The giving up/cutting down alcohol thread part VI

pink_princess

Thanks shaggy doo that sounds good.I have 1 day AF last night so its a good start :j Aiming to stay AF til friday .
Well done every one x
PP

saorsie

Another for me last night please Shaggy - despite there being a bottle of wine lurking in the fridge - that showed it! Now on # 17 I think.

Welcome PP - good to have you on board. :hello: Can't help but dribble over your sig - that's fantastic :T how have you managed to earn that much extra money??!! (if you don't mind me asking )

-s-

honeybear_2

Still on my phone but home later so normal bear service will be resumed

Marru, well done on your run!

pink_princess

saorsie wrote: »

Another for me last night please Shaggy - despite there being a bottle of wine lurking in the fridge - that showed it! Now on # 17 I think.

Welcome PP - good to have you on board. :hello: Can't help but dribble over your sig - that's fantastic :T how have you managed to earn that much extra money??!! (if you don't mind me asking )

-s-

I know we d have been in terrible trouble financially without it,its all came from the gambling introductory offers and loopholes board.Its not gambling its a financial system.I best shhhh because im not sure you can mention it unless on that board .:o
PP

graemecarter

ForeverHopeful wrote: »

Hi guys and girls

Sorry I've been missing for so long. But I've only just got myself back online at home after a nightmare with our last computer. I couldn't log in at work anymore

I'm still going on pretty much as I was before. Have felt better, but been worse! Had an awful weekend week past last when my mum found me flat out on the sofa and started lecturing me about drinking. That's not really appropriate when you're in your mid thirties.

DH has come back from offshore since and I have been making progress cutting back. On the one hand my mum really annoyed me for interfering, but I know she felt like she had to speak her mind. I would to my two, if the need arose.

So on I go trying my best to do better.

FH X

I hated it when people commentated on my drinking. That's because it was true, and I was in denial about my alcoholism.
I would get a resentment about anyone who could see the 'real me'. They were only trying to help and do what's best, but as an alcoholic, the only person who can help me is myself.

graemecarter

fedupandskint wrote: »

Hello everyone!

I'm back home from my week away walking on the Northumbrian Coastline which was very relaxing and battery recharging.

No network coverge in the area so had laptop withdrawals for a few days!

I convinced myself to drink a bottle of wine on Tuesday - it started my skin reaction after about 5mins (the new eczema cream) and then after an hour it calmed down and I carried on. Didn't even enjoy the taste. The next day my eyes swelled up again to start another phase off. I felt I had really let myself down by doing this when I had told myself I wouldn't do it.

Then last night I forgot all about it and when I popped out for some fish and chips I thought I'll have a bottle of lager to go with them. Opened the bottle, poured a glass, took a sip, didn't like the taste and then my skin reacted within minutes so I chucked it down the sink.

See what you mean about constant vigilence - funny how it got me more when I was on my own.

I also feel I'm at a stage where I am going off the taste of alcohol which I always enjoyed before. Maybe this is my time to give up alcohol completely (and I need to recognise my skin telling me this in it's own way!)

Then I thought the eczema cream is like an alcohol coping mechanism - make the reaction so bad it puts you off drinking again (a bit like disulfiram maybe?)

Lesson learnt and really can't drink again for the next few weeks.

This leaves me on 18 AFD now including tonight and I'm off to make a cup of hot choccie to watch the rugby with

Right better catch up with you all and see what you've all been up to over the last week!

If you don't like the taste AND alcohol makes your skin flare up, it seems that your body is trying to tell you something.

graemecarter

maman wrote: »

I also feel I'm at a stage where I am going off the taste of alcohol which I always enjoyed before. Maybe this is my time to give up alcohol completely (and I need to recognise my skin telling me this in it's own way!)

sparkles , it sounds lke you're becoming allergic to alcohol - what a result!!! Glad you had a good holiday, I did too.

VERY quiet on here tonight. I've not been AF but quite moderate again. This is exactly what I came on this thread for...cutting down and not making up for it on drinking nights.

'night all:A

It's a result if one keeps away from the allergen.
However, if drinking caused an allergic reaction and made one sick and the person carries on drinking, that is pretty dire.
Drinking when you know it is causes you harm and discomfort is out of control drinking. It is not being kind to yourself, and suggests a deep, altogether toxic relationship with alcohol.

graemecarter

Wanna_Bee_Free wrote: »

Hi Maman I wasn't going to post this time but reading that I just wanted to say well done and remind you how far you've come over the months on here because you're doing so well.

I am awake at stupid o clock and have only the wine I drank to blame. And OH's snoring but honestly would sleep through it if I hadn't had a glass too many last night.

I'm sticking to my alternate day rule well, but still drinking too much on the days I do drink. I feel much worse after those days too. I don't drink more than I used to before finding you all on here but it's like I'm less anaesthatised (can't spell that one at the moment, sorry!) than I used to be and more aware of how carp my body is feeling.

On a lot of mornings recently I've thought about stopping completely but somehow by the evening my resolve has gone if it's a day I can drink.

I remember a post GC wrote recently when he mentioned alternate days as one of the things he tried. I worry that I don't find myself pleased to have so many days AF but like with my weight loss and fitness efforts I'm impatient and beat myself up too much.

I don't know why I'm finding the moderate drinking so hard. I start off with good intentions and by the end of the second glass the !!!!!! feeling kicks in and then I order pizza.

I do have more bad stuff going on at the moment in RL than usual. I plan to continue with the alternate days at the moment. When I made my New Year's resolution I thought I'd be really pleased if I managed it but it just seems to have sobered me up enough to take a long hard look at the other days and realise it's still out of control.

Well, maybe like GC says this is just a pre giving up completely phase but I'm still in that river in Africa.

Any suggestions from you moderate drinkers as to how you make this work for you?

Shaggy, overall that's still 10 days for me so far this month and the numbers are racking up much better than in 2009.

I found drinking in moderation very difficult, and obviously is was unsuccessful for me.
When I had started drinking, I never wanted to stop. I never had 2-3 glasses and thought "That's enough now - I don't want a headache tomorrow"
I would keep drinking until I ran out of money, the bars closed, I passed out, etc. I didn't want to go that far, but often did
I could stop at a few drinks, but I could never be happy about stopping then.

Alcoholism is "a mental obsession that causes a physical compulsion to drink."
It wasn't that I spent every waking hour thinking about alcohol, but when the idea of a drink popped into my head, it was a thought process over which I have no control. Often I didn't even know it was there. All I know is I suddenly had an urge to take a drink -- a physical compulsion to drink.
Often I would get myself in situations where there was alcohol available (going out for someone I didn't like's birthday drinks for example). I wanted an excuse to drink.

graemecarter

Lilith1980 wrote: »

Morning all,

I had a fairly good time last night. I have to be honest and say I didn't do well with my drinking but I'm not beating myself up over it as there's no point.

Hubby told a couple of our friends about us separating. I thought we were going to do it together (united front and all that) but I think he was emotional and needed to talk to people. Apparently they were really supportive and said they'd be there for both of us but not sure if that will happen when it comes down to it. Still we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Hope everyone is well this sunny Sunday, off to make some bacon and egg sandwiches

You're right not to be hard on yourself, so just make sure you learn a lesson from the night. Make it a positive lesson not a negative one

graemecarter

fedupandskint wrote: »

I know - how strange it is at this stage. Although I often thought about stopping drinking I never believed that I could do it - now I think I can do it which is a strange phase to see that I no longer like the taste. Even though I have stopped before for 3months I always liked the taste.

May still be a moderater in the future - will take it day be day to remain AF for the rest of the month. Loving the AF mornings now all week - definately feel better due to that and that is what reminded me the day after I drank the bottle of wine.

Meaning better go to Mr S and get some pop to keep me going

Basics Orange Squash
Basics Orange Juice
Some fizzy pop - if there is any on offer
NOTW - free energy saver thingy

Catch you all later, have a good day today in the springtime!

If I didn't like the taste of alcohol, I would only be drinking for the effects. And that would be changing the way I feel.