How Long Have You Been Clean?

[June16]

Just Wondering How Long Some Of You Have Been Clean, And How It Changed Your Life?

[peaceinknowing]

70 days sober today, and living and loving life more and more each day!

[Marte313]

A bit over two years.
I have gained 10 very needed kilograms and don't look like a walking corpse anymore. I have gained trust from society and stopped hurting my family. I don't need to stress anything to get through the day. Now I am just waiting for my health to improve after treatment for HCV and then I will have total freedom =)

[narla]

Realization
I'm a 47 year old woman who has been taking an analgesic / calmative for approx: 20 years. They contain 500mg paracetamol,10mg codeine and 5.1mg doxylamine succinate.I live in Australia and this medication is available over the counter no prescription needed.Along with this I am also been treated for depression & panic attacks with zoloft / sertraline hydrochloride 200mg per day. My doctor had no idea about my codeine addiction,I also used alcohol daily 3 to 4 bottles of spirits a week.                      My reason for doing this to my body was simple I was sexually abused by my brother who was 10 years older than me between the ages of 7 to 10, 20 years ago I told my parents and it was like it was swept under the carpet, I had to choose if I wanted a relationship with my parents or not,I did. So to deal with everything the alcohol started first as a 14 year old it made me forget what had happened as a child, as I got older and had my own children it brought all the memories back. I was desparate to have a girl first I did not want my daughter to have an older brother,I did have a girl first then my son, As the years went on the alcohol wasn't working as well at fogging my brain.I was given codeine for a migraine and that was my start at self medicating by the time I was 47 I was taking 18 to 24 codeine per day plus the alcohol and anti-depressants, now I could sleep. Two weeks ogo I had a blood test my liver has been damaged, hopefully it can be repaired. So now I have to give up the codeine and alcohol which have been a constant in my life for a long time, my doctor is helping me seeing me on a weekly basis and using low doses of diazapam/valium to help with the withdrawal symptoms it is now 2 weeks since I touched either alcohol or codeine it's hard but I'm looking forward to a life without them and enjoying good times with my grandson.

[whitie]

about 95 days off of a 5 year addiction.

where do you start?

well I dont miss near death experiences like all night pill and booze binges, where you wake up in the morning hours gasping for air!

dont miss dropping a G note or so every month.


It was a must needed change for me

[dominosarah]

I am 498 days clean.....death is no longer knocking at my door

[PromisedLand]

right around the same amount of time as my good friend IBkleen...I did have a brief "slip up" in February with the "Great Snowthrower Incident of 2009" when, without further explanation, I had a snow thrower land on top of me and was prescribed 30..I took them as long as I needed them, then tossed the rest out.

how has it changed me?  I'm not emailing my doctor every 5 months asking for a refill and afraid to answer the phone in fear that it's the office calling saying they're cutting me off...I'm not living for the certain times of day I seemed to have built into my body to take them..  I'm not tearing the house apart looking for some when I've runout 2-3 days before I was supposed to.

Do I miss them?  kinda like one would miss cigarettes...we all have certain times of day or events that cause us to want a cigarette (ahem)...I used to like to get a nice buzz on and get in my truck and drive home from work listening to music..but..don't miss that anymore..I work from home...or..when I get home from work pop a few more...so I could deal with the BS that transpires at Casa de' Beargizmo...now I just tell everbody to shut up..no,not really....

I feel much better without them.

Jim

[freebird227]

A few days shy of 9000, but if you were up b4 9:00 this morning you've been clean longer than I have. I also keep in into today.
I came through the doors beaten, battered ,weighing a whooping 98lbs. Unemployed---unenployable incapable of haveing a verbal conversation., death wish, numb,way beyon hopeless,I didn't know hope existed.
   Recovery helped me to see the truth of what being clean had in store for me.Today my life exceeds anything I could have possibly imagined.
I have trials and life concerns gest like everyone else but I know from experience Nothing can make me use dope today.

My worst day clean is better than my best day using...Debra I am an addict

[avisg]

2 years and 4 days and I still take it day by day

[mtgoat911]

5yrs, no dope no matience, i am a different person
recovery has given me a life i never thought possible for someone like me

[IBKleen]

I year, 364 days since my last demon pill.

[10356]

11mo. and 5 days :) I'm no longer actively killing myself.. lesa

[jollyman069]

I have 179 days clean today...."happy dance"....my life has changed 180 degrees..no more depresion, no more prisoner to the bottle of pills....life is wonderful again

[NautyOne]

2 years in October.........I don't know that it really changed my life much, but I can wake up every day and not worry about not feeling well and needing a little white Jump-start to get the day moving.  

The only truly vivid, and powerful memory I have is waking up and not needing that pill.  It was the most liberating, and amazing feeling in the world to me.  I will never forget it and although I don't crave the stuff anymore, I do remind myself of that from time to time.

You can never say never, no matter how you feel.

Nauty..........

[NorcoQueenoftheUniverse]

I'm working on 35 days CLEAN off of an 8-10 /day Norco habit x's 3 years (for 2 back surgeries).  I did it c/t with the help of the Thomas Receipe (without the Valium or Immodium and I hafta say that ....EVERYDAY THAT I DON'T USE IS A BETTER DAY THAN WHEN I DID!!