On The Wagon... then in 'ere!

khemist said:
No booze for almost 10 weeks for me now, longest i've ever gone and i don't even feel like a drop.
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Its amazing how the cravings go away.

Been 3 months since my last drop, and being honest I get the same refreshment satisfaction from a glass full of crushed ice and sparkling water believe it or not!
 
Bit of a thread bump, nearly 2 years booze free for me now, mainly because of this thread and @Cosimo

Best decision I've made along with stopping smoking. I can count on one hand how many times booze has crossed my mind in 2 year :)

How's everyone else getting on ?
 
Well done on two years,! i've just hit four months without a drink.

I stopped at the start of June after feeling the worst i ever have after a week long bender, it was scarily bad and i almost went to hospital.

There have been a few times since then like when i've been on holiday or it's my day off that i have been really craving a drink but i think back to how bad i felt and next thing i've forgot about it.

I'm not saying i wont ever have a drink again because that is a bit of a thought and i probably will but only if i feel confident it's only going to be one night and that's it for a while, no crazy binge drinking.
 
So I've decided to pack the drink in completely as it was/is affecting my day to day life and the last two weeks or so has been so bad i felt enough is enough. I'm only on day 3 so far but i feel a little better for it, still a bit moody and not having the shakes much. Have't experienced any nightmares or things yet and my anxiety is a little better, but still there.

I'm just eating so much food, like my calorie intake has shot up by another 1300 or so. The thing is i'm just legging it for a number 2 all the time within say an hour of just eating and I've read up that this is my body detoxing trying to remove whatever is there in my system(?) and trying to adjust going from liquid calories to solid based.

Quite a big step me posting or even admitting it openly, as I've never done that before.

Anyway, just thought i'd join the wagon and also hope all is doing well.
 
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I spoke too soon, didn't have anything from June to new years eve and when i did i stopped again and felt fine.

Then i had one again on Saturday night and next thing i know it's Wednesday and i don't really remember anything.

Thing is i was at work Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and someone must have noticed i was in a state so the manager had a word with me and i felt like i was having a panic attack but went on to try and do my job anyway.

I had to phone up the office later and say i couldn't do the job and managed to get them to give me the rest of the week off.

Now i've asked them to bring my holidays forward a week so i can have this coming week off because even though i've stopped i know i'm going to be running to the toilet constantly since i'm starting to eat again and i'm just going to be good for laying in bed and feeling better.

Don't know if it will happen though so i'm pretty worried about it but i'm positve i'm done with booze now.
 
Last drink I had was New Year's Day with my dinner. Haven't had a drop since and used the time to get back into fitness. It's my birthday in a fortnight and I feel like if I have a drink then I will have undone all that good work.

For the first 2 weeks I felt a bit lethargic, must have been going cold turkey, and I was having bad stomach cramps. Now though I feel much better and generally a whole load healthier.
 
Not had a drink since the 2nd Jan since I'd easily stick away far too much vodka/jager with little trouble. Not in any sort of trouble with addiction per se but hangovers last 2 days and that's given me a bit of a wake up.

Not missed it a bit, drinking lots of water and as a side bonus? No booze = less desire for chocolate! Win! :)
 
Its quite an eye opener seeing how many people are concerned with their own drinking habits. Best thing I've done is stop drinking feel miles better for it,
 
I'm almost 2.5 years sober a day at a time.

@khemist I'm sorry to hear you picked up a drink. I hope you've really 'hit bottom' this time and are ready to do something about about your drinking. Life hasn't magically turned itself around since I stopped drinking and suddenly become perfect but I am better able to cope and life is better. All the anxiety and panic you describe does begin to go away.

@Brian The Snail my drinking evolved from pub to house drinking but now I've stopped drinking I avoid pubs unless I have a good sober reason to go into them. I'll go to the pub for food but I won't go 'for a drink' - at least not often. Partly it's because honestly, pubs and drunk people are boring when you're sober, and partly it's because I don't feel it necessary to compromise all I've achieved in the last 2.5 years over something so easily avoidable. I've a better and more varied social life now than I ever did drinking.

Also @Jimbeam3678 - you must be about 2 years on the wagon now too? Well done man
 
phonemonkey said:
Also @Jimbeam3678 - you must be about 2 years on the wagon now too? Well done man
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Cheers, nearly 2 and a half years. Strange as hand on heart I don't miss it one bit. On reflection I think I'd had my fun with booze, funny stories to tell along with fond memories with to my knowledge all my health still intact!

I'm grateful for the latter and wouldn't change the former. I think its quite telling market research in retail is indicating young people are drinking far less than previous generations...
 
Long time lurker here. I have struggled with drink on and off since my mid 20s and am now at the end of my 40s. I consider it to be 'one' of the main reasons each of my long term relationships has broken down. Heightened anxiety and severe depression and crazy wild mood swings from one day to the next typically the cycle. I've done the odd month here and there but it's generally been a constant in my life. I've started to read The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober by Catherine Gray. Only a 1/3 of the way in and although I didn't consider myself to be an alcoholic it's obvious I was drinking far too much for my own good and for those around me. I can thoroughly recommend it. *lightbulb moment* (although too late again)

Interesting to see the differences between people here and how they go about dealing with it. I often see the term rock bottom. I'm not sure if we ever truly know what the bottom is, just that each time we go a bit further down it's even harder to get back to where we were beforehand. One persons lowest moment might be someone elses starting point. Not sure If I'm getting my point across......

I am an advocate of moderation, but in my particular case after trying on and off for 20+ years I think the only solution for someone such as myself is abstinence. Now don't get me wrong I like my drink, just too much and once I start one is never enough and it becomes that unquenchable thirst that I can never be rid of. I am back to living on my own and I no longer need to hide bottles/cans or have a sneeky couple of pints on the way back from the shop and now it would be easier than ever to just drink until blackout as there is no one else to consider but me.

My last seriously wrecked day as 23/12/17 but in the 2 weeks previous to this I felt I was slipping back into my old ways, although nothing like the previous 3 years or so but a revert to form I would say sadly.

Kudos to those that are managing a few days, to a week, to months or even longer. It may be a constant battle throughout your life, but you know you are not alone and every step forward is a step closer to becoming non dependent.
 
CrimsonAvenger said:
Long time lurker here. I have struggled with drink on and off since my mid 20s and am now at the end of my 40s. I consider it to be 'one' of the main reasons each of my long term relationships has broken down. Heightened anxiety and severe depression and crazy wild mood swings from one day to the next typically the cycle. I've done the odd month here and there but it's generally been a constant in my life. I've started to read The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober by Catherine Gray. Only a 1/3 of the way in and although I didn't consider myself to be an alcoholic it's obvious I was drinking far too much for my own good and for those around me. I can thoroughly recommend it. *lightbulb moment* (although too late again)

Interesting to see the differences between people here and how they go about dealing with it. I often see the term rock bottom. I'm not sure if we ever truly know what the bottom is, just that each time we go a bit further down it's even harder to get back to where we were beforehand. One persons lowest moment might be someone elses starting point. Not sure If I'm getting my point across......

I am an advocate of moderation, but in my particular case after trying on and off for 20+ years I think the only solution for someone such as myself is abstinence. Now don't get me wrong I like my drink, just too much and once I start one is never enough and it becomes that unquenchable thirst that I can never be rid of. I am back to living on my own and I no longer need to hide bottles/cans or have a sneeky couple of pints on the way back from the shop and now it would be easier than ever to just drink until blackout as there is no one else to consider but me.

My last seriously wrecked day as 23/12/17 but in the 2 weeks previous to this I felt I was slipping back into my old ways, although nothing like the previous 3 years or so but a revert to form I would say sadly.

Kudos to those that are managing a few days, to a week, to months or even longer. It may be a constant battle throughout your life, but you know you are not alone and every step forward is a step closer to becoming non dependent.
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You make a lot of sense. I felt exactly like you did. I have, even though I'm more than 2 years sober, an image in my head of drinking. It changes with the seasons. Just now its sitting by a fire nursing a whisky, in the summer it's a cold beer in the sub. The truth of my drinking was never a whisky or a beer. The reality of my drinking was begging people to stay for 'just one more' until they stopped socialising with me. The reality was apologising for behave I couldn't remember and wet beds. There was never one drink for me, I always wanted more. I need constant reminders that my drinking was not like the image I hold in my head and never will be. My drinking started off with a veneer of normality to it. Sure I over stepped the mark sometimes but who doesn't? Right? Slowly over time I started having to work at maintaining that veneer until no matter how hard I tried cracks showed. That's enough to prove to me this is a progressive illness. Sobriety has arrested but not cured my illness, if I drink again it will get worse.

My rock bottom wasn't awful. I still had a job, flat and some semblance of personal relationships when I quit but it was bad enough for me. It was bad enough for me to throw in the towel, to admit defeat. That's all that matters. You don't need to take the train to the terminus. You chose when you get off the train and that doesn't have to be at my stop or any one elses.

It's up to you what you do. I tried abstinence by myself and couldn't manage it. I tried moderation on my own and couldn't do it. If you're like me you might need help too. I use AA and a 12 step programme but there's other support out there if that's not your bag. Good luck.
 
CrimsonAvenger said:
T


Thanks for asking. 14 days today. Not easy and my food intake has gone up lol.

How are you ?
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14 days is great, well done. I remember the food cravings, I especially craved sugary stuff when I stopped drinking. Someone explained that I was missing all the sugary calories I used to drink. It does pass though. For the first 6 months or so I focused on staying off the drink and gave myself leave to eat pretty much what I wanted, deciding I had enough on my plate and I could only expect my will power to cope with so much. I didn't put on any weight as I effectively just replacing the liquid calories with food calories and eventually the sugar cravings lessened and I began to eat better!

Keep checking in with us, its inspiring to hear how others are getting on.

Life's much the same as normal here. To be honest so long as I go to enough meetings and use the skills I've learnt in sobriety I don't often get the urge to drink and don't usually miss it.
 
Cheers phonemonkey - thanks for your interest and your experiences, it's much appreciated.

I've taken your advice onboard re: food and not beating myself up about that too. I'm a runner, so I'm focusing on that too to keep the weight off.

Good to hear that you're sticking to the plan. Don't know if you're much of a reader but I can thoroughly recommend 'The unexpected joy of being sober' - Catherine Gray. Reading a little every day and using that as part of my motivation. In fact I'd recommend to anyone here tbh.

Cheers! (non drink one obvs)
 
So not much going on in here still but I'll post anyhow.

Last drink was February 11th. The odd rough day as my body gets used to it but on the whole feeling a lot better. As phonemonkey said I am too getting the munchies for sweet stuff. Just trying to conteract this with my running and cycling. Long weekend and guess the social thing will be to go for a drink! Hope everyone is getting on with their own personal battles.
 
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