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Ask HN: How did you stop drinking?

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Re: Ask HN: How did you stop drinking?

#71

Post by wfrew »

lastofus wrote: post #60

Check out the Sinclair Method, which is basically taking Naltrexone before you drink. Also check out the book "The Cure for Alcoholism: The Medically Proven Way to Eliminate Alcohol Addiction" by Eskapa. I used this method, along with keeping a log of drinks consumed, to eventually quite drinking over the course of a year. I went from having anywhere from 3-8 drinks a night, every night, to eventually stopping comple…

100% also recommend the Sinclair Method. It weirds me out that it's not more widely known and is not being prescribed by doctors.

I had to stop taking naltrexone after ~6 months because it was giving me insomnia / I started noticing an irregular heartbeat during the night (don't think this was naltrexone related though). But the effects persisted for a long time. It was like a complete reset with respect to my response to alcohol.

Unfortunately after a year or two of drinking again without it, I was back to binge drinking again. Very similar pattern to OP.

In the end I made the decision that it's not worth the hassle - had my last few parties with family and friends over Xmas & new year and then quit altogether from Jan 1st this year. Difficult at first but non-alcoholic beers have been amazing to trick my brain into thinking I'm having a drink with everyone else when out and about and, honestly, recently I haven't been missing it at all.

Good luck OP!

Re: Ask HN: How did you stop drinking?

#73

Post by mbostleman »

I starting dating someone who was sober. For the first two years, I never drank around her - only if we were traveling apart. Then I just decided to quit altogether so that she wasn’t cast as the party pooper. It’s been three years since then and the first two were really hard. But in the last year, my addictive attraction has transitioned in to revulsion. I now feel pity for people who drink. I never saw this coming. I drank an unhealthy amount but never considered quitting for “recovery” purposes. I just met this girl and it worked. I quit smoking in 2004 and it took me roughly the same 3 year period for that addiction to subside and turn around to revulsion.

Re: Ask HN: How did you stop drinking?

#75

Post by wfrew »

SkyPuncher wrote: post #59

I've cut back by switching to non-alcohol beer. I've found that I enjoy the taste of beer, but I don't enjoy how shitty alcohol makes me feel. NA beer tends to solve that for me. Lots of good options coming out. * Just the Hazy by Sam Adams is top tier. * Athletic brewing is solely NA beer - lots of different varieties. * Heineken 0.0 is great * O'Douls amber is surprisingly passable as well I suspect the options wil…

Seconded!

I'd also add that NA beer also tricks my brain into not feeling awkward when I'm at a bar with friends who're all drinking.

Have also noticed that some NA beers make me feel elements of what I previously attributed to being hungover.

Re: Ask HN: How did you stop drinking?

#76

Post by UberFly »

algoatecorn wrote: post #5

I love beer and always drink fairly responsibly. The hangover from >2 beers is enough to keep me from having more than that. I used to average 2 on Friday, 2 on Saturday, maybe 1 on Sunday, and a couple of weekdays I might have 1 or 2. I always told myself that was perfectly fine because it's not excessive on a given night, but recent review of the literature convinced me otherwise. It was pretty hard to change my ha…

You sound like me. That Hazy Pale Ale at the end of the day is nice. I tend to limit myself to 1 though because I could easily go for more. There was an article posted to HN about "Blue Zones" - areas where it's common to live to 100. Most of those studied drank once a day.

Re: Ask HN: How did you stop drinking?

#77

Post by esperent »

SkyPuncher wrote: post #59

I've cut back by switching to non-alcohol beer. I've found that I enjoy the taste of beer, but I don't enjoy how shitty alcohol makes me feel. NA beer tends to solve that for me. Lots of good options coming out. * Just the Hazy by Sam Adams is top tier. * Athletic brewing is solely NA beer - lots of different varieties. * Heineken 0.0 is great * O'Douls amber is surprisingly passable as well I suspect the options wil…

> Lastly, I've discovered that I have an issue with wheat and/or gluten

I have exactly this problem but only with wheat beer, not other wheat products. It makes me feel awful, kind of lightheaded and I crash 30 minutes later and feel exhausted.

I don't have a problem with wheat or gluten though. My partner runs a bakery and if I had a problem with gluten I'm pretty sure I'd know about it. I have also tried elimination diets in the past to deal with migraines and wheat/gluten never showed up as an issue.

I also don't get this effect from non-wheat beer. So my guess is that some other chemical is created from wheat during the brewing process and I'm sensitive to that.

Re: Ask HN: How did you stop drinking?

#78

Post by eyelidlessness »

Siddarth1977 wrote: post #51
laluser wrote: post #20

Have some kids. It'll be torture when you have a headache and they're up before the sun rises.

I hope this was a joke, but if not, this is not good advice for most people. Having kids does not solve substance abuse issues, mental health issues, relationship issues or any similar problems. People may believe that having kids will fix whatever problem they're facing, but instead find that it just adds tremendous amounts of stress, burden and additional hardship on them.

I don’t think it’s a joke but I think it’s a perspective some people have when becoming a parent guides them to make better choices than they would have otherwise. My upbringing more closely (exactly) resembles what you warn. I’ll never have human children partly because of this experience, but I’m delighted that the experience of having a pup the past three years has brought out the instincts in me that I think a lot of people describe about human parenting in these discussions. I’m a kinder and more forgiving and more generous person because of the bond with my pup. I’m not just more open to joyful experiences, I’m more inclined to seek them out so I can enrich my pup’s life.

But you’re right, this isn’t a substitute for any improvement of any other serious issues in my life. It’s a positive relationship which helps me navigate those serious issues better, but it isn’t a solution. When my mental health is in bad shape, it can deteriorate the relationship the same way it does with my friends.

I agree but don’t want to emphatically agree with your point, because finding actual positive bonds whatever they are is part of how people stop reproducing negative cycles for themselves. It’s not enough, but it’s not always inherently selfish and negative either.

Re: Ask HN: How did you stop drinking?

#80

Post by moneycantbuy »

have a bad hangover. titrate/wean down alcohol dosage over days or weeks. cannabis gummies, cans of flavored carbonated water, habanero salsa. psilocybin for clarity to step away from bad habits. perhaps revisit alcohol occasionally and stop at one or two drinks. be around people who care about you. do other things for fun. eat well.
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