Am I alcohol dependent?

[armatage_shanks]

Hi all, Swim is new to this forum, and is looking for advice and/or answers to a few questions. Since this is in the alcohol addiction forum, Swim will keep this mainly concentrated towards the alcohol problems that he has, without focusing too much on other aspects of his drug use.

Swim is eighteen years old now, and has had chronic insomnia since he was fifteen. Until he was sixteen he struggled to cope with the sleepless nights and the permanent exhaustion from his body. However about age sixteen, Swim started drinking a bit more (Before then it was drinking at weekends with his mates).

The drink helped him to sleep, especially if he'd had too much. However it started becoming a problem about 6 months after his sixteenth birthday. Swim was only drinking about 2-3 ciders a night, and it had previously helped him to drift off, however now it wasn't helping at all.

Swim started drinking more, up to 5-6 ciders every night. This lulled the problem, but didn't make it go away. He woke up in the mornings and went through every day in a stupor. It wasn't helping enough.

Before his seventeenth birthday, Swim started using cannabis and cigarettes. His cannabis use was (and still is) infrequent, but his cigarette use has gotten more and more frequent.

By seventeen, Swim was drinking during the day. He figured that if he drank more during the day, he wouldn't have to drink so much at night. (Flawed logic, he now knows).

Swim was drinking vodka and any mixer he could find that was easy to conceal during the day, and throwing more drink back when he got home.

About six months ago, Swim started to get more regular sleep, and as a result tried to cut down on his alcohol use. However, he found that he couldn't go a day without drink or he would feel absolutely terrible. Not only was he drinking to get to sleep, he now realised that he was drinking to get through the days, which now seemed boring and lethargic without anything to drink.

Fast forward six months, and Swim has decided enough is enough. Swim has noticed recently that he can't remember large chunks of time, and can't remember what has happened the day before.

He needs a plan of action and a schedule to follow properly to help him. His willpower is in pieces, and he always seems to lapse when he tries to stop drinking.

His only thought is that if he DOES manage to successfully quit drinking, how bad will the insomnia get?

Sorry for the long post.
Any thoughts or comments would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

Reputation Comments on this post:

the fact you are trying to make an action plan and recognizing your issues, means youre well on your way. thanks for the...

[Dickon]

Thank you for your post. This is exactly what this section is for.

I answered a very similar question a little while ago. Rather than repeat what I said there, maybe you could take a look at post 4 of this thread: http://www.drugs-forum.com/forum/sho...272#post595272 .

Judging by what you write, I think you need to cut down or stop altogether. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions or for any other reason, or better yet post questions in this thread and then others can contribute too.

All best wishes

Dickon

[ex-junkie]

to cure insomnia, drugs and alcohol are not the answer. sure they will help you to sleep when you take them, but without them your body will have a rebound effect, which makes the insomnia problem worse than it would be without them.

try getting some sunlight. make sure you open up your blinds at home, and even if its grey and its raining, you will still get melatonin from the sun. first thing in the morning is ideal, because the melatonin kicks in 12 hours later and makes you drowsy.

also avoid naps during the day. reading a book, or laying down watching tv usually makes swim tired too.

[coco123]

Hi armatage, I'd like to help - I know it's not nice when you can't get a good sleep. Maybe my experience could be of some value.

When I couldn't sleep for long periods I made a plan

- I asked myself WHY? The answer may not just be why you can't sleep but why you drink so much. For me, part of the problem was that I used alcohol as a means to sleep and forget about things. When you're worried or worked up about something, sleeping is difficult because your mind is active. Drinking alcohol seems lika a good solution because it eases your mind, but it doesn't give you a 'refreshing' sleep because you're body is not relaxed and it doesn't solve the underlying problem. You need to be honest with yourself. What is the real issue?

- I decided to reduce the smoking. I found that Cannabis was confusing my sleep patterns by making me think too much about stuff that prevented me from sleeping peacefully. Smoking less helped me stress less.

- I started exercising. Exercise not only conditions your body, it conditions your mind, and more importantly it calobrates your body and mind. This was a real lesson for me and a lesson learnt as I continue to excerise and in return it keeps me on top.

- My diet changed. It's important to let your body relax and you can do this by altering your diet. Most of the foods we consume nowadays are acidic, yet your body craves a balanced PH to be relaxed. Natural foods (often when eaten raw) are generally more alkali and help to balance your body. I know it sounds a bit 'new age' but by alkalizing your body, you feel more relaxed and this reduces stress, makes you more positive and gives you more energy.

I hope this gives you an a few ideas and good luck with sleeping...

Reputation Comments on this post:

sound advice

[oxyc]

Swim can totally relate to the insomnia bit, swim is a severe alcoholic but has been dry for a long time now since almost killing himself on many occasions with drink, swim started young too at around 14 and had managed to cut down at some points to only drinking at night but HAD to drink in order to sleep no matter what, swim still has this problem to this day and often takes antihistamines to get off to sleep, swim found that once he had detoxed from alcohol and DID manage to sleep properly it was so refreshing, I dont think swim was getting real sleep when he was drinking, he also found that a milky drink at bedtime like Horlicks helped it has malt in that can help relax
Swim thinks swiy is on the right track just by asking questions like that and wishes swiy the best of luck,

[missparkles]

Swim is a little late to this topic but never mind.
Swim was cross addicted for years, switching form drugs to alcohol and back again in an attempt to become addicted to neither.
But swim did eventually realise that when any substance becomes a problem the first thing to do is seek professional help.
Stopping anything after long term use is dangerous and can sometimes be fatal.
Swiy should firstly speak honestly to their GP (it's always best to keep them in the loop as swiy may need referrals to services only they can provide) and their doctor will have seen this quite a few times and can arrange a suitable detox and therapy afterwards if it's needed.
Being open to, and accepting of advice from others who have "been there, got the t-shirt" is also a bonus if swiy can do it. But please don't accept everything one reads as gospel. Addiction is personal to every person who is addicted and as such the approach to recovery needs to be personally tailored to suit swiy.
Swim hopes thatSwiy is now feeling more comfortable and sleeping better.
Thanks.

[sweettea]

There are studies which suggest links between smoking status and alcohol misuse. Here is a paper that discusses the topic:

Smoking Status as a Clinical Indicator for Alcohol Misuse in US Adults
S. McKee, T. Falba, S. O'Malley, J. Sindelar, and P. O'Conner
Archives of Internal Medicine/Vol 167 9-Apr-2007

The authors conclude (and their statistical analysis is satisfactory) that "Occasional and daily smokers were at heightened risk for hazardous drinking and alcohol use diagnoses."

The objective is to use smoking as an indicator of alcohol misuse and prompt further alcohol screening. The study doesn't address swiLudvik's query of smoking leading a person toward excessive alcohol consumption. Although a quick look through the paper's references indicates there is some research being done in the area.

It's probably an obvious, albeit unfounded conclusion, that the addictive characteristics of one substance and the habit (nicotine, smoking) would lend a person to another habit (alcohol, drinking) especially as socially the two go together.

[nutellajunkie]

SWIM is tired and totally understands the insomnia. Its almost like it never goes away.

Sure drinking helped him sleep, even during the day. See the thing is, alchol sleep isnt real sleep, its almost coma state, if you drank that much.

SWIM has stopped drinking (for now and hopefully long term) but really doesnt know how long the insomnia takes to go away, and thats when the cravings start because one was so used to the drinking sleep.

For one, please dont think you are alone with the horrific insomnia. SWIM only knows too well what its like to try and sleep at night, and then eventually sleeping, all for a 3 to 5 hours, then having to go through the whole day again.