Just went to my 1st meeting!!!

[Real180]

Well, my friend took me to a meeting it was for AA but it was a meeting...Alcohol has never been a problem for me.. I'm just not a big drinker... I do drink and maybe through this journey I will eliminate drinking but the pills are my problem for all the obvious reasons... Anyway, it was a awesome and liberating experience!!! Though opiates are not really discussed I listened and replaced Alcohol with pills and was able to see what good looks like -- meaning hearing the story of people being sober a day up to 50 years was amazing... Tonight I am going to an NA meeting as I think I will be able to relate a bit better because some old timers at the AA meeting seemed to be uncomfortable with my pill admission as opposed to alcohol when I spoke but My friend (as well as 30 other people) said not to worry about that and I won't... Anyway, great day and I'll let you know how the NA meeting went...  

[Lainemoss]

Woo hoo!!! Na rocks! It's a great thing. I would say have fun, but that's not really what that's for. But have a "clean and clear" time. :)

[Pat1956100]

Congrats on that HUGE step.
It sounds like you have met some wonderful people that are going to support you.
Let us know how the N/A meeting goes if you can.

Keep rocking it!!!

[toothfairie]

Way to go on the meeting!!  you are being proactive in your recovery and that is half the battle!!  congrats!!  

[VICourageous]

Good for you!! I go to both..AA does have a lot of cross addiction but they mainly focus on the booze..BUT in the long run it is all the same principle. I have not had a drink in over 9 years and I just Love my AA. I seem to be focusing more toward those meetings then NA lately..Both are good. Keep it up!! It works if you work it.
Bless

[OpenMind24hours]

Fantastic!!! You made a great first step! Don't give the old timers a second thought. The only requirement is the desire to stop drinking in AA. I started out in AA. I kept saying I'm "cross-addicted" or I'm a "recovering Hippy" for years. In this day and age alcohol is just another highly addictive drug.  Now I go to NA for the most part, which also covers my alcohol addiction. But it really doesn't matter. We're powerless over a substance and it's made our life unmanageable. When that admission is made half the battle is won. You're on your way to comprehending the word serenity and knowing real peace. Congratulations!

[fh_rocks]

I'm not a big drinker either but enjoy a drink at social events etc. Just a heads up, and without sparking up a huge debate, because to me it's a matter of opinion, NA does indeed consider alcohol as a drug. You will most likely be introduced to the "How it Works" sheet which includes at the bottom...

"Thinking of alcohol as different from other drugs has caused
a great many addicts to relapse. Before we came to NA, many
of us viewed alcohol separately, but we cannot afford to be
confused about this. Alcohol is a drug. We are people with the
disease of addiction who must abstain from all drugs in order
to recover."

I say go with the buffet approach. Take what you need and what works and leave the rest. There are tons of tools that work in recovery but there is no common denominator since everyone is different.

[Real180]

Thanks all! That's exactly what my friend and the other people in the meeting said too --I didn't say this in my original post but the moderator really chopped my head off when I said pills were my true addictions... My friend was very pissed at the moderator but we both had a real good laugh about it after -- imagine my first meeting ever and I stand up all nervous say my thing and then I get reprimanded in front of 50 people that this is a closed meeting for alcoholics... I have to say it was funny and didn't ruin the experience at all so nobody should be afraid from my post... Just use the cross addicted line..well I'm off to the NA meeting now.. I'll keep you all posted

[clean_in_ks]

GOOD FOR YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  

Though the "substance" may differ......nothing else matters.

Opiates have been the absolute HARDEST thing I have ever "laid down" in my life.  Substituting the word "alcohol" for "opiates" works for me....and the AA Big Book is full of gems and lessons and stories.  The NA Basic Text is too.....they both have significance and meaning.  We find exactly what we are looking for.......

[Kbusymom]

Ah, it was a closed AA meeting; that's why the moderator said something.  If you go to open AA meetings it won't be an issue.  People are a lot more stringent in closed meetings.  Fortunately, there are usually a lot more open meetings than closed ones.  

[Pat1956100]

Oh wow.  I think I would have fainted, lol.
Good for you for laughing about it and staying strong.
Thanks for sharing and I love reading about your experiences with A/A and N/A.
Please keep sharing.

[clean_in_ks]

Seems an appro time to post this about "Myths of Addiction"...(#4 regarding cross addiction...those who say if you are addicted to one drug you absolutely WILL be addiction to ALL drugs)
Agree....disagree.....take what you like......leave the rest~

Myths About Addiction*
* Adapted from Myths of Addiction. Carlton K. Erickson, Ph.D., University of Texas Addiction Science

1. Addicts are bad, crazy, or stupid.
Evolving research is demonstrating that addicts are not bad people who need to get good, crazy people who need to get sane, or stupid people who need education. Addicts have a brain disease that goes beyond their use of drugs.

2. Addiction is a willpower problem.
This is an old belief, probably based upon wanting to blame addicts for using drugs to excess. This myth is reinforced by the observation that most treatments for alcoholism and addiction are behavioral (talk) therapies, which are perceived to build self-control. But addiction occurs in an area of the brain called the mesolimbic dopamine system that is not under conscious control.

3. Addicts should be punished, not treated, for using drugs.
Science is demonstrating that addicts have a brain disease that causes them to have impaired control over their use of drugs. Addicts need treatment for their neurochemically driven brain pathology.

4. People addicted to one drug are addicted to all drugs.
While this sometimes occurs, most people who are dependent on a drug may be dependent on one or two drugs, but not all. This is probably due to how each drug "matches up" with the person's brain chemistry.

5. Addicts cannot be treated with medications.
Actually, addicts are medically detoxified in hospitals, when appropriate, all the time. But can they be treated with medications after detox? New pharmacotherapies (medicines) are being developed to help patients who have already become abstinent to further curb their craving for addicting drugs. These medications reduce the chances of relapse and enhance the effectiveness of existing behavioral (talk) therapies.

6. Addiction is treated behaviorally, so it must be a behavioral problem.
New brain scan studies are showing that behavioral treatments (i.e., psychotherapy) and medications work similarly in changing brain function. So addiction is a brain disease that can be treated by changing brain function, through several types of treatments.

7. Alcoholics can stop drinking simply by attending AA meetings, so they can't have a brain disease.
The key word here is "simply." For most people, AA is a tough, lifelong working of the Twelve Steps. On the basis of research, we know that this support system of people with a common experience is one of the active ingredients of recovery in AA. AA doesn't work for everyone, even for many people who truly want to stop drinking.

[Pat1956100]

Good post as usual Connie.
Are there really medications that help curb the cravings?
Do you know what they are?

[clean_in_ks]

@Pat.....I have never researched it, sorry.  It just wasn't an option for me so I didn't pursue it.  Maybe someone else knows.....I've only learned about amino acids and other nutritional supplments~

[cleaninitup]

Naltrexone and vivitrol    

[Pat1956100]

Thanks, I'll check them out.