The Giving Up/ Cutting Down alcohol support thread - number 13

satchmo1

15/21 AFDs today, on my 100th-parkrun-eve. I've got lots of various little cakes for fellow parkrunners.

Dizzy_Imp

Declaring early that tonight is not AF. Enjoying a large glass of delicious tawny port and I fully intend on having a second :whistle:

As one of my glasses is likely not to be one unit's worth, I'm pretty sure I can't even claim an ALD...

Happy weekend everyone x

Oh dear...one 19.5% bottle down...sheet...

Now nicely sozzled...sorry...but I feel mighty fine. Doubly sorry.

AlexLK

20 for me, please.

Sorry I'm not contributing much on here, I'm still counting but am rather busy at the moment.

Honey_Bear

Great to hear from you Alex and the numbers look good, too.

piggles1 wrote: »

Thanks Honey Bear

I'm not having any OCD therapy though. OCD is one of about five things I have and I'm waiting for an assessment for all of them. I've had no help with stopping drinking and done it by myself.

Perhaps I ramble on a bit too much so it looks like I've got no other outlet. 'tis true there's no other help for me at the moment

But I managed another AFD last night so I'm keeping on with not drinking as much as I can

14/15 AFD please shaggy

You absolutely do not ramble on! What you're doing is tough and it helps everyone to know how you're managing it, what makes it harder, what works for you, where you are on the road of recovery.

What I think I'd picked up on in your posts was that you sound as though you are battling through some tough times and I take my hat off to you because you're doing brilliantly, but having to do it on your own at the moment. I think I was trying to say that there are lots of people out there who are doing something similar and you might find even more people who you have a lot in common with.

I'd have been sunk without this thread, but I also read a lot of blogs and used several other places when I first stopped and each of them worked for me in slightly different ways.

I hope your assessment date comes through soon and you are offered something that suits you really quickly.

satchmo1 wrote: »

15/21 AFDs today, on my 100th-parkrun-eve. I've got lots of various little cakes for fellow parkrunners.

I'm not a fellow parkrunner, but wow!

Dizzy_Imp wrote: »

Declaring early that tonight is not AF. Enjoying a large glass of delicious tawny port and I fully intend on having a second :whistle:

As one of my glasses is likely not to be one unit's worth, I'm pretty sure I can't even claim an ALD...

Happy weekend everyone x

Oh dear...one 19.5% bottle down...sheet...

Now nicely sozzled...sorry...but I feel mighty fine. Doubly sorry.

I hope you're feeling as good today, Dizzy! If not, healing vibes for you.

21/30 please, Shaggy.

piggles1

shaggydoo wrote: »

No you don't

I enjoy your posts (and I'm sure everyone else does too) and you've been a great addition to this thread. :T

thank you shaggy, really appreciated I'll have a look for that book as well. And I got a kitty on the moon weehee

Dizzy_Imp wrote: »

Declaring early that tonight is not AF. Enjoying a large glass of delicious tawny port and I fully intend on having a second :whistle:

As one of my glasses is likely not to be one unit's worth, I'm pretty sure I can't even claim an ALD...

Happy weekend everyone x

Oh dear...one 19.5% bottle down...sheet...

Now nicely sozzled...sorry...but I feel mighty fine. Doubly sorry.

No matter dizzy, every day is a new one and only 2 more and you get a kitty on the moon my yesterday mucked up as well, it's not as easy as all that is it, comes back to bite ya given the opportunity.

Honey_Bear wrote: »

You absolutely do not ramble on! What you're doing is tough and it helps everyone to know how you're managing it, what makes it harder, what works for you, where you are on the road of recovery.

What I think I'd picked up on in your posts was that you sound as though you are battling through some tough times and I take my hat off to you because you're doing brilliantly, but having to do it on your own at the moment. I think I was trying to say that there are lots of people out there who are doing something similar and you might find even more people who you have a lot in common with.

I'd have been sunk without this thread, but I also read a lot of blogs and used several other places when I first stopped and each of them worked for me in slightly different ways.

I hope your assessment date comes through soon and you are offered something that suits you really quickly.

Thanks Honey Bear. You're right I am battling a lot of stuff. I suppose I don't often let people in or engage with like minded people, if there are any, and posting here is probably the first time I've been able to be honest that I've had/got a problem with drink and finally fighting it while dealing with a handful of other things as well.

There's been a bit of a spanner in the works though. I had a hospital appointment that I thought was for a symptom I had a while back and it's now gone so I wasn't too worried. But it was actually to tell me they've now diagnosed me with MS. I saw the scan of my brain (from a few years ago I think) and it's covered in little white orbs which is how they came to their conclusion. I'd never seen it before and I had no idea they were diagnosing me in the background and waiting to see me because I cancelled an old appointment thinking it was nothing.

I think it's the relapse remission type and the good news is I get an enormous amount of help now from neurology like dieticians to help me increase my weight although I cook from scratch and eat well, and a nurse for me, maybe some tablets, a number to call for anything I need to ask, and a psychiatrist (wow, the mental health people haven't even managed that yet!). They said that it can cause anxiety, I'm not sure why, so you have to have mental health help as well which is good.

I got dropped off but went through the appointment by myself which was a big deal really, so I was a bit numb and acted indifferent but I was confused by all the different places I had to go. When I got home I thought I was ok, and weirdly I felt like I was finally an actual proper person with a diagnosis. But then I felt all lost and alone (my folks never cared much about me and they moved abroad when I was much younger anyway and I'm happier without contact). I thought I'd treat myself to some wine but had far too much and now I've lost my way a bit because I'm one day away from my AFD target but worried if I can even make it.

But then on the other hand I can't drink to blot it out because even last night I kept thinking about all those little orbs and that I can't drown them but I still carried on drinking.

I've not looked up all about it, but I did have a sneaky look at alcohol and MS and it said that it's an anti-inflammatory or something so it can do some good in moderation. But I'd best not go there..

I'll start with cranberry juice tonight and see how I go. Today I feel weird and unsure what to do. I suppose the best thing is to do things that entertain me for a bit, keep my mind off it. It's just something I'll have to live with.

At least now I know why I'm massively clumsy and my balance is off. I thought the alcohol over the years had done something to my brain

I hope everyone's having a good saturday It's freezing here!

debjay

Sorry to hear your news Piggles but hopefully you'll get the support you need from all the professionals involved in your care.

Honey_Bear

Piggles I hardly know what to say. That's such a huge thing for anyone to hear, and to know that you heard it while you were on your own is heart-breaking.

Interesting, isn't it, that we automatically assume something is our fault when we're a bit clumsy ('Silly me!'), a bit under the weather ('Must be the booze I drank last night') and anxious ('My mind's playing tricks on me') when all along, it turns out there was a physical cause.

It's incredibly heartening to hear that the NHS has already put a whole support package in place to support you and I hope you access all of it, every last offer of help. You are not on your own, they're all there for you and we are too, on this thread.

(((Hugs))).

22/30 please, Shaggy.

piggles1

debjay wrote: »

Sorry to hear your news Piggles but hopefully you'll get the support you need from all the professionals involved in your care.

Thanks debjay yeh I hope so, feel in a void at the moment waiting for letters.

Honey_Bear wrote: »

Piggles I hardly know what to say. That's such a huge thing for anyone to hear, and to know that you heard it while you were on your own is heart-breaking.

Interesting, isn't it, that we automatically assume something is our fault when we're a bit clumsy ('Silly me!'), a bit under the weather ('Must be the booze I drank last night') and anxious ('My mind's playing tricks on me') when all along, it turns out there was a physical cause.

It's incredibly heartening to hear that the NHS has already put a whole support package in place to support you and I hope you access all of it, every last offer of help. You are not on your own, they're all there for you and we are too, on this thread.

(((Hugs))).

22/30 please, Shaggy.

Thanks Honey Bear,

I promise to ask for all the help I need I'll have to deal with the appointments by myself so I'll see what they say and I think I'll take a notebook and write things down so I don't forget half of it. When he told me all the people that were available it was like he was talking about someone else. Surely all this help wouldn't be for me? I'm not used to that and don't take it in.

It's up for debate whether my mental health is completely caused by the MS because it pre-dates it by a long time. I'm not letting the folks off the hook completely, because there are some things definitely caused by my upbringing. Me being alone, childless, divided from the rest of my family (they're sadly now gone), scared into silence, no trust or support, fed a load of lies I can't shake, relying on drink to blot things out. I don't want the MS to mean they ignore all that. But the treatment I get might help for a start, although I think they give tablets for anxiety (diazepam) which didn't work for me. I told him that though.

It's odd that I've had mental health problems for decades and fought to get some sort of help and not had anything insightful, and soon as I get something recogniseable and physical there's help available. It shows how small the mental health budget is compared to physical things.

But I did manage an AFD day yesterday I never give up, but sometimes I do get a bit tired of dealing with things and now got something else added on!

15/15 please shaggy yay reached my target.

debjay

Well done on reaching target Piggles especially given your news. It must've been tempting to have a drink to block things out. My Mum has had MS for nearly 30 years now - she's late 60s. She coped pretty well until last 5 years mobility wise. There's loads more support out there now too so you need to use all that's available.

17/22 for today please. OH is drinking enough for us both today watching football

Doshwaster

I can't quite believe it but I'm now on 21/24. I was planning on going out to the pub this afternoon but in the end I really couldn't be bothered.