Drinking

Idea stolen from a TGR thread.

My foot was kind of hurting me around Christmas. Not enough to bother me too much or stop me from skiing but it kinda scared me that it might get worse.

Danger: I did some doctor google and got this idea that cutting out alcohol and caffeine would help. So I did.  

After about two weeks I went to a sports med doc and he told me that was BS. He basically said it was arthritis and fuck it I should just keep charging down the fall line, so to speak.

Since Christmas I've had maybe 4 glasses of wine and 4 cups of coffee.  Normally I have 2 or 3 cups of coffee a day and maybe 4 glasses of wine a week. I do feel better and so does my toe, but I have no idea if they are related. I lost some weight, not sure if that is related either.

The wine I could care less about, I think. The only time I feel like I REALLY need the coffee are those 3:30 am alarms I set to drive to Plattekill.

Who drinks? Ever give it up for a while?

I guess I could give up booze pretty easily though if I wanted to avoid it 100% I’d have to change jobs. I would miss beer and whiskey. Wine and the other distilled spirits I wouldn’t miss at all. Coffee would be a lot harder

I only drink on days ending in Y

Alcohol consumption is next to nothing..Coffee on the other hand...

Yep.  I didn't lose weight and I didn't feel any better.

Sounds like you have gout.  If so, you're in good company.

campgottagopee wrote

I only drink on days ending in Y

Hey, Dick Cheney, remind me to stand behind you if we ever go hunting.

This past week was a bit rough for me. I blacked out twice and on one of those occasions I drove around town eating tacos.

It’s got me thinking it’s time to check myself. Today is day two without any booze, let’s see how long I can pull this off.

Coffee? I love it. Liquor? Not so much or maybe too much?

Apparently my coping skills are shit, I’m 99% sure I have ptsd related anxiety and probably a good dose of depression. Every few days I use alcohol to calm that shit down, been doing this pretty much for 23 years.

This is also part of the reason I’ve always been a bit of an adrenaline junky. I’m thinking that kind of buzz and endorphin high sort of treats depression.

This is probably not going to be easy.

That's what I thought (via doctor google) but the doc was insistent that that was not the case.  He said "I've seen hundreds of cases and you don't have it. You are old and active. That is all."

Still, I'll probably try some drinking over the summer to see if it starts to hurt again.  

D.B. Cooper wrote

campgottagopee wrote

I only drink on days ending in Y

Hey, Dick Cheney, remind me to stand behind you if we ever go hunting.

Time and place for everything bro

I'm in constant pain. Broken ribs over the holidays didn't help..Just getting old..I started taking CBD oil and bunch of other so called natural stuff..Seems to help..Ya just have to work through the pain..

raisingarizona wrote

This past week was a bit rough for me. I blacked out twice and on one of those occasions I drove around town eating tacos.

It’s got me thinking it’s time to check myself. Today is day two without any booze, let’s see how long I can pull this off.

Coffee? I love it. Liquor? Not so much or maybe too much?

Apparently my coping skills are shit, I’m 99% sure I have ptsd related anxiety and probably a good dose of depression. Every few days I use alcohol to calm that shit down, been doing this pretty much for 23 years.

This is also part of the reason I’ve always been a bit of an adrenaline junky. I’m thinking that kind of buzz and endorphin high sort of treats depression.

This is probably not going to be easy.

Damn bro that shit sucks. I know it does as I've been there, shit I'm still there, but it's controlled. In no way am I an expert regarding anxiety, but I'll pit this out there with hopes it might help you and others. Anxiety is real, it's as real as it gets. I don't know how it crept into my life but it did 20 or so years ago. Everyday I thought I was going to die. I couldn't wait in line, if I had to wait in line I always had an exit plan, or escape route if you will. I was wound up so tight I couldn't even stand myself. The only way I knew to help myself was in drinking. That's when I felt good, I felt good when I had that buzz. I couldn't go out to dinner. The thought of sitting in one place for an hour or so being idle would freak me the fuck out. I had to stay moving at all times. I could go on and on about the weird shit that drove me nuts. Anyway, I finally grew some balls (took a year) and talked to my Doc. After tests to rule out all kinds of stuff she finally came to the conclusion that I was suffering from panic attacks. All I can tell you is it's real, it's as real as anyone reading this right now. Those who have been there understand what I'm talking about. Doc gave me some meds and told me whenever I had "that feeling" to take a pill. It worked!!! I wasn't dying --- LOL. We did that for a couple weeks then she changed it to meds that aren't narcotic. I'm still on them to this day, take them daily. I still have the strong stuff but rarely need to take them, maybe 10 pills a year. I felt ashamed of myself because I couldn't handle this on my own. My Doc laughed at me. I was like WTF!!!! She said if I knew how many people she treats for the exact same thing it would blow my mind. She explained to me that these uncontrollable feelings stem from a chemical imbalance in our brains. The meds (2 diff pills a day) I take are 100% safe and I'll take them for the rest of my life.

If you haven't talked to your Doc you may want to as it changed my life. Anyway -- cheers bro  

That took balls to write..

Not really bro but I appreciate it. It's just life.

 Shit man a few years back my boss came to me about his son who has the same shit. I'm like the resident anxiety guru

My boss and I joke about it all the time --- he'll be like, so Camp before we start this meeting you want to go take a pill??? LOL

Thanks Camp, it really helps to hear that you're not alone.

I'm pretty good at sitting around and such, especially if I drink every two or three days but that part probably has to end so I'm going to have to do something else for coping. I've been through this plenty of times before and it's always crept back into my life. Every time I stay sober for extended periods I do become more active and need to exercise to the point of total exhaustion. I don't like lines or crowd scenes either. I haven't seen a live music show for probably 10 years or so. I mostly just go out in the forest and ride or walk around. I put my hood on when I'm standing in the lift line and try to hide from the world. And nightmares, fuck they can suck.

Oh well. the struggle is real.

And shoot Harv, a couple glasses of wine a week shouldn't have a real negative impact or at least I wouldn't think so. I'm not sure about coffee though, it's a diuretic so it does dehydrate us.

raisingarizona wrote

  I mostly just go out in the forest  

 

Been doing that for years

A walk in the woods always helps --- most likely why I live for deer hunting, nobody can fuck with me


Believe me WE aren't alone

raisingarizona wrote

Thanks Camp, it really helps to hear that you're not alone.

I'm pretty good at sitting around and such, especially if I drink every two or three days but that part probably has to end so I'm going to have to do something else for coping. I've been through this plenty of times before and it's always crept back into my life. Every time I stay sober for extended periods I do become more active and need to exercise to the point of total exhaustion. I don't like lines or crowd scenes either. I haven't seen a live music show for probably 10 years or so. I mostly just go out in the forest and ride or walk around. I put my hood on when I'm standing in the lift line and try to hide from the world. And nightmares, fuck they can suck.

Oh well. the struggle is real.

And shoot Harv, a couple glasses of wine a week shouldn't have a real negative impact or at least I wouldn't think so. I'm not sure about coffee though, it's a diuretic so it does dehydrate us.

Damn
I have the same issue with crowds..I have all but given up skiing on the weekends because crowds freak me out....Never a crowd on the MTB trails..I can fish solo for hours too..

JasonWx wrote

I have the same issue with crowds..I have all but given up skiing on the weekends because crowds freak me out....Never a crowd on the MTB trails..I can fish solo for hours too..

I'd love to visit Europe but there's that personal space thing those folks don't seem to understand :D

raisingarizona wrote

personal space

This thread got serious but I find you guys’ ability to discuss this stuff to be somewhat uplifting. I can relate to the feelings of anxiety, though I don’t think I’ve ever experienced the level you’re describing.
The difficulty in sitting still is something I’ve struggled with my entire life. I tried working in an office once and it made me feel like a caged snimal. School always felt like prison. I think what saved me was getting into outside sales. I’m on the move all day almost every day, going on 20 years now. When I do get dragged in for meetings or training it really bums me out.

I actually hoped this thread would be "serious" and it's why I changed the title from Drinkin' to Drinking.

Another advantage to Brownski being on the road... you can always call him on the way home from a powder day to rejoice.  He's almost always in the car and open for a chat!