Other important issues

I don’t know what type of pain you are having, but one of the reasons I drank was to alleviate pain. My Dr told me I had arthritis and there was nothing much that could be done for it. It got to the point where I could not lift my arms above my shoulders and I could not climb stairs. I fell on the dock stepping up out of my boat, so I stopped taking it out. The pain of walking caused me to limp terribly. I couldn’t lift myself out of a tub, so I couldn’t take hot baths anymore to relax and sooth the pain. I was pretty much a mess, and the only time I didn’t hurt so bad was when I was drinking or heavily medicated. I was getting to the point where I thought I was going to have to get a three wheel motorcycle so I could hold it up.

By the time I found MWO, I was drinking an enormous amount of alcohol every day and the pain was not going away until I passed out. Then it seemed even worse in the morning so I would take large doses of pain medication. My knees would give off heat like little furnaces, and swell up. I decided I had to do something, so working through the program I was able to quit drinking, and amazingly, my joint pain disappeared when I quit poisoning myself with alcohol. It wasn’t immediate, but it has now almost completely gone away.

I don’t know your circumstances; your pain may be much more severe. I wish for you this could work out as well as it has for me.

Good luck and God Bless

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MDBiker

I started the MWO program on Jan 19th and it's working! I do the whole program with very little modification.

AllOne -- Like it a lot; Supps -- Take all in the book (same dosage & brands);
Topa -- No side affects until 75/100 mg; then mild cog/fog, but I'm ok with it.
Exercise -- Yep, 4/5 times week (did that before);
Diet - Had terrible pasta cravings first 2 weeks, finally gone; Eating pretty well. Weight: lost 5 Lbs
CDs -- modified to accommodate my travel; I think this is an important part of the program.

My goal is Moderation. I drink 2 glasses of wine now on Fri, Sat & Sun. I no longer drink during the week (exception special occasions). Just a choice I've made for now.

Before MWO, a typical week would be: 3-5 glasses of wine Mon-Fri, & Sat/Sun, 4-6 beers in the afternoon, followed by 4-5 glasses of wine at night. I drank everyday.

I have to admit I can hardly believe this ... my husband can hardly believe this. Do I get cravings sometimes? Yes. But, I remember what some of the other more experienced with MWO have said, "They work through it". So, I work through it. I just tell myself, "That's not like me".

Thank you RJ!!! This program was a perfect fit for me. (Somehow, thank you just doesn't seem to be enough).

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gracie

Breaking the habit is tough. I always associated drinking with being at home, being bored. So I keep busy with the computer now and drink coffee.
I found an online game site called Pogo, very addicting to go along with my addicting personality. lol.
Also the hypno Cd really helps. I added in the suggestion part that I do not want to drink and that when ever I see a certain item I will not think of drinking or want to drink...seems to be working more and more. I wish I had more energy so I could do some cleaning and organizing which my house could really use, but I don't seem to have alot as of yet. My kids get home from school around 3:30 and I spend alot more time with them...that is a plus. I think just the more our mind is off of drinking the better.
And Becca I also had tonic water with lime last night at a Superbowl party and found it to be refreshing and helpful when others were drinking and I was sticking to moderation. These are just a few that have helped me.

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ttfme

Do you think you might be have withdrawl symptoms? I think someone listed them on the board and some of what you feeling seems to match closesly.


Here are some I pulled off the web:

Mild to moderate psychological symptoms:
Feeling of jumpiness or nervousness
Feeling of shakiness
Anxiety
Irritability or easily excited
Emotional volatility, rapid emotional changes
Depression
Fatigue
Difficulty with thinking clearly
Bad dreams


Mild to moderate physical symptoms:
Headache - general, pulsating
Sweating, especially the palms of the hands or the face
Nausea
Vomiting
Loss of appetite
Insomnia, sleeping difficulty
Paleness
Rapid heart rate (palpitations)
Eyes, pupils different size (enlarged, dilated pupils)
Skin, clammy
Abnormal movements
Tremor of the hands
Involuntary, abnormal movements of the eyelids


Severe symptoms:
A state of confusion and hallucinations (visual) -- known as delirium tremens
Agitation
Fever
Convulsions
"Black outs" -- when the person forgets what happened during the drinking episode

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Nina328

Here's some good news (formerly included in our research link but somehow accidentally deleted so I'll add back in.) I was reminded of it when reading this thread:

A 2004 Chappel Hill study indicates a mere *week* of abstinence resulted in an explosion of brain cell development. According to the report, "In the new study, senior co-author Crews and co-author Nixon found inhibition of neurogenesis, or brain cell development, during alcohol dependency, followed by a pronounced increase in new neuron formation in the hippocampus within four-to-five weeks of abstinence. This included a twofold burst in brain cell proliferation at day seven of abstinence."

Okay, the study subjects were adult rats, but this team was the same one to demonstrate the detrimental affects of alcohol on rat brains two years earlier. As the press release states, "This brain region is important for learning and memory--in animals and humans--and is linked to psychiatric disorders, particularly depression."

This exciting work contradicts the long held view that humans have a "fixed number of brain cells" for life. It is especially exciting for drinkers, who can regain cognitive function by quitting drinking or slowing down substantially.

It's also interesting the article mentions increased physical activity like running promotes neurogenesis--another reason to keep at that 20 to 30 minutes three times a week! The full article is here.

TBI poses a double whammy for those who drink, so I think this is particularly encouraging.

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Mwojewell