New Alcohol self help

ailuro2

A really good joke will make you feel a lot better than fags or booze ever did. Laughing freely is the one of the most wonderful feeling in the world, after 'being loved' of course.

Been there, done that with ciggies, and I'm so 'cured' I don't even miss the post-coital ones anymore. The bit before is better too- it helps a lot to be able to breathe harder without starting to cough;)

With willpower you can do anything- find a bit extra courage every day, and have the first drink later every night, eventually it will be bedtime before you've had one!

Bogof_Babe

Just to say, I'm on 8 days now and already wondering why I ever bothered. I didn't have a serious problem by some standards, but 3 cans of cider every night (well starting at about 4.00 p.m.) was actually just under 7 units a day, or nearly 50 a week, which would have been doing me absolutely no good at all.

My OH is still drinking (probably about the same but he is twice my weight so has twice the capacity to process the alcohol, at least that's one theory). I washed his glass yesterday and the smell was like a stale pub the morning after. I feel brighter eyed and more bushy tailed than in a long time. My skin is better too, softer and I think a bit less blotchy.

All in all, result! Cheers! :coffee:

Edit: Exaggerated re. OH's weight - I'm nearly 9 stone and he must be about 14. Didn't want people thinking I am a Twiggy married to an Incredible Hulk!

lewt

not been to busy here i see...... i just got a wicked new job.... all thanks to going through the process........ hope all is well. brodev i just been hella busy sorting this interview out. and i now have it a perminant part time job 30 hours and i actually want it... the oneys good too at 20k for the hours i do i would go as far as to say its wicked. it would appear i employable.... which i was not for soo long....

anyway thought id drop by and share the news.

lewt

oh i still have about 6.7kg of sweets left all the trick or treaters were to polite to take loads.........

brodev

Glad to hear that you are enjoying the job Lewt. It is good to be able to contribute to society as well as getting a fair days wage etc. I am settling in here in Portugal and still enjoying the sunshine. I am watching football from Aberdeen and it is snowing there. Ah well half time is over back to the game.

aah

well I went to the GP today.

And I seriously wish I hadn't.

It started off really really well; she was happy I had come and understood my need to - at 50 units a week.

She is referring me to some support service but thinks I am well motivated wnough not to have to take drugs. She took bloods and felt my liver (which she doesn't think es enlarged, thanks goodness). We talked a bit and I felt really good about the decision.

Apparently I am to cut down slowly - so for the next few days I am to have 75% of normal consumption then cut down a bit more. I am to go back next week for blood results.

Then the bombshell! She showed me some information from DVLA which means that alcohol misusers (the category she has put me in, the lowest category, higher than that are alcohol dependants and alcoholics) are required to contact DVLA about having their licence revoked! It is a legal requirement apparently. She is obliged to tell me that I must contact DVLA and ask them for forms etc - I am to get medical tests and if they prove I am a misuser my driving licence will be revoked for 6 months! Were I dependent it would be one year....

I was floored by this. I don't drink first think in the morning - I rarely drink until evening. I would never drive after a couple of glasses of wine, but this is, it seems, the law.

I cam home and checked it all out on the web, and its true. She HAD to tell me to do this. And if she thinks I have not contacted DVLA then she HAS to do it and pass on information.

I am floored by this; crying my eyes out; I wish I hadn't gone; without my car I can't do my job; so much for seeking help

Bogof_Babe

I find that very odd. It goes totally against the medical profession's ethic of confidentiality.

You have not broken any laws, because there is no way anyone can prove whether you have driven while having alcohol in your blood. Therefore what business is it of the DVLA's, and what has it got to do with your GP?

If that is the law, it needs looking into and complaining about. Talk about being under surveillance in this country :mad: .

I hope you are feeling less upset now. Words fail me that you had to go through that .

suki1964

Words fail me

I never knew of this law because when i was drinking I never learned to drive - too scared id kill someone.

I have just researched it as well and it does seem to be the law and that in a case like this patient confidentiality does go by the board

But TBH I can see why this is the law. I never drank in the mornings but I bet I would never have passed a breath test or a blood test if faced with one in the morning. I know for fact that tube and train drivers are not allowed to drink 24hrs before a shift and often have random breath tests.

However this is no comfort to you

Hopefully by the time it comes to you to be tested for the DVLA you wont have any worrying amounts of alcohol in your system and your licence wont be revoked. I know its a dreadful shock for you but maybe you can use it as that carrot to get you on the road to recovery and help keep you on it?

Please whatever, dont let this knock you so far back that you have a "fudge it" moment. Keep strong and get through it

Bogof_Babe

I should think this so-called law would take half of all lorry drivers off the road at a stroke, were it to be rigorously enforced. This is not a slur on lorry drivers, as I don't suppose they drink any more than the rest of the working population, but it illustrates the sort of situation that could arise.

I have heard that a unit of alcohol takes about one hour to leave the system, so if seven units are partaken in an evening, say the last one at 10.30 p.m., then by 5.30 next morning the system should be clear. So what's the problem?

suki1964

Bogof_Babe wrote: »

I have heard that a unit of alcohol takes about one hour to leave the system, so if seven units are partaken in an evening, say the last one at 10.30 p.m., then by 5.30 next morning the system should be clear. So what's the problem?

That would be a pub measure, we tend not to drink pub measures at home.

http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/articles/article.aspx?articleId=853