CRA Christians in Recovery (anonymous)

Deade, try tart cherry and turmeric pills. They help with inflammation, I take them for my back and knees.. You can order them from this site: https://www.puritan.com

"I pray the Divine Spirit touches upon your lives with health and a well being of all things,
and your decisions are in accordance to better health and pain free. I am grateful for each
one that has shared on my pages.......Thank you!"
'Praise God'

Our pages are his. We share on them thankfully. The answer isn't always pharmaceutical and we want others to know that often he has given us other sometimes better options.
Osteo & Rheumatoid Arthritis. Degenerative Joint & disc disease are incurable. Opioids aren't a cure as they just numb the pain and ruin the bowels No thanks. I may need them some day but not today.

Some are called to certain ministries that others do not understand, and not understanding, condemn. It reminds me of a former CC member who used to diss the 12 step program because non-believers are given permission to envision God in a non-threatening way, however they choose, as long as their "Higher Power" is loving, and caring, and greater than they are. Of course we understand our "Higher Power" to be the One True God, Whom we know as Jesus Christ, but how long did it take us to come to that understanding? We were all born enemies of God. I am an advocate for the 12 step model because its purpose is to help people develop and maintain a personal relationship with the One True God

Being a member of such groups brings me into contact with people from all walks of life, and I love hearing the God stories, which intrigued me even as a non-believer. Now, sometimes it is difficult to listen to people talk of God knowing they are still denying Jesus Christ as Lord, but I understand from my own experience that I needed the freedom to seek in my own way, for that freedom allowed me to acknowledge and pursue a greater understanding of spiritual matters as I understood and experienced spiritual matters. Christians from the rooms did befriend me and I did study Scriptures with some of them, many years before my conversion, but it was not until I personally encountered God during my seeking years that I truly surrendered my life to Him... and the Scriptures do say, seek, and you will find!

Thank you for sharing. The best way I have found to give of my self is by helping others through sharing what I have discovered by following Good Orderly Directions. Who's next?

Alcohol is much like Opium while there are legitimate uses for each, once the disease of addiction takes over the body and mind, the allergic reaction that triggers irresistible cravings kick in, the victim can never use that chemical again. In some say; a Vicodin addict, has been clean for 20 years but they are not considered cured because, a back injury and a small amount of say; Oxycontin, that a normal person should be able to tolerate can restart the viscous cycle of addiction. Thus they were never cured, from a medical stand point. Their disease was merely arrested. Alcoholism works exactly the same way!

If you have Rheumatoid Arthritis, there are many meds, totally unconnected to opioids, that can hit the autoimmune system and target the runaway attacks on the joints, and organs. It is not a cure, but it does help with the pain and stops deformities.

I have had severe RA for 23 years. I am so bad without DMARDs and biologics, that I cannot get out of bed to go to the bathroom, if the meds fail. I've been through almost all of them, but many have worked well.

You need to see your doctor if you are not on meds. The DMARDs are "Disease Modifying, Anti Rheumatic drugs." They include Plaquenil, methotrexate, Arava and Sulfasalazine. The biologics are a byproduct of live bacterial, and they attack things like the B cells, the T cells, Interleukin 6 or 1, TNF cells, etc. Different people respond different. The biologics are very expensive in the US if you do not have drug coverage. But certainly, you could start with a DMARD.

I was an alcoholic bar musician before God saved me. When he saved me, he told me to stop drinking. I have never had another drink in 39 years. God just took away the desire.But he left me with lots of other things to work on! I praise God for saving and delivering me!

Thank you for sharing and praise the lord. Right now the Veterans Administration is my health insurance provider. I have OA worst of all, then DJD causes the most pain. They used to give Cortisone injections to my knee joints. They stopped working before the replace my left knee 8 years ago and they offered to replace my right. I woke up screaming for 6 months after the operation, I still can't sit down in a bath tub or get off of the floor without assistance. I'm not going through it again. They've only offered me nsaids, opioids, CBD and surgery.

On rainy days, (2 or 3 times a week) I just sit here and/or lay in bed. I don't have a car and the busses here are terrible. But there's a donut shop 3 blocks away and often I splurge on croissant and an cookie crumble topped chocolate donut or across the other corner there's a convenience store and junk food galore. I like Vanilla Mtn. Dew and burritos. I go to town shopping 1 or 2 times a month.

I would prefer to go to the Salvation Army Corps Church but it's 5 miles away and the busses have stopped running now at 6pm on Saturday till 6am on Monday. I also used to go to Celebrate Recovery at the local Methodist church but again the busses stop running at 9pm weeknights now and CR ends at 9pm.

All of my friends are here. I read a chapter a day from my NIV plus study other materials like DRA, CR and the AA big book. I thank Jesus for CC and you all. You all are a blessing and a light in a dark world.

~Thought for Today~
"It is not your circumstances that need altering so much as yourself. After you have changed, conditions will naturally change. Spare no effort to become all that God would have you become. Follow every good leading of your conscience. Take each day with no backward look. Face the day's problems with God, and seek God's help and guidance as to what you should do in every situation that may arise. Never look back. Never leave until tomorrow the thing that you are guided to do today."
'Praise God'

Addiction/n : Compulsive physiological need for and use of a habbit forming substance, characterized by tolerance and by well defined physiological symptoms upon withdrawal; a substance known by the user to be physically, psychologically or socially harmful.


Alcoholism/n ; 1: Continued, excessive or compulsive use of alcoholic drinks. 2: A chronic, progressive, potententially fatal, psychological and nutritional disorder associated with excessive and usually compulsive drinking of ethonal and characterized by frequent intoxication leading to dependence on or addiction to the substance, impairment of the ability to work and socialize, Destructize behaviors (as drunken driving), tissue dammage (as cirrhosis of the liver) and severe withdrawl symptoms upon detoxification.

Post-Acute Withdrawal (PAWS)

There are two stages of withdrawal. The first stage is the acute stage, which usually lasts at most a few weeks. During this stage, you may experience physical withdrawal symptoms. But every drug is different, and every person is different.

The second stage of withdrawal is called the Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome (PAWS). During this stage you'll have fewer physical symptoms, but more emotional and psychological withdrawal symptoms.

Post-acute withdrawal occurs because your brain chemistry is gradually returning to normal. As your brain improves the levels of your brain chemicals fluctuate as they approach the new equilibrium causing post-acute withdrawal symptoms.

Post-acute withdrawal feels like a rollercoaster of symptoms. In the beginning, your symptoms will change minute to minute and hour to hour. Later as you recover further they will disappear for a few weeks or months only to return again. As you continue to recover the good stretches will get longer and longer. But the bad periods of post-acute withdrawal can be just as intense and last just as long.

Each post-acute withdrawal episode usually last for a few days. Once you've been in recovery for a while, you will find that each post-acute withdrawal episode usually lasts for a few days. There is no obvious trigger for most episodes. You will wake up one day feeling irritable and have low energy. If you hang on for just a few days, it will lift just as quickly as it started. After a while you'll develop confidence that you can get through post-acute withdrawal, because you'll know that each episode is time limited.

Post-acute withdrawal usually lasts for 2 years.

I only posted those definitions because are not aware of wat add addiction means. And because alcoholism means, Drunkard or that alcoholism is a disease (like many others) that effects everything in or lives including the mind, body, spirit and our ability to function at work or even socially. And that it's deadly.

The section about PAWS is quantified medical proof, that it can take months or even years, for our bodies and minds to return to normal after we quit using toxic substances. Recovery takes time and work so don't be surprised if the disease sneaks up and bites us on the butt occasionally. This too shall pass, easy does it, one day at a time.

This meeting is open.

"We have three things: fellowship, faith, and service. Fellowship is wonderful, but its wonder lasts just so long. Then some gossip, disillusionment, and boredom may come in. Worry and fear come back at times and we find that fellowship is not the whole story. Then we need faith. When we're alone, with nobody to pat us on the back, we must turn to God for help. Can we say "Thy will be done" - and mean it?"
'Praise God'

Good question, thank you for asking. By nature I think we are a breed of grumblers, the steps have taught me to accept life on life's terms.

Interesting comment/post.
- Especially about 'fellowship'..

~Fellowship~: "The action of sharing mutual interests, experiences, activities and
a society of people sharing companionship and friendship. And, through the doors of
any recovering program, all walks of life are represented, for within
the walls we share tears, heartaches, and also joy and laughter, for we experience
a human bond unlike any other place on earth. Reaching out to one
another with love and understanding...priceless."
'Praise God'