DUI....about to ruin my life!

[chrislookscute]

Sorry it's so long but I need to be detailed...


Ok so heres the deal....

I'm 23 years old...and have been noticeably suffering from SA/SP for about 8 years now with it becoming more intense over the last 3 years of my life. When I turned 21 and discovered alcohol it was AMAZING. I didn't feel any SP symptoms at all. I felt normal. Now...when I drink usually, I just do it enough where my symptoms go away. I don't really drink to get drunk. But depending on how long i'm going to need to be in a social situation, I drink a little bit more. Now, I'm not one to break the law or be irresponsible. But I literally HAVE to drink just to get through NORMAL every-day life situations! Such as, going to a mall to buy clothes, going to get my HAIRCUT, calling a friend and having a conversation on the phone, calling my DAD (whom I don't talk to very much), and before any social situation. Basically if there are people going to be there...I have to drink.

I went to a BBQ in May for Memorial Day weekend at the BBQ was at around 1pm....now I drank a lot before I went inside, and while I was there I drank some more. Before I knew it I was PISSY drunk. I was passed out maybe 1.5 hours later in my best friends room. I didn't wake up until 11PM!! By that time mostly everyone was gone. (Sorry for such the long post but I need to explain all the details).

I felt okay to drive, especially since I was asleep for so long and I didn't really feel alcohol in my system at all so I decided to go home.

So basically while I was on the freeway a cop pulled me over and claimed he pulled me over for an improper lane change. He asked me if I had been drinking, which I said yes because I'm an honest person and I told him it was way earlier though. So he had me get out the car and gave me a sobriety field test which I KNOW I passed them, simply because I knew exactly what I was doing and I DIDN’T FEEL DRUNK AT ALL. But he gave me a breathalyzer anyway and I blew a 0.11. So he arrested me towed my car and took me in for a DUI.

Anyway I explained to him my condition and the reason why I needed to drink hoping he would sympathize and give me a break but he wasn’t listening.

Now I have this SHIT on my record and I am PLACED in a box as a menace to society like I am just an irresponsible person and they don’t understand why I need to drink. I actually HATE drinking!! I hate the taste of alcohol! I feel like drinking is a BURDEN or a CHORE. Like if I have to go somewhere I’m like “Oh shit I have to drink…”

Now has anyone gotten a DUI and maybe they let them off easy because of SP? I do want to add that I have tried everything to help myself from Effexor, to Paxil, to Therapy and even HYPNOTherapy and nothing seems to work except alcohol. So it’s not like I have not tried to help myself. Someone give me advice please!!

[EDIT] additional details...ok so I feel like everyone is attacking me and making it seem like I drove drunk on purpose. I DID sleep for 8 hours and like I said BEFORE I LEFT I didn't feel ANY alcohol in my system. I am very conscious about drinking and driving and VERY MUCH scared of the law. So for all of you saying "there is no excuse for drinking and driving" i know this...but I drink a little after I GET THERE and turn my car off and before I go inside....not before I leave my house. If that makes sense.

 

[Lexmark]

lol you sound a little like me
Except im 24 and have loast my liscense for 3 years with another DUI i gotta go to court 4
Pretty muched ya fuked and theres nothing you can do
Just get a good laywer but even then it only might meen a less severe suspension
For me its been a good thing in some ways coz it forces me to catch public transport and so I have to be around people.
In fact I like it now and with petrol prices who wants a car!

 

[bulldog21083]

Don't take this the wrong way, but having SP doesn't give you an excuse to drink and drive. Granted you said you didn't feel drunk and you weren't much over the legal limit, but cops have a zero tolerance for drinking and driving. Personally I don't think it was a good idea to tell the cop you HAVE to drink because of your SP, to him it probably sounds like you're using it as an excuse. If you go to court over this I definitly wouldn't say that to the judge, because then they will probably hammer you and think you're an alcoholic. Just because we have SP doesn't mean we can do whatever we want. You didn't hurt anyone, but imagine if that cop let you off the hook and you ended up getting in an accident and severely injuring/killing someone. Even if the alcohol didn't impair you, there was still some in your system. The cop would have had to live with that guilt the rest of his life.

I don't think saying you have SP will let you off easier, mainly just because people who don't have SP don't really understand it. I know that after I have a couple drinks I loosen up and am a lot more talkative, but a judge wouldn't know what that's like.

 

[Lexmark]

Here we go

 

[chris420]

Shit luck but using SA as an excuse for driving drunk is insane.

 

[Psychedelicious]

Social Phobia is no excuse for drinking and driving. You did something stupid, so you're just going to have to deal with it the way it is. I agree with the other person in an earlier post, sometimes lying is just better. You should not have told him you had been drinking in the first place. It is no excuse though. You don't "need" a drink, you just think you do. Although the situation might not have been entirely fair, it is what it is.

 

[dpr]

yeah i gotta agree with everyone else man... you could have taken a cab. and just because you don't feel drunk doesn't mean you're not over the legal limit. i don't usually get a buzz til after my fourth or fifth beer, but you think i'm gonna drive with four or five beers in me? hell no! i'd blow over for sure.

tough break. all you can do now is just never drink and drive again.

 

[chrislookscute]

I drink because its the only way I know how to cope with lifes everyday situations without having anxiety attacks. I know for a fact I am not addicted because when quit my job I wasn't working and I didn't really leave me house.....and didn't need to drink at all....and that was for like 2 months....I only drink for courage....courage thats necessary[/quote]

 

[RedRibbons]

Hmm. I used to drink to take the edge off at social situations (well I still do sometimes, but not nearly as much as I used to), but it's really not a good idea to get in the habit. You may become dependent on it, which it seems you may have, already.

I think you should try weaning yourself off alcohol, while in social situations. Instead of having like 5.. Try having.. 3.. Then instead of having like.. 3, try 1.. You need to realize that you don't NEED alcohol. It's not medication.

You might want to talk to a therapist about this.

There is a link of alcohol use and social phobia..

http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arh26-2/130-135.htm

 

[noblame4]

I believe you when you say you were okay to drive, after sleeping that long. It's better that you were honest with the cop, he probably smelled it on your breath, if you'd have lied you'd probably get obstuction of justice on top of the DUI.

I REAAALLY dont think you should bring up the SA in court. Judges dont like excuses, (and since most people think SA is just about as serious as a headache, it's going to come off like a pretty poor excuse.) Just be (mostly) honest and say that you had a little too much to drink at the party, but you slept it off for 8 hours.

I also drink to cope, so I feel bad for you. Sucks you got busted.

Also, if you start waking up with the shakes and all that mess, go somewhere and dry out. You've got enouph to deal with without throwing alcoholism into the mix.

 

[Moonie]

I feel for you. I can relate to your story almost 100%. Alcohol has become a bit of a problem for me - and I have had similar thinking as you. I don't always like to drink (especially now) but sometimes I find it a chore that I have to do in order to muster up some courage for certain social situations.

I almost got a DUI myself a couple months ago. It was one of the scariest things that has happened to me. I had to take some road sobriety tests - passed them alright. And then they gave me a breathalizer. My BAL was rather close to yours - a tad bit higher actually. I was really in for a DUI - I knew it. And I felt alright to drive, too, but that wouldn't hold up if alcohol was involved... even if it was a minor mistake. But, as fate had it, a loud screech occured at that moment from another vehicle and I got away because they had to check it out. I also probably got away because I had someone there that could readily drive me home (as I was following someone.)

The sad truth is, sometimes we NEED stuff like this to happen to us - so we can get a reality check. After many bad experiences with alcohol myself (embarrassments, troubles with a relationship, a hospital stay overnight, crashing into a highway rail, and an almost DUI) I should have my lesson learned by now. But have I? I really, really hope so. I should consider myself damn lucky for being alive and not killing anyone and not having a DUI. I have been given many chances to stop - which is really weird and fortunate. But, it's harder than you think. Just look at the bright side. You are alive. You didn't kill anyone. Your life can and will go on.

You can get passed this. Look at this as a wake up call. It's time to find other ways to cope. See a counselor - if you must. And if you decide to drink again - make sure you have a ride home or that you can spend the night at a friends. And I agree with some previous posters. I don't think bringing up your SA will help too much. It's something that should be addressed - but maybe on your own.

 

[chrislookscute]

yeah i gotta agree with everyone else man... you could have taken a cab. and just because you don't feel drunk doesn't mean you're not over the legal limit. i don't usually get a buzz til after my fourth or fifth beer, but you think i'm gonna drive with four or five beers in me? hell no! i'd blow over for sure.

tough break. all you can do now is just never drink and drive again.

dpr...say you had a get together at your house...and you got pissy drunk around midnight-1am....and you went to sleep and had to wake up and go to work at 7am.. and you didn't feel drunk....would you take a cab to work? the point i was trying to make is...i didn't know i had ANY alcohol in my system because of the fact that I was asleep for so long and i didn't feel intoxicated....so the point i was trying to make is its not like i got hammered and decided to go home...i was actually asleep for SO LONG and didn't feel a HINT of alcohol in me.

 

[edgarapoo]

Yeah, you probably weren't a high risk to anyone, but if the cop noticed something wrong enough to pull you over, who knows? I've only driven "drunk" once. I thought I was sober, but when I started driving, I started feeling a bit slower than usual. It scared the crap out of me, and I'm never doing that again.

The main thing is that no one was hurt. You just have a bad spot on your record for awhile. Life goes on. I also don't think using SP as a defense is a good idea. You'd probably be better off sticking to "I thought all the alcohol was out of my system" as your defense.

 

[sabbath92002]

Stop drinking before you kill yourself with alcohol poisoning. Being over the legal limit after 8 hours of sleep, means you could have died from so much liquor. Be glad you're alive and you haven't killed anyone.

 

[dpr]

yeah i gotta agree with everyone else man... you could have taken a cab. and just because you don't feel drunk doesn't mean you're not over the legal limit. i don't usually get a buzz til after my fourth or fifth beer, but you think i'm gonna drive with four or five beers in me? hell no! i'd blow over for sure.

tough break. all you can do now is just never drink and drive again.

dpr...say you had a get together at your house...and you got pissy drunk around midnight-1am....and you went to sleep and had to wake up and go to work at 7am.. and you didn't feel drunk....would you take a cab to work? the point i was trying to make is...i didn't know i had ANY alcohol in my system because of the fact that I was asleep for so long and i didn't feel intoxicated....so the point i was trying to make is its not like i got hammered and decided to go home...i was actually asleep for SO LONG and didn't feel a HINT of alcohol in me.

From your original post, I didn't realize it had been 8 hours. Still you must have drank a SHITLOAD to be able to sleep 8 hours and still blow over on a breathalyser! How is that even possible?

Actually now that you mention it, a few times I have gone to a friend's house and pounded back beers til like 5am, then went to sleep, woken up at like 10am and driven home. Which is crazy, right? But I guess for a long time, I used to think as long as you go to sleep and then wake up, that you're not drunk anymore. But I'm sure all those times I felt "hungover" while driving home, I may have blown over were I given a breathalyser. That's pretty scary now that I think about that.

 

[buzzing]

Hello,please please please don't ever drink and drive again,its illegal,dangerous and you could injure or kill innocent people and maybe yourself also. I have SP and like you use alchohol to mask my feeling's.There's no doubt that it's a curse,im taking MANERIX which i got off the internet.My doctor doesn't even know i have this condition as im too scared to talk to him about it.Hopefully medication may soon make it bareable .At the moment i feel like im living in a bubble. Maybe there'll be a light at the end of the tunnel