how do i even go about getting help?

o.k. i'm still struggling w/my weight but 134 lbs on a 5'4 frame isn;t so bad.

i know thre's AA and stuff but that won;t be enough 2 do it 4 me, i don;t think.  i drink more than any of u kids can imagine. what do i do??

Hi Natalie,
You can contact the following agencies in Bucks County, PA.
http://www.bccadd.org/main/default.asp

or

www.livengrin.org, which is where I am getting my outpatient treatment.

Both of those websites should have the phone numbers.

If you think you are in need of emergency medical care, get to Frankford Bucks Hospital's Emergency Room, and they can refer you to inpatient detox.

Take care.

Trish

Well you have admitted you have a problem that is step one.. Now just get the needed help and work on it..

Good luck..

Do you have supportive family or a close friend that you can rely on to help you? My dad asked me to help put him into rehab because he just couldn't do it himself. I did all the leg work - made all the calls, all the arrangements - all he had to do was get in the car when I went to pick him up to drive him to the facility.

I know it's asking a lot of someone, but maybe you just need to blatently tell someone close to you just how seriously you need their help. For me, once I knew my dad was serious about getting help I was willing to put in the effort.

Melanie

What do YOU need Natalie?  Someone to listen?  I'll be here for you, cause I could use the same.  How much do you drink?  I drink at least 10 oz of vodka a day.  I feel horrible at the end of the day, but can't stop myself.  Obviously, I'm an addictive personality or I wouldn't be here, on OH.  Only difference, I've gone from food to booze.  If you someone to talk to, I'm here.

Nola

I went and confessed to my doctor what was going on with me.  I told him how much I drank, how often and what happened when I drank.  He detoxed me himself (only because I refused to go to detox) with medications and sent me to AA.  It was harder than hell the first 30 days but it gets easier - I promise.

You can do it - but you have to WANT IT.  I mean you have to want sobriety more than anything else.

YOU ARE WORTH IT!

love,
Michelle

first of all, thank you all so much for replying.
second, i'm a really ****** up person. i'm 33. once upon a time (well, up until about 1.5 years ago) i was a well adjusted individual and a pretty good attorney who helped battedred women and children.
there's a lot of things that happened in between and too long for me to write or for u guys to read about.
i'm going to admit to something on this board that will probably get me flamed all around: i do not really want to stop drinking ...i just want to stop drinking in excess.
can anyone out there even remotely relate to that sentiment?

o.k. , another thing: and that is as honest as i can be as i dig deep inside myself....i am DEATHLY afraid that if i stop drinking i will get fat again (addictive personality, cross-addiction, etc). i already went from size 0 to size 4-6 in the last 6 months...anymore gain (and no, my bmi is still normal), i'm afraid i'll relapse into the world of eating disorders again....i't's like a viscious circle

Alcohol has SO many calories that I wouldn't worry too much about weight gain if you quit. You have to eat a lot of food to even come close to the calories you are currently getting from the alcohol.


As far as just wanting to quit drinking to excess...that's something that probably every alcoholic would like as well. After trying it, sometimes successfully for a brief period of time and then ending up back where they started or worse, most alcoholics come to the realization that that path just will not work for them.

Natalie,
Probably every alcoholic would like to drink in moderation.  I was just at an AA meeting where a woman shared that when she first came to AA, she thought she would be taught to drink like a normal person. 

At my rehab lecture last night, the therapist talked about how the brain of an addict/alcoholic works when it is fed the alcohol or drugs.  She explained why only the abstinence model is effective at helping otherwise hopeless alcoholics get a normal life.  That is why AA is successful, because it promotes total abstinence from alcohol.

You sound like a lot of us were when we first came to recovery.  But, there is hope, if you want it.  Contact those agencies and ask for help.  Call your psychiatrist and tell him/her that you are struggling and ask for help.  We can only offer suggestions.  The doctors and agencies can give you the help you need.  Or, get to an AA meeting and ask for help.  It is there if you need it, but you must take the first step and ask the professionals or the people in AA to help you.

Trish