Aa
cravings now
So I am 16 days I think.... and my withdrawal except for restless leg and trouble sleeping is pretty much gone but now I am having cravings... thoughts I never thought I would have again....when withdrawal was horrid I never thought I would want the drugs again..... which is weird right? I had no trouble suffering withdrawal and not reaching for Tramadol but now when my body doesn't "need" it my mind wants it bad.... unfortunately I can get it quite easily..... I "know" it is so wrong for me and so poisonous and so stupid but it is so hard to resist.... it is amazing what rationalizations I can come up with
Brown
Brown
Hi
I am so glad to hear that you are feeling better today!
I can relate to having people being stressors! I live with my dog and cat and with a 23 year old who I never see so he isn't a stressor...but the rest of my family in the beginning WHEW!!! In many ways for me living alone made it easier to get through so hopefully you will find that too!!! Im glad that you found this forum though cause it really helps to have people who understand and listen and give feedback! So Welcome!!! This forum saved my life the first month!!
It is important to have some support though.... I actually started mine with online meetings and they helped so much! I actually have met 2 people from them and we go to meetings together now! I go to AA instead of NA even though my drug of choice is opiates. Its just a better fit for me....yeah Im an alcoholic too...in fact I would probably fit into ALL categories of anything mood altering!!!
But find the support that is right for you....if its AA, NA, church, some kind of group activity....whatever it might be! You'll find that the cravings really DO get less and less and less and when they do come they are much easier to deal with when you have people on your side!!! ABN gave you some really great advice on ways to deal with them!!!
So glad you are here!!!!
Karen
I am so glad to hear that you are feeling better today!
I can relate to having people being stressors! I live with my dog and cat and with a 23 year old who I never see so he isn't a stressor...but the rest of my family in the beginning WHEW!!! In many ways for me living alone made it easier to get through so hopefully you will find that too!!! Im glad that you found this forum though cause it really helps to have people who understand and listen and give feedback! So Welcome!!! This forum saved my life the first month!!
It is important to have some support though.... I actually started mine with online meetings and they helped so much! I actually have met 2 people from them and we go to meetings together now! I go to AA instead of NA even though my drug of choice is opiates. Its just a better fit for me....yeah Im an alcoholic too...in fact I would probably fit into ALL categories of anything mood altering!!!
But find the support that is right for you....if its AA, NA, church, some kind of group activity....whatever it might be! You'll find that the cravings really DO get less and less and less and when they do come they are much easier to deal with when you have people on your side!!! ABN gave you some really great advice on ways to deal with them!!!
So glad you are here!!!!
Karen
I think for sure I need support and I am looking at options..... I in fact started a small dose of antidepressant before I stopped Tramadol totally.... and I just am already starting a slow wean off that and I feel pretty good mostly.... just the insomnia which is much better and the occasional craving.....I just was surprised how quick that craving came on...... and how strong it was..... but I am much better today. It really helps knowing others on here know what it is like...I have no one I can tell
Gosh ABN I have missed your input on here greatly. Just wanted to add that trams have that lovely little bit of antidepressant in them, which can make things a bit harder. Perhaps a small dose of an AD might help you. See a doctor.
Brown- I remember feeling exactly as you did: the cravings would creep I up, I would manage them temporarily but I thought meetings were for "other people." I slowly, not right away, but slowly started taking, just 2 pills here, 3 there. In the meantime I wondered why I felt so anxious and sad all the time. The folks on here told me to go to aftercare but I just "yeah yeah'd" them. Well, one year after I had detoxed, I was fully back to using. I then came back on this site, and the wonderful folks here reminded me of aftercare. This time I listened. It's been 1 year and 3 months now, and 99% of the time, I don't have cravings. If I do, they pass. 12-step taught me that. I don't know how or why it works but it does. I didn't realize how much my THINKING was the problem and how I needed to address the underlying issues that lead to my using in the first place. I'm so glad I took the advice of the peeps on here back then.
Thanks to all.... I found my cravings were when I was with family that was stressing me out o I have decided to avoid them (they are alcoholics) while I am still new to recovery. I just talk to them on the phone and not visit....when I am by myself I feel okay with no cravings
I read a lot about being successful and quitting and in one paper a single woman (my ex was another source of wanting to use) anyway single women living alone have best chance fo success of quitting..... so that's something....I don't know why though I can imagine that mothers who have to take care fo children would be difficult to take enough care of themselves to get through this hell....
So I tell myself as I lay here with RLS that I am lucky its just the dog, the cat and I here.... but sometimes I wish someone in my life knew what I was going through
I have never been to a meeting and I don't know that I believe for me that they would work ....the 12 step program does not resonate with me
But it helps to talk here and everyone has been very supportive. I appreciate all your help and I will consider everything you wrote, esp you ABN.....
We can do this......
I read a lot about being successful and quitting and in one paper a single woman (my ex was another source of wanting to use) anyway single women living alone have best chance fo success of quitting..... so that's something....I don't know why though I can imagine that mothers who have to take care fo children would be difficult to take enough care of themselves to get through this hell....
So I tell myself as I lay here with RLS that I am lucky its just the dog, the cat and I here.... but sometimes I wish someone in my life knew what I was going through
I have never been to a meeting and I don't know that I believe for me that they would work ....the 12 step program does not resonate with me
But it helps to talk here and everyone has been very supportive. I appreciate all your help and I will consider everything you wrote, esp you ABN.....
We can do this......
Techniques for Dealing Cravings
Play the tape through. When you think about using, the fantasy is that you'll be able to control your use this time. You'll just have one drink. But play the tape through. One drink usually leads to more drinks. You'll wake up the next day feeling disappointed in yourself. You may not be able to stop the next day, and you'll get caught in the same vicious cycle. When you play that tape through to its logical conclusion, using doesn't seem so appealing.
A common mental urge is that you can get away with using, because no one will know if you relapse. Perhaps your spouse is away for the weekend, or you're away on a trip. That's when your addiction will try to convince you that you don't have a big problem, and that you're really doing your recovery to please your spouse or your work. Play the tape through. Remind yourself of the negative consequences you've already suffered, and the potential consequences that lie around the corner if you relapse again. If you could control your use, you would have done it by now.
Tell someone that you're having cravings. Call a friend, a support, or someone in recovery. Share with them what you're going through. The magic of sharing is that the minute you start to talk about what you're thinking and feeling, your cravings begin to disappear. They don't seem quite as big and you don't feel as alone.
Distract yourself. When you think about using, do something to occupy yourself. Call a friend. Go to a meeting. Get up and go for a walk. If you just sit there with your craving and don't do anything, you're giving your mental relapse room to grow.
Wait for 30 minutes. Most cravings usually last for less than 15 to 30 minutes. When you're having a craving, it feels like an eternity. But if you can keep yourself busy and do the things you're supposed to do, it'll quickly be gone.
Do your recovery one day at a time. Don't think about whether you can stay abstinent forever. That's a paralyzing thought. It's overwhelming even for people who've been in recovery for a long time.
One day at a time, means you should match your goals to your emotional strength. When you feel strong and you're motivated to not use, then tell yourself that you won't use for the next week or the next month. But when you're struggling and having lots of cravings, and those times will happen often, tell yourself that you won't use for today or for the next 30 minutes. Do your recovery in bite-sized chunks and don't sabotage yourself by thinking too far ahead.
Make relaxation part of your recovery. Relaxation is an important part of relapse prevention, because when you're tense you tend to do what’s familiar and wrong, instead of what's new and right. When you're tense you tend to repeat the same mistakes you made before. When you're relaxed you are more open to change.
Play the tape through. When you think about using, the fantasy is that you'll be able to control your use this time. You'll just have one drink. But play the tape through. One drink usually leads to more drinks. You'll wake up the next day feeling disappointed in yourself. You may not be able to stop the next day, and you'll get caught in the same vicious cycle. When you play that tape through to its logical conclusion, using doesn't seem so appealing.
A common mental urge is that you can get away with using, because no one will know if you relapse. Perhaps your spouse is away for the weekend, or you're away on a trip. That's when your addiction will try to convince you that you don't have a big problem, and that you're really doing your recovery to please your spouse or your work. Play the tape through. Remind yourself of the negative consequences you've already suffered, and the potential consequences that lie around the corner if you relapse again. If you could control your use, you would have done it by now.
Tell someone that you're having cravings. Call a friend, a support, or someone in recovery. Share with them what you're going through. The magic of sharing is that the minute you start to talk about what you're thinking and feeling, your cravings begin to disappear. They don't seem quite as big and you don't feel as alone.
Distract yourself. When you think about using, do something to occupy yourself. Call a friend. Go to a meeting. Get up and go for a walk. If you just sit there with your craving and don't do anything, you're giving your mental relapse room to grow.
Wait for 30 minutes. Most cravings usually last for less than 15 to 30 minutes. When you're having a craving, it feels like an eternity. But if you can keep yourself busy and do the things you're supposed to do, it'll quickly be gone.
Do your recovery one day at a time. Don't think about whether you can stay abstinent forever. That's a paralyzing thought. It's overwhelming even for people who've been in recovery for a long time.
One day at a time, means you should match your goals to your emotional strength. When you feel strong and you're motivated to not use, then tell yourself that you won't use for the next week or the next month. But when you're struggling and having lots of cravings, and those times will happen often, tell yourself that you won't use for today or for the next 30 minutes. Do your recovery in bite-sized chunks and don't sabotage yourself by thinking too far ahead.
Make relaxation part of your recovery. Relaxation is an important part of relapse prevention, because when you're tense you tend to do what’s familiar and wrong, instead of what's new and right. When you're tense you tend to repeat the same mistakes you made before. When you're relaxed you are more open to change.
Brownvelvet:
You've come face to face with your addiction. Knowing that a behavior is bad for you but wanting to do it anyways. Few people can handle cravings on their own. This is where a support system is critical. Have you thought about joining an N/A group?
You've come face to face with your addiction. Knowing that a behavior is bad for you but wanting to do it anyways. Few people can handle cravings on their own. This is where a support system is critical. Have you thought about joining an N/A group?
Honestly im going through withdrawal myself from heroin. Everytime something comes up I cant handle or think I need that next bundle it helps to smoke a little pot. ....makes it easier to sleep eat feel relaxed helps with my legs as well although sometimes I do take benedryl as well to help with my legs.
Im not saying to become dependant on another drug but using pot to help get over major withdrawal from pain pills or heroin is not a bad thing.
Im not saying to become dependant on another drug but using pot to help get over major withdrawal from pain pills or heroin is not a bad thing.
When you feel great is when the first hurdle of "Just one more time" will appear. It happens to everyone. As Jifmoc mentioned how's your aftercare? The staying clean and not relapsing is the hard part, even though withdrawal felt like Hell it's the rollercoaster of clean > one more time > withdrawal that is the real challenge.
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