On The Wagon... then in 'ere!

Malevolence said:
8 years today.
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I honestly can't remember how long its been for me, working backwards with my photos its approx 11 years. I should really remember as I was a big drinker not problematic but certainly drinking way too much for my longterm health.

My mindset was and still is, that I've had my fun with alcohol, with my health still intact, so I should be content with that.
 
I stopped drinking some time in March 2023, so nearly 2 years. I only gave up because they said I had a fatty liver, and it's still stiff now if I have fibroscans. But I wouldn't have known anything about it had I not had a blood test after a simple heart procedure. I did definitely drink too much, but it's been pretty easy to give up. Although maybe it's just me, because I went from smoking 40 cigs a day in the early 2000s (they were CHEAP in Germany), to quitting cold turkey in 2007 which I guess isn't normal.

It's a bit annoying not to have a beery buzz in the summer in a pub garden, but needs must. I used to drink Coke zero if I went to the pub, but actually there are some pretty nice non alcoholic beers like Lucky Saint and the Brewdog ones. I feel like I have a lot more energy in the mornings, I've lost a lot of 'weird' weight around my gut and legs. Also it saves a lot of money. So good luck everyone. Healthy body, healthy mind! Early to bed, early to rise. One up the bu... maybe not.
 
5 dry days so far. I’m a habitual drinker, never get drunk, just like to relax in the evening with a couple of glasses of Bourbon but this has been going on for a long time now.

Been diagnosed with a fatty liver, nothing too serious at the moment but need to start taking care of myself.
 
Very noticeable to me how many people have giving up drinking. Especially around the 20/30/40s range. The 50s and 60s lot still brag at work about the amount of gin or whiskeys or beer they drank over the weekend. Or how they’re looking forward to a drink this weekend. It must be generational. The pull of the booze is too strong or too embedded for them to quit.
 
18 months for me. As a big drinker, it was surprisingly easy to give up. Don't plan to restart at all. It's more of a bad habit thing than anything else. Honestly can't say I feel any better, but have saved a hell of a lot of money
 
Nice little achievement unlocked last night

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Day 374 of no booze today. I'm enjoying the lack of hangovers and also getting home at a respectable time. Went for a meal with some friends on Saturday night and it got to 10:30pm and I was quite happy to go "That's me done now gents". The me of 5 years ago would have been getting a taxi to town to continue to party.
 
regulus said:
Very noticeable to me how many people have giving up drinking. Especially around the 20/30/40s range. The 50s and 60s lot still brag at work about the amount of gin or whiskeys or beer they drank over the weekend. Or how they’re looking forward to a drink this weekend. It must be generational. The pull of the booze is too strong or too embedded for them to quit.
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Yes my parents find it strange I don't drink... I mean I do, I have maybe a handful of alcohol drinks a year (literally a glass of champagne or a beer now and again), but I never have a desire for "a drink". We don't have any alcohol in the house - other than wine for cooking.

When I go out with work colleagues or friends, I'll go for a 0% beer and they're quite nice now, Guinness now is pretty good. People seem to be less surprised by it now which is nice.

My health and mental health has been so so much better since I don't drink alcohol regularly (i.e. once a week).
 
I was pretty teetotal most of last year and early this year, but had got back into the habit a bit over the summer of having a couple of drinks on the weekend. The brain fog, tiredness, poor sleep and mood that comes with it are real though. Shared a bottle of wine at the weekend, no proper hangover but my god the depression combined with this weather.....eugh. Not worth it at all. Tee total time.

Going to order a case from Brulo to have some nice alcohol free drinks in.
 
I've been mainly tee-total my whole life (Hep-C from contaminated blood products), but I have been heavily dependant on opiates since my car crash in 2005 (Codeine, Morphine & Tramadol).

I stopped taking morphine after my last spinal surgery in 2009 - at the time I didn't know you're supposed to wean off it gradually using Methadone, so the withdrawal was horrendous. It made me a lot more sympathetic to heroin addicts (I always saw it as a simple willpower exercise).

I weaned off codeine in 2019, which was really tough (harder than the morphine, probably because I'd been on it far longer and the dependency was much stronger).

In October last year I asked my GP to help me come off Tramadol - I was on 800mg a day, but it wasn't doing anything for my chronic pain levels. She put a 6 month reduction plan in place and in April I took my last pill.

I've now been completely opiate-free for exactly 6 months today. My chronic pain is still awful, but I'm free from the hangovers, I'm no longer clucking and irritable if I miss taking a single dose, my sleep health is better (particularly since I've also lost 3½ stone) and I don't need to use the C-pap machine anymore.

My latest liver scan results are also clear (which is what prompted my choice to wean off).

Just wanted to share...
 
RedMogg said:
I've been mainly tee-total my whole life (Hep-C from contaminated blood products), but I have been heavily dependant on opiates since my car crash in 2005 (Codeine, Morphine & Tramadol).

I stopped taking morphine after my last spinal surgery in 2009 - at the time I didn't know you're supposed to wean off it gradually using Methadone, so the withdrawal was horrendous. It made me a lot more sympathetic to heroin addicts (I always saw it as a simple willpower exercise).

I weaned off codeine in 2019, which was really tough (harder than the morphine, probably because I'd been on it far longer and the dependency was much stronger).

In October last year I asked my GP to help me come off Tramadol - I was on 800mg a day, but it wasn't doing anything for my chronic pain levels. She put a 6 month reduction plan in place and in April I took my last pill.

I've now been completely opiate-free for exactly 6 months today. My chronic pain is still awful, but I'm free from the hangovers, I'm no longer clucking and irritable if I miss taking a single dose, my sleep health is better (particularly since I've also lost 3½ stone) and I don't need to use the C-pap machine anymore.

My latest liver scan results are also clear (which is what prompted my choice to wean off).

Just wanted to share...
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Welldone I was put on morphine patches 20mg over 7 days starting this year for spinal issues after 2 weeks I had to stop as I was just sick every day
 
dottty27 said:
Welldone I was put on morphine patches 20mg over 7 days starting this year for spinal issues after 2 weeks I had to stop as I was just sick every day
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Definitely for the best - opiate dependency is a really slippery slope and so, so hard to come back from.

I've always felt morphine doesn't actually stop you feeling pain; it just stops you caring that you're in pain. I spent 4 years like an unemotional zombie, except for when my tolerance increased and I needed a stronger dose.

Wish you all the best - spinal pain absolutely sucks.
 
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