Introduce yourself here - lived experience

[Lhiver]

Good morning and welcome to our newest members @jojo2 @troutfrog @VisciousCercei @tinytim @Chelle71 @A82 @LizL @Heyitsalice @TellyChan @TellyChan @1307Flower* @TigerRiver

These forums are a tool to help you, whether you are on your own recovery journey or supporting a loved one! You can connect with others and find support and advice from people who are on their own journeys.

If you need any support or have a question just use the @ symbol to tag me!

[Lhiver]

Good morning and welcome to our newest members @PB92 @John3585 and @sj6996

These forums are a space for you to share your journey and connect with others who also have lived experiences.

If you have any questions, feel free to tag myself or our wonderful peer workers @ScorpionPW and @PnorkelPW and we'll get back to you ASAP

[Lhiver]

good morning and welcome to our new members @sugarandsage @tomato @Blacksblack @My Circus @Forfertility @gbureau @Nickc @Brahms1833* @t.f.29

This is a respectful and safe space for you to connect with others and find support, advice and connection during your recovery journey!

When you feel ready you can use this thread here to introduce yourself!

[Lhiver]

Good morning and welcome new members @Missbec2013 @Due6100 @Josh1111 @cryptocat and @jaded462

These forums are a space for you to share you journey and get support without judgement! Everyone here has their own lived experience and has advice and strategies to share!

I'll see you all around the forums

[bostonsweets]

hi , Im a dog lover , everyday reader and music lover. I also enjoy hiking.
I'm currently 3 months sober , and have been doing really well , with medication. But just this last week I'm actually dreaming of drinking and constantly thinking about just one glass.. thought id give the forum a go as I'm starting to slip mentally , I'm not feeling very strong atm. Anyone else hit a bump 3 months in ? thanks

[EMMI]

Hi @bostonsweets. Welcome to the forums. A safe space for you to share and connect with others going through similar things.
Firstly well done on being 3 months sober, amazing work, and secondly for jumping on the forums to connect with others. It takes courage and motivation to reach out.
I have tagged our 2 peer support workers @PnorkelPW @ScorpionPW who are online weekly to provide support, and to share their experiences and strategies.
You may find some useful threads and discussions in our 'Lets Talk' thread too.
Keep up the good work, our community is here to support you.

[Lhiver]

welcome to our newest members @Panlia @trent88 @Louise1980 @Bella1986 @Ange88834 @Gelato73 @WinterChill @Emillie and @thisistheway

This is a safe and support space for you all to find connection and support from others who are on similar recovery journeys!

If you have any questions, need some support or just want to check in use the @ symbol to tag myself or our wonderful peers workers @ScorpionPW and @PnorkelPW

[Xena9492]

Hi I’m never really sure what to write In these things. I guess my story isn’t really unique. I had a bad addiction to opioids , which I began to self medicate depression and anxiety. I’ve been on suboxone for a few years. I’m also pregnant which I’m very happy about. I’ve been trying to get off the suboxone , despite very conflicting advice about whether to wean , stay the same dose , or even increase it ! So it’s really confusing. I’ve managed to half my dose from when I first got pregnant , slowly and without too much trouble. But it’s getting so hard now , and of course I want the right thing for my baby so I want to keep going but it’s just harder than I thought. I guess that sounds silly. Anyways I guess I just wanted to meet some people who understand the challenges and don’t judge. I mean I judge myself and I get why people judge me too . But it’s just not hard to keep focus on the baby and their health when struggling with the withdrawals. Thanks for listening

[Sainter]

Hello, Xena9492,

Welcome to the forums. I am sure you will get some contacts and good advice as members read your post. Take care.

Sainter,
Forum moderator

[PnorkelPW]

Hi @bostonsweets and thanks for sharing on the forum. I’ll start by saying congratulations on 3 months!!!! That’s an awesome effort……..keep doing whatever it is you’re doing.

I’m at 6 and a half years in recovery and I still hit bumps all the time. I often find myself asking the question of what it would be like to have another drink and whether I could “control” it this time??? I remember one day in particular about 18 months into recovery and I was coming home from Tafe. As I left the train station and started walking home it was a hot summer’s night with daylight savings in full swing and people sitting out the front of the pub. I suddenly had a major craving that hadn’t been that strong since I’d stopped drinking. I wanted to be one of those people sitting there enjoying a drink……………but I’ll never be one of those people. I can never just enjoy a drink. I never stop when I start.

That’s what I have to remind myself of every time those thoughts start to appear again. I’m different and drinking causes trouble for me that extends past a hangover. Drinking starts to impact every aspect of my life because I become unreliable, it costs me a fortune and I end up under financial distress, my physical and mental health suffer…………my life turns to crap. When I’m not drinking the chaos disappears and life become enjoyable.

What’s changed for you in the three months since you stopped drinking??? What’s going better in your life??? How do you feel about yourself since you stopped drinking??? What have you accomplished in that time???

These are the questions I start to ask myself when I think about starting again and I start to think about what I’ve got to lose if I do pick up again. Perhaps the biggest question I ask myself though is this one…………what’s happening in my life right now that makes me feel like picking up a drink again??? Why am I looking for a quick fix??? It’s usually by answering these questions that I can identify solutions.

I’ve also found that talking about it helps. If that’s to a GP, psych, friend, whoever then that’s cool. If it’s writing a post about whatever is on your mind here on the forums then that’s great too. I’m sure other people would benefit from it and most of all I reckon you would. You can start a new thread on whatever is on your mind and it’s totally anonymous so why not take advantage of that??? Things like SMART Recovery meetings or AA meetings can be helpful in finding other people who are trying to stop drinking too.

Sometimes I need to set myself some fresh challenges when I hit a bump. What are you working towards at the moment??

I hope some of this helps…….you’re not alone and there’ll always be times like this but my experience has shown me that the longer I stay in recovery the more positive experiences I have to draw on.

Keep doing what’s working and if I can support in any way then I’m always here to share or answer any questions. Just tag me in your post and I’ll reply.

[PnorkelPW]

Hi @Xena9492 and thanks for sharing with us. Congratulations on the pregnancy and on the progress you’ve made so far with the suboxone reduction.

My experience with opioids and pharmacotherapy is limited to conversations with people I’ve worked with so I’m not going to offer any advice on that. What I would encourage you to do is talk to as many people as possible. You say you’ve had conflicting advice…………..my advice would be to go back and ask more questions. Ask as many questions as you can to gather as much information as you can and make the best informed decision you can.

I’ve seen people reduce and they’ve all said that the last bit is the hardest. A lot have found the initial drops pretty easy to handle but when it’s getting to the end they’ve really struggled. You’re going to have not just your health but that of your baby to consider so question, question, question.

[ScorpionPW]

Hi @bostonsweets, thanks so much for sharing and being open about where you're at...

Early recovery was a real rollercoaster ride for me, especially the first year. I had so many times where I felt like I was so close to picking up again and the only thing that made it so I was able to get through was having support around me. Everytime I would stop my drug of choice it would always only be a matter of time before I picked up again when I tried to do it alone. I actually think the longest I got was 3 months. I discovered that I needed a support network around me to have somewhere to go/something to do/somebody to talk to, to be able to get through the big ups and downs and cravings that would pop their head up from time to time. It was going to NA meetings that really made the difference for me. I remember when I was 9 months into recovery this time I had the worst obsession to use I'd experienced so far, I went to a meeting, got asked to share and spoke about the fact that I was going to use. Afterwards a couple of people asked if I wanted to grab a coffee...They said that if I still wanted to go and use after going out for coffee then nothing was stopping me but to just try that first. I decided to go and by the time I had gone out with some people, gotten out of my head and gotten some support I didn't want to pick up anymore. It's moments like this that remind me that I didn't get to where I am today alone.

I'm wondering if you've ever tried any kind of support groups before and if any of the things that have helped you through the past 3 months might help you now? I love going for walks out in nature too, always clears my mind and helps me reset.

Just remember we're always here and eager to hear how you're travelling

[ScorpionPW]

Hi @Xena9492, first of all I just want to say that it doesn't sound silly at all. There's no doubt that you want what's best for you and your baby but it's real that this stuff is really hard and your own well being and stability is so so important.

I watched my mum struggle with drug replacement for years so I saw first hand how challenging it is to reduce and get off completely, especially the last little bit as @PnorkelPW mentioned.

As we're peers in this space, and with no medical training we definitely can't offer advice around whether you should reduce, stay on the same dose or increase etc. But I can tell you that of the many years I've been in recovery, and the many people I've seen attempt to get off drug replacement there is a real constant I've noticed. When people get off their drug replacement but don't change their behaviours or move towards some kind of recovery action they almost always end up using again. The people who put action into recovery, into really changing their behavioural patterns and mindframe are the ones who seem to be able to stay abstinent when they jump off. I've also seen that when people reduce slowly and sensibly, guided by their doctor whilst putting this action into place it really helps and jumping off quickly with a desire to just get it out of their system more often than not end up picking up again as well.

You can be rest assured that there is no judgement here, it's a safe space and we're all here to share our experiences to help eachother on the journey. It would be great to hear what you discover along the way and if you find a place where you can go forward with some decisions you feel comfortable with you for yourself and the bub

[Lhiver]

Good morning and a massive welcome to our newest members!

@martinemily3 @suffer @Val_valles @cholley @The new me @Palermo @Kiaralouise @SunflowerSeed

This is a space for you to find support and connect with others! when you feel ready you can use this thread to introduce yourself!

If you have any questions please use the @ symbol to tag me or other members!

[SunflowerSeed]

Good afternoon!
And a warm welcome for our new members~ @BS1974 @tttttooooo @Addiction101 @EbonyJ @Liss3501 @Nutec @JayanneMoore @Natashalee @Silvia13
Use this forum as a space to find support and connect with each other. Feel free to use this thread to introduce yourself.

I am a new community builder to this forum, hi to everyone~

If you need help with anything, just @ us~ @Lhiver @PnorkelPW @ScorpionPW @SunflowerSeed