# Wish Me Luck...DETOX, Baby! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 28, 2009, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wish-me-luck-detox-baby/515403 "2009-10-28T05:05:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wish-me-luck-detox-baby/515403/101 "2009-11-04T20:49:30Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > In my experience, both personal and professional, those that don’t connect with a sober peer group don’t do that well in the long run. It needn’t be AA. > > There are always exceptions to that, of course. > > But whenever I lived my life hoping to be an exception to the rule, it didn’t work for me real well. That’s probably pretty sage advice. ---
**Author:** ![pricciar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@pricciar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pricciar)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wish-me-luck-detox-baby/515403/102 "2009-11-04T20:57:12Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > I know how this makes me sound. I am sorry. I also know we all have alcohol addiction in common, but I need some other common footing to stand upon, some meaningful conversation! I don’t relate to most of the people in there! Now, I’, not so high and mighty that I have the fear…no, I’ve lived in a trailer park and toted a shotgun, but I need meaningful conversation! I have to have it, or all the platitudes are just lost on me! > > 🙂 Hey. I think you can be sure that atleast a few former drunks are going to be fellow NFL fans. And, if you are near Cincinnati some of them will even be Bengals fans. (Look at me. I didn’t even go for the low blow Bengal joke!) (doh.) Seriously, even with people you seem to have nothing in common with aside from drinking you will be able to pull something like football out to find a commonality. Knowing that there might be something like that it might be easier to allow them to help you stay sober! ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wish-me-luck-detox-baby/515403/103 "2009-11-04T21:06:32Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > I know how this makes me sound. I am sorry. I also know we all have alcohol addiction in common, but I need some other common footing to stand upon, some meaningful conversation! I don’t relate to most of the people in there! Now, I’, not so high and mighty that I have the fear…no, I’ve lived in a trailer park and toted a shotgun, but I need meaningful conversation! I have to have it, or all the platitudes are just lost on me! Check out a variety of AA meetings. All kinds of people are in AA, including physicians (like **QtM** ) and people with PhDs (like me). Visit around to different neighborhoods – keeping an open mind as you sit through a full meeting in each place – and see if you don’t find one frequented by people who have all of their teeth and most of their marbles (or vice versa). I’d be very surprised if you couldn’t find a meeting where you were comfortable enough to return. Then return. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wish-me-luck-detox-baby/515403/104 "2009-11-05T01:53:22Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > I appreciate all the well-wishes, and I kinda feel like I’ve turned this into my own personal AA thread! Regardless, the vague unpleasantness I get from AA really hasn’t much to do with God, I’m at peace with that concept…it’s a couple of things. > > One, I feel like an elitist, outsider snob at those meetings, like I don’t belong somehow. I don’t want Joe the mullet guy glad-handing me and volunteering to be my sponsor, I’ve never spent a night in a gutter like Bob, never been to prison like JoAnn and am not facing litigation like half the other people I’ve met in there. > > I know how this makes me sound. I am sorry. I also know we all have alcohol addiction in common, but I need some other common footing to stand upon, some meaningful conversation! I don’t relate to most of the people in there! Now, I’, not so high and mighty that I have the fear…no, I’ve lived in a trailer park and toted a shotgun, but I need meaningful conversation! I have to have it, or all the platitudes are just lost on me! Like **Twickster** and others said, the demographics in different AA meetings differ widely. I have felt what you are talking about before but then I found new meetings. The ones that I go to are mostly attended by upper-middle class professionals including doctors, lawyers, CEO’s, business owners, and other talented people. They certainly aren’t dumb, poor, missing any teeth, and there is not a mullet in sight. Sometimes they bring other speakers in from other places with those traits but that isn’t part of the core group. There should be some of those around where you are as well. Alcoholism is an equal opportunity condition and, once you get behind the scenes at groups like AA, you will be amazed at the range and number of people that have it. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wish-me-luck-detox-baby/515403/105 "2009-11-05T02:17:40Z")
I relapsed, sadly. Damn vodka and lemonade, Still haven’t explained it yet, wondering what is about to happen. I mean, I know, but still wonder… ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wish-me-luck-detox-baby/515403/106 "2009-11-05T02:20:56Z")
[quote=“FoieGrasIsEvil, post:105, topic:515403”] I relapsed, sadly. Damn vodka and lemonade, Still haven’t explained it yet, wondering what is about to happen. I mean, I know, but still wonder… [QUOTE] I’m a sad, little man, damn it… ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wish-me-luck-detox-baby/515403/107 "2009-11-05T02:24:41Z")
Im,drunk and my children arent. Fuck ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wish-me-luck-detox-baby/515403/108 "2009-11-05T02:26:38Z")
Please don’t call 911. It isn’t that bad. ---
**Author:** ![Heart\_of\_Dorkness](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/4bbf92/32.png) [@Heart\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heart_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wish-me-luck-detox-baby/515403/109 "2009-11-05T02:50:00Z")
Hey, don’t forget - you can still stop now. You don’t have to keep drinking just because you started. ---
**Author:** ![Punoqllads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@Punoqllads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punoqllads)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wish-me-luck-detox-baby/515403/110 "2009-11-05T02:51:04Z")
Sending good thoughts your way, FGIE. Relapses are par for the course with addiction, as I’m sure others will testify, but they don’t put long-term sobriety out of reach. It’s tough work, but you can work through this. ---
**Author:** ![Brynda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Brynda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynda)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wish-me-luck-detox-baby/515403/111 "2009-11-05T05:11:59Z")
Shit. I was rooting for you, as were lots of others. You can do it, but you have to do it. ---
**Author:** ![bbs2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e495f1/32.png) [@bbs2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bbs2k)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wish-me-luck-detox-baby/515403/112 "2009-11-05T08:02:20Z")
Relapse is part of the disease, while humilty is part of recovering. Don’t trick yourself into believing you can out-think this. Go back, take instruction, and there’s no shame. I’m praying for you. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wish-me-luck-detox-baby/515403/113 "2009-11-05T13:44:11Z")
I’m back this morning, bright-eyed and ready to start afresh. Thanks to all those whom were rooting for me, please don’t stop. Day 1, sober. I have a question: when the decision to relapse comes, is it instantaneous for most of you guys or does it germinate in your brain like an insidious little seed, eating away at your will half the day? I had decided to drink before I even left work. Just curious. I supposes it can be either. It’s as if I had made up my mind before I made up my mind. Anyone feel like that? Thanks again, all. I am going to start over. At least now I know I won’t get serious withdrawal symptoms other than being an insufferable asshole. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wish-me-luck-detox-baby/515403/114 "2009-11-05T14:32:08Z")
Recovering from the disease of alcoholism requires more intervention than a controlled detox, sadly. An alcoholic drinks because they have the disease of alcoholism. That cycle is only interrupted by adequate therapy. The most effective therapies appear to be cognitive behavioral therapy combined with peer support. Also important is treatment of any co-existing Axis I psychiatric mood disorders such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, etc. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wish-me-luck-detox-baby/515403/115 "2009-11-05T14:45:35Z")
Get your ass to a meeting. The people in AA may not be as smart as you, but they’re smart enough to do what they need to do to stay sober. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wish-me-luck-detox-baby/515403/116 "2009-11-05T14:53:16Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Recovering from the disease of alcoholism requires more intervention than a controlled detox, sadly. > > An alcoholic drinks because they have the disease of alcoholism. That cycle is only interrupted by adequate therapy. The most effective therapies appear to be cognitive behavioral therapy combined with peer support. Also important is treatment of any co-existing Axis I psychiatric mood disorders such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, etc. Can the underlying cause for alcoholism be determined, and eliminated, so as to eliminate the behavior? > [@twickster](#): > > Get your ass to a meeting. The people in AA may not be as smart as you, but they’re smart enough to do what they need to do to stay sober. Ouch! ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wish-me-luck-detox-baby/515403/117 "2009-11-05T15:33:56Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Can the underlying cause for alcoholism be determined, and eliminated, so as to eliminate the behavior? > Ouch! Don’t beat yourself up over it too much. Most people don’t make it after just one detox. It isn’t like the movies where someone screws up, goes into detox/rehab, and then comes out all shiny and new. The hard part is after you get out, especially the early period after you get out because you still have physical symptoms and feel like hell. If you stop now, you can probably pick up about where you left off and not have to go back into the hospital again but that may not be the case if you have an extended relapse. There is no cure for alcoholism but there are some fairly recent studies that show the drug Campral boosts your chances of sustained alcohol recovery dramatically. It is a receptor blocker that doesn’t make you high or anything like that and primary care doctors usually don’t have a problem prescribing it to people that it may help. You can ask your doctor about Campral but you really need a some form of experienced support group too. [http://www.mywayout.org/blog/2006/10/30/medications-and-research/catching-up-on-campral/](http://www.mywayout.org/blog/2006/10/30/medications-and-research/catching-up-on-campral/) ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wish-me-luck-detox-baby/515403/118 "2009-11-05T16:53:40Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > Don’t beat yourself up over it too much. Most people don’t make it after just one detox. It isn’t like the movies where someone screws up, goes into detox/rehab, and then comes out all shiny and new. The hard part is after you get out, especially the early period after you get out because you still have physical symptoms and feel like hell. > > If you stop now, you can probably pick up about where you left off and not have to go back into the hospital again but that may not be the case if you have an extended relapse. There is no cure for alcoholism but there are some fairly recent studies that show the drug Campral boosts your chances of sustained alcohol recovery dramatically. It is a receptor blocker that doesn’t make you high or anything like that and primary care doctors usually don’t have a problem prescribing it to people that it may help. You can ask your doctor about Campral but you really need a some form of experienced support group too. > > [http://www.mywayout.org/blog/2006/10/30/medications-and-research/catching-up-on-campral/](http://www.mywayout.org/blog/2006/10/30/medications-and-research/catching-up-on-campral/) Thanks **Shags**. Can I call you Shags? I don’t intend to drink again (famous last words!), and i was at least fortunate that I suffered exactly zero withdrawal symptoms from detox, aside from cravings. The cravings are intense, and enough to drive a person mad, though. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wish-me-luck-detox-baby/515403/119 "2009-11-05T16:57:50Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Thanks **Shags**. Can I call you Shags? I don’t intend to drink again (famous last words!), and i was at least fortunate that I suffered exactly zero withdrawal symptoms from detox, aside from cravings. The cravings are intense, and enough to drive a person mad, though. Yes, I will send you a private message and you can use the number as soon as you want. ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wish-me-luck-detox-baby/515403/120 "2009-11-05T18:10:14Z")
Honestly, **FoieGrasIsEvil** , you have to want to be sober more than anything. I wish I could have quit where you are and not have had to find out what it took to get me to the point where I wanted to be sober more than anything. I’m taking Campral, btw, and I think it does help somewhat, because my cravings have not been very intense. However, this is in conjunction with 3 months of intensive education, group therapy, and AA. I’m also taking Antabuse for extra insurance, but, again, it’s easy enough to cheat yourself and stop taking it. It mainly works to get you past casual temptation. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wish-me-luck-detox-baby/515403.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wish-me-luck-detox-baby/515403.md?page=7)