New Member

[bloggy]

Hello Everybody-

I just want to introduce myself- I actually bought the MWO book and vitamins, Topamax a few years ago- but I did not like the way the Topamax made me feel, and gave up after a few days.

I recently came across the website again and have decided to give it another go.

My drinking has reached terrible depths since my dad died of cancer two years ago. Although I did manage to go AF for 3 weeks in May after a good friend died from alcohol abuse aged 48. My drinking has since crept up again to it's previous level, or should I say sunk to it's previous depth.

The last week has been another down time because a week ago yet another friend died- he was also a heavy drinker, although he died after a long illness, which may not have been caused by his drinking but certainly was not helped.

I began using EFT for it a few weeks ago, which I have found to be helpful, so I am planning on an AF day tomorrow, beginning by rereading the book- I guess I will have to wait for the supplements, as the Kudzu I can buy locally probably isnt the real deal.

I have some in powder form from the local health shop, but i think it is designed for cooking. Any advice there would be appreciated as I live in Spain, and would probably not receive my order for about 10 days.

[paula]

New Member

Hi Marbella and welcome,
I'm sure you will find lots of support, as I have on this site. I took Topa to begin with,
but now take Kudzu and L glutamine, which seem to help, not sure what EFT is, you
must educate me on that one.! I think the most important step is your frame of mind
and positive attitude, which you appear to have. The kudzu I have is in powder form in
capsules, I take 2 x 500mg caps 3 times a day, I do believe it is used in cooking.
Best of luck. Paula.

[Java]

New Member

Welcome, I as well don;t know what EFT is, do tell...

[Guest]

New Member

Hi marbella,
Welcome back to M.W.O.
Wishing you much success this time around.

Much love,

Starlight Impress x

[Hannah]

New Member

Welcome, Marbella. Hope you can get the help you need here this time around. Good luck, keep posting and reading. Lots of good people here.

[ChangeAgent]

New Member

Welcome Marbella! I use EFT too, but it's only one of the things in my tool box.

For anyone interested, it stands for Emotional Freedom Technique and you can Google it. I thought at first it sounded woo-woo, actually I still think it sounds a little woo-woo, but it has helped. So I use it.

[bloggy]

New Member

Thank you everybody for the welcomes!

EFT is 'a kind of acupuncture without the needles' and works by balancing the meridian points and therefore the energy in our bodies- practitioners describe it as 'if you have a chink in your armour, it can help to smooth it out'.

I have recently found it to be very helpful- not only with addictions it can be used for a number of other disorders both mental and physical or a combination of both.

It is quite time consuming to get exact directions of the websites without actually seeing it in action- if anyone would like I could put togeher a short pdf expalining how I got the best results for alcohol abuse- when I first tried it, I got no results at all, it took me about a year and reading many resourses before I worked it out:-)

As Changeagent said it may not work alone, but as an extra tool it is certainly helpful, not only for te drinking but for underlying reasons, such as boredom, lonliness, feeling one DESERVES a drink at the end the day's work (a big one for me- I actually stopped that with EFT but just began drinking at different times instead)

The most important website, I feel, is emofree.com

It is something you can do by yourself or or contact a practitioner- there is a worldwide list of practitioners on the site.

[Mags]

New Member

Welcome Marbella
What a lovely name Marbella is.
I guess today is your first AF day. I am at home working so will check in often. Please feel free to post in if you need anything or need anyone to talk to. Sometimes day one is a little rough.
I am so happy you came back to MWO. I hope you'll find what you need here. We would love to help you. Please get the supplements. If you have kudzu in powder form for cooking, that is probably kuzu (also known as kudzu) which is a poweder made form the root of the Japanese kudzu plant - also called Japanese arrowroot. It is used in Japanese cooking as a thickening agent and has medicinal properties as a calming agent and to settle the stomach. It is not a substitute for the kudzu that is sold on this website so you should probably just buy some L=glutamine locally and wait for the kudzu to arrive from the health store at MWO. I wouldn't count on anything else. I know the stuff RJ sells here works very well.
Sorry that was long-winded. Once again welcome aboard. Let us know if you need anything.
Good luck today - let us know how you do.
:welcome:

[bloggy]

New Member

Thanks so much Mags-

I have L- Glutamine, I took 2 lots of 1000 mg with 25 mg Topamax and 2 doses of the powder kudzu, but I did imagine the kudzu was not likely to be the real thing.

I have done quite a few AF days recently, but other than the 3 week run in May- I don't get beyond the 1 or 2 day mark.

My excuse is my work- I work long hours in the middle of a busy tourist resort with mainly under 20s who can be very rude and after a few hours of it I become extremely bad tempered and irritable. This is more an excuse than a reason I guess, but a beer or two does seem to take the edge of it a bit. Then recently with my friend dying the beer or two were beginning in the morning and continuing steadily throughout the day. I was drunk at his funeral, and am not feeling very proud of myself at the moment.


I really do need to do at least 30 days abs- even if only to get some self esteem back, then decide if I could maybe go the moderation route or if I should abstain altogether. I suspect given my past history I may have to abstain altogether.

Again, Thank you everyone for your support, I hope you are all doing well today.

[Mags]

New Member

Sounds like you're off to a great start. I recently started taking GABA (gamma amino butyric acid) and I am not a big believer in supplements at all - usually I feel no difference. But I found the GABA is fabulous for me for relieving anxiety, one of my biggest problems. My anxiety is work-related. I take 500 mg GABA in the morning and 500 mg at night before I go to bed. I really think it helps the anxiety thing with work go way down. You might like to give it a try.
Anyhow, glad you are with us and hanging in there.
I'm trying to remember - are you in Spain - or am I crazy?

[bloggy]

New Member

Yes I am in Spain, hence the busy tourist resort thing.

The season comes to an end around mid October, so I think if i can hang it out until then, which will probably be about the time the kudzu arrives I should be OK- (I found when I finally successfully gave up smoking after many attempts) It was after a big change of routine, where I was able to say I was no longer used to doing the same thing at the same time of the day, so if I can moderate I will be happy.

Even just on 25 mg on Topamax a day I do not like the feeling i get about an hour after taking it- I will certainly be at the health store tomorrow to see if they have any Gamma Amino Butyric Acid. I need any help I can get:thanks:

[ChangeAgent]

New Member

I'm bumping this up because today I discovered that the link for EFT is listed right here on the MWO site. On the left side of the home page click on Sites Worth Visiting

marbella;195781 wrote: Thank you everybody for the welcomes!

EFT is 'a kind of acupuncture without the needles' and works by balancing the meridian points and therefore the energy in our bodies- practitioners describe it as 'if you have a chink in your armour, it can help to smooth it out'.

I have recently found it to be very helpful- not only with addictions it can be used for a number of other disorders both mental and physical or a combination of both.

It is quite time consuming to get exact directions of the websites without actually seeing it in action- if anyone would like I could put togeher a short pdf expalining how I got the best results for alcohol abuse- when I first tried it, I got no results at all, it took me about a year and reading many resourses before I worked it out:-)

As Changeagent said it may not work alone, but as an extra tool it is certainly helpful, not only for te drinking but for underlying reasons, such as boredom, lonliness, feeling one DESERVES a drink at the end the day's work (a big one for me- I actually stopped that with EFT but just began drinking at different times instead)

The most important website, I feel, is emofree.com

It is something you can do by yourself or or contact a practitioner- there is a worldwide list of practitioners on the site.

[BabyGirl]

New Member

I'm new too!

Hi Marbella,

I'm new too! It sounds as if you have been through alot lately -- so sorry about your friend.

Let's keep an eye on each other! I was amazed by the support so many people have offered! Take Care! Baby

[MorningGirl]

New Member

I KNOW HOW HARD THIS IS, BUT WE HAVE TO STAY COMITTED. AND I BELIEVE AS LONG AS WE HAVE ONE ANOTHER TO TALK TO, IT MAY HELP GREATLY. MAY I ASK WHAT YOUR SIDE AFFECTS YOU EXPERIENCED WITH THE TOPOMAX? OR ANYONE ELSE WHO MAY KJNOW. THANK YOU!

[bloggy]

New Member

Hi Everyone,

I'm not really new anymore- I think I've been here about three weeks now, but my introductory thread re-emerged!

My side effects with the Topamax were blurred vision- and a kind of discomfort around the eyes- now don't ask me if some of this could have been in my head, because I bought my Topamax online, and the instructions inside warned me if this were to happen to stop taking it. I am the sort of person who can't really comfortably take any sort of meds, even aspirin make me sick, so I doubt my reaction is typical.

I have wondered in the past if this is because my liver has had to work so hard with the alcohol over the years that it can't take processing anything more, as when I was younger taking meds was not a problem.

There is another forum discussing the effects of the meds a bit further down- as I say, I doubt my reaction is typical. But there are quite a few people here who like me are taking the supplements without the medication, and are finding them alone to be very helpful.