Kudzu as a treatment for alcoholism
You’ve made the decision to cut down on your drinking. At this point, you may be wondering “is there anything that I can take that could help me with my cravings?”
Currently a few drugs are popular for the treatment of alcoholism – Naltrexone, Acamprosate, and Disulfiram. None are always effective or appropriate.
Common side effects include diarrhoea, dyspepsia (indigestion), headache, nausea and vomiting, rash, and itching. More severe side effects have been associated with these drugs which cause suspicion as to whether they are doing more harm than good.
The pharmaceutical industry has little to offer for keeping alcoholics sober. Herbal medicines, on the other hand, have shown more promising and dramatic results. However, for profiteering reasons, it is not likely that drug companies or your doctor will provide herbal alternatives.
The herb Kudzu can cut consumption of alcohol in half perfectly safely without the side effects of drugs. It has been used to reduce drinking in China since 600 A.D. Scientists have found the herb to be effective in reducing alcohol intake in rats.
Recently, studies have shown evidence that Kudzu can reduce drinking in humans. Essentially, kudzu increases blood alcohol concentration so that people need less alcohol to feel its effects. People feel satisfied on fewer drinks.
So, where can you find some? David Lee, a chemist on the McLean Hospital research team did assays on a variety of kudzu herb extracts from stores and websites and found that many of these products contained less than 1 percent of active kudzu, and thus were ineffective. Higher concentrations are needed – around 30-40 percent of one of Kudzu’s active ingredients (puerarin) is advised. Please be aware that the Kudzu capsules available in Holland & Barrett are only 7%. The tincture they sell is of course alcohol based (all tinctures are), at roughly 60% alcohol.
We’ve reviewed a number of online Kudzu suppliers, and this is the best we could find:
Or read some more information about Kudzu.
Alternatively you can try Liv.52 – a herbal supplement proven to protect the liver from the damaging effects of alcohol. It assists in the process of detoxification also, in that it speeds up the elimination of acetaldehyde (which means your hangovers won’t be quite so nasty).
hey hopeless, yes the ex is like a teenanger, sooo immature. its so funny you would recognize that just from what ive said. thats exactly how to describe him. except he has brains and has a good computer job. which is how he knows how to track me down on everything i write! i basically think he or i will meet someone, but i m pretty sure its gonna be him bc hes not as picky as me. im positive its gonna be him actually. i meet someone every two years i really like. he meets someone the second hes at a bar. well im glad your doing well! talk to you soon.
Yep–I am like you, it takes me ages and can be years between people that I really like. He seems very immature that is why I can tell. How is the drinking going??
hi
sorry to not come on but i am having difficulties getting ‘her indoors’ of the computer
she is a total addict of ‘otalia’ not sure of the spelling, but it is american and an off shot of ‘guiding light’…spends hours watching the same shight over and over again, In fact it is difficult to even have a conversation with her she is so obsessed with this program and the story. and if we do have a conversation it comes back to oh olivia said that to nathalie so that makes sense!!**??”"!!
as for me, well we have moved into a big house so i am happy with the space. we are having money problems which is causing a lot of problems and basically i have been told that i am not allowed to buy the tablets because we cant afford them( i did get them from my doctor for a month and then they said if i have stopped drinking then i dont need then so basically ‘f’ off), i have to stop drinking (or she smashes up the place) and if i do fall down and drink the car keys are taken away and i am locked out of the house ………so i am not in a good place……….basically no support but much worse than that !!!
anyway when i did have the tablets they did seem to work, i did drink but put the drink down often and forgot about it for hours, so do keep up the good work Jen, i really think the Nal is the answer.
Glad to hear that you have left your boyfriend, try not to dwell on the fact that he may go out and find somebody tomorrow, it is a man thing, my ex husband did exactly the same thing but tracked me down after a few years and said it was me he really wanted but just couldn’t stand to be on his own. So it is not about you being easy to replace and everybody out there is more attractive, it is just about their bloody insecurities and the fact that they cannot survive without somebody, in fact anybody, to make them feel secure.
It is not about quality, just about having a plant to fill up the space.
we gals are better than that thank goodness:-)
anyway glad to hear that you are both doing ok, FH seems to have it sorted and you jen are about to join her i feel it in my waters………keep me a space, i am not there yet, but i have my eye on the ball.
hope all of the others are ok, erica and co and all of the new guys that came on and posted a few times and then disappeared……..would be nice to hear from you all
love and hugs to all of those on the path
katie
hey guys, kat im not there yet. i took the naltrexone on a wednesday and went out the following thursday. it had previousally worked for a few days it seemed, but when i wentout thurs it didnt work so well. well honestly, i started to feel like eh, yucky from drinking after awehilse. but i went out with this girl who is an all nighter-and i refuse to go out wtih her again-shes not a good friend or anything, so i dont feel bad not going out to bars with her. but she was my ride and i tol her eh im kinda drunk i wouldnt mind going home.. and shes like well can we just try these bars first? ( farther away from my house) and i was like eh… i guess. so in a way the naltrexone was working. i was semi drunk though. not thinking right. so we went to the other bars and she started talking to thsi guy and he bought us HHUUUGe shots. like in a cup. and i drank it and that was it. at that point i just was to drunk. so i cant say the nal doesnt work, it was a weird situation. and the other problem with th naltrexone for me is i dont always take it.. and the other problem is that as you said hopeless it doesnt really take the cravings away. it did at first. ive read alot about naltrexone and they say that when pople start taking it they go through the “honeymoon” period in the begining where it actually doies take away cravings and works well with driking. well either way its at least something. to help with cravings i ordered baclofen. i cant find anythying about it on the net hough, its like a new thing i guess. i heard about it on the mywayout message boards. well good luck, talk to you all soon.
i re read what i wrote, im not saying the nal doesnt work, its still a godsend. i even believe it did work that night, i wanted to go home and go to bed… but it was a weird situation. but it didnt work to the point of me saying ill just drink water .. lol but it def works. i also shouldve taken it that night, not just the day before.
Hi jen,
after having read the sinclair methord and after looking at FH……..and more importantly for me, looking at my own experiences, i definately think that FH is the better way to go, i.e. lock yourself up and dont drink for months and then use the nal when you venture out. I have tried doing the sinclair methord , as in take it and drink normally and althought the drink tastes like shight i can still drink. However, when i did not drink for about a month and took it and then drunk i really did not /was able to drink more that two drinks.,. I do think the nal works but really better if you have a period of abstenence.
anyway we are all finding our own way so just keep doing it and posting and sharing
totally grateful to all of you guys
hugs katie
Hi All–KATIE!!! So nice to see you!
OK–I have to say I have not even had a drink in two months and really do not even want one. I would love a glass of Champagne at some point but have not had the desire to go buy alcohol for the sake but rather would have it if I was in a situation that I was to drink.
Jen–I think the Naltrexone is really not understood by most. It IS NOT for cravings and I think that all the people who talk about “honeymoon” periods or how it takes cravings away are full of shit to be honest. The fact is that the medication is an opiate blocker and IN MY OPINION what we all suffer from when we are alcoholic is an opiate surge that most drinkers DO NOT get. So this actually blocks that. Can we get drunk? HELL YES! It does not take our ability to enjoy it away it just makes us get the same high as anyone else who drinks. The difference is that we no longer have the SURGE that makes it impossible for us to stop drinking when we start. I have absolutely drank too much on Naltrexone BUT never drank as much as I would if I were not on it. I drank too much like a normal drinker drinks too much not like I used to with BOTTLES around me days later after my “glass of wine”. It is just a mechanism of stopping that insane desire to continue drinking at all costs.
Katie the fact they would not give you more pills is also down to the misconception that Naltrexone helps people “off” alcohol or “to stay” sober or “to stop cravings”. It amazes me that these are medical professionals and they know the fact that Naltrexone is an opiate antagonist BUT do not seem to get the fact that alcoholic drinking is down to an opiate mediated response.
I am very seriously thinking of leaving here and setting up a clinic in Thailand and working with some doctor there to set up a place alcoholics can come and get Naltrexone, get medical care to detox, learn to live again and eat right, excercise and go home with a prescription and even a note to their GP’s (personal doctor in USA Jen) explaining Naltrexone and how to use it!
Anyway enough rambling on my part. Yes Katie, now I am in control for once BUT as Jen and you know I have had some lapses even during this period. I have slipped with taking the Naltrexone which is one reason I actually favour the implant which I do not have but do think it is even safer. As alcoholics who have experienced that AMAZING ride we go on and the mental glamourisation we create around our drinking we do tend to purposely go off the meds to “be able to party” for a longer time and then in turn slip into a good old fashioned drunk.
Jen–what you did is pushed on which is what many people who are normal drinkers do. For example when you speak to people who have gone out for work, or to a wedding, party or happy hour–you always get people who are hungover but are normal drinkers. What happens is that you “party on” even though you do not need to but you do it to be social. For me this has happened on Naltrexone but the difference is that early on I did not “need” more I chose more whereas before I would have NEEDED more once I started and rather than being the one pushed into “another bar”, “another drink” etc I was the one doing the pushing. On Naltrexone if it happens it is to be social NOT because I need or am in a craze for more. This is why normal drinkers also get drunk!
I have concluded that Naltrexone takes the override opiate reaction away but leaves the endorphine reaction everyone else gets intact, specifically the GABA relaxation mechanism of alcohol. This relaxes you, lowers inhibitions, makes you more outgoing, talkative then more sleepy and relaxed. The opiate reaction which we have changes our personality completely and goes far beyond the normal relaxed state into an almost trance state.
OK all missed you Katie and yes I would love to know whatever happened to the others!!
Hugs-
FH
Formerly Hopeless….hope you are well…I dont usually have much time to read everyones comments as I work stupid hours and always busy.I just wanted to ask you what product of Kudzu is the best to buy? My doctor is not the best to say the least and I would find it difficuilt to approach him with my drink problem.Thing is I never go out,just drink at home…whisky..neat!! I just wish I could find a pill to make me sick….I rarely get drunk as my tolerance level is now sky high,but my liver is struggling for sure.I bought Holland & Barrett Kudzu but have researched they are not strong enough!!! I would love to say as you have “havent had a drink for 2 months”…blimey thats great!!..but I cant ever see that happening…..To be honest am more worried about my mind than my body….doesnt bother me to die,but I certainly dont want the many health complications that go with alcoholism!!! Hey….keep it up…well..well done.Mickey
hi
just touching base, I have got into the habit of not looking at the computer which is not good and i think for people that need support it is better to come on and talk crap than not to post.
at the moment i am in the in between state of waiting for some more medication to come from america so i am drinking without meds, but in my defence i have had no choice. I have to say since my periods of cleaness i have not gone overboard, before it was two bottles minimum of the strongest stuff + anything else that i could get my hands on.
Now I can drink a bottle and be nicely fuzzy, now i know that this will begin to increase if i do nothing so as soon as the meds arrive my plan is to get back on track. I think times without alchoihol and the nal have redeuced the amount i need to take in to feel pissed but my intention is to stop and onlyu drink on the nal. You know the crazy thing is that without it i am in a panic mode, when i have it i really have less need to drink….total co-dependent paranoia.
anyhow tell me more about the clinic you want to set up in thailand FH, it sounds good but are there any implications about giving people medication to take home in the US, over here we are riddled with regulations, part of me is wopndering if the nal will get through customs………li am fairly sure that you are not allowed to post drugs through the post over here, but we will see,……if not i am afraid i will just have to come abnd live in either jen’s or FH’s spare room (or anybody else that is fool enough to open their doors) until i can build up a stock of med’s
))
life is bloody difficult for a recovering alchi is it not??
love and hugs
katie
bloody hell excuse the spelling……….i didn’t bother to put my glasses on …i think you can tell:-((
Kat–YOU CAN import drugs into UK with relative ease. It is easier than to get things into USA actually. For Naltrexone try this site just add .com to it: alldaychemist they are the cheapest and best.
As for bringing drugs home–well it would not be a problem. You CAN bring anything prescribed abroad home to almost any country. Then you can also have a note explaining what you need and why and a doctor should prescribe it and call the clinic with any questions or write an email etc. That is more or less my idea in terms of the clinic. I would actually view it more as a retreat where people would go to get OFF heavy drinking then get on a Sinclair Type programme. I would work with a local doctor and also offer peer counselling and groups as well as nutritional and holistic support (Thai Massage, acupuncture, yoga, chinese herbs etc). In addition people would basically be on a holiday and encouraged to relax, enjoy and get healthy and emotional issues would be addressed as well.
The biggest complication for me would be the start up costs as it would take a great deal of money to get the property and develop it as it would need to be purpose built with bungalows or in the form of a proper hotel though bungalows would be best. The pharmaceuticals are relatively easy in Thailand and the doctors relatively cheap so having initial lab work-ups done and problems addressed with health issues would be easy as would it be to get the meds and the distribution of meds are not as controlled so simply having an on-call physician and night staff able to monitor intake patients during the first 72 hours.
Exciting thought but as per so many great ideas I have dosh stands in my way of realising these dreams!
What is it you are drinking Kat? I can tell you a trick I used at the end before I got Nal—eat a TON and then drink. It is harder to get drunk, harder to drink too much and you get full before you get too drunk.
Why were you waiting for meds from USA??? All day chemist gets the meds to you in days!
Thursday 18th March 2010
just checking in to see if anybody is still coming here. It has been six months now it would be nice to know what has happened to everybody
hugs xx
Hi Kat
I am an old “member” on here who dived in and out and been having a bad time – I too wonder where everyone is – particularly Hopeless – I loved her posts – so wise and knowledgeable, I felt she kept the whole thing going. I do hope she is OK – be good to hear.
im still here kate, and im still strugglin! heheh hopeless seemed to have found her way, which is prob why she hasnt came back. thats great for her
hi
great to see that you are all there still:-)))
jen i have been emailing FH and she is totally still around……….we have been talking about you a lot. I am going to tell her to get back. the problem is there is such a time lag between posting and it getting put up.
what is going on with you and the BF? I think you were about to ship him out the last time, but he had a nice hair cut that made him look hot so you were having second thoughts………could be wrong!!!
If the moderators cant be bothered to moderate i dont know why they just dont let the post go up automatically and then take them down if they dont like them in their own time. Anyway not my board i guess!
hey worried i rememeber the name but am not sure of your story, but anyway hi to you again. please both of you keep coming back and i will give hopeless a nudge.
I have sort of stopped but am struggling too, feel like an accident waiting to happen. lets help each other
speak soon
hugs
katie
Hi-It is so nice to see people back! Worried I am sorry to hear you are struggling. Jen nice to hear from you. I had checked many times but people really had disappeared. I have got some new people who have actually just directly mailed ME due to some posts I had earlier on. I also have kept contact with Katie as she has my email and I welcomed anyone to contact me. It seemed things kind of just dissipated.
Well please everyone share what is actually up. Like Jen, where are you at? Is the bf finally gone? What is your use like? Worried why are you doing poorly?
As for me, well I will never say I “found my way” I have found a way to mitigate some of the damage I am doing to myself. I no longer go on weekly binges with a week off and a week on. I no longer am as out of control as I was but I have had my ups and downs. Naltrexone is a great tool and it does work and if I had access to an implant I would probably opt for it. My biggest issue with Naltrexone is that I take it as per the Sinclair Method and as such it makes me feel sick, nausea and dizzy, sickly. So I end up taking it TO drink then I do not drink because I already feel too ill. In a way that is good, but it is not good because it does not enable me to “extinguish” my excess drinking.
There are times I have chosen, most notably a year ago, to NOT use any Naltrexone and drink. This particular episode was following a horrible family situation and I opted to go get a bottle of Bacardi (mainly because it had been years since I had used hard liquor and while I drank hard liquor over the years it never seemed to lead to benders nor the high I got from wine) WELL what a mistake. I ended up for DAYS, I think about 6 or so, in the most drunken condition I can recall in years. I was buying BOTTLES of vodka, rum and more and more and I think I was drinking a litre or two a day and one day even drank a full quart. I “came out” as I do, and realised I had to stop and at that point my place was a tip (complete mess) and I felt worse than normally. I had no insurance and did not, despite the fact I probably should have, even go to the doctor. I also had run out of valium so I was literally detoxing on my own. I ended up with severe URQ (upper right quadrant) pain–a sign of liver damage or swelling, I had signs of what essentially was alcoholic hepatitis. I even suffered what is known as “hepatic encephalopathy” albeit mild. I may just have had a mild case of swelling and not alcoholic hepatitis, having not seen my enzymes I cannot tell you. I do know I was scared out of drinking for months and did heal slowly over time. There was a point where I was hearing and seeing everything through tunnels and wondered if I ever would feel normal again or if I was dying.
Since then I have been checked out and seemingly am ok. I have resumed drinking, but very infrequently, excessively to an extent but realised that in reality my excess is not very excessive, I know it is above what people recommend, but at worst I do a bottle or two of wine and have only had a handful of the “several days of non-stop drinking” episodes. These all involve a couple of bottles of wine a day, keeping up my home to a greater degree than ever before, and lately I do not even do that. Drinking has actually been making me quite sick lately, almost as if my body has either rejected all alcohol (I can puke after a few drinks now and many nights I have dumped out most of the second bottle of wine, the first bottle having been consumed over several hours so not too excessive). My assumption is either there is some liver damage or possibly gallbladder or pancreas or alternatively I just am reacting normal to alcohol having cut back so much in the last year plus.
As for all else, well I am trying to start to get out of here finally. I decided to take my losses and move on and am trying to sell up now and will see where life takes me after that. I would like to return to Europe but I am not sure if it is so wise with the economy as it is and Asia is looking nice right now!
Anyway that is where I am, please feel free to all share and you all can always email me!
X to all!
Found the oddest way to get free care in the USA! Being European and only half American I have an accent. I drank last week and have not felt right since. I did not drink a lot but even small amounts keep causing vomiting, the runs and just generally bad. WELL I decided to play “dumb tourist worried” and walked into the ER (A&E) and was treated without them asking a method of payment, taking an address, or anything. It was dumbfounding. I was put on a drip because the attending said my blood pressure was a bit high (it is normally very low). They did a battery of tests and told me that my body is “not used to alcohol and I probably lack the enzymes to actually process it because I am Asian”. The funny thing, I am NOT Asian. I have often been mistaken but I am actually not Asian. Reassuringly they told me that it was not any major organ systems and at worst was a case of IBS that was being aggravated. I did tell them that I have drank a good share in my life and they did a scan of my abdomen. Again telling me nothing was swollen and that I likely had IBS and was welcome to a colonoscopy, to which I said no thank you. They did suggest I NOT drink and also said that if I had drank over a long period of time my body may have compensated and later when I reduced it can just no longer handle it.
In an odd way I am happy. Not just for the clean bill of health but because it tells me that I am so far reduced that alcohol makes me ill. I also think there may be some chemical changes that happened since my Naltrexone start and I may be at the “start point” once again.
I must say that is the oddest thing I have ever seen-from someone who went days without getting sick to someone who cannot handle her booze!
I actually look at it as a positive. I also think that it speaks volumes that Americans are going bankrupt (and for all you B. Hussein fans—he did NOT pass any national healthcare, he passed a mandatory bill requiring all people BUY insurance and slightly reprimanded the insurance companies for putting caps on people and for excluding people or charging higher premiums for “pre-existing conditions”, in short, as with all of his presidency, smoke and mirrors. Ironically a foreign born national can walk into any hospital and be treated.
Hey all! Got out of the habit of comin here so, sorry for not lookin! Hopeless, you seem ok. alcoholics will always struggle, but u are so far better than before. Good thing on these weekly binges you seldom have, or days, you dont go driving your car or anything. ( like i have, and rarely do, but still have-when there are pills involved or substances that make me high and i guess above it all) Of course it leads to horrible mental and physical feelings after your binges. Im sure the naltrexone may have had some effects on you and a change of brain chemistry from keeping so much tiem off. im not surprised the doctors couldnt see evidence of drinking problems hopeless, because you dont drink that often, you would raelly be considered a problem drinker. are you dating anyone? Katie, hi again! Have you ever heard from your ex girlfriend? do u still talk? How is the alcohol consumption?
Im still with the guy. we have been much different though. not as close, hanging out with other members of the opposite sex. im more free kind of. its little by little been worse and were less close. we broke up in the summer and i dated another guy that i really like to much. he was s pushy though. and he was into drugs everyday. like pills, and coke…and of course i did them with him.so it was a terrible situation and only worsened. my alcohol consumption, if im working, is only at night. and i can control it. i purposely will only buy two mini wines at the liquor store. which comes out to two large glasses ( half of bottle) and i have good times with controlling it. but lately for awehile now, ive noticed i simply dont get much of a high from alcohol and i crave a high from somehwere-if ive started drinking. so i have some friends that sell pills such as percocet, oxycodone. so in the past few months ive had bad times where i would take these, and i end up drinking badly for a few days. not non stop, but like, the afternoon till the night with breaks in between. if im not on any type of pill, the drinking simply doesnt get out of control, for like i guess a year or two now. i mean ill still drink alot in one sitting if im out with friends, but my tolerance is high so. its like, i know myself well and i can feel good from the first few beers or drinks, and thena fter i start just feeling nothing. i continue to drink, but slowly, if im out at a bar. i just dont get very happy at all from drinking.. but, the downside to this is when i start drinking, then i immedately want these pills. so. i too have good times and have had those few days where everything went bad. the pills are when the drinking and driving has happened too. i go to get them. after a last pill binge though, im pretty positive i wont have one for awehile. i get nightmarish depressed after. and i dont sleep with my insomnia. so i lay there and really wanna die.
So im obtaining a masters, in social work at a realy good school in nyc. so i really try to keep myself in check, i cannot drink to excess at this time. or take pills. im so busy with school right now, so i probably wont come back on here for a few weeks. i hope u guys do well! i cant believe ya wanna leave the country hopeless!
oh btw, the newest pill for alcoholism thats reallyg etting attention is called baclofen. i used it and it worked amazingly. i was only up to 70mg, and you have to almost double that, and i barely had cravings. and it could moderate, it worked somewhat like naltrexone where u didnt feel as good from drinking. but, i was one of the few people that had some side effects i couldnt deal with..time magazine did an article on it, and others if u guys are interested in googling
Jen it is soooo nice to see you back. I am like you I did not realise anyone was posting so I stopped looking too until Katie told me people were back. I can say this Jen, I am AN ALCOHOLIC/ADDICT. There is no doubt for me. I won’t start drinking until I know I am going to drink until I sleep. I have also built a tolerance for pills, benzos which is no surprise as they are the same as alcohol in pill form and developed quite a tolerance. I think way back I mentioned this. It is a class of drugs that affect GABA and that is what alcohol does too. They use it to detox and I kept binge drinking and detoxing so long that after a while I became dependent on the pills. It got better but knowing all I know I started to use it to alleviate hangovers and slowly use it just to chill instead of drinking. It is the lesser of two evils but like you, I substitute one for the other I think. I have drank on and off and like you said, my drinking is not obscene just continuous. When I start, especially if I am depressed, I just do not stop for days. That has become almost obsolete. I cannot do the binges anymore and many nights I would get an extra bottle of wine only to dump one out after a glass so I was drinking a bottle and a glass really and then just getting hungover. That, for me, is a huge improvement. This is even without the Naltrexone.
I have known of Baclofen but have not tried it yet. I do not take my Naltrexone a lot but like I said I have also not had the tolerance either so my 7 day benders have almost gone totally. It is more or less from time to time now.
I was seeing someone then I broke it off and I am kind of seeing this guy who is really cute and smart he looks like a younger and straighter Ricky Martin actually. I just have this suspicion he has a gf and I am kind of the mistress so to speak. I want to confront him but I have not wanted to seem like I am accusing him. He just will make plans then something comes up. I hate these situations. I did meet another guy too who is cute but not hot like the other one. This one is 25 and from New Orleans. Nice guy and personality and really into me but I have not really done much as I feel like I am cheating but then when I got some lame excuse from the Ricky Martin looking guy I called him and we slept together, oh well.
I do not like you doing the coke and the oxycodone and percocet. Email me and I can give you less harmful alternatives. I won’t say I condone it but if you are intent on doing something I have a good source, which I do not use btw, for similar but less addictive and harmful drugs.
Otherwise your life seems like it is better than it was so I am happy for you. I really missed all the people here and am hoping that we can at least check in from time to time. I did realise that while I drink a lot when I drink I binge and my benders have not been particularly bad, especially in the last year since my horrible bender which also was scary for me. I mean I really thought my liver was on the verge of failing. I had bad signs and knowing too much can scare the sh*t out of you, trust me.
Hope everyone else is ok. I am about to get ready to go out but hope you all have a great night and Jen check in again!!!
question to all here–my ex hubby, soon to be hubby again is an alcoholic. He began drinking heavily to sleep at night when he lost his medical insurance and could not afford the 350.0/month meds he had been on. Barlay, hops and grain was a cheaper sol’n. He had tried all the other “natural” sleep remedies with no luck. He has quit drinking off and on, usually lasts about 6 weeks. Finally, went to a gp(general pract.) MD who prescribed Campral and Valium to help with the sleep. Worked for a while, then started drinking again. Valium at 5mg/night no longer working. Back to dr, who increased the Valium to 10mg/night. Not working. Went for 5 days and nights with no sleep. Broke down and bought a 18 pk to knock himself out and only slept 3-4 hrs-Period. Went back to dr, prescribed Risperadol 30 mg/night and told him that the Dr. felt he was in over his head and if this didnt work, he would refer to a shrink. Ok, that was over a month ago–still not working. Back to drinking heavily “to sleep” if only for 3-4 hrs night. His insomnia has increased, the drinking has increased. Making an appt for shrink today. My question to anyone on here is this—does the Kudzu actually work? Can it help? The guy just wants to be able to sleep at least 6 hrs a night, undisturbed. And says he doesn’t want to drink anymore, just to get there.
hey gayle, I COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND. i have insomnia So bad and when i stop drinking or lessen it, my insomnia is absolutely the worst. iw ont go to bed till four am and ill wake up a 8, like, everynight! i took over the counter “unisom” for ten years, and had very little problem getting off of it.. except for some insomnia for about a month. but not terrible ya know? it was worth if it he needs it temporarily. u can even split the pill in half. that is the same ingredient or close, as in nyquil. its an antihistamine. bendaryl could be used as well, that is for allergies. valium and all that, bad.. and then the insomnia reallly gets worse if u stop taking them. forget it if i took those and stopped, id be up everynight, all night. hopeless, i agree id like to enver do those drugs. id be interested in the “natural” things, maybe occasionally so i wouldnt go out and get the others. i need ur email though..
Hi Jen and Gaye Lynn. Doctors do not get anything about benzodiazepines. They are actually a medication that is very addictive and the tolerance develops fast. I myself have had issues with them as I used them to detox me often as they are cross tolerant to alcohol. That is why he is self-medicating. Most natural remedies do not work. I take benadryl which is the same as Unisom and other brands (diphenydramine) It is an antihistamine and can help for some but not all. I take 50mg a night plus 2 3mg melatonin tablets.
My suggestion, if he does not have insurance, is to email me at lex2006rico@yahoo.com and I can give you a link to a site that sells anti-depressants that are very good for sleep, in fact they will help both. BUT he will need to taper his alcohol and benzo use. The anti-depressant is called desaryl and can be found (if you prefer not to email me) on a site called netedorders but is available only for US residents as they ship with an RX as they do an online consult (the FDA allows this). The cost is less than he would pay uninsured for both a doctor and a prescription and they do overnight it.
If you have any other questions feel free to contact me.
wow, im so proud of myself for knowing myself so well. heheh. lol i take dmae for my skin and i was pretty sure this had something to do with why alcohol seemed to have lost its effect alot on me. both in cravings and when i drink it. dmae is supposed to increase elasticity in skin. i questioned whether it was in my head. but after doing some research, i noticed i dont think it is in my head
Chinese herbs do work because it is time tested.:`.
Help Me….
I am a 31 year old male, i have been drinking heavily for about 4 years. I know when and when not to drink (Work, around my kids) but i just drink too much in the short time available… Will this really help me, i have tried to quit, but when i try i freak out in my sleep (thinking i’m dying and staying awake just in case)…
I love my wife and children more than anything, my wife has tried to help me, but she has her own problems with work… I tried AA but they were mad drunks, not just the binger, those people scared even me…
I just want to know if this works,
Thanks in advance for your help on this matter..
Craig
I bought the Planetary Formulas Kudzu – two a day, twice a day and although it seemed to help, also gave me awful stomach pains and diarrhoea.
We have all tried Kudzu and the consensus is that it really does not work that well. I recommend reading some of my earlier posts on Naltrexone and the Sinclair Method.
Hi, I’ve been struggling with the drink for a few years now.
I dont enjoy it anymore, I might get a little pleasure here and there but mostly its just getting to the numbing that I feel I need.
I am going to try a detox like this:
http://www.orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v01n06.shtml
with added Kudzu.
I’ve been through one hospital detox supplied by the NHS (I am in the UK) but there was no support after and after three weeks clean I was drinking again.
And I have had, I think, 5 detox’s supplied by prescriptions by my NHS doctor with Librium and another 2 with Diazapam. But I have struggled to keep off the booze for more than 4 weeks with any given detox.
I am in counselling with my local NHS service but I dont find them much help. I have also been to an AA group but again it is not that relevant to me.
The NHS should be ruled out. They neither understand nor sympathise with alcoholism. Please read some of my old posts, take them to your GP and get yourself a shot of Vivitrol (the benefits of socialised benefits are few but this is one).
I used to go on 10 day massive binges. I am NO way cured, but my control is infinitely better. Also ask for a liver enzyme test, it may be enough to scare you—I think I had hepatitis but at the time was living in USA and had no insurance. I was so bad I really believed in 30 days I would be dead.
Good luck!
Hello Formerly Hopeless,
I agree about the NHS, my GP surgery is useless. I have had a drinking problem for years – mostly averaging a bottle or so of wine per day over many years. Tried everything even asking GP for help – they do not want or are able, to help. I was brushed off with just stick to two units a day. Now I am a diabetic with raised liver ALTs of 90 (should be under 35). GP says it is fatty liver (ultrasound confirmed) but no hepatitis and all other liver tests ok. I am suspicious it is alcohol but now on Metformin and GP surgery keeps ringing to get me to go and have more bloods. They are only interested in diabetes which I think I got as a result of drinking and stress although it is in my family.
Feel hopeless and worthless but will try anything. Tried Kudzu but no use. Not sure I should use Baclofen now I am diabetic so cannot comment. Urge to drink is quite bad some days, ok others.
Can you get a shot of vivitrol from a private doc?
Thanks for the interesting posts which I read when I discovered this site today. Take great care. Fx
Hi All- I am new to this site. I live in the USA, is this site from the UK? Anyhow, I am really scared right now. A nervous wreck. I have been a heavy drinker for the past 5 years.
The longest I have been sober is 59 days back in March/April with the help of AA and Vicodin. I know that sounds bad (the Vicodin) but I have been prescribed it for severe pelvic cramps and have been on it for 3 years every day and did not start increasing my dosage until this summer and fall, after having surgery for another reason and also a bout of ischemic colitis (doc explained it is like a “heart attack of the colon”). I was in the hospital for 3 days on constant morphine. Was given stronger mg. of Vicodin for pain upon release. So I was able to increase my Vicodin usage in that manner. That said, I found that by taking the Vicodin, it kept me in a good mood, gave me more energy and made it so I did not want to drink for those 59 days. Then I noticed I seemed to crave more and more Vicodin.
That also scared me, so I went on an at home Vicodin detox. It was total hell! Took me 5 days of being in constant pain. My muscles and bones felt like they were on fire. After 5 days, all that went away. Then I was stuck with my booze problem and decided to detox at home from that. I had Klonopin and a beta-blocker script (it is a blood pressure med used for people who have high anxiety and start shaking internally and externally- I have high anxiety in certain social situations). The Klonopin is not normally used for detox, but it was all I had. The beta-blocker helped to keep my blood pressure from sky-rocketing, which can happen in a detox. That is why they always say to detox at a detox facility. I do not recommend at home detox, but for family reasons that was what I elected to do.
I went through three days of constant profuse sweating, alternating with feeling freezing cold 24/7. I would wake up constantly at night with my bed and even my pillow soaked from sweat. After those 3 days of hell, it stopped. I stayed sober for only 5 days and then went and bought booze.
I only drink at home, usually when my husband is at work during the day. Mainly, because he gets very disgusted and will start fights with me when I drink when he is at home. I have said some really nasty things to him while drunk. I am surprised he hasn’t divorced me, but I think it is because he really has no where else to live. (He has a very low-paying job).
Anyhow, the reason I am scared is because I am currently craving alcohol like never person. It is all I think about. I can never last a day now without going out and buying a pint of whiskey- my drink of choice. Sometimes 2. I did start going back to AA and got another 24 hour chip. That was last week.
I stopped going after the one day because I did not want to go back and tell everyone I started drinking again. Everyone was so happy to see me back, as I had been going there 5 days a week and then stopped in June.
I have been to rehab, detox facilities, none of that worked. The moment I got out I would go buy booze. I have attempted suicide twice while drinking and was brought to the ER.
I have had my liver tested and as far as my enzyme levels my liver is normal. I have had my heart checked and it is fine also. I don’t even want to know what my brain looks like. I have seen CT scans of brains after 10 years of heavy alcohol use and it looks like dents all over the brain.
I have a hard time believing that my liver is fine. But I do take milk thistle by the handful every day. It is supposed to be the most potent natural herb for detoxing the liver of harmful substances. I would advise any of you out there to take it if you continue to drink. I have no proof that it is saving my liver, other than the fact that with 5 years of heavy drinking my tests keep coming back normal.
Every day I wake up, I check to see if the whites of my eyes are yellow, which would mean my liver is finally failing. This is no way to live. I am going to detox again at home this week. I am hoping it won’t be as bad as the last time, but seeing I just did it 5 days ago, then drank another 5 days, I am hoping the detox will be less intense.
I started drinking 13 years ago when I retired from my job. It started out with a few glasses of wine every few days or so. Then once in awhile a bottle and this went on 8 years, until it became progressively worse over the last 5 years. My father and his sister and my grandfather were all alcoholics. My sister is an alcoholic. I am an alcoholic. My father committed suicide when I was 15. I believe my daughter and her husband are both highly functioning alcoholics.
I believe I started drinking out of boredom and my daughter leaving for college. I got a divorce and lived alone for 6 years until I married my current (and last- I hope) husband. I have become increasingly more neurotic and am afraid to leave my house, with the exception of going to my counselor, AA meetings and my shrink for my medications (I am also bipolar). I suffer from daily low grade depression. I never seem to be happy unless I am drinking. I can’t go on any type of anti-depressants because it makes the manic side of my bipolar come out.
My whole family, with the exception of my husband, thinks I quit drinking in February. Part of me wants to tell them I am still drinking, the other part wants to hide it from them, as I am afraid they will become very angry and resent my lying to them and they will never trust me again, although I did tell my sister and my daughter that I had a few “slips” .
I am afraid if I do not totally quit drinking soon that I will die an early death from alcoholism. We all have to die, but I do not want to die from alcoholism and bring that shame upon my family. I have tried to drink less, but that never works. I just end up going out and buying more booze. I feel I need to be locked up in rehab for 90 days, but I know it will be a waste of time- I will just drink the minute I get out.
I know I have no purpose in life and should get another job to keep me busy. But the few times I have gone out and applied for jobs I have panic attacks. I am not sure if I should just say screw it and keep drinking or keep trying to quit. I told my husband if I can not drink for 5-6 days and then drink a day, then that is better than every day. But I white knuckle it those 5-6 days, and then I can’t take it anymore and go out for booze.
I want to drink right now. The package store opens at 10 and I keep looking at the clock. My AA meeting starts at noon and I want to go and then I don’t want to go. I am not sure if an AA meeting will prevent me from drinking. I live in a remote area, so it is an hour round trip to the AA meeting. It also happens to be where I need to drive to get booze. I am afraid if I go to the AA meeting I will just go get booze the minute I get out of there. My days drag if I do not drink. I am in one big mess. Sometimes I think the only way out is suicide, but that would be even a worse shame for my family. I feel relatively hopeless.