How long will this continue

[cliazzok]

Last night I had the perverbial ants crawling under my skin from 10pm until 6am, and of course did and could not sleep.  I had my last drink 5 days ago and I thought the itching would have stopped by now.
By the way I did not buy any more booze yesterday and never will.

I read about sedatives like Lorazepam.  Do they work?  Any experiences?

With thanks.

[ibizan]

ok now i get it!duh!pass it on in2 messages if u like!

[boogieman]

thanks for what i call a humility reminder. i lost a $ 3000  paul reed smith a year ago to the almighty pawn shop. oops- let me rephrase: i lost nothing. i gave it away like so many friendships, opportunities and dreams throughout my alcoholic career. anyhoo, i haven't done anything like that since i put down the booze and other chems. but it helps to remember what awaits me if i go back out. take care!

[boogieman]

just wanted to reinforce whats already been said. please at least consult w/doctor as alcohol withdrawal can be dangerous. the last time i sobered up i had a seizure while i was driving, and that was exactly SEVEN DAYS since my last drink. other effects can be just as terrifying. at least make sure someone you trust is aware of what you are doing that can be supportive. hang in there!

[HarryK8]

C&W? Country & Western.  Don't know who sang the song,  only read a reference to it in the literature.  I think it was in "Pass it On".  I'll have a look later and get back to you.
This forum has digressed from a poor man with electric fleas to country music.  Perhaps we should pass notes back and forth? )))

[ibizan]

i've never heard of ***@**** googled the lyrics to this song and nothing came up!who are they?sounds like a song i could relate too!i went to high school in akron,ohio birthplace of AA....so many good meetings there!

[HarryK8]

24 years is damn incredible!  25 qualifies you as an old-timer here in OZ.  Originally this was because AA didn't really get started here until the early 1950's and was something of a secret society when it did....now, time had passed and long term sobriety is not uncommon so perhaps the outlook should be changed.

I have never seen the Oblivian Express Album.  Sounds like a dead giveaway doesn't it!

I would love to get a copy of the old C&W song mentioned in one of Bill's books. "Pass it on" I think.  The song is called "Drinking My Christmas Dinner all Alone".

Man. I can't stand C&W (although I have played it on occasion to keep the wolf from the door), but that title just sings to me!!!

[ibizan]

love the cliche this 2 shall pass.......then it gets replaced with another and another and another.....like Frank sang Thats Life!yes the x was hard....but there isn't anyone/anything that will interfere with what i've worked so hard for within the past 24 years.10 years is damn good......remember the chugging train on the front of Brian Augers Oblivion Express album?thats us!and he is still going strong at close to 60 something sounding damn good!:)))))

[HarryK8]

Ditto on the Serenity prayer.  Page 449 of the AA Big Book is always a big help to me.  My sponsor was always sending me to it when I was whining and bitching about my life.
You know, when I first joined NA, it was 31/12/90 at 6pm. I checked into a detox, a filthy public underfunded one.  Here in Australia we call 'em rathouses.

I remember it well because family and friends said "How can you do this to us on NEW YEARS EVE?"
They just didn't understand that I couldn't do it one more time....
but 2 years later I started drinking again.  It didn't lead back to narcotics, but I still had to change my sobriety date when I finally stopped drinking in 1998 11 May.

In Australia we celebrate Mother's day on May 11.  That morning I visited my mother...but not with a bunch of flowers....but to ask for money...

She said no.

So anyway, I had to cut 8 years off my clean date in NA, and also join the AA fellowship.
This May 11 I will be 10 years Clean AND Sober.

Sorry about yr x boyfriend.  It must have been a hard time for you.  But the point of my speal above is that s**t happens and if we are going to stay sober we sometimes just have to put on the blinkers, do what is front of us and don't pick up!

This one may die, that one may not.  Look around your homegroup.  Some will be dead or using by this time next year.

When Dad died my sponser just said to me, "let's go to a meeting."

I thank you so much for your sympathies, but instead, "let's go to a meeting!" :)

[ibizan]

My heartfelt sympathies regarding the loss of ur father.My x boyfriend who i loved dearly blew a recording contract in Vegas in the 80's due to his cocaine addiction.He could sound sinatra,nat king cole........white boy with a Motown sound.Jazz,***@**** could do it!He was clean 3 years and sadly returned to his old lifestyle at age 56.I think he will die from his addiction but u couldn't stop ur dad and i couldn't stop him so I had 2 let go.Love that Serenity prayer..sometimes i chant it 300 times a day!:))))

[HarryK8]

Music sure is better sober!  Since I have been sober I have never been thrown off stage (yes, that happened), have never hocked a $3000 guitar for small change drinking money, never to see the instrument again.  I even hocked my cd collection!  My dad was a jazzman too.  Played piano.  He committed suicide 6 months after I got sober.  Yes, like me, he had the same genes.  His body was buggered from the years of abuse.

[ibizan]

wow u were quick to photo him with that mouse!that should go in2 a contest!i love jazz 2.....diana krall,chris botti,art tatum,fats waller my dad played 5 instruments and brought us up to appreciate the classics and the music of his era which was jazz and big band.......i love the old and the new!music better sober.....remember it longer and feel its moods!

[HarryK8]

My cat Putt-Putt, so named because he was so young when we got him he would kind of pputt-ppputt as he walked.  The mouse in his mouth was his first and I had to lay on the concrete to get the photo.  He was so possessive of it he wouldn't come near me when I stood up.

[ibizan]

fine words and sound advice Harry?whose ur feline friend?

[HarryK8]

See your doctor.  I nearly died during withdrawal; I became too weak to even get a glass of water.  This was many years ago but I will never forget it and don't ever want to go back there.

By now you probably need a ray of sunshine, so hear is one.  This is the last time you will have to detox if you stay sober one day at a time.  Life will get better.  You will feel good again, you will have fun again, you will enjoy socialising again, you will loose many of the fears and clouds that haunt you.  Life is good.

I wish I could be there to hold your hand brother.  I know what you are going through.  Drink plenty of water, a vitamin B suppliment wouldn't hurt, chocolate is real handy if you have a bad craving to drink.

But first, please see a Dr.  If you can't afford it, make sure you have someone with you.

Love in sobriety
Harry

[ibizan]

ACCkkk no Ativan...bad bad!u should see a doc asap......i've seen Librium used with a weaning off work wonders on withdrawals.......working dog and jacker made some very good points 2!

[working dog]

be carefull...quiting alcohol can kill you if you were a heavy drinker...are you getting help?? is someone with you? watch out for the first 2 to 3 weeks...my withdrawals were terrible...lasted bad for 6 months...the first 3 months were so awfull...stay on the forum for advice...but to be safe see a doc...of course i'm saying this because of how much you said you drank on a post before...the next few days you could have all kinds of symptoms...as could the next couple months...i would never have gone through withdrawals without help if i knew what could and would happen...good luck...billy

[Jacker]

It varies with each person, but I think you will see things improving over the next two weeks.  That being said, be patient with small imporvements. One month from now, you'll feel a lot better than you do today, but I think it will happen gradually in small increments- that's how it worked with me.
It will likely take several months to feel a lot better - I'm only 4.5 months into it myself and overall I feel very good BUT I sometimes get dizzy spells and pain in my right side.
I don't know anything about the sedatives, but your doctor may have an idea.  He can also monitor you while you go through this.
You've come a long way - good job.  Don't give in and start again, because you really don't want to restart this process.  When I tell you that it will take time, I'm not trying ot rain on your parade, because in a few weeks I think you'll feel a lot better.  It's just that it takes a bit longer to feel nomral if you've been drinking a lot.  Try some exercise - it will help you sleep.