I’ve had an appointment for awhile. I plan on asking him about my depression, weight… and well… alcohol dependency. Not necissarily in that order.
The reason I am writing this tonight is to ask something of you. You see, I am not someone who talks openly about his problems or whats bothering him. Ever. I hold things in and imagine my problems don’t exist. “In debt up to your eyeballs? Just don’t think about it!.. and if you do, some of that 151 and coke will take your mind off.” I don’t want to be like that anymore, I want to change. I have to change. I won’t last long if I dont. …anyway… so I’m asking you a favor. Say a quick prayer, send a quick thought, transfer a good vibe that I will have the GUTS to be able to open my mouth and mention these problems, to be able to verbilize my deepest weakness’s to another person. I don’t know how many times I’ve been to the doctor in the last couple of years (I have monthy prescriptions) and ment to bring these things up but then couldn’t force the words out of my mouth.
Please pray that I will be able to finally ask for help, and that I will receive it.
…sorry all, for this self indulgent post… dontcha hate those?
Here’s the order of problems…at least from my perspective:
#1. Depression #2. Alcohol #3. Weight
Treat #1 first, weight only deepens the depression, the alcohol temporarily takes it away till you wake up in the morning but the depression is always there until it’s treated or dealt with. So in my eyes, and many may call me silly but there is no alcoholism without problems. Problems can create an unusual need to drink, and drinking seems to work for a while but the problems don’t go away hence the need for more alcohol to take it away again and the cycle continues. I know from experience.
Get rid of the depression and the rest of one’s life is easier managed, not perfect but better – life skills.
I wish you the best of luck my friend, email me anytime you need someone to talk to.
Oh and I am proud that you are taking some steps to get back to the Whammo you know and love.
Write it down. If you have a list of things you want to talk about with the Doc, it’s easier to remember them, and easier to remember to talk about them.
Hell, if you write a good enough list, you can just hand it to him – “Uh, Doc? Here’s some other stuff we need to go over. I wrote it down so I wouldn’t forget.”
Good luck, man. Remember you’re paying him to help you – get your money’s worth, OK?
I think depression is the big one, as well; is truly amazing how a little problem with cranial chemistry causes big problems with everything else. (Gee, ain’t I original :rolleyes: )
But I’m looking ahead here. You’re not going to solve weight AND alcohol AND depression all at the same time, and that little green/pink/yellow pill the doc (probably) will prescribe won’t fix what you perceive to be faults overnight; that takes time and effort and (that good ol’ cliched standby) therapy.
I’m going through (and SOLVING, albiet slowly) the same issues, hon. Email, AIM, ICQ in my profile … get a hold of me anytime, ok?
FWIW, if you stop drinking it’s likely you won’t have to do anything about your weight.
I also agree that depression is the one that needs to be dealt with first. I also suggest that you should see a psychiatrist if your GP puts you on meds. My GP was the one prescribing my med (Paxil) and it was working, or so I thought.
I decided to go to a psychiatrist for med management and he changed my scrip to Wellbutrin (not an SSRI) and it’s a HUGE difference. HUGE.
Whammo…good for you. Doctors are not going to be disapproving…be honest & upfront, s/he won’t think less of you, I promise. I have a friend who has suffered for YEARS with hemmoroids (sp?) and will NOT go for treatment. She even made an appointment at one of those hemmoroid clinics & backed out. You’ve already done the bravest part, which is recognizing you have a problem & are willing to do something about it. The rest is just mechanics.
And…yes, treat the depression first. You are likely self-medicating with alcohol, anyway…and meds won’t give you hangovers or screw up your liver. Trust me, I know ALL about this. :rolleyes:
Wow Whammo- I had my doctors visit today at 11am(fist time in over 10 years) and my symptoms
are almost identical to yours.I read your post while waiting to leave and you gave me the courage to say more than I wanted to.He is now treating me for depression and checking into a lot of things I had hoped to avoid (lung x rays and blood work -fearing that due to the self medication of Vodka) Thanks for your Post and I hope and wish the best for you.
Even though I don’t know you except for reading your posts…
{{{{{Whammo}}}}}}
Whammo, I hope things went well for you today. I, too, have a real tendency toward the ostrich syndrome at times — if you ignore the problem, it doesn’t exist, right? WRONG. You’re just hiding from it. Pretending it’s there doesn’t make it go away, it just introduces other problems that come about from your trying to steer yourself away from it. Some of the best things in my life have come about because I did finally force myself to get my head out of the sand and face my unspoken fears and talk to a doctor about it. (And fortunately, I found just the right one for me at the time.)
So, again, I hope things went well for you today. If you didn’t open up as you’d hope, don’t give up on it. There’s nothing particularly magical about this particular date, or that particular doctor. If you didn’t get the response you need, you can pick up the phone and try again next week. The fact that you’ve gotten your head out of the sand and have decided to face things straight on is wonderful. Now you just need to keep it up.
Lots of positive vibes coming your way, Whammo. You too, CWN.
** Whammo **I am SO impressed with you. Change is so hard and talking about my ‘weaknesses’ was SO hard for me. But wanting to change is not weak; it is heroically strong. Depression is not weakness, weight-gain is not weakness and finding a way to stop abusing alcohol is not weakness. You are not weak, you’re human. But trying to change is more than most people ever do. Best wishes.
Whammo, I’m with ya, bud.
As far as prioritizing the issues…well, I’d consider weight a distant 3rd, and the other two equally important and highly crucial.
Here’s why:
Depression can lead to alcohol abuse. Likewise, alcohol abuse can cause or intensify depression. It doesn’t matter which is the chicken or the egg here…they play on each other. If the drinking is curtailed, the depression may take care of itself. But if the depression is the core problem, antidepressants will help…IF you don’t mix alcohol with them. This is very important.
So either way, the alcohol abuse must be addressed.
Get these two problems under control and the weight will be easier to deal with.
Wow, thanks for writing everyone! You guys are the best. (Did ya ever notice how many GREAT people are on this board?)
I think all the positive thoughts worked. You won’t beleive this but I was so freaking nervous about this all day. I don’t know what I was thinking was going to happen (Alright Whammo, You’ve been such a low down no goodnick that I’m gonna do both a hernia AND a prostate exam, DROP EM!)
But that didn’t happen, and I didn’t chicken out. I told him exactly what was going on. (BTW I DID write it down, I even checked the list. Thanks for the I-D) I got some meds that look hopefull and I’m going to follow up in a month. I also got some AA meetings and times, I’ll check that out if I have trouble with alcohol. I’m not going to drink while I’m taking these pills… talk about counter productive.
I tip my hat to you all! Thanks for showing your supportive side yet again! :)
Hey! Sounds like ME! I’m with Hippie, though. The weight can wait. And the debt will take care of itself when you cut out the other crap. Liquor and drugs are expensive hobbies.
**
I don’t hate them. If it weren’t for self-indulgent posts I wouldn’t have anything to say.
Keep us posted. Mind if we nag you some, too? If you hadn’t figured it out already, you are surrounded by a bunch of people who have been through exactly what you are going through. A sort of online EA: Everything Anonymous.
Even more impressed with ** Whammo **! Take your meds are prescribed, even if they don’t seem to be taking effect. A lot of meds take 2 or 3 weeks to reach a therapuetic level. Stay in close touch with your doc and your support group. You are awesome—be proud of yourself.
And remember—you’re human, and every day is a fresh start.
