I was cracking up at the images of mowing in the cowboy hat, etc...but y'all are seriously scaring me with your use of "benzos" whatever the heck they are - and your "hearts stopping"!!

I have no idea about these drugs - feel like I am a ruining my health enough with the amount I have drunk over all these years & cigarettes which I finally quit a couple of years ago... but I am seriously concerned about and worry about you, my friends...taking these meds and drinking. I read with great interest the advice and stories. Wish I could offer more, but you have my concern and hope that along with conquering the drinking, you can somehow manage the "benzo" thing so the NAL is more effective.

Hang in there, folks! Seriously, one day at a time, and we are all here for you!

I (we) appreciate your concern and comfort. Those of us who have psychiatric maladies that we initially treated with alcohol prior to our discovering the true nature of our condition are now unfortunately addicted to our self-medicated alcohol which provided initial relief from our true condition before it was professionally diagnosed. Now that we have the proper medications to treat our psychiatric conditions, we find ourselves still addicted to "the beast" that allowed us to initially cope, until we sought proper professional medical treatment. At least, that is why I am here; to kill the craving/AV and continue under my shrink's care, so I can be a "normal" person.

I would NEVER recommend, encourage, or sanction the use of Benzos and alcohol concurrently. Yet, that is what a segment of our membership currently does, including myself. It is not a choice. We got addicted to alcohol, prior to our proper diagnosis and treatment regimen. It has real and possibly fatal consequences. However, we are here to extinguish the alcohol craving until it is utterly gone; then we can safely proceed with our prescribed medications without complications.

Bob

Bob, I am sure you have read my posts and know we are sort of in the same boat or at the very least the same lake! I honestly don't know what to do so I will continue with the naltrexone but
I now have many doubts. I am only on a small dose of the benzo's and know many people who drink along with them. I am not saying that it is a good choice but people do. I was AF for many years and never ever thought I would be back here faced with this situation.

LaBear, I'm going to post this publicly.

Here are your signature stats:

Pre Sinclair 60-100 units wk

Wk 1 60 units
Wk 2 40 units, 1 AF Day
Wk 3 53 units
Wk 4 60 units

Note that you have not once gone over the pre-Sinclair LOW units per week number. Week 2, you had the typical honeymoon stage, indicating your brain was/does respond to naltrexone's effects. Week three, you were below your pre-Sinclair numbers, and week four, still at the low point.

All this would indicate that naltrexone is working for you, even though you are only four weeks into the program - very early progress!

If you can and want to, start cutting down (very, very slowly) on the benzos, while you work the program. Otherwise, just look at the results so far, and work the program with some faith that it is having an effect.

G4M thanks for the vote of confidence but I guess I need to clarify. My pre-sinclair units are probably not correct as I did not count units back then for one. I can and have been more or less a binge drinker. I have not been trying to alter my drinking to any great extent but I have chosen to
not have gallons upon gallons of wine available. My current stats are what they may have been naturally, we will see. I know you mean well but you are in a very different place right now and I am more than happy for you and do totally appreciate your concern. As I have said in a most recent post I am being verbal here for others to know where my head is at and thought that was the purpose of this forum. There are a few of us that are a bit discouraged right now, that all.

Bob and Labear ,
I would take heart that the more you take NAL the more the high spikes get capped
down and this has to be safer with the pills . Those situations where you're so zonked and can hardly drag to bed , that's more dangerous ? Don't you have that much less now ? I hope I'm right here .
I'm with you bob you can't cut down more now so take solace about the cut in drink it should make you feel safer .

It was actually just in the period preceding finding tsm that I was unwittingly taking
Atavan every night for three months and used it more to mini detox most sundays
it had another brand name "temesta " and when I sussed I cut it imediately and found myself all shakey at the hospital . Am I right it's a bad one Atavan ?

I have decided after much deliberation to withdraw from my Valium regimen, even though it will cause my mania to resume within the next few weeks. I estimate that in about 6 weeks I can be Benzo-free. It will probably be accompanied by many side-effects, but I must complete TSM. When I complete it and I am alcohol-free, I can then resume my prescribed Valium and act like normal person again. I have some bizarre days ahead.

Yesterday, what I thought was going to be a 2nd AF day, turned into a 7 unit drinking session. I am at my 6th unit tonight at the time of this post. I want this to stop so bad, so I must get the things that DR. Eskapa has explicitly stated may hamper my progress out of the way, namely the Benzos. It will be a rough ride. I hope I can make it through that rough ride. Somehow, though, I think I will succeed, however, there will likely be causalities along the path and I know not what they will be...

Bob

Bob, I know your dilemma. I was cutting my klonipin from .50mg to .25mg this week and was warned not to. I went to benzodetoxrecovery.com and hope and pray you will do the same before you taper. The people there have plans in place to help with this so that you will not have such a hard time in spite of your diagnosis. I am in your corner and don't want to see you suffer needlessly.

Wish you all strength and courage Bob, however you do that .
I'd imagiine you've some indication that 10 mg to zero in six weeks is
manageable but hard .
I really had the impression your excesses were not frequent these last weeks .
Oh well attack the beast(s) on two fronts and give it the thrashing of its life !

After further research on the benzo withdrawal websites, 6 weeks is too fast to withdraw from 10mg Valium per day. It appears the fastest it can be done is more like 10 weeks, and 20 weeks if I don't want any symptoms. So I'll adjust my withdrawal schedule.

BTW, my psychiatrist already knows that I have a strong desire to withdraw from Valium and replace it with Buspar, which is an anxiolytic that is not a Benzo. I have the prescriptions for it and started the replacement months ago, so I could successfully reduce from 15mg Valium to the 10mg per day I am presently on. So I'm just going to continue the replacement over the next 10 weeks.

Last night, I had 7 units and I am now out of alcohol. So, now I have to find a place around here that has Guinness Stout for tonight.

Bob