Welcome, Guest. Please Login
SLINGING.ORG
 
Home Help Search Login


Pages: 1 2 
Send Topic Print
CLEAN AS THE DRIVEN SNOW (Read 2047 times)
Rat Man
Slinging.org Administrator
*****
Offline


Slinging Rocks!

Posts: 13666
New Jersey, USA
Gender: male
CLEAN AS THE DRIVEN SNOW
Apr 3rd, 2020 at 2:33pm
 
Today marks three years since I ended my legal 23 year opioid addiction. I did so without a doctor, methadone, suboxone, support groups or any other sort of help. Yay me!
    These days I don't do anything. No caffeine, alcohol, etc.  I don't even take Tylenol if I have a headache. If I have to go to the hospital for my intestinal blockages the first thing I tell them is "no narcotics." I haven't been this clean since I was fifteen.
Back to top
 
 
IP Logged
 
Kick
past-moderator
****
Offline



Posts: 4451
Finland
Re: CLEAN AS THE DRIVEN SNOW
Reply #1 - Apr 3rd, 2020 at 2:45pm
 
That's awesome Rat Man! Congratulations! That's no mean feat, you should definitely feel proud.
Back to top
 

You are a great guy Kick but also slightly scary at times. - Morphy
"Nothing matters, but it’s perhaps more comfortable to keep calm and not interfere with other people." - H.P. Lovecraft, in a letter to Frank Belknap Long, 7 October, 1923
 
IP Logged
 
Rat Man
Slinging.org Administrator
*****
Offline


Slinging Rocks!

Posts: 13666
New Jersey, USA
Gender: male
Re: CLEAN AS THE DRIVEN SNOW
Reply #2 - Apr 3rd, 2020 at 7:35pm
 
    Thanks, Kick.  I read online that it was absolutely impossible to break such an addiction without a doctor's assistance, meds, support groups, etc.  I took that as a personal challenge and did it the old fashioned way. 
    Don't get me wrong.  If people need such help that's fine by me.  Do whatever you have to. 
     It's great to not be a slave.
Back to top
 
 
IP Logged
 
Tomas
Interfector Viris Spurii
*****
Offline



Posts: 2172
Re: CLEAN AS THE DRIVEN SNOW
Reply #3 - Apr 4th, 2020 at 6:59pm
 
WOW you are impressive Rat Man!!!
I used to party pretty hard for a number of years and am happy to live a cleaner life. My one downfall is pot. Other than that, I have cleaned up a lot.
Taking that commitment to a medical level is something else entirely to me but I respect that kind of fortitude.
Great news though:)
Back to top
 
 
IP Logged
 
Rat Man
Slinging.org Administrator
*****
Offline


Slinging Rocks!

Posts: 13666
New Jersey, USA
Gender: male
Re: CLEAN AS THE DRIVEN SNOW
Reply #4 - Apr 4th, 2020 at 9:26pm
 
   Though I don't partake anymore, I personally feel that a little pot is pretty harmless, Tomas.  It is the most benign of all the vices in my opinion.  Congrats on cleaning up your act.
Back to top
 
 
IP Logged
 
Morphy
Slinging.org Moderator
*****
Offline


Checkmate

Posts: 8102
Re: CLEAN AS THE DRIVEN SNOW
Reply #5 - Apr 6th, 2020 at 12:11pm
 
Congrats RM I remember you mentioning that in a different thread. I have all the sympathy in the world for people who get hooked on those meds. They are literally a pill that pushes the happy switch in your brain. We are programmed to want that. It’s a shame that safer alternatives are not widely available like cannabis. Cannabis is like a miracle drug. Virtually no lethal dose and proven to help in so many things. I haven’t smoked it in many years but I am all for legalization nationwide.
Back to top
 
 
IP Logged
 
Rat Man
Slinging.org Administrator
*****
Offline


Slinging Rocks!

Posts: 13666
New Jersey, USA
Gender: male
Re: CLEAN AS THE DRIVEN SNOW
Reply #6 - Apr 6th, 2020 at 12:25pm
 
Morphy wrote on Apr 6th, 2020 at 12:11pm:
Congrats RM I remember you mentioning that in a different thread. I have all the sympathy in the world for people who get hooked on those meds. They are literally a pill that pushes the happy switch in your brain. We are programmed to want that. It’s a shame that safer alternatives are not widely available like cannabis. Cannabis is like a miracle drug. Virtually no lethal dose and proven to help in so many things. I haven’t smoked it in many years but I am all for legalization nationwide.


Ditto.  Tobacco and alcohol are both far worse and legal.  If America had any sense we'd make pot legal and tax the hell out of it like we do booze and cigarettes.  Can you imagine the revenue.  When I was young we always assumed that when we reached this point in time pot would be legal. 
Back to top
« Last Edit: Apr 10th, 2020 at 3:06pm by Rat Man »  
 
IP Logged
 
Rat Man
Slinging.org Administrator
*****
Offline


Slinging Rocks!

Posts: 13666
New Jersey, USA
Gender: male
Re: CLEAN AS THE DRIVEN SNOW
Reply #7 - Apr 10th, 2020 at 3:14pm
 
   Also, the pill that pushes the happy switch in your brain does so very well initially.  As time passes it's effectiveness diminishes.  Long before I was able to finally quit opioids they had lost their ability to relieve pain.  I took them because I was addicted.  Of course after so many years one learns how to work the system and tell the pain management doctor what he needs to hear.  Yes, I have legitimate medical issues.  I could legally go back on pain meds today.  But knowing what I know that's not going to happen.  The only way I would ever allow myself to be in that state again is if I became terminally ill.
Back to top
« Last Edit: Apr 11th, 2020 at 12:33pm by Rat Man »  
 
IP Logged
 
Bill Skinner
Forum Moderation
*****
Offline


Slinging Rocks!

Posts: 3292
Re: CLEAN AS THE DRIVEN SNOW
Reply #8 - Apr 12th, 2020 at 9:46am
 
Congrats, Rat Man.  I did the same about 15 years ago.  I quit alcohol and tobacco, plus lost about 50 pounds. (25Kg)  And I did it all cold turkey, too, so I have an idea what you went through.

Now, the hard part begins.  And that's staying quit.
Back to top
 
 
IP Logged
 
Rat Man
Slinging.org Administrator
*****
Offline


Slinging Rocks!

Posts: 13666
New Jersey, USA
Gender: male
Re: CLEAN AS THE DRIVEN SNOW
Reply #9 - Apr 13th, 2020 at 9:01am
 
Bill Skinner wrote on Apr 12th, 2020 at 9:46am:
Congrats, Rat Man.  I did the same about 15 years ago.  I quit alcohol and tobacco, plus lost about 50 pounds. (25Kg)  And I did it all cold turkey, too, so I have an idea what you went through.

Now, the hard part begins.  And that's staying quit.


And congrats to you Sir!
Back to top
 
 
IP Logged
 
Rat Man
Slinging.org Administrator
*****
Offline


Slinging Rocks!

Posts: 13666
New Jersey, USA
Gender: male
Re: CLEAN AS THE DRIVEN SNOW
Reply #10 - Apr 14th, 2020 at 11:34am
 
   I quit tobacco 32 1/2 years ago.  My health and its ridiculous expense were the reasons.  Plus we had a baby on the way. Of course it costs much more now.  The strangest thing is that the poorest people I know all smoke. Go figure.
    I started drinking when I was sixteen.  I  enjoyed it and drank my share.  When I hit my mid forties that happy buzz alcohol gave me was progressively replaced by an unpleasant, sort of sick feeling.  That's about the time my Lyme Disease hit so there might be a relationship there.  From that point on my drinking slowly decreased down to nothing.   I don't feel that I'm better than people who drink.  I am envious of them.  To this day I miss the happy buzz I used to get from booze.  And I still love the taste of a good single malt Scotch, well crafted brew, bourbon, etc.. Just not the alcohol.
     I love coffee.  I had a radical prostatectomy about nine years ago.  Now if I even look at anything with caffeine I'll pee my brains out.  Even the trace amounts in decaf affect me.  I REALLY miss coffee. 
    I gave up legal opioids because they weren't really doing me any good anymore and I was tired of being a slave.  I gave up partying at that time also... might as well make it a clean sweep. 
     So these days I am a completely straight, boring person.  But I do feel better for it. 
Back to top
« Last Edit: May 26th, 2020 at 9:22pm by Rat Man »  
 
IP Logged
 
Kick
past-moderator
****
Offline



Posts: 4451
Finland
Re: CLEAN AS THE DRIVEN SNOW
Reply #11 - Apr 14th, 2020 at 3:41pm
 
Talking of alcohol, I love beer. Unfortunately, it doesn't love me. If I have alcohol after 4pm I WILL NOT sleep well. It only takes one beer and I will have crazy vivid dreams and it will feel like I haven't slept at all. I've never been a big drinker, but with age, what little resistance I had to alcohol has completely disappeared as well. That one beer will not only mess up my sleep, but also give me the same buzz three beers did when I was 16. With the limited budget of a nurse, being a "lightweight" is a positive, I can have my one beer (usually with lunch so I have a chance at a good night's sleep) and enjoy it and that will tide me over for quite a while. I drink about 1 beer a month if that.
Back to top
 

You are a great guy Kick but also slightly scary at times. - Morphy
"Nothing matters, but it’s perhaps more comfortable to keep calm and not interfere with other people." - H.P. Lovecraft, in a letter to Frank Belknap Long, 7 October, 1923
 
IP Logged
 
Rat Man
Slinging.org Administrator
*****
Offline


Slinging Rocks!

Posts: 13666
New Jersey, USA
Gender: male
Re: CLEAN AS THE DRIVEN SNOW
Reply #12 - Apr 15th, 2020 at 10:49pm
 
    My sleep was also disrupted by alcohol, Kick.  If I drank before bed I'd get to sleep easily enough but I'd be wide awake in two hours.  I know a lot of people who used booze to get  a good night's sleep. It worked for them but never for me.
Back to top
 
 
IP Logged
 
Morphy
Slinging.org Moderator
*****
Offline


Checkmate

Posts: 8102
Re: CLEAN AS THE DRIVEN SNOW
Reply #13 - Apr 16th, 2020 at 12:10am
 
I’m the exact same way as you RM. If I drink before bed I fall asleep just fine but a few hours later I wake up and I’m wide awake for hours after that. There’s so much I really don’t care for with alcohol. The next morning I feel dehydrated and just generally sick. Rarely get hangovers but it’s really not a good feeling. The buzz can be fun sometimes and I used to love listening to music with a heavy buzz going but it’s just not worth the trouble any more. Weed is superior in every way to alcohol for me although I don’t use it either.

The one thing I do like is CBD oil coupled with a melatonin. Talk about some gooooood sleep. I have trouble sleeping sometimes but with that combo I’ll sleep like a baby everytime.
Back to top
 
 
IP Logged
 
Rat Man
Slinging.org Administrator
*****
Offline


Slinging Rocks!

Posts: 13666
New Jersey, USA
Gender: male
Re: CLEAN AS THE DRIVEN SNOW
Reply #14 - Apr 17th, 2020 at 1:54pm
 
Bill Skinner wrote on Apr 12th, 2020 at 9:46am:
Congrats, Rat Man.  I did the same about 15 years ago.  I quit alcohol and tobacco, plus lost about 50 pounds. (25Kg)  And I did it all cold turkey, too, so I have an idea what you went through.

Now, the hard part begins.  And that's staying quit.


   How on earth did you quit tobacco and lose weight at the same time?  That's quite a feat.  Quitting smoking is the surest  way to put weight on.  Every time I quit I put on at least 30 lbs.
Back to top
 
 
IP Logged
 
Pages: 1 2 
Send Topic Print
(Moderators: Chris, Mauro Fiorentini, Rat Man, Masiakasaurus, David Morningstar, Curious Aardvark, Bill Skinner)