The giving up/cutting down alcohol support thread!

winebox

Thanks Bis, you're right (no!), going out not an option cos babysitting costs etc but yes will make an effort - it's the arrival home is when I would start so will have a cunning plan.

Lifesucks - enjoy it, don't drink it too fast!, you've still had 4/5 days alch free which is a lot betterer than 0/5. Rome wasn't built in a day (erm, there's a relevance in there somewhere). If it was that easy this thread wouldn't exist.

bhb, one is better than 2 is better than 3 & so on....

Jo/Shoppy/Bis, uncanny the link with your fathers.
Jo I know what you mean re thinking about not drinking but feeling in control, I felt that way the first day, felt less in control the second, was lucky my huge wobble was first thing in the morning on the third day or that would have been it. But I feel the control is back today - weather the storm. If you get one.

Like yesterday I feel wiped out - it hits me at 3-ish which is when I usually start on the vino, but the good thing is that feeling so tired helps to remove the need for a drink (couldn't get the cork out if I tried ). So am going to toddle off again & hope work is less busy in the morning so I can catch up then. I mean, what do they pay me for? Actually, what do they pay me for?

have a good eve, all x

mollypolly

Wow.Been busy on here today.

Welcome to the newbies and good luck as you cut down/give up.
Going to have my tea & toast now.
Love Mollypollyxxxx:happylove

SamanthaA

Fell off wagon last month, I did catch up eventually!
But not managed to post - but have been reading & keeping up to date.

Can`t remember how many AFD last month (target was 25/30) Don`t think I managed it, but was def more `free` days than alcohol days.

This months target is again 25/31 & have done 3/30.

Congrats to ALL those who have moved forward, whether it be AFD`s, reductions, finding triggers or just finding this wonderful thread and all the support thats here.
Best wishes and good luck to ALL those not quite as successful - don`t fall off and if you do give the thread a shout & we`ll try & pull ya back......

mymatebob

Morning all another day and another one AF.

Off out tonight for a meal but no fears about drinking, already had two nights in the pub earlier this week with no alcohol.

I think a little switch has been turned on in my head and as soon as I am offered a drink I think of hangovers and putting on weight and losing control and making a fool of myself and find it really easy to say no.

(All the above takes the same amount of time as that new fancy camera does all of its processing on the adverts - ie no time at all.)

Weekend coming up so be strong and resolute.

spam.jam

Hello everyone:j
I am so glad this thread is here it reminds me of one of my most important causes at the mo, to stay on the wagon. I still haven't had a drop and feeling like superwoman. It gets better and better everyone, the longer you stay off. I feel awake, happy, normal, clean and strong. You can all have this too. I am putting this feeling in a bottle for you all and sending it out to you all cosmically today. Please choose this feeling, its wonderful.

Bingowings well done for giving up cannabis, that it a hard thing to do I did 6 years ago

Cherryred well done for realising that one leads to ten, a simple thing to understand but hard to avoid that first one, if I had one now I would be back in the gutter within a couple of minutes

And well done winebox on your 4 AFD thats a breakthru and now you have proven to ourself you can do it you can do it again

Stay strong everyone. Have a beautiful day

shopaholictiedtheknot

Hi everyone,

Welcome to any newbies (seems to be quite a few!)

Well, I drank a bottle of white last night:o I have to say in my defence that it was for experimental purposes though, I have been having bad heart palpitations every evening since I quit (almost two weeks ago) and wanted to see if I still had them if I drank - answer - NO!! by the time I had finished the first glass they had completely gone!

Anyway, I had made an appointment earlier yesterday to see the doctor about them this morning (at OH's insistance) so I told him what I had been experiencing and he took my blood pressure and tested my heart rate and both were excellent, he said he thought it would be the stopping drinking which was causing it and said it was normal during 'cold turkey' to experience palpitations, sweating, nausea and feelings of panic and so it was up to me really whether to continue trying to abstain completely or whether to try just cutting down.

I don't really know what I want to do at the moment, I think I may try just drinking one or two days a week and see how my palpitations go, they are just so horrible and make me feel so ill, I really want to quit completely but thinking maybe reduction will make it easier on me physically any views on this??

spam.jam

shopaholictiedtheknot wrote: »

Hi everyone,

Welcome to any newbies (seems to be quite a few!)

Well, I drank a bottle of white last night:o I have to say in my defence that it was for experimental purposes though, I have been having bad heart palpitations every evening since I quit (almost two weeks ago) and wanted to see if I still had them if I drank - answer - NO!! by the time I had finished the first glass they had completely gone!

Anyway, I had made an appointment earlier yesterday to see the doctor about them this morning (at OH's insistance) so I told him what I had been experiencing and he took my blood pressure and tested my heart rate and both were excellent, he said he thought it would be the stopping drinking which was causing it and said it was normal during 'cold turkey' to experience palpitations, sweating, nausea and feelings of panic and so it was up to me really whether to continue trying to abstain completely or whether to try just cutting down.

I don't really know what I want to do at the moment, I think I may try just drinking one or two days a week and see how my palpitations go, they are just so horrible and make me feel so ill, I really want to quit completely but thinking maybe reduction will make it easier on me physically any views on this??

hiya
I had similar physical feelings for the first few days of giving up. I was advised by a friend who is studying homeopathy to drink Valerian tea especially at night, bathe in lavender and use it in a burner and wear a drop or two instead of perfume. Relaxation techniques are good and if you have a nice OH a lovely massage is good (I dont have a significant other but I play the didgeridoo which is a deep form of meditation).

Getting your head into a good book is distracting, I'm reading 'The road less travelled' by Scott Peck, a self help book. Whats everyone else got on their bedside table?

shopaholictiedtheknot

Thanks for that spam (mmm I love tinned spam!!!) I will have a look at the health shop for the tea and I have lavender growing in my garden so will pick some and put it in my bath - i love a good soak:D I usually do my reading in the bath, I am re-reading Castaway by Lucy Irvine, it is her autobiography about her year on a desert island, it's great escapism

spam.jam

shopaholictiedtheknot wrote: »

Thanks for that spam (mmm I love tinned spam!!!) I will have a look at the health shop for the tea and I have lavender growing in my garden so will pick some and put it in my bath - i love a good soak:D I usually do my reading in the bath, I am re-reading Castaway by Lucy Irvine, it is her autobiography about her year on a desert island, it's great escapism

u r welcome ;-)
Let us know how you get on and good luck, you are heading in the right direction:j
Since quitting fags I have been taking St. Johns Wort too, but not at the same time as Valerian, its really good. After giving up amphets, dope, alcohol and now fags I feel like I must have a certain type of personality that needs to be taking 'something'. The lady at the health food shop rec'd Ginseng too but I dont want to rattle:rotfl:

eselt

Blimey- how busy has this thread become?- welcome everyone, old and new- this is a good place to be.

Bismark- you asked about how long I have been sober, well I gave up (well actually I ended up in hospital with an enlarged liver and brain seizures so alcohol kind of gave me up) in december and have stayed on the wagon pretty much since then- I've had 3 relapses of 1-2 days then got myself back on track.

Bingowings- I had a bit of a cry when I read your posting, it just brought so many memories back of dark bad times- you've got a hell of a battle on your hands, but you can do this-please please get off the spirits, I nearly died because of cheap bloody vodka- 3 years ago I lost my job, my children had to go and live with their dad because I couldn't be trusted to stay sober and look after them, I had to go bankrupt, people I thought were friends drifted away, 7 hospital detox's (3 emergency ones)...its taken me a long long time to get my act together, and theres some stuff that I will never be able to forgive myself for...please don't go down that road, get some help, its out there honest- you sound like you are nearly getting to the stage where you are phyically dependant on the stuff which is a massive danger zone, and detoxing from spirits is the harshist and the nastiest.

Jo- your new counsellor sounds spot on- are they a drugs/alcohol specialist or general psych? How did you find him/her? You are doing brilliantly by the way.

Hope everyone has a great weekend Cheers Jackie