Daily addiction check in #1

Still here, still good, going to a SMART Recovery meeting tonight.

Good work UpDownAround!

I'm doing fine. I don't find myself thinking about it that much lately unless I'm upset. Even then, I've learned to separate myself from harmful people and substances.

So at SMART tonight, there was a guy who said he was making glacially slow progress. He is supposedly weaning himself off of alcohol and pot. Last time he had it was yesterday (both alcohol and pot) but he says sometimes he goes 3 days and about a year ago when his daughter visited, he went 5 days. WTF? This is not quitting. He doesn't drink enough to have DTs so he could just quit. Then he is telling us how he was drinking at work a few days ago and driving between locations. I know we are not supposed to judge and preach at SMART but this guy is getting a little too much coddling.
Some other good conversation going on though and I am glad I went.

I've been doing ok. Approaching 60 days.

Tonight, tho, one off my "friends" posted on Facebook that taking suboxone is not sober. I get that that is their opinion, but I can't look past how dangerous a blanket statement like that can be. I had someone tell me, when I first started tryingv sobriety, that I wasn't sober because of my meds, andd naively I stopped taking them. I ended up nearly ending my life and getting admitted into the hospital. Because someone who should know better decided their opinion was better than my doctor's and I was new enough to not know any better.

It's got me all in a tizzy now. I'm gonna try playing a videro game fo d a bit and see if that helps.

Still here, still good since 6/25.

Another check in, still good, but it almost feels like cheating because I have been hypomanic going on 3 days. When the grins and chuckling hit (comes in waves), if I got pulled over I would probably have to take a blood test after blowing a 0.000 on the breathalyzer. I am just high on bad brain chemistry; none of my prescribed meds are ones you can use to get high; my psydoc knows my history. I won't pretend I don't enjoy it when it doesn't get worse than this.

So, it's after midnight and I chocked up another day of sobriety.

Still hypomanic and intermittently buzzing on my brain chemistry which can't be helped without adjusting meds to make me depressed instead (no thank you). I have actually been slightly hypomanic for more like 8 weeks with a small spike early on and another 4 days ago that I am still enjoying.

I actually enjoy bigger spikes also but other people don't. I become an arrogant jackass, but I don't realize it at the time; I think everyone around me just can't keep up with me because I am so brilliant. On the biggest spikes I get, I am still an arrogant jackass who is secretly immortal. The bigger spikes could also pose a danger to sobriety because I can rationalize pretty much anything.

One of my meds is a mania suppressant so hopefully I won't have a big spike, just these fun little ones.

Doing great! Stressed about other stuff rather than drugs.

In 10 minutes I'll have 59 days...

Way to go childofchaos.

Congratulations childofchaos!

Awesome, childofchaos. I am 17 days behind you at 42 today.

Congrats to those of you making great strides!!! I saw a few of you are sneaking up on 60 days or recently passed that landmark -- HUGE props!!!

UpDownAround, I'm not hypo right now, but I do worry about the drugs in my system. I went to the emergency room a few months ago & in the blood test they took they detected the AP & benzos I take. My girlfriend recently applied for a job & the final evaluation will hinge on passing a drug test. I was thinking that if I were to apply to a job with a drug test I wouldn't be hired because of the presence of the drugs in my system. Who wants to hire a "psychotic" taking anti-anxiety drugs that are sold on the streets? Sure, there are probably laws preventing them from taking such actions, but proving it would be impossible.

Emgreen, it depends on what the prospective employer tests for and how (oral, blood, breath, urine, etc.). It’s usually better to ask if you need to disclose your legitimate prescriptions ahead of time than to fail the drug test outright. It is always better to err on the side of honesty than to be caught in a lie. And still better yet to try and have failed than to assume you're going to flunk! You really don't know unless you try!

Because I have a substance use problem, my pdoc specifically selects meds with little or no appeal for abuse. My understanding about drug tests is that you can reveal your prescribed medications to the lab and they will not disclose what you revealed nor the presence of those substances to the prospective employer.

Also, with things like benzos or edven adderal cuz it can pop as a stimulant drug if they don't test further, usually the labs will just look at the amount that showed up and if it is within normal limits (meaning you are not taking more than a normal prescribed dose), they won't disclose that it showed up, since it is a prescribed medication for a lot of people.

10 days and all I want is NOT my addiction

Congrats on your ten days & your desire to stay clean/sober. That's amazing stuff!

After midnight, so 43 days clean and sober. SMART Recovery meeting tonight (seems like it will be tomorrow but technically tonight).

Congratulations puzzclar! ☺

Great job UpDownAround! ☺

44...

Whoo-Hoo!!! They keep adding up!!!

Still hanging in. Sitting in someone's kitchen with wine, liquor and beer at hand and not bothered. I was here last night also. Still a little hypo and don't want to mess with my elevated mood, so I have an advantage. The tough test will be if (when?) I crash and have an episode of depression. Some of my fellow BP sufferers have a harder time not partaking when up versus down, but I am the other way around. I did enjoy drinking and drugging while up, but it was while down that I felt almost compelled.

2 years and 30days tomorrow is 2 years 1 month sober from alcohol!!