Alcohol Enema

[phreneticusxiii]

A friend of mine recently told me that he gave his friend, who has crohn's and colitis, a wine enema and that the guy felt much better, I guess because the alcohol didn't affect the disease areas. Now, he also told me that alcoholic enemas can cause a person to get drunk (in fact, a person gets drunk faster that way). While I am in no rush to be an alcoholic, I have found that many social situations, especially when it comes to public dancing (ie clubs), would be made easier if I could have a bit of a buzz. So I was wondering if anyone else has experienced an alcoholic enema and, if so, if it affected your IBD and if you were indeed able to get a buzz.

P.S. I know this post sounds juvenile but I have some social phobias and generally cannot handle party situations. Im 21 years old and have been to a club three times in my life, not because I don't like the club atmosphere but because I don't have the social relaxer that is alcohol that everyone is using. Sorry if this post offends anyone :-X

 

[D Bergy]

There are better ways to treat both problems. Social anxiety is not unusual. I have it myself. If it is presenting an obstacle in your life, you should see a Psychologist. They have ways of treating this and usually without medications.

I doubt the wine enema would give anything but a very temporary effect. It is remotely possible that the alcohol could help a little,but it usually has the opposite effect. You really do not have much control over absorption either. It is possible to poison yourself this way. I wouldn't do it. And I do some fairly unusual treatments.

Using alcohol for the anxiety is really no different than using cocaine to help stay awake. It is an inappropriate use of an addictive drug to treat a problem. If it does work, that makes it all the more attractive for use. I just do not believe in treating one problem with a good chance of creating a different one.

I guess the cold hard fact is that if you do not drink, it is not much fun to be around people who are half in the bag. Since you can't drink, that is just the way it is going to be. I gave all that up a long time ago. But it is tough at your age.

I hope you can find some help for your problems. The Forum has lots of info on Crohn's.

This is just my opinion. Good Luck

Dan Bergman

 

[phreneticusxiii]

Thanks! And while I understand your viewpoints, it boils down to what you said: Its hard to fit in at a club when you are the only one not drinking, as well as in any other social environment. Also, if drinking did not cause social situations to be less stressful and more enjoyable, I doubt many people would socially drink. Its an activity most use almost as the icebreaker, the social relaxer, I just wish to find a way to have the same so that such situations are more enjoyable for me too.

 

[Guest]

i'm naturally shy, always have been, and coupled with the fact that after only one drink, i feel really drunk - i have never been able to use alcohol as a social relaxer.

however, i have never let this stop me from socialising. i've just learnt ways to cope, 'wing-it' as it were, until natural relaxation set in, usually after half an hour or so at a club or party..

i've never missed alcohol, never felt i needed it to enjoy myself. i do usually have one alcoholic drink, then go on to coke or some other soft drink.. no-one knows that its just coke, i could have JD or vodka in there for all they know.

altho - lol - if i'm socialising at home, i do tend to indulge a bit more, as i havent far to walk if i get to the falling into bed stage

just a tip, bach's rescue remedy is awesome. i have no idea how or why it works, but a few drops of this on the tongue brings on a real and longlasting feeling of calm and confidence - might be worth a try.


dingbat.

 

[Kev]

I know someone with a social anxiety disorder. They opted to self medicate using alcohol. the result? On top of their disorder they became addicted to alcohol, which only compounded their problems. Even if becoming addicted to it was avoided, its a pretty risky approach... alcohol can be absorbed thru the GI tract no matter the route it takes to get there, but in an enema I think the real possibilty of alcoholic poisoning is greatly increased.. Just my humble opinion.

I avoid alcohol, simply because it increases the risk of dehydration, which DOES increase pain levels for us, AND it attacks the mucous protection of the GI tract,
again not good for us. I still socialize, I drink non alcoholic beverages like ice tea (often mistaken for whisky) or ginger ale (often mistaken for whiskey or ale).. I manage to enjoy myself immensely, w/o the assistance of alcohol. One of the things I noticed in my early years in working bars/clubs/taverns as door staff/bouncer, was that there were different 'segments' of people going out. I broke it down to those who went out to get drunk in a setting where it was at least 'socially' acceptable (they needed to drink, period, and the setting excused their behaviour), or else they were looking for trouble (and alcohol was required to explain their behaviour), OR they were just looking for fun. The latter group were the best to deal with... some drank a little, others a lot, but many didn't REALLY need to get drunk to do it.. Think the 1st 2 segments are extremes... whereas the last segment seem to have the best take on it all..
I am not saying that you have to be a tea totaler, totally abstain from alcohol..
A social drink or two shouldn't cause irreparable harm. But more than that is a crutch... and if you rely on crutches too often, your'e apt to forget how to live without them. Even tho you really didn't need them to begin with in 1st place.

 

[AbstractDonut]

I know how you feel. I used to think that I needed to go out to parties, and getting a few drinks in me was the only way I was going to talk or enjoy myself. All my friends go out and drink, thats how they get together. It does make it easier to socialize when you want to socialize. When you don't want to socialize it is just going to make you drunk.

And what I am trying to say here is that I found I do not really like socializing, looking back I do not feel I gained much from those situations. I now just try to stick to the situations I really enjoy like playing a good competitive game against someone else. Some people really only seem to enjoy themselves talking or being around other people. I have social anxiety, I have learned that I am better off picking activities that do not focus on socializing.

The only hard part here is that it may not be what your friends are doing. You just need to go one evening and ask yourself if you are really enjoying yourself. If you are not quit going.

 

[Kev]

Well, I personally think a far more important question to ponder is whether a lack of enjoyment is truly part of one's nature, or a basic symptom of social anxiety. If you 'miss' the company of friends, want to participate in social settings, but find its the disorder that you are contending with... then you have two options. succumb to the disorder, let it pick and choose what you do, when, where and with whom..

OR, seek help, treat the disease, overcome those feelings.. adapt, adopt or evolve. The person I know of with this chose to go this latter route. it worked for them, they also beat their dependance on alcohol. but that was their choice

whichever way you choose to go will likely be the best route for you. I mean, if the avoidance of these social settings leaves you feeling satisfied, content, at peace... then it's the solution. But if it leaves you feeling like you are missing an integral part of your life, then obviously your psyche is trying to tell you that

 

[phreneticusxiii]

It seems there is a misunderstanding in what I want from alcohol. I do not want to get drunk, I've been around drinkers all my life and know the difference between tipsy, buzzed, drunk, and wasted. I don't want anything more than just a slight buzz, just a relaxer if you will. I am already on medication for my social anxiety, it keeps me from having anxiety attacks so I no longer crawl into a corner and hyperventilate while crying. However, I cannot, for the death, of me get myself to relax. I guess the difference is that I am comfortable and don't feel anxiety, but wish to have the fun that being relaxed brings (such as being able to loosen up enough to dance). This is generally what most of the people going out to clubs for fun use drinks for, to help relax enough to partake in said fun. The reason I brought up this question is cause I constantly feel I'm on the outside of a window looking in. I have plenty of friends that have the same problem as me when it comes to relaxing in a club/party setting and just drink 1 or 2 drinks to alleviate that, but I don't know of a way to do the same since Id rather not experiment with oral intake of alcohol and end up sick for 3 days.

 

[Chris25]

Hey there. I have social phobia and OCD. I use to self medicate with alcohol in clubs .etc and sometimes it would make my anxiety far worse for some reason. My friends with anxiety disorders including social phobia seem to have the same problem. Everyone is different though I guess. I don't drink when I go to clubs/pubs anymore. I do much like what Kev said above. I don't really go to clubs or pubs anymore though. I got tired of all the people trying to pick up, drug use, violence, aggression, misogyny .etc. I do still drink but thats usually at home with my family and friends, or at their house. For me I find it makes the whole situation worse. Are you on benzodiazepines? I have been on many for my anxiety issues and you can get really drunk fast on them. For me it is strange. I remember when I was taking 25mg of valium per day, and 3 other medications (I was quite over medicated for my problems) if I had a drink or two I would not notice it that much but now if I have taken 5mg of valium and have 1-2 drinks about 5 hours later or so I feel quite drunk. I guess because my tolerance to valium at the time was quite high. It can be quite dangerous to mix psych meds with alcohol, of course some meds interact more than others but most psych meds they prescribe do interact.

I still drink a few drinks every few days but I try to be careful and not to drink when I am on meds and not to drink too much. The only medication I take now is valium, and I take 5-10mg PRN when I can no longer handle the anxiety, usually if I feel like I am in a panic for no reason.

I'm just trying to say, for me anyway, that alcohol made me feel quite bad on pretty much every medication I took and I could never tell if I was drinking too much until it was too late and I would end up quite sick and vomiting .etc even though I did not drink that much at all. I think it ended up making my anxiety a lot worse. Saying that, I am sipping on a beer as I type this post lol. I'm not anti-alcohol at all but I do think that it can be bad if you use it to self-medicate your anxiety problems. It's hard not to though, I really do know what it is like. Especially if all your friends use alcohol for this reason which is what my friends do and they are always encouraging me to do the same as they do.

Take care,

Chris.

 

[Guest]

It seems there is a misunderstanding in what I want from alcohol. I do not want to get drunk, I've been around drinkers all my life and know the difference between tipsy, buzzed, drunk, and wasted. I don't want anything more than just a slight buzz, just a relaxer if you will. I am already on medication for my social anxiety, it keeps me from having anxiety attacks so I no longer crawl into a corner and hyperventilate while crying. However, I cannot, for the death, of me get myself to relax. I guess the difference is that I am comfortable and don't feel anxiety, but wish to have the fun that being relaxed brings (such as being able to loosen up enough to dance). This is generally what most of the people going out to clubs for fun use drinks for, to help relax enough to partake in said fun. The reason I brought up this question is cause I constantly feel I'm on the outside of a window looking in. I have plenty of friends that have the same problem as me when it comes to relaxing in a club/party setting and just drink 1 or 2 drinks to alleviate that, but I don't know of a way to do the same since Id rather not experiment with oral intake of alcohol and end up sick for 3 days.

hope you dont mind me asking - what else have you tried for your anxiety apart from meds?

i ask because i went through a stage of crippling panic attacks and constant high state of anxiety a good few years ago, and more or less overcame it without medication. these days i only have a panic attack about once every six months, and they are usually caused by me ignoring that i'm below par with my health that day and pushing myself to do things, such as entering a really busy crowded shopping centre.

 

[AbstractDonut]

You can try marijuana, though that is probably a poor idea. I've never had an anxiety attack that was that bad. At worst mine get to be where I just can't stop thinking about how I don't want to do something and I have to breathe in through my mouth and out slowly through my nose to calm down a bit. And generally I only get those if I drank too much caffeine that day.

And I still think that you'll find in time that you can do other things which you will find more rewarding than going out and clubbing or partying. Join a club, like a gaming club. Join a group that goes camping and outdooring. Why must you go to clubs?

And Dingbat I know what you are talking about crowded places I went to Ikea once and that was a huge mistake. Constantly having to walk around people and have people need to get by me was seriously driving me insane.

 

[Kev]

think men experience that sensation whenever we are dragged out to go shopping. I consider myself a pretty level headed individual (there's a laugh) and I've been in some pretty intense situations (like guarding an explosives factory we thought had been penetrated by terrorists - that wasn't a light hearted evening), but I've seen me, in the midst of an overcrowded shopping mall, just suddenly get the overwhelming urge to get out of Dodge pronto. it's not laughable... I don't know what i'd have done if I hadn't been able to get out! Thing of it is, the occasional bout of this is totally different than a non-stop condition that exists/persists everytime one is in a crowd, or unfamiliar group, etc,. That is a clinical condition, separate from IBD, nasty in combo with IBD, and yet something that can be diagnosed, and treated. just another wrinkle in the overall game of life. ignoring it works about as well as ignoring one's IBD