Do you have an addiction?

[3745 Laddie]

I've been a happy non smoker for nearly five years.If Allen Carr's Easyway can free me from the nicotine prison,as it surely did,then there's got to be hope for anyone at all still in there.In fact I'd also highly recommend his guidance on alcohol and illegal drugs.

[lothian]

I am an acoholic . At my worst I was one two bottles of Vodka a day . My liver stopped producing the enzyme that digests fat so I was unable to eat anything without it coming straight back up again . For two years I lived on Vodka , coke , and Vitamin pills . A combination of muscle wastage and brain damage meant I was losing the use of my legs and in danger of ending up in a wheelchair . A doctor told me he was amazed I was still alive and gave me at most six months to live . Librium (they had to give three times the normal dose ) saved my life , my legs , and my brain. I stayed sober for seven years , blew it in a heartbeat and went right back to drinking the same amount as I had before . Once you are an alkie you are one for life . I got the DTs for the first time ever seven moths today . It probably saved my life it was such a nightmarish experience i never want to go through it again .I detoxed the next day ( the process takes about five days ) and have been sober since .
But hey , apart from that everythings peachy... so party on dudes.

[billybunter]

Yes alcohol is a misunderstood drug. The worst I ever been is when my liver stopped. Portal vein gone. I have never felt as ill before or since. I could polish of 3/4 bottles of whiskey in a day. In the end I ran out of road. I went to my GP. My stomach had swollen with fluid. I was yellow; and I would have died if I said ah to hell with it. One look at me, my doc was typing out an emergency admission letter. In hospital they always ask you how much you drink. I never lie, what's the point. When I told them 4 btls of whiskey a day, they just looked at each other.
There are kids dying from organ failure now. A girl of 16 died at St. Martin's hospital in Dublin due to booze.

[pharoahegypt]

Shit!!!! Are we one bunch of Fu***d up peeps here...!!??? lol.

Bottoms up / Pass the ashtray, please..!!

[otokonomidori]

I reckon I've got an addictive personality - I became addicted to fags over the course of ten days in the summer of 1965.

That's why I've always avoided alcohol - I suspect that it wouldn't take long for me to need it.

Nowadays it's the internet - the amount of time I waste looking at it - first thing I do every morning. I keep an iPad on the kitchen table so that I'm never too far from being connected and if I wasn't so stupid I'd get myself a smart phone.

[theequestrian]

I've been smoking cigs for 41 years.
I've been shacking up with Mary Jane Hemp for 37 years. (In which span of time I have probably gone a TOTAL of 3 months without getting high)
I learned 2 things about my consumption early on:
1. Two beers and - before I passed out - I would invariably do something brilliant, like trying to take my pants off over my head.
2. I could smoke a chunk of blonde lebanese the size of a coffee-table and still operate heavy machinery.
Ganga won out. Am I an addict? Absolutely. I gleefully toast myself everyday.
But:
I work 60 hour weeks and have not been late or missed a day of work in 6 years. All my bills are paid off. I own my house and vehicles outright and have no outstanding debts. So I guess I'd be a good example of a 'fully functional addict'

[billybunter]

I was talking about alcohol. In rehab some people were there due to ganja. But they also drank. I smoked like a train for years. But beginning about 2002 I think, I quit. I have over the years tried everything. But no thanks now.

[billybunter]

One thing I would like to add. If you are addicted to anything, there is help out there 24/7. But see your doctor, or go to A&E/ER. They will help you. Never forget there are people out there to help.

BB

[jagturan]

Yeah, I got a problem with beer and cigarettes. I used to be a devout runner and workout enthusiast until 2006 when the stress from my responsibilities at work pulled me down like an anchor. Cigarettes and beer became a higher priority in providing temporary relief. Now that I'm no longer in the business of the Olde Nav, I no longer face those pressures. Yet, my 2 evil monkeys continue to torment me in subtle ways. For the past 4 years, I would kick the habit for almost 6 weeks several times, knowing that if I didn't, I'd be sharing stories that you brave souls have provided. Alas, I would slip back into the sickness, rationalizing with some poor excuse. Today, I have quite the smoker's hack. Sometimes in the morning my innards feel like Ebola road kill. I have no one to blame but myself. But I do still hope to quit, ironically, today. Again, thanks for your stories.

[9876543210]

billybunter,

Originally Posted by billybunter

One thing I would like to add. If you are addicted to anything, there is help out there 24/7. But see your doctor, or go to A&E/ER. They will help you. Never forget there are people out there to help.

BB

That may be true in Europe but not here in the US (at least for tobacco). Several years ago there was a settlement between the States and the tobacco companies which was, at least in part, supposed to be used for anyone that wanted to quit. Didn't happen in my State (Wisconsin). They used the money to pay off other debts they'd accrued elsewhere. And I've heard about the same about other states.

So, as is typical nowadays, corporations and the state do just fine while the people get screwed.