing to the drinking) he gave me some stuff. and anti
> depressants. And i got really freaked out one day, and it sort of dawned
on me
> "should you REALLY be sucking down antidepressants with a can of beer?"
>
Reminds me of a visit to the doctor before I stopped drinking. He'd given
me some Prozac (or some such drug) a month earlier. He wanted to know how I
was doing with the drug. I told him it was OK, that I liked the effect it
was giving me, but that it was giving me diarrhea, badly. He told me that
diarrhea wasn't a known side-effect of that drug. Do you suppose if I had
told him about the quart of vodka I was washing them down with, he might
have understood?

[Plug]

"> "Bpyboy" <bpyboy@aol.com> wrote in message
> news:20030713205151.24714.00000394@mb-m01.aol.com...
>
> Last time I talked with my shrink, she said "you look a
> > little nervous" and I thought "I'm talking to a fucking psychiatrist!
> How is
> > that SUPPOSED to make me feel?"
> >
When I go for my smear test, the doctor normally says, with cold, large
metal implement in hand: "Now just relax". I went to my own doctor last
week and I said "You aren't going to ask me to relax are you?" "Good
heavens, no" he said, "How can you relax, it's going to be far too painful!
" I almost couldn't keep still for laughing.
Deb/Bubba

[rosie readandpost]

> When I go for my smear test, the doctor normally says, with cold, large
> metal implement in hand: "Now just relax".

LOL!
its that time of year for me also!
:)

thanks for the smile, i will remember this!

[Dan Ballance]

On 13 Jul 2003 17:48:35 GMT, bpyboy@aol.com (Bpyboy) wrote:

>well, my doctor was amazed that I was having
>all these "old man problems" at the ripe age of 27!

hooray! another alcoholic my age - nice to meet you

dan ;-)

[Dan Ballance]

On 14 Jul 2003 02:48:52 GMT, bpyboy@aol.com (Bpyboy) wrote:

>My doctor is actually quite good. when I inquired about sleeping medication
>(prior to confessing to the drinking) he gave me some stuff. and anti
>depressants. And i got really freaked out one day, and it sort of dawned on me
>"should you REALLY be sucking down antidepressants with a can of beer?"

LOL! i know that one.


>anyways, my doctor seems to think that i have an anxiety disorder, and judging
>from a family history, it's probably a safe bet.

snap - i have social anxiety disorder and depression. That's the main
problem for me when I sober up. I take a look at what's goin on in my
head and I don't really like it.

have you asked about cognitive behavioural therapy? I realise its
early days for you yet, but it has a high success rate in the
treatment of anxiety disorders. Its helping me. Not a cure - but it
helps.

take care,
dan