Alcoholism Support Group
Alcoholism is the continued consumption of alcoholic beverages, even when it is negatively affecting your health, work, relationships and life. If you think alcohol is causing you to lose control, it's time to seek help. Our group is a safe place to vent, check in, get back up if you fall, and reach sobriety.
So I started having some shortness of breath back in November. Was a smoker at the time. Somewhat short of breath even at rest or with modest everyday activity. After several weeks came to a head and I went to er thought I was having heart attack. Ran blood tests, ekg, chest xray, nothing. Told me I had maybe bronchitis (don't think I did) and told me to check with regular doctor for further test like copd, which they didn't see.
Didn't have a regular doctor, got one, can't stand her, ran a few test including pft test for copd asthma which registered normal. Blood pressure somewhat high, and I am overweight, so gave me beta blockers, something for heartburn, and flonase because my nasal passages were inflamed. Nothing for anxiety, which she felt was causing my shortness of breath - I felt it was the other way around, as who isn't going to be anxious with shortness of breath? I didn't feel anxiety before the shortness of breath started.
What's this got to do with alcohol? Well, I've been a drinker in the past, sometimes heavily, sporadically, but in the last year or so before the breathing problems started not much drinking at all. But with this latest breathing problem and then anxiety, I've started up again, big-time. Especially since around Christmas I drink heavily, because it sees to be the only thing that somewhat helps me to relax about my breathing problems and anxiety.
Now I'm drinking every day, heavily, and although my blood tests were fine in early December I somehow doubt they would be now. If I'm off work I sometimes just drink all day - I don't really get wasted just maintain a buzz for most of the day. I can't get to sleep without drinking, and of course that's not good sleep, and sometimes only get a few hours, 5 or 6 at best and that's broken sleep.
My doctor is useless I'm trying to get in to see another one, but now I'm afraid they'll just focus on the alcohol and not the shortness of breath which is what started all this. And I'm afraid I'm physically addicted to alcohol, which I never have been before, but sometimes I drink a fifth a day, in fact often. I'm trying to taper off and was starting to but my breathing, which had perhaps improved a little, kind of got worse again yesterday and I drank more than I intended. It's at the point now I'll sleep a few hours, wake up, have a shot, and try to go back to sleep, which sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. I also work evenings/nights which is probably not helping my sleep either. I'm just a big mess and if not for my kid I'm not sure how motivated I'd be to go on right now.
Just wanted to vent. I've posted on the copd forum also, which evidently I don't have, but I sure do have all the symptoms. I wish my doctor would have given me benzos, which I know are addictive but hey, it's better than drinking heavy every day imo.
Didn't have a regular doctor, got one, can't stand her, ran a few test including pft test for copd asthma which registered normal. Blood pressure somewhat high, and I am overweight, so gave me beta blockers, something for heartburn, and flonase because my nasal passages were inflamed. Nothing for anxiety, which she felt was causing my shortness of breath - I felt it was the other way around, as who isn't going to be anxious with shortness of breath? I didn't feel anxiety before the shortness of breath started.
What's this got to do with alcohol? Well, I've been a drinker in the past, sometimes heavily, sporadically, but in the last year or so before the breathing problems started not much drinking at all. But with this latest breathing problem and then anxiety, I've started up again, big-time. Especially since around Christmas I drink heavily, because it sees to be the only thing that somewhat helps me to relax about my breathing problems and anxiety.
Now I'm drinking every day, heavily, and although my blood tests were fine in early December I somehow doubt they would be now. If I'm off work I sometimes just drink all day - I don't really get wasted just maintain a buzz for most of the day. I can't get to sleep without drinking, and of course that's not good sleep, and sometimes only get a few hours, 5 or 6 at best and that's broken sleep.
My doctor is useless I'm trying to get in to see another one, but now I'm afraid they'll just focus on the alcohol and not the shortness of breath which is what started all this. And I'm afraid I'm physically addicted to alcohol, which I never have been before, but sometimes I drink a fifth a day, in fact often. I'm trying to taper off and was starting to but my breathing, which had perhaps improved a little, kind of got worse again yesterday and I drank more than I intended. It's at the point now I'll sleep a few hours, wake up, have a shot, and try to go back to sleep, which sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. I also work evenings/nights which is probably not helping my sleep either. I'm just a big mess and if not for my kid I'm not sure how motivated I'd be to go on right now.
Just wanted to vent. I've posted on the copd forum also, which evidently I don't have, but I sure do have all the symptoms. I wish my doctor would have given me benzos, which I know are addictive but hey, it's better than drinking heavy every day imo.
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Dick Van Dyke’s path to sobriety was a turning point in his life and career. Here’s what happened:How He Got SoberStruggles and Realization: Van Dyke began drinking as a teenager, largely to cope with shyness and social anxiety. Alcohol made him feel more comfortable in social settings, but over time, his drinking spiraled out of control. By his mid-40s, he recognized that he had an addictive...
As the title of your post suggests you are making things worse for yourself but the reasons why you are doing that may not be immediately obvious. You are caught in somewhat of a catch-22 situation where it is difficult to know whether your health difficulties are causing you to drink or if drinking is interfering with your health. There is a way to untangle the mess and you owe it to your child and to yourself to do whatever is necessary to get back to some sort of normal life.
Neither I nor anyone here can give you medical advice so all I can suggest is to put your trust in the doctors judgement. It often takes a bit of trial and error to get to the bottom of complex health problems and although we may not always like the doctors they generally know what they are doing. I would give your doctor a bit more time and if you are still not happy you can always get a second opinion.
Some things that you can do are in your own hands and do not depend on any doctor. I think you know that your drinking is not helping and that you need to address that issue. You have to start somewhere if you are to get your life back on track and a good starting point would be to quit drinking. Be honest with the doctor about this as there may be health implications when you withdraw from alcohol. If you are not an alcoholic you can go back to enjoying a social drink later, when other things are sorted out. However, if your drinking is out of control and you are finding it difficult to quit then you are in a different ballgame and may need help with that. Be aware that if you have become dependent on alcohol your mind will try to trick you into believing all sorts of things that are not true, just so that you can justify more drinking. It may be that drinking is not helping you to cope with other problems but is in fact the root cause of your difficulties.
I dont know much about benzos, except that I would rather try other things before I would take them. Why not check out AA meetings in your area to help you stop drinking. After that you can tackle the medical issues with a clear head.
I am working on tapering off because I know I need to.
My endurance and breathing seems to be directly related to how much I consume. Just finished an article on how many horrible things too much alcohol can do to a person's health and it basically scared the poop out of me.
One of them is heart disease which could be related to the shortness of breath thing I suppose.
Then the discomfort from the SOB makes it less pleasant to exercise, contributing to the vicious cycle.
I am on my 4th morning waking up of successful cutting back and my breathing feels a little better everyday.
I think this is pretty proof positive there is some relationship there!
So I am going to make sure I get my treadmill time in, and continue to eat healthy and take my vitamins.
Get a second opinion by all means but don't be surprised if another doctor won't give you benzos either, it is in your best interest to avoid these kinds of drugs if at all possible if you are likely to abuse such substances, as my doctor was keen to point out to me.
I got sober through AA's 12 Steps which gave me a lot of tools to deal with my anxiety amongst other things common to alcoholics.
Whether or not you are alcoholic is up to you to decide but a few things I found helpful as well was to learn how to control my breathing to keep calm and relaxed and then I went on to learn about meditation techniques. There are lots of good guides and classes out there to choose from. Good luck with finding what works best for you.
I just need to get this breathing thing figured out, it's very frustrating whiich is fueling my drinking. And now I'm getting intermittent tingling and numbness in my feet and hands sometimes - sometimes other places too. Seems a bit quick for alcoholic neuropathy but who knows. Diabetes perhaps but my glucose wasn't bad in December although I guess things can change fast with heavy drinking.
Or maybe I have MS or some other never/immune thing that's causing my breathing and other problems. Lol it's pretty frustrating. I tested negative for congestive heart failure at the hospital but there's other heart problems of course. At least I quit smoking, for all the apparent good that's done me.
As far as me being an alcoholic I don't know. I've certainly been an alcohol abuser. In the last year or so sometimes I'd have a drink or two and just get bored and stop and eat something thinking, "Why did I ever like this?" Unfortunately that is not the case now. Hopefully my breathing improves and I am able to cut down the alcohol then stop soon.
Normal people drink a couple of drinks and stop. Normal ppl don't wake up and have a shot... Normal ppl don't drink a fifth a day, i"in fact often..." Listen to what is happening.
1is2many
For me I found myself drinking every night, not getting blitzed but certainly drinking more over time and finding that I was obsessing about the drink. Even though maybe I wasn't getting up and having a shot, I still think I was heading for danger.
I think we are all in the same boat because when we drink out of the context of being social, we are probably heading for trouble. When I told my story, I announced that I think I have an alcohol problem. It wasn't too many posts before a member confronted me and said that if I hadn't figured it out yet, I was an alcoholic. Pretty blunt, but point on.
I think you would be best helped by seeking out a specialist that can help with your anxiety without the use of benzos. Benzos will only be another addictive substitute. Regarding your other health issues, maybe another doctor that you feel you can have faith in would help. I also agree that AA or another support group may provide you with some strategies to focus or recovery.