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Original poster

If you have given up alcohol, do you feel better?

157 replies

MeltingWax · 03/09/2018 20:54

I am thinking about giving up alcohol altogether as I find just cutting down too difficult.

Over the last 20 years I have had 2 alcohol-free pregnancies and have done dry January twice but other than that no long periods without booze. I have started to get to the point where I think a proper break would probably be good for me for both mental and physical reasons.

I think am also probably peri menopausal with the associated mild anxiety which accompanies that.

So, I have been 10 days alcohol free now which yes, I know is not much. But I was kind of expecting to be feeling, I don't know, different somehow by now. Maybe am expecting too much. On good weeks previously I would drink the recommended weekly number of units but many many weeks it would be, um, significantly more than that. Blush

So, anyone who has gone permanently alcohol free was there some tipping point when you suddenly felt much better?

OP posts:
Bumblealong1 · 07/09/2018 02:46

I used to get anxious when drinking. It had a negative impact on my relationship.
My relationship is much better now that I abstain

BitOfFun · 07/09/2018 02:50

Are you taking Thiamine (it's a B vitamin)? I've read that you need to be taking 50mg daily to really reap the benefits of quitting. It helps your brain regain its former alertness and energy, as alcohol plays havoc with your levels.

Wincarnis · 07/09/2018 04:58

Quit alcohol for health reasons three years ago. i miss it, used to enjoy getting pissed at the weekend. Can’t stand the smell of it now, pubs and bars are no-go areas, social life is awkard. Otherwise, no difference!

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waffledoggy · 07/09/2018 07:12

I've just stopped drinking as I've started Sertraline due to anxiety attacks. I've been needing to take the medication for a long time, I've put it off as I didn't want to stop drinking. Now my anxiety is out of hand. Looking for positive stories so this thread is very timely thank you. I look forward to my evening glass of wine and feel irritable and bored without it. I know that is a sign in itself that I'm dependant on it. I hoping to make the change for good, but it feels very daunting.

SandysMam · 07/09/2018 07:18

I don’t miss it at all. Used to binge drink on a night out a few times a year. Love not feeling like shit both physically or emotionally the next day.

biscuitaddict · 07/09/2018 07:18

I drank to excess for a period of May be 10 years. Now have a DS and 6 months pregnant with his brother, I've barely had a drink in the last 3 years and I don't miss it at all. I certainly don't get drunk anymore. We went to a wedding recently and people were so drunk I was shocked - it would definitely have been me once Upton a time. I've recently thought I'll go teetotal now but I'd rather have the choice. Really do feel better and more in control. I think stopping smoking helped a lot too. You really have nothing to lose by trying.

shins · 07/09/2018 07:21

Yy to the relationship thing. My dh also gave up a couple of years ago and we get on so much better. We never had drunken arguments - we didn't drink that much, and we're both quite pleasant after a few - but the hangovers, oh god. We'd be anxious, snappish, irritable - there would often be stupid arguments over nothing in the mornings. That's gone altogether.

clearsommespace · 07/09/2018 08:22

I've just watched that documentary.
I don't know the presenter (I watch very little TV) but my first thought was 'he looks so unhealthy'. Then he started totting up how much he drinks Shock
His non-drinking friend looks so much younger and healthier in comparison. I was a bit disappointed that he didn't encourage Adrian Chiles to cut back more.

It's been such a long time that I have felt bad from drinking but I think I'd like to see if I can feel better.

Rarfy · 07/09/2018 08:53

Dp and i are early 30s. We drank a lot. Binge drinking at weekends really. I would have a bottle of wine on a friday and a saturday and maybe some other drinks mixed in. I did this whilst ttc but last year dp had a health issue which made him stop drinking. I pretty much followed suit or would have a maximum of two pints of cider any occasion i did drink which wasnt often.

We ttc again and im now 19+3 with what looks to be a healthy baby. Before this i suffed a first trimester mmc. A stillbirth and a second trimester mmc. The 2nd and 3rd babys both had something wrong with them. I didnt drink in any pregnancies but it still makes me wonder if my binge drinking before pregnancy played a part.

Dp and i get on better than ever now and i feel like we have a life where we spend quality time together. Before every wkend and any time we had off together revolved around drinking and hangovers. A slippery slope i think tbh.

DieAntword · 07/09/2018 08:57

I feel a million times better since I stopped drinking. But I changed a lot of other things in that time too.

TiredPony · 07/09/2018 09:16

Thank you @delphgulph and @IsTheRainEverComingBack
Now 3 days sober. I didn't think I was going to get through last night without a drink as it was a night out. I drove. But the temptation to get home so I could have a drink was strong. So when I got home I poured myself an elderflower tonic water! And whereas now I would be pouring over a greasy fry up and coke from the work canteen I am currently sipping a large green tea. I feel so much better.

expatinspain · 07/09/2018 09:17

I still drink alcohol, but occasionally as opposed to regularly, so have gone for reasonably long periods without drinking. I think you feel better, as in you're not hungover and you sleep better, but unless you were a heavy drinker I wouldn't imagine you feel massive benefits unless you are changing other areas of your life too e.g. Diet and exercise.

TiredPony · 07/09/2018 09:17

Oh and I started reading Jason Vale Kick The Drink Easily too - anyone else read it?

Cameron2012 · 07/09/2018 09:22

Havnt drank since January after years of a bottle of wine a night.
Lost nearly 2 stone, no bloating , no hangovers, definitely better.
The hardest thing is dealing with friends who want you to drink, it’s weird how your not drinking makes them uncomfortable.I must have been Fun Bobby 😂😂😂😂😂😂

NotdeadyetBOING · 07/09/2018 09:38

I stopped drinking 6 years ago and feel a million times better - both physically and emotionally. I was clearly developing a dependence on alcohol and was unable to be moderate. Total abstinence is simpler in a way. It's funny the way we are made to feel guilty for not drinking - really weird in a way! But I'd say give it a go. It's changed my life and relationships for the better.

Miladymilord · 07/09/2018 09:46

I don't feel much better and haven't lost any weight BUT I get terrible hangovers when I drink so its lovely not to have to experience that.

Largepiecesofcrookedwood · 07/09/2018 09:55

I've been thinking for some time that the only way to cut down my consumption is to quit altogether Hmm
DH will freely admit that he could have a problem if he didn't keep himself in check, and I've noticed that he's displaying several symptoms of excessive alcohol consumption already. In a way I am the enabler as he will naturally drink less if I do, yet my slightly dodgy "off" switch often scuppers any good intentions I may have. He will categorically not consider giving up and it has caused some rifts in our relationship, to the point where I have considered leaving on occasions.
So perhaps I need to do it for me and see where it takes us?

NamedyChangedy · 07/09/2018 10:17

I haven't drunk alcohol since my first pregnancy, so since about 8 and a bit years ago. I feel much better for it and it simply wouldn't occur to me to drink now, although I can't say I don't have fond memories of Pimms in the summer, or a nice G&T occasionally!

Noqont · 07/09/2018 10:26

Well I'm only on day 6 but already feel loads better, more energy, sleeping better and I even lost a couple of pounds. So I'm definitely going to keep going. I haven't felt this good in ages.

thenightsky · 07/09/2018 10:27

I see a few people have posted that they feel pressure from friends for not drinking... made to feel guilty or bad about it almost. I experienced the same thing when I gave up from January to June this year and, indeed, appear to have lost a whole group of people who no longer invite me out any more. Its quite sad really.

Runbikeswim · 07/09/2018 10:34

I've not had a drink since the year 2000 and I feel great Smile

Runbikeswim · 07/09/2018 10:36

No one cares if you drink or not except heavy drinkers/people with drinking issues in my experience.

LoisWilkerson1 · 07/09/2018 10:42

I cut down from regular drinking at home 3-5 nights a week to only having one or two if on a night out. I don't physically feel different but Iost a couple of pounds and definitely go out and about more at the weekends as I'm not hungover. I like not wondering if I've talked crap to people or made a fool of myself after an event.
I also argue less with dh. I just go to bed and leave him to it if he's drinking more than me, he has cut down too though.

Laniakea · 07/09/2018 10:50

I haven't given up completely - I've had very little in the last 12 months, half a bottle of fizz with a friend in March & a G&T a couple of weeks ago. I was really ill last Christmas so didn't drink at all then & I'm just not very interested in drinking anymore. I have zero tolerance & even one glass of wine gave me a pounding headache so I just stopped.

benefits - sleep better, less anxious, more money.

That's it! No weight loss, hasn't improved my skin or reversed the ageing process, no extra energy or joie de vivre ... I'm still overweight, knackered & vaguely middle aged!

DH has benefited though, as I don't drink he doesn't really either. When I did drink we'd get a bottle of wine - I'd nurse a glass all evening while he finished the bottle & then had a glass of tequila or beer afterwards. He has lost weight & looks better imo, he's much nicer to be around when not grumpy from hangover/rubbish sleep. Perhaps I just wasn't drinking enough before!

prunemerealgood · 07/09/2018 11:04

I’m not peri menopausal but I am heading for middle age and have to do something about it. Been flirting on and off with AF but now committing. It’s interesting how social occasions are just fine without alcohol! That’s a revelation to me. Really looking forward to this 90-day feeling Grin as day 3 I’m just a bit tired, fat, dry of skin and lank of hair....