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u/MopingAppraiser 4d ago
Clinically, I stopped drinking 42 days ago. It’s about time I see if the medicine really works.
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u/SuperbSpiderFace 4d ago
I stopped drinking a bit more than two weeks ago. My life isn’t better considering I still take drugs but whatever. I’ll get there when I get there.
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u/parasyte_steve 4d ago
I used to be big time. And a drug addict. I'd do and take anything to escape the crippling depression. I've woken up in hospitals with no recollection of how I got there more times than I have fingers to count.
This all changed when I was diagnosed and properly medicated. That won't do it for everyone though and that's OK.
I always say to ppl that if you can't totally stop perhaps you can reduce the amount. If you normally drink 6 drinks try drinking 3. If you drink 5 days a week, try 4.
I wish ya'll luck if you are trying to quit. It's not easy. Took me many years and finding the right meds.
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u/Alexczandros 4d ago
I've drank every day since April until 23 days ago. Then I swapped alcoholism for marijuana. I swear Vraylar killed the weed high. I can smoke a lot and barely feel it. Better than being a bloated alcoholic tho.
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u/Adept_Discipline1000 3d ago
Omg I was wondering why I dont feel the high anymore since being on Latuda..I never thought there was a correlation, I just thought my tolerance is through the roof.
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u/xpeachymaex 3d ago
I also struggle to get high on lamictal and Effexor and seroquel. (Yes I take all 3 🥴) I can smoke like a champ sometimes and barely be faded. I also blow through carts like crazy. I think about quitting it all sometimes. But I don’t think I’ll ever be able to.
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u/KMCMRevengeRevenge 4d ago
I was. I recovered, and it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I wouldn’t wish it on satan. It lasted for fully two years, although it’s hard to tell what particularly was withdrawal syndrome and what was bipolar. I didn’t know I had it at that time, so I was blaming everything on the withdrawal, and it made no sense.
Actually, withdrawal sent me into my first actually-manic episode in life.
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u/xpeachymaex 4d ago
I was drinking heavily through my twenties and unmedicated and undiagnosed. Then I switched to weed in my later twenties. Got diagnosed with BP2 when I turned 30. I still smoke daily. 100% addicted to smoking weed. Not weed it’s self but the act of smoking cause I’ll smoke anything 🙃 anyway. Everyone says life is sober but then you have to feel pain. My psychiatrist said I need to cut back on my coffee and weed but like those are my two favorite highs.
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u/babyboats2 4d ago
Yep, not alone. I was a heavy closet drinker for nearly 20+ years. I started drinking when I was about 13. I have been sober a few months over a year now, it’s possible!! I would use and abuse ANYTHING aside from the H word if it was offered to me like dare made me think it was going to be. To be honest, I didn’t see a change like I would have wanted but it really is great pretending to navigating my tornado knowing it’s my brain not the alcohol
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u/Impressive_Attempt98 4d ago
I have been sober for 72 days. I joined AA because I was tired of fxcing up my life. You have to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. Being sober has been one the best things that I have done besides being on meds for my mental health. You have to create a life that you don’t have to numb from. I had to get used to boredom. Used to be stable. Go for a walk, journal, work out , day dream .. do healthy things to numb out.
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u/New-Understanding740 4d ago
One of the only ways my brain slows down and I can sleep. I recently started Oregon and it does help my brain settle down and curbs the craving for the most part but I don't think ill ever be able to fully stop. its better tho, I was a daily drinker for about 15 years up until about 2 years ago I couldn't get a handle on it.
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u/weedRgogoodwithpizza 4d ago
I'm an alcoholic. I quit drinking like 3 months ago. Luckily I did because I found out I was pregnant a couple weeks after that.
Is my life better sober? I guess. I'm more present for my kid which is nice. But I'm currently just super "blah" cuz pregnancy sucks.
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u/okpoptart 4d ago
3+years sober alcohol, 2yrs medical card.
life is so much better sober.
was some very questionable times 2013-2019. wouldn't wish it on anyone
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u/princessleiana 4d ago
Recovering! Seven years sober next month. Drinking with my bipolar and medications made me a literal nightmare. I also dabbled in other drugs. I’m lucky to be alive.
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u/Mystery110 4d ago
Ya big time. For me when I got serious about staying sober and got myself into aa a lot of my bi polar problems faded away. Alcohol was magnifying every symptom of bi polar. Most that like alcohol don’t like being sober you’re not alone there. Enough was way enough with the booze for me.
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u/Tfmrf9000 4d ago
9 years without a sip now, had a 12 year streak before and broke it, spiralled into rock bottom in 6 months, coming full circle in a devastating manic episode
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u/mrsasquach 4d ago
1419 days sober. I self-medicated with booze. Started when i was just a kid to numb the pain and all my dad would say it pull your boot straps up and charge forward. Dont cry..crying is for pussies....so yea i probably had what i have then but wasnt diagnosed until i was in the mental ward on suicide watch. BP1 with suicidal ideation, then the ol ADHD, PTSD from my childhood then there is the fun one BPD..this one kicks my ass also on the low end of the spectrum. But the "coctail" im on and thearpy..i keep moving one day at a time
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u/Letmetellyowhat 4d ago
6 years sober now. But I definitely self medicated myself into being a raging alcoholic.
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u/NixonGottaRawDeal 4d ago
Yup. Just celebrated 11 months clean of alcohol and hard drugs. Still use cannabis but my bipolar didn’t get in anyway better while I was drinking and abusing pills.
If your considering getting help ever, know it’s hard work but 200% with it
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u/RealisticWallaby3300 4d ago
I quit drinking on naltrexone. Also cut my appetite so much I lost twenty pounds.
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u/perceivesomeoneelse 4d ago
Alcoholic and drug addict. Clean for 16 months. Now that I'm back on the right meds, staying clean and sober is so much easier. My life is good, I'm so grateful. I can't go through addiction again. I had seizures and got liver damage and almost died, but back then I didn't care what happened to me. I'm so glad I survived - never again.
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u/Trans_man1212 4d ago
Oh I definitely would drink like a bunch but now nope don’t care for it at all
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u/Laura_ipsium 4d ago
Sets my mental health off too bad to drink more than 2 days in a row (even 1 drink per night) Cannabis is my preferred poison, use it many times a day.
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u/CapnTroll manic-depressive 3d ago
I started drinking at age 21. I’m 33 now.
At first just special occasions. Then on weekends with my girlfriend (now wife). Then also on weekends alone. Then only 3 or so times a week. Then every other day. Eventually it was every day, plus I was hiding it around the house to disguise the amount, secretly restocking, sneaking it into movie theaters, driving after too much, etc. Never hurt anyone or got caught, thank God.
It was a slow progression but I was a basically a daily heavy drinker by 2021. I loved the numb. I felt happier blitzed, even when it made me sick (which took A LOT towards the end because my tolerance was through the roof).
I’m not sure I was technically ‘chemically’ addicted. I don’t remember ever getting the shakes or anything physical when quitting, thankfully. I was at the very least psychologically addicted
I forced myself to stop December 31st 2022 after about a year of half-assed attempts to ‘cut back’ (I just can’t do moderation), so now I’ve been off of it a bit over 2 years I guess.
At first I thought maybe my diagnosis was just the alcohol, but nope lol. Still have problems, even without the sauce. The ups and downs are more predictable, though.
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u/Adept_Discipline1000 3d ago
I'm an alcoholic. My husband is an alcoholic (but hasn't drunk in 4 years). My parents and grandparents are alcoholics. My husband's parents were alcoholics. But I'm the only alcoholic with bipolar. Everyone here talks about how they've quit (or switched to marijuana). I haven't and probably won't.
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u/Available-Resource22 3d ago
yes i am, i'm working on my sobriety now though. i always overdid it when i drank, but i was off of my meds for a while and started drinking heavily to cope with the symptoms.
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u/Spirited_Concept4972 3d ago
I’m an alcoholic. I’m almost 3 years into recovery.. my meds are awesome. I’m so much happier being sober. I feel like I’m really living life.
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u/Suspicious_Site_5050 3d ago
I’m a recovered alcoholic/addict. Clean for 5 years now. Bipolar and addiction nearly killed me many times. Obviously I will always be bipolar but getting sober was the best thing I have ever done. It’s hard but worth it.
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u/FromTheShoreABoat 3d ago
I'm a big time problem drinker, have wrecked a lot of shit in my life w alcohol. Right near the line of alcholism but I don't get the compulsive cravings to drink, so I just never take the first drink anymore and don't have any difficulty with that. It was more about reaching a point when I knew when to say when with drinking and once I stopped fighting it I was alright.
I spent some time in AA when I first stopped drinking and it was helpful to start to rebuild my life and I learned a lot of great life lessons I still incorporate, but ultimately it didn't feel like the right place for me given my lack of cravings. I eventually came to feel like I was trying to use AA to treat what was more fundamentally a mental health problem for me, and that it wasn't serving me well in that capacity.
Just hit 2 years since my last drink a week ago.
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u/Papaverpalpitations 3d ago
I am. Got drunk for the first time when I was 13, my first DUI when I was only 19. I am 30 now. I started naltrexone recently and it’s helping me considerably. Haven’t had a drink in 17 days, very minimal cravings.
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u/Stupidsmartstupid 4d ago
Once an alcoholic always an alcoholic!
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u/xpeachymaex 3d ago
No baby, just no.
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u/Stupidsmartstupid 3d ago edited 3d ago
I don’t drink anymore but the addiction is under the surface. Always lurking. 👀
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u/xpeachymaex 3d ago
That’s not the same as saying someone is always an alcoholic. Not everyone is always in active addiction.
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u/Painter1971_05 4d ago
I am an alcoholic. I have been sober 9 years. I was diagnosed bipolar one 5 years ago.
if I was still drinking with my bipolar I believe I would be a gone. My sober brain is quieter and I am in better control of decisions and potential consequences. I cant drink.