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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 7 of 7. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Mick on March 22, 2000, at 21:41:15
and wondering just how much damage I've done to my
brain. Five months have passed without drinking
and being on AD meds plus therapy. Overall I feel very
good yet I wonder if I'm back to normal. Does anyone
who has been through this transition have any imput?
Posted by Phil on March 23, 2000, at 7:14:48
In reply to Stopped medicating depression with alcohol..., posted by Mick on March 22, 2000, at 21:41:15
With those inquiries, Mick, you are doing fine! Screw normal. If you're feeling well, great.
Normal, for you, was drinking.
If you are asking when you will get to the place you were sometime back forget it. You are better now and the journey continues. Good luck.Phil
Posted by Katy on March 23, 2000, at 10:11:38
In reply to Re: Stopped medicating-there is no normal, posted by Phil on March 23, 2000, at 7:14:48
> With those inquiries, Mick, you are doing fine! Screw normal. If you're feeling well, great.
> Normal, for you, was drinking.
> If you are asking when you will get to the place you were sometime back forget it. You are better now and the journey continues. Good luck.
>
> PhilHi,
If you are a problem drinker and quit for five months don't even think you can go back and drink "normally." There is no such thing. Most people don't quit drinking for five months if they don't have an alcohol problem. Stay sober and keep taking your meds and go to therapy. Alcoholism doesn't go away!
Posted by Mick on March 24, 2000, at 12:03:38
In reply to Re: Stopped medicating-there is no normal, posted by Katy on March 23, 2000, at 10:11:38
> Hi,
> If you are a problem drinker and quit for five months don't even think you can go back and drink "normally." There is no such thing. Most people don't quit drinking for five months if they don't have an alcohol problem. Stay sober and keep taking your meds and go to therapy. Alcoholism doesn't go away!Sorry Katy... I was not saying what I meant. I don't really care about drinking normally or any way again. The fact that my medication of choice was alcohol only adds to a depressive state. I meant back to relative normality of feeling clear, lucid and confident in you abilities to reason, act on information, make good judgements etc. My IQ scores from Brain.com's five minute test are within four points of what they were in the ninth grade. And many say that nerve cell regeneration takes place in adults of any age, especially with vitamins and good nutrition. Perhaps my fuzziness is the SSRI's plus pemoline/Cylert for attention deficit. If any out there have been this route from a depressive state can relate their experience and progress is what interests me. Is there measureable or subjective impairment? This might not be the forum but I assume my medication qualifies me.
Posted by bob on March 24, 2000, at 23:14:08
In reply to Re: Stopped medicating-there is no normal, posted by Mick on March 24, 2000, at 12:03:38
> This might not be the forum but I assume my medication qualifies me.
Hey, you clicked on a link taking someplace called psycho-babble AND you started a thread ... you're MORE than qualified :^).
I think Phil makes some great points. I don't really know anyone who was truly "normal" or "stable" for most of their life, suddenly developed a mental disorder, and then (upon a successful course of drug and/or talk therapy) went back to normalcy. Some of us who first showed signs of depression as children (guilty as charged) have no "normal" reference point. I've been through so many altered states of being that remembering to look forward, not back, and look towards an improvement over how I feel today is the best thing I can do.
... when I can remember to do so, tho....
"Schizophrenic? I'm a bleedin' dodecaphrenic"
bob(good thing there weren't 20 members of the Who)
Posted by Marge Harrison on March 26, 2000, at 8:50:25
In reply to Re: Stopped medicating-there is no normal, posted by Mick on March 24, 2000, at 12:03:38
Reply to Mick: I've beat depression, and by following this advice my husband has quit drinking and later beat depression too. Here it is: Understand that depression is wanting what you can't have, and wanting it very badly. Alcohol has a numbing effect, and is addictive, and stupifying (you already have experienced this).
When you stop the alcohol, then challenging your brain will get it up and going again big time. Spend time reading and studying, and on computer creatively and intellectually -- it WILL work in less than a year. Also, about returning bouts of depression: ACCEPT your "lot", STOP wanting what you can't have (exceptions are only, food, water, and shelter, face it!), START appreciating your many gifts from God - like "health" is a biggie. etc. Remember, every person is full of flaws, so it is for each of us to "overlook" their flaws and look for their talents -- and you will find they begin to do the same toward you. That's how living is supposed to work. Good Luck!
Posted by Mick on March 30, 2000, at 15:25:44
In reply to Re: Stopped medicating w/alcohol...beat depression, posted by Marge Harrison on March 26, 2000, at 8:50:25
Thanks for your thoughts... sometimes events that are not in our power put a serious hurt in your family's life. If that is God's will then it is up us to accept it. So it has taken me three years to get to the point of acceptance. Time heals, but i would like to get those brain cells back that the alcohol killed! I appreciate what you reminded me of Marge.
This is the end of the thread.
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