I found cocaine easier to stop than smoking cigarettes. But then again, I wasn’t using it nearly as often as I was smoking.
Although no one ever talks about it, there is a possible solution. It’s called pangamic acid or called calcium pangamate. (vitamin B15) At the base of the brain there is a “storage sack”, and at this moment I can’t remember the name of the chemical the body produces as a by product of alcohol and/or cocaine abuse.
The point is: the body doesn’t flush out this storage sack on it’s own, and because it is attached to the brain, the “signal” to consume drugs or alcohol is always there in storage and at some infinitesimal level there is always osmosis of this chemical traveling into the brain therefore causing cravings…
You won’t find any modern studies on the use of calcium pangamate as a way to drain the sack attached to the brain as the FDA doesn’t “recognize” vitamin B15 for any therapeutic uses.
I know from personal experience when I took 1 standard tablet three times a day it eventually dawned on me I hadn’t felt the need to drink in quite a while…
It’s cheap, it’s not controlled, and I am not the only one I know of to have positive results.
As a recovering alcoholic and former crack smoker I feel that people most people with a serious problem need help in the form of AA, NA, or some other group. I also used to smoke cigarettes it has been almost 4 years since a cigarette, 6 years since I’ve used cocaine, and I had 2 glasses of wine and a beer last night. I have learned to controll my drinking but if I feel bad and that I’m going to have a bad binge then I won’t drink and I will go to an AA meeting.
One of my best friends growing up just got out of the hospital and is now in a nursing home due to binge drinking for about a decade. His liver and pancreas are in bad shape. The nurses put him under when he first got to the hospital to alleviate his dt’s bu then he was in a coma for 17 days. Now he has a trake in his throat and cannot talk. Cigarettes were hard to quit as was smoking crack but I think mountain dew is the hardest thing to quit.
I work as a director of an outpatient addictions clinic. The advice here is sound. Counseling, AA, and medications can help. Do not go the medication route or try to stop suddenly on your own as it can be dangerous and even life threatening if a medical detox is needed. Let an MD help you. Drugs like valium and zanax are dangerous as they mimic the effects of alcohol on the brain and may be addictive themselves. Run from any MD that would suggest antabuse- no responsible treater prescribes that any more.
The drug that you are probably referring to for cravings is called Campral, taken in 666mg three times daily. It helps, but it is no magic bullet. Talk to an addictions MD about it. AA would be very helpful for you as it is important for you to get support. Going it alone is hard. Think of it as training partners for your sobriety.
As part of my practice I have a website. Check out www.jslmhc.com and click the Links section and read the Recovery links. There is stuff there for AA, SMART Recovery, Rational Recovery, and Moderation Management. Medications can help, but recovery is all about managing the self until new habits are formed. It is a process, not an event and there are likely to be slips along the way. Keep plugging away.
Good luck.