I underestimated alcohol's addictive potential...

[dr. swim]

My pet squid was drinking maybe once every few weeks or so (sometimes just a couple drinks, sometimes more) but not a lot because he is under 21 and didn't have it readily available. So what I thought was a enjoyable yet easy to control substance turned out to be a complete nightmare for my poor pet squid.

He finally was able to obtain a consistent supply of the stuff (my pet squid enjoys alcohol more than anything else, and he's tried a lot of shit) and didn't think that a week or so of binge drinking would turn him into an alcoholic. Well shortly after this he went on a vacation and the first thing he wanted was more alcohol. He didn't think this was a problem, just figured "hey, I'm on vacation, who's leg does a squid have to hump to get a martinee around here?" well anyways he was able to get by with a few beers a day. Then he returned home and started drinking more. THEN, he ran out. Then he started experiencing something that he hoped he would never have to experience: mild alcohol withdrawl. He was very anxious, with a persistant headache and a craving for some intoxicating liquid that he could not, for the life of him quench. Until he finally caved in, after being unable to obtain a legitimate form of consumable alcohol, he did what he does best. He started searching for some sort of non-legitimate form of consumption, which led him to discover that listerine original formula mouthwash is 50-60 proof, cheap and regularly available. While many seem to think that listerine will kill you if you drink it, he was able to see passed that. The truth is that listerine is only marginally worse for you than traditional alcohol. In fact, the most dangerous ingredient in listerine is, surprisingle, ethanol. Grain alcohol. And that the supposed "toxins" that they add to the formula to make it legally "denatured" are in fact in such low concentrations that one would much sooner die of either liver failure or alcohol poisoning than from any condition that could be directly attributed to any of the denaturing agents present in listerine. The most toxic of these additives would be thymol, which even if one were to consume an entire liter of listerine he would not be anywhere near even a recreational dose of thymol.

So, for those who just skipped over that last oversized paragraph, my pet squid started having an alcohol problem. He bagan abusing mouthwash to avoid the unpleasant side affects of alcohol cessation, and now he's worried he's becoming a full-blown alcoholic. He does not wish for this to happen and so he has this to ask: for those who have experience with alcohol addiction, what is the best way to detoxify one's self from alcohol? My pet squid does not have experience with downer addiction, only with addiction to traditional CNS stimulants such as amphetamine, caffeine, and nicotine. He has never had to deal with withdrawl from a painkiller/sedative such as alcohol or opiates. He wants to know what are some good tips, and when he gets himself off the shit, how often could he continue to drink? (He wants to quit chronic use, but would probably still participate in social use) So what's a safe average alcohol intake? Once a week? Once a month? Please let me know, so I can help out my beloved pet squid. Thank you.

[ex-junkie]

there is no safe amount for an alcoholic to drink tbh. its playing with fire.

[bcubed]

Has SWIY tried tapering off SWIY's dose? Some people can do this, some can't. For one week, reduce to somwhere around 1/2 the usual dose. Ideally this would make one slightly edgy, but not seriously withdrawing. Then perhaps one more week of 50% reduction (so, 25% of initial), then hopefully SWIY can quit without severe WD effects.

The other option is substitution (usually with a benzodiazipine). This is good, especially if (like Lizard) one finds benzos less euphoric than ethanol, because there's less desire to exceed dosages. The first downside is the need to see an MD and/or have a black-market source; the second, the symbiotic danger that occurs if one drinks on top of the benzo.

Lizard has used the former a few times, resorting to benzos the last time when he just couldn't adhere to a reduction schedule. Even when he did taper with booze successfully, he usually got behind schedule as a result of exceeding dosages from time to time.

Remember that alcohol withdrawal can be fatal! Usually, however, the severe aspects such as DTs manifest in drinkers that have been addicted multiple times, and/or are in already poor health.

[oxyc]

WHOA LISTERINE!!!

Swim thinks swiyou should realise this is BAD!
Swim thinks swiyou should know he is an alcoholic, this is far from normal and advises swiyou to get help with this problem before it kills you, swiyou is so young to be at this stage, swim underestimated alcohol too but its so readily avaiable why would anyone think its so dangerous?
Swim thinks alcohol is the most desructive drug swim has ever taken and he has taken most things throughout his life, alcohol is so socially acceptable no one can see the problem, swim has learnt the hard way with alcohol it caused him liver failure, renal failure, destroyed his pancreas turned him diabetic, brought on a crippling bone disease called avascular necrosis and now he can hardly stand up or walk he needs 2 total hip replacements and all this before he was 29, all these problems for underestimating alcohol, swim is sober at the moment and has acheived more in the last 2 years than he did in the 15 years of alcohol abuse,
There will never ever be a safe limit for anyone once they have crossed the line with alcohol, 1 drink is too much and 20 -30 drinks is not enough if swiyou know what i mean

[Catnap]

SWIM thinks SWIY needs to cut down like SWIM herself does. Its very hard to kick. I am sorry not to be more helpful but I am in a similar position. Good luck and you are not alone x

[dr. swim]

what SWIM doesn't understand is how he lost control so quickly. He never had any problem controlling his drinking up until about a month or so ago when he had his first binge. He always thought it took longer than that to achieve true alcoholism.

[HumansAre]

be a man! quit cold turkey! (probably the most effective way to quit) Swim suggests not drinking to get drunk... 1 beer ever hour at the max... touching alcohol a few times a week if its at the not 'getting drunk' amount... getting drunk once every 2-3 weeks seems healthy (well not healthy but in terms of getting addicted addiction wise)

don't be fooled by binge drinking kids! It's not cool to get drunk... and it's sad that it's a normal thing to get drunk in our society. wake the fuck up!

Don't try to build a tolerance just so you can keep up with other people's stupidity.... for any drug...

"go away from booze there's nothin bad it won't do"

Reputation Comments on this post:

	dont try to make the OP feel like shit, or imply theyre stupid.
	Well, these advices don't look that bad to me. In fact, they're quite ok.

[Sushi]

Originally Posted by HumansAre

be a man! quit cold turkey! (probably the most effective way to quit)

In general this is actually not the best idea, to be honest.
Quitting alcohol cold turkey may end up with a fatality and that's why in case of chronic drinking (that lasted many years or where there's serious physical addiction) quitting alcohol should be supervised by a physician. True, OP doesn't seem to be a chronic drunkard, physically addicted and particulary endangered by this kind of outcome. Nevertheless it's rather irresponsible to promote quitting alcohol cold turkey as a "manly" thing.

[oxyc]

There is nothing manly about a quivering, shaking mess of a man who cant do anything or think straight, if swiy has bad withdrawls there is no shame in asking for help, taking responsibility, admitting you have a problem and accepting help is a brave thing to do in swims eyes, why suffer?

[oxyc]

Originally Posted by dr. swim

what SWIM doesn't understand is how he lost control so quickly. He never had any problem controlling his drinking up until about a month or so ago when he had his first binge. He always thought it took longer than that to achieve true alcoholism.

Its suprising how quick alcohol can take over, swim was drinking at 14 socially it only took about a year for swim to realise he had a problem and even then is wasnt a problem as such, swim never got aggresive or nasty when drinking so people just accepted swim for who he was a happy drunk only when swim was around 20 he had drunk so much and was taking a lot of speed too he started to lose his mind, he started seeing things that wernt there and was assesed and sectioned in an asylum for drug and alcohol induced pyschosis, swims doctor advised him he had seriously damaged his brain after a cat scan, swim never ever thought alcohol could be so destructive but this does happen, swims doctor told him that he was very lucky that he was under 30 as his brain could repair itself and it has.
What swim is trying to say is there is no set time it takes to become an alcoholic and swim has learnt by his own mistakes he never listened to anyone elses advice he wishes he had but what swim realises is he can never ever drink again without losing control he has detoxed about 6-7 times trying to convince himself he can control it but always ends up in hospital.
swim has heard from some counsellors that alcoholism can be in built ie in you genes and there are people walking around sober now never had a drink but as soon as they start they will have an addiction to it, how true this is swim doesnt know
Swim wishes swiy the best of luck in whatever he decides to do, Just remember there is NO safe limit once that line has been crossed

[dr. swim]

Its suprising how quick alcohol can take over, swim was drinking at 14 socially it only took about a year for swim to realise he had a problem and even then is wasnt a problem as such, swim never got aggresive or nasty when drinking so people just accepted swim for who he was a happy drunk only when swim was around 20 he had drunk so much and was taking a lot of speed too he started to lose his mind, he started seeing things that wernt there and was assesed and sectioned in an asylum for drug and alcohol induced pyschosis, swims doctor advised him he had seriously damaged his brain after a cat scan,...

OMG dude, I feel so bad for you. SWIM used to be really into stimulants like ritalin, adderall, and *cough* benzedrex *cough*, but that was before he started drinking and smoking. Withdrawing from those things is pretty tough on it's own, I can't even imagine what hellish terror you had to experience withdrawing from speed and alcohol.

On a different note, SWIM got the first good nights sleep he's had in 3 days, thanks to the miracle of Hydroxyzine...

[oxyc]

What is hydroxzine, sounds interesting, Swim hasnt slept in the last 2 nights as he ran out of oxy but got his script tonight and is back on track but needs something to help him sleep once he stops the oxy sometime soon