Alcohol addiction, racing on Saturday. Seeking advice.

My last drink was more than 5 years ago and I can feel your pain. Drinking can be hell.

I am an atheist with a scientific background and there was absolutely nothing AA could do for me. Trying to take the first step made me queasy. And taking the second step went against every fiber of my being.

The misconception that I carried around in my mind for a painfully long time was that there was only two alternatives: go to AA or keep drinking until I hit 'rock bottom.' It doesn't have to be that way. A lot of AAer's like to say that if you can quit without AA, then you're not a "real alcoholic." That kind of thinking is suggestive of a cult mentality (like labeling someone a 'heretic'). Do you really want to be a "real alcoholic?" Do you even want to be labeled as one? I didn't. But I also knew it had to stop.

When I went to my first SMART meeting and I could tell right away that it would work for me. What SMART recovery does is teach you to be RATIONAL about your problem. It gets you to answer a simple question: Would I be better off if I quit drinking? If the answer is 'yes' then the rational thing to do is stop drinking If you arrive at that decision, they teach you tools to get through the cravings and rebalance your life. After 6 months of meetings once a week, I realized I was strong enough to get by on my own.

And that was the end of that. I now look at my drinking days the same way I look back at when I shit my pants and a toddler. I'm simply glad I'm beyond that now.

Good luck to you. It's hard. But the payoff is fantastic.

The OP already said that there were not SMART meetings near him.

aLcorunner wrote:

Hi guys.

I have had problems with alcohol for over a decade but keep on running and racing.

I have a 10k on Saturday and I would really like to do well (as well as possible). It's Thursday afternoon here and I am already drinking.

I don't want to go cold turkey tomorrow for I will not sleep at all. What can I do tomorrow to minimize the effects of alcohol? Reduce intake? Eat/drink something in particular?

Trolls are welcome but I am really seeking advice from people who have experienced this first-hand or with someone close to them.

Thanks in advance.

I would attempt to reduce intake as much as possible. If you can see a doctor tomorrow about this and get a benzo Rx'd, this may be of help. Obviously, begin treatment ASAP, if early next week is the earliest option, so be it.

Try to get as much sleep as possible. Sleep is generally impaired by alcohol, in your case, read this as "excess" alcohol.

Do not drink and drive or put yourself or others at risk. Obviously, do not race while drunk if possible. Eat prior to consuming much of your alcohol if possible. Stay well hydrated; if you are only going to drink alcoholic beverages, beer is a better option than stuff higher in alcohol.

booboomagoo wrote:

The OP already said that there were not SMART meetings near him.

There are SMART meetings online.

Oinky wrote:

booboomagoo wrote:

The OP already said that there were not SMART meetings near him.

There are SMART meetings online.

Hey that's cool I didn't know that thanks.

The Finns are famously private, so I had to go early in the morning, before any patients arrived, to meet Jukka Keski-Pukkila, the CEO. He poured coffee and showed me around the clinic, in downtown Helsinki. The most common course of treatment involves six months of cognitive behavioral therapy, a goal-oriented form of therapy, with a clinical psychologist. Treatment typically also includes a physical exam, blood work, and a prescription for naltrexone or nalmefene, a newer opioid antagonist approved in more than two dozen countries. When I asked how much all of this cost, Keski-Pukkila looked uneasy. “Well,” he told me, “it’s 2,000 euros.” That’s about $2,500—a fraction of the cost of inpatient rehab in the United States, which routinely runs in the tens of thousands of dollars for a 28-day stay.

Joosed wrote:

http://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2015/03/the-irrationality-of-alcoholics-anonymous/386255/

The Finns are famously private, so I had to go early in the morning, before any patients arrived, to meet Jukka Keski-Pukkila, the CEO. He poured coffee and showed me around the clinic, in downtown Helsinki. The most common course of treatment involves six months of cognitive behavioral therapy, a goal-oriented form of therapy, with a clinical psychologist. Treatment typically also includes a physical exam, blood work, and a prescription for naltrexone or nalmefene, a newer opioid antagonist approved in more than two dozen countries. When I asked how much all of this cost, Keski-Pukkila looked uneasy. “Well,” he told me, “it’s 2,000 euros.” That’s about $2,500—a fraction of the cost of inpatient rehab in the United States, which routinely runs in the tens of thousands of dollars for a 28-day stay.

This is pretty much what they do at my HMO for outpatient. CBT, group therapy, meditation, etc. They typically use suboxone for heroin users and a quick taper on benzos for alcohol (benzos are very easy to get addicted to and have the worst withdrawal half-life next to methadone). Obviously no drugs for meth, which is what I used.

Those who are particularly prone to relapse in our outpatient program are then sent to inpatient rehabs. I felt that the outpatient CBT program was not going to cut it for me so I went directly into a rehab for 90 days and it was the best thing that happened to me. It definitely didn't cost tens of thousands of dollars per month (I think Passages charges that much and promises to cure you of addiction).

living the answer wrote:

OP, if you've been dealing with alcoholism and running for as long as you say, you probably already know better than any of us how to get yourself though the race.

Good luck Saturday and -- more importantly -- beyond.

Your right... I guess I was looking for some wondrous solution.

Thank you.

Ghrelin wrote:

There are drugs you can take that help with withdrawal, which would probably also help with your race. Lorazepam and diazepam are the ones I know of. Careful with going cold turkey; every time you do it you increase the chance that you'll have serious withdrawals later on down the road (look up kindling if you don't know about this). It also causes brain damage.

I prefer not to try something new before the race but thanks for the suggestion.

Wow! I have just looked up "kindling". I was totally unaware of it. I have always gone cold turkey when I stopped...

I have now found (online) some great information on the subject and also on ways to taper off.

This was most informative. Thank you so much for your post.

aLcorunner wrote:

living the answer wrote:

OP, if you've been dealing with alcoholism and running for as long as you say, you probably already know better than any of us how to get yourself though the race.

Good luck Saturday and -- more importantly -- beyond.

Your right... I guess I was looking for some wondrous solution.

Thank you.

That was "you're right"...

Rockgip wrote:

Separately, best of luck with your recovery. And best of luck with your race. I hope you'll update the boards this weekend.

Thank you.

I'll write when I get back home after the race tomorrow

booboomagoo wrote:

Oinky wrote:

There are SMART meetings online.

Hey that's cool I didn't know that thanks.

Me neither. Thank you for that and for the good wishes, Oinky.

Joosed wrote:

http://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2015/03/the-irrationality-of-alcoholics-anonymous/386255/

The Finns are famously private, so I had to go early in the morning, before any patients arrived, to meet Jukka Keski-Pukkila, the CEO. He poured coffee and showed me around the clinic, in downtown Helsinki. The most common course of treatment involves six months of cognitive behavioral therapy, a goal-oriented form of therapy, with a clinical psychologist. Treatment typically also includes a physical exam, blood work, and a prescription for naltrexone or nalmefene, a newer opioid antagonist approved in more than two dozen countries. When I asked how much all of this cost, Keski-Pukkila looked uneasy. “Well,” he told me, “it’s 2,000 euros.” That’s about $2,500—a fraction of the cost of inpatient rehab in the United States, which routinely runs in the tens of thousands of dollars for a 28-day stay.

A friend sent me the link to that article a couple of weeks ago. Very informative.

Analysis of Events wrote:

I would attempt to reduce intake as much as possible. If you can see a doctor tomorrow about this and get a benzo Rx'd, this may be of help. Obviously, begin treatment ASAP, if early next week is the earliest option, so be it.

Try to get as much sleep as possible. Sleep is generally impaired by alcohol, in your case, read this as "excess" alcohol.

Do not drink and drive or put yourself or others at risk. Obviously, do not race while drunk if possible. Eat prior to consuming much of your alcohol if possible. Stay well hydrated; if you are only going to drink alcoholic beverages, beer is a better option than stuff higher in alcohol.

True, I don't sleep well after drinking but so often I find it very hard to fall asleep if I don't drink - even after being done with the withdrawal symptoms.

I will not drive. And I will have sobered up by the time the race starts. Still, I feel a bit dizzy in the mornings and this doesn't go away with food and water but only after some minutes of running. I plan on doing a 30-40 minutes warm up run before the race and take a bottle of water with me.

Thank you for the suggestions. I'll make sure I stick to beer today.

ShannonHays wrote:

That is OK. Some of the best runners have been drunks: Chuck Engle aka "Marathon Junkie", Dick Beardsley, Sammy Wanjiru, etc

Henry Rono reportedly set a world record 5k with a massive hangover. But don't go down that road. It's a lifelong struggle and a relationship killer.

You can try Antabuse if you want to keep from drinking- if you take the pill and keep yourself from having a drink. Otherwise you'll throw up and most of the booze is out of you. Ready to race? Eh....

If you approach alcoholism as a medical condition, AA is not not based on scientific research and could have a success rate as low as 4-8%. What "cure" blames the the patient for not being ready to be cured if doesn't work? It can be especially dangerous if the patient is dealing with mental illness; AA is not equipped to handle this and doctors should be consulted. I have an immediate family member with that would medicate with alcohol and found that AA would make things worse. Once we approached her illness scientifically and medically we saw more positive results. But whatever works for you God bless...

She started the Sinclair Method recently. The most immediate impact on her is that alcohol (either wanting it or fighting the urge) is not constantly on her mind. We'll see how it goes; wish us luck.

From the current Atlantic Magazine, AA's success rate is somewhere between 5 and 8 per cent.

http://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2015/03/the-irrationality-of-alcoholics-anonymous/386255/

Oops, someone beat me to it.

Trying to estimate the success rate of AA is very difficult. Some estimate as high as 20% while the article quotes a study that has it in the single digits. Again, if you consider alcoholism an illness, what doctor would blame the patient for not being ready to be cured if the treatment isn't working?

If AA works for you, great.... You are very fortunate. If you have other underlying conditions AA is not a medical protocol. Members that are not scientists or doctors should not dispense with medical advice.