DRY JANUARY 2024! Been overindulging? Drinking crept up? Want to begin a healthy new you? This way please. All welcome!

[HPLikecraft]

It’s that time of year again... the late Christmas present to our livers!

You may be thinking of doing Dry January to:

*detox a little after seasonal overindulgence, or
*help you cut down a bit generally, or
*help you start to get out of a harmful alcohol habit, or
*just be a bit healthier for a month...

It’s good for all of those things!

DJ threads are excellent for support, encouragement, sharing info, ‘we’re in this together’ camaraderie, suggestions for grown up drinks, aversion techniques and just fun.

This is my 7th year of DJ and I swear it has made all the difference to me. It was so hard first time, but it has definitely broken my habit, banished much of the craving, and reset my relationship with booze. I imagine it's added years to my life.

I won’t be finding DJ too difficult this year, but some will. Hopefully this thread will help.

Throw your hat in the ring, pull up a chair and let's do this together. 🙂☕🧃

The DJ2024 Wagon creaks to a start in just 5 days! Join us!

Checking in! No temptation yet, still focusing on feeling fresher. Hoping for more energy soon.

I think I slept a bit better last night. It took forever to actually get to sleep but I didn't wake up until the alarm went off. I'm counting that as progress 😁

Happy birthday for yesterday @Sonolanona and well done for staying dry! I don't think I've ever done a dry birthday.

Well done @Sonolanona if you can get through a day like yesterday you can get through whatever January throws at you! A real motivator

Morning check-in as well from me. MUCH better sleep last night - I lit a lavendar joss stick and took a couple of Valerian, which seemed to do the trick - or maybe it was the effect of the Goodrays! Also the cat seems rather more chipper - wanted morning cuddles which is encouraging, and appetite much improved.

All good yesterday but ITS THE WEEKEND now! That's my biggest worry. I love a glass bottle of red to chill at the weekend

Morning. Starting day 5, still got this horrid cold so I don't feel like drinking anyway. My problem is that I like to reward myself with a drink.. I need to find another way to treat myself.

Hi Everyone!

I'm brand new to Mumsnet as I only joined yesterday 😊 I'm just getting used to how to find things, and how to reply/post. So if I make a pigs ear of it please take the mickey mercilessly!

Hubby and I are trying DJ for the first time. 2023 was a horrendous year for reasons I won't bore you all with but ultimately hubby developed a problem with drinking. I'm also perimenopausal and really struggling even though I'm on HRT. Alcohol seems to make everything worse so I really want to see if not drinking improves things with that.

We haven't had a drink since NYE but I know the weekends are going to be more difficult. So I'm really pleased I've found this thread!

Day 5 already... I think once we are past the weekend it should start to get easier (or that was my experience last time I did DJ).

Has anyone else experienced a lack of energy? I walked up a hill yesterday and felt quite breathless and today my legs feel very heavy, which is not like me at all. This is odd as I am sleeping pretty well. I suppose the wine must have been giving me extra calories, so will try eating more, although it's also possible I'm coming down with something.

Hang in there everyone!

Day 5.
Still not sleeping. I’ve tried magnesium, a milky drink, various sleep sprays/ creams including ‘this works’ sleep saviour, body cocoon (it doesn’t 🙄).
Bowel movement at last (tmi 😂)
Generally feeling rubbish but I think it’s a bug rather than withdrawal, as I have a really sore throat and sinus pains. Half of my work colleagues are off with covid, so it may be that?
Just deciding on what to cook tonight. Something that I don’t associate with wine. Curry perhaps?
I think this weekend will be ok. My resolve tends to go on week 2-3.

@ItsTapasTime I'm so sorry to hear you're not sleeping, that's tough. If you think you may have a cold or virus brewing have you ever tried Vicks First Defence? You can get it from chemists and the bigger supermarkets. It's a nasal spray which prevents colds from getting in to your system. Sadly it doesn't work if it's covid but might be worth a try.

I also use Rescue Remedy for anxiety and my hubby has used herbal Nytol for sleep issues in the past. You're doing so well, especially as you're feeling rubbish.

Thanks @TinkSparks I’ll have a look at your suggestions.

Still thinking about tonight, have a vet appointment for daughters horse this afternoon and I’m worried about it and know when out of the way I’ll want to reward myself with wine. I’ve also taken on more hours at work (start back next week) and have that knot in stomach already about going back which also won’t help, especially with it being a Friday!

All of a sudden I’ve found myself time Catastrophizing ie, but I’ve got to get through that day without wine, and then there is that date and that event rather than just taking it off me day at a time.

Hopefully an early dinner, nice bath and candle lit with suffice!

on another note I'm sleeping like a baby, earlier than normal as well and feeling much more productive in the morning however as someone who suffers with low iron have noticed a few telling signs, bruised feelings on ribs and under arm, a few moments of depersonalisation, all quite normal for me when my levels drop and wonder if that is that because of cutting red wine out.

Back home from work now, I went to meet my new team that I'll be working with from next week, luckily they're all lovely and I'm feeling much less nervous about it.
I came home from work thinking oh I've had a lovely morning and I'm in a good mood, I could have a wine tonight. Quickly had a word with myself and I won't but I've found I'll use a good day/mood or a bad day/mood as an excuse to open the wine that night. I feel like I'm learning lots about myself and I'm only on day 5.
This weekend will be tough for lots of us, I'll be having an AF beer if the cravings hit and I'll of course be posting on here too you'll be sick of seeing my username by the time the weekends done 😂

I was looking forward to some 0% freixenet white sparkling tonight but my online delivery substituted it with some real royal flush sparkling tea and my OH didn't know I hadn't ordered it so accepted it.

Does anyone know if the caffeine in this tea would be a sleep disruptor? I don't have caffeine after 12pm but I can have some chocolate in the evening and it doesn't affect me. So I'm torn between having this as my treat vs wary that my sleep will be disrupted again just as it's got better.

@Iwanttheraintostop , I believe that 'first flush' tea is higher in caffeine than regular tea, so yes, I think it might disrupt sleep. There is also sugar in it. It is marketed as low sugar, but 3g per 100ml is not that low in my view. You could have it during the day instead I suppose?

Hope we are all armed for tonight! I have made plans to drive DC and their friends places at annoying times of the evening (7pm, 9.30pm, 12am), so no chance I could drink even if I wanted to. Instead of thinking about what I can't have tonight, I am focusing on waking up tomorrow morning to no alarm clock and feeling well rested and amazing.

I feel really good because of how much sleep I’ve had this week, despite usually being a really poor sleeper.

I didn’t get to sleep till after 1am last night, partly because I’d slept so much rhe night before and partly because I’d stupidly started thinking about work just before bed. Woke up a couple of times in the night but easily went back to sleep. Woke up at 8am. So nearly 7 hours which is loads for me.

Are you getting enough vitamin C? It helps iron absorption.

Another few thoughts:

I’m hoping to get a promotion at work this year. I’m hardly going to help my chances if I’m coming into work hungover and fuzzy headed all the time, whilst my colleagues are all bright eyed and bushy tailed! I want to give myself the best possible chance, and not sabotage my chances with booze.

I’m noticing that I’m quite tired in the evenings. This would normally be something I would mask with drinking or put down to a hangover. Now that I’m AF, I’m more in tune with my body and what I’m truly feeling (rather than just experiencing the effects of alcohol).

Hello! Can I join please? I had a small glass on Jan 1st, which made me feel yucky anyway and gave mea headache the next day, and nothing since despite major cravings! I managed to do Dry Jan a few years ago but not since. I remember how amazing I felt. I'm so sick of alcohol though, I cut right back a few months ago and now even one glass of red wine (my weakness) gives me a terrible headache the next day. I even feel yuck when I go to bed after drinking, my heart races etc. It's like my body got used to not having to put up with it!
And yet, not drinking on a friday night feels so weird, the habit is so hard to break isn't it!! Despite knowing how bad it makes me feel! Onwards, let's do this!!

Hi everyone, and welcome to yet more newcomers! The thread is really buzzing this year.
Well Friday night looms, but I've just had the first Asda delivery of the year delivered so am looking forward to trying an AF Thatcher's cider tonight. I'm not much of a cider drinker usually, but it may be nice. I'll report back.

I don't usually report on progress until the end of the day, but as it's Friday I thought you'd like a little incentive. I thought we'd breach the 15% mark, but my calculations tell me that it'll actually be a whopping...

16.12%

At the end of today. I hope that keeps you going. It'll be 20% in less than 2 days.

Stay strong, everyone 💪

Day 5 and the first weekend. Trying to focus on the positives; no paracetamol for breakfast,more energy. Feel a bit less bloated

Can I ask if you've tried Alc Free freixinet & does it taste the same.

I'd like to try the Freixenet too!

I've been reading and following along, had my last drink on NYD (planned) but really ready for this. Another evening wine drinker for - if I'm honest - most of my adult life. Like others, dreadful at moderating, but only really with evening wine.

Haven't had any cravings or wobbles yet, I did a few 3/4 day dry runs before Christmas which seems to have helped. I slept better than I have in a long time last night, and about to move into my longest dry stint in longer than I can remember!

Thanks for the thread, it's really helping!

Are you substituting wine with tea? Tea can block the absorption of iron. I am a fellow anaemic and have to be careful in that department.