Dry Another Day! February beckons. Dry January (and beyond?) Thread 2. All welcome.

[HPLikecraft]

Ah, there you are little dry pingywings. 🐧🐧🐧

Shiny new thread. I've swept the berg and we're good to go. Hop on.

I knew it would happen. Got to yesterday feeling so much better. I had an argument with my son.
All afternoon in work I was trying to justify having a drink.
Literally convincing myself I deserved one. Forgetting how utterly awful I felt on Monday.
Got a bottle of red and drunk the lot. Why??? My son is fed up with me. Was supposed to watch something on tv with him but he left me slumped on the sofa.
This is the pattern I need to break free from. As soon as I start to feel better after a couple of days I crave again. Feeling really sad today

Don't feel sad @Mikey555, though I know that's easy to say. I totally get where you are coming from. I am the same, I find day 3 and 4 really difficult. You feel better and then the cravings start again. I find once you are passed those 'danger' days it's easier.
I have no real advice other than remembering how you feel now to get you through the next time it happens.

However, I also failed last night after just saying at 12 yesterday I wanted to stay sober until the end of the month. I took my mum to the shops as dad has Covid. She bought me a bottle of wine to say thanks. I should have just refused it but, of course, I didn't. So by 7 last night I'd had my first glass. Ended up drinking the whole bottle too.
Feel washed out today, headache and generally fed up. I can't even have wine in my house. So realistically any advice I give is useless as I don't even pay heed to it myself.

So day one again for each of us @Mikey555. Let's get through today and feel better about ourselves tomorrow.

Thank you @lunklitdays I'm going to really try. I felt so much better last year when I stopped for 2 months. I even managed to moderate for a while.
I read a great quote that helped me through. "Nobody wakes up in the morning wishing they had drunk the night before"
I'm starting again today

I'm back again. Have had a couple of birthday/ anniversay things so basically Feb has been pretty damp. I now have a week off work and would really like to feel like I have had a rest rather than feeling washed out and tired.

So I'm on it again. Also I have put on weight and weigh more than I have for years - I don't have much to lose but would rather keep on top of things than succumb to middle aged spread

Day 50 for me. Half way through my intended 100 days.

For some reason the storm really makes me wants me to get wine.

Evening all, happy Friday 😀. Can't believe I've made it this long, feeling very proud of myself. It's a combination of things - the lack of alcohol, the vitamin regime, the dopamine diet. I think building exercise in too, I love my Friday late afternoon session at the gym, pool, steam room but I'm also forcing myself out for a walk most days (weather permitting) even if it's just a 20 minute walk at lunch. I'm still only 5 lbs down but I feel so much healthier.

Morning all.

That all sounds really good @oopsIdiditagaintoo. I must check out our leisure centre and gym. A session finishing in the steam room sounds really nice.

Congratulations @MrsMingech! 50 days is great.

I wasn’t completely dry this week. DH opened wine on Wednesday to cook with which was very tempting. I had two glasses while he was cooking and that was it.

Last night I had a gin and tonic to try marmalade gin I made for Christmas and forgot to try. And then one glass of wine.

If I could stay drinking like that I’d be quite happy. Although I may have to stop completely. My skin seems to really react now. My face goes bright red and hot and it’s really uncomfortable. And horrible to look at. It was only from wine a few months ago but even the gin triggered it last night.

Took my kids to soft play today, it was hellish and less than 15 mins in and 10 year old DS is bought over by another kid and DS is crying hard and holding his hand.

2 hours later we're driving out of A&E and he had two clean breaks in the metacarpals in his hand.

I drove to Tescos for wine. Prosecco. Anything!

Came home with Caprisun and ordered Dominoes instead.

So I might end up obese but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Main thing is - DS is ok thank goodness and I didn't drink wine.

Yikes. That sounds stressful indeed! Glad he’s ok.

Oh my that sounds horribly stressful, what a shame 😞

Day 51 here and doing ok. We have kids over to play today and I’m taking them to the trampoline park. Hoping it all goes ok! Then a roast dinner tonight which I’m quite looking forward to.

How is everyone holding up?

Not long left of February now. Any plans for March?

I've been dry 20/23 days in February and was 27/31 day in January.

I'm not being super strict with myself but I am making an effort to be mindful about when I drink. No more opening wine just for the sheer Hell of it.

@MrsMingech

I hope your DS is going okay? Softplay is the work of the devil (mine are all still softplay age!)

Well done for not reaching for the wine!

Morning, I'm still here. Have drunk twice in February and not at all in January. I am thinking now to have a drink if I go out (which really isn't very often at all). If that's what I want to do when I'm out, maybe I won't want to. No more drinking at home alone, which was what I did both times I drank so far.

I'm feeling so much better in myself, sleeping better, I'm back exercising after covid, I'm not puffy or bloated anymore. I have to say most nights I don't even think about drinking, but it still hits me sometimes.

@MrsMingech I hope your son is okay.

Really I am just plugging along. I hope everyone is doing okay, be nice to hear from anyone else.

I’m still here. Although not dry. But hugely moderating.

Over the weekend I had two glasses of wine each evening before dinner but then stopped. Monday was dry. Tuesday got some sad news and had a couple of glasses. One glass last night.

Feeling ok about it as normally I would keep going but I’m not tempted at all. Enjoy the whole wind down evening time with a glass or two but happy then to stop.

@Peridot1 I'm sorry you had bad news, I hope you are okay.

Well done in stopping after two glasses, that is terrific. I wish I could do that but I just can't, once I'm two glasses down I know I'm finishing the bottle.

Thanks @lunklitdays. It’s not someone close but still upsetting - a good friend’s sister-in-law dies suddenly.

Checking in. I need to catch up on the thread after half term.

I managed 44 days before I drank. It wasn’t planned but it wasn’t a binge either. 2 large glasses of wine during a meal so not the end of the world. I’ve drank a couple of times since and toying with the idea of trying to do another long run but I’m not committed to that just yet. Maybe come the 1st of March I’ll jump back on.

Just worked out there have been 56 days this year (hope I’ve got that right - includes today) and I’ve been dry for 52 of them so although my run was 44 I’m feeling happy about the 52/56 total.

Caught up on the thread, there’s not been much activity since I was last on! Anyone fancy joining me in a 50 day challenge? That will take me up to my Birthday. I know it’s Friday night so not a great day to start 😆
I could do with a buddy to have some accountability.

Just going to tag some regulars …. don’t mind me….!

@HPLikecraft @Peridot1 @lunklitdays @Crunchymum @Mikey555

50 day challenge?!

@MrsMingech @vinoandbrie @oopsIdiditagaintoo I think having caught up on the thread you are still dry?!

Hi @HotWaterAndLemon! Well done on your long stretch. You’ve done really well. 52 out of 56 days is brilliant.

Not sure I’m up for the full 50 days and I’m pretty happy with how I’ve been moderating my drinking but I know I’m definitely slipping into drinking every night again so I’m definitely in for a damp if not dry stretch.

I’m in some new medication that seems to make me feel queasy after wine so it’s pretty easy to moderate but that “I need wine to wind down” feeling is still very much there.

@HotWaterAndLemon I would like to do 50 days but I have a night organised with friends (been put off many times) which I would imagine I will find hard not to drink. But I'll say I am up for it and try my very best not to fail!

My longest streak ever is 43 days so I would really, really like to manage.

The last bottle of wine I drank last week gave me such a bad hangover. I used to be able to drink a bottle with not much ill effects (which in itself isn't great) but last week I wasted the entire day feeling miserable. I think I felt it more as I'd sort of forgotten that feeling of waking up in the middle of the night, heart hammering, anxious and with a really bloody sore head. I ate utter rubbish the next day too and I'm desperately trying to lose a stone.

So yes, I'm in albeit a little tentatively

Awesome! Thanks both. I’m going to go for 50. If something comes up that I really want to drink at then I’ll not punish myself but I feel like I need some sort of target to keep me motivated. I don’t want to slip back into that cycle of looking forward to a drink mon-thurs and then having a hangover for most of the weekend.

I’m just going to list a few things from January that I can look back on if I need to:

• no will I or won’t I dilemma
• no waking up the next morning wondering if I did or said something stupid
• no worry about whether I’m ok to drive the next morning or having to push back plans to the afternoon so I’m sure it’s ok

And some of the things I gained

• more patience with the kids
• better sleep
• better skin
• better decision making

I'm up for a 50 day challenge.

I got complimented on my skin today (by a very close and old friend) so maybe there are some benefits to the non drinking malarkey

I'm 49/56 but would really like a get a solid period of being completely dry under my belt.

Day 12 today. I was planning to see if I could do 40 days AF for lent so may just aim for that now? Lent plus a few weeks

@Crunchymum yes! I’m on day 1 hence the renewed motivation
50 days will be my longest stretch for a good 4 years.
Thanks so much for joining!!!

Well I’ve managed dry Friday. DH went to the pub before dinner and I couldn’t be bothered getting ready so stayed home. He suggested wine when he came back but I would really only have been having it for the sake of it so I didn’t bother.

Friends coming for dinner tomorrow so I think I’ll just see how I feel.