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!

Morning all and morning Day 8. Frosty and clear here in Scotland. Practically sprang out of bed this morning...well,slight exaggeration....but didnt have to peel myself blearily from the depths and then have 2 paracetamol for breakfast. Who is this new person?

Good morning everyone! Still here and I slept really well. I had to go to bed at 9.15pm (!) as I couldn't keep my eyes open and then I woke up naturally at 6.15am - my body obviously needed it!

First school run of 2024 and I definitely felt much more chirpier with my good mornings compared to the foggy, sluggish mornings of December 2023 😊

One week done! That’s the longest I’ve been AF for quite some time, and I’m keeping a diary of all the positives, so I can re read them when I feel im slipping.

Morning all,

One week AF here too 🥳

Such a productive weekend, chucking stuff out, sorting, clearing.

Would never have got so much done so pleasantly after a few drinks the night before and planning a few more.

This is my first DJ and I'm really enjoying it.

Morning everyone. It’s funny, when I did Sober September I relied heavily on AF drinks and sugary snacks to keep me going. This time I haven’t felt the need at all. I’m sticking to my diet and exercise plan and just drinking lots of weak sugar free squash and tea. Of course it’s only been a week

Hi, I am joining late. Started January with no plan to do DJ, so drank on the 1st and 2nd. However, I ended the week on my third lot of antibiotics since September for a UTI and think I need to give my body a break. First weekend AF in ages, did have some Nozecco which was nice. Going to try AF gin and the Kylie AF rose next weekend. Just fancied a treat drink, otherwise it would just be water!

Well this is week 2.
Week one can be a time of headaches, grumpiness and poor sleep (didn't want to mention it too much before now!) but most of these side effects should be on the way out, and a gentle "feeling generally better" should be creeping in for most, with better sleep and a clearer head.
Week 2 also means better gut health, possible weight loss, more effective exercise, better hydration, clearer skin, better concentration and restored liver function. Not to mention more £££ in the bank. Why would you not?😁

Stick with it, everyone. The end of today is just over 25% of the way through, which is fantastic.

Oh, and welcome to yet more newcomers. Nice to have you aboard the DJ2024 wagon!

The sort of breakfast that one uncle (young single man in the Swinging 60s) described as a cigarette and two lightly toasted aspirin.

and a gentle "feeling generally better" should be creeping in for most

Along with a feeling of smugness that I'm doing this and so far doing it with just a couple of small wobbles. Go me. 😃

Another reason to be grateful for this thread.

An divorced ex Boyfriend who occasionally gets in touch (when bored or drunk normally) messaged me last night asking how I was. I told him I was doing DJ and started telling him how much better I feel.

His response 'ok glad it's working for you. I'll catch up with you in feb'!

I completely understand why people who aren't doing it absolutely don't want to hear about.. partially because it's boring to anyone not doing it (unless you are very close) but also makes people reflect on their own drinking and don't want to.

People are funny aren’t they. I had someone ask the other day if I was doing it because I was worried about my drinking levels and had no alternative… which tbf was interesting as he’s not totally wrong, but surely that’s not something you ask in public? I just said it was a reset…

I do keep thinking about my favourite wine, and specifically about one particularly lovely Alsace wine which I am going to start when I finish! I think it’s because I know I can’t have it. Luckily have a busy week ahead.

Trying to resist thinking “well I’ve made it 8 days so I’ve clearly got this, so therefore I could definitely have one and then be completely fine to do 8 days AF whenever I want”… also remind myself I did 12m + twice with pregnancies. Not sure why my mind is playing tricks like this.

No, parsnip. No. Today will not be the day I cave in.

Morning all, I've just listened to this excellent podcast, interview with the sober author Clare Pooley I mentioned previously, if you're doing housework too today give it a try, she's really inspiring :

podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cub21ueWNvbnRlbnQuY29tL2QvcGxheWxpc3QvNTg3M2FiZjEtODI5Mi00ZmE5LTk5ZDctYTU4ZDAwZTk3YmU1LzlkNDBmYWVmLTc4MjctNGE0NS05ZDM3LWFmNzEwMGI0YTkxYi81ZDc2YmY5Mi01NjRjLTQzYWEtOTA4Ni1hZjcxMDBiNGE5MjkvcG9kY2FzdC5yc3M/episode/OWFjOTU2NzctYjk1NC00OWE2LWIxYTAtYWY5NjAxMDY2ZTNh?ep=14

Massive headache and diarrhea this morning. Not sure that it is related to DJ, but something is clearly wrong. I started taking 5HTP supplements a couple of days ago, so maybe it's that. Or continuing effects from the CBD drinks perhaps.

Also a bit concerned by the weight loss. I'm at the low end of normal in terms of BMI so I need to find ways to boost calories without eating crap / sugary stuff. I've lost a couple of pounds so far, but we're only a week in.

The not drinking is going fine though. I have a dozen bottles of wine in the house and have not been tempted so far. I have some new herbal teas coming from Sainsburys tomorrow and will report back if any of them are nice.

GLTA for week two 😊

Update...

I've done some research and I think it could be related to magnesium, which causes diarrhea if you take too much. I've been taking magnesium supplements (on top of what is in a bone health supplement) for some time, to improve sleep, and had no issues, even though it took me over the recommended limit. I now discover that alcohol depletes magnesium as it causes it to be excreted by the kidneys. So in effect I had been compensating for that, and being AF means I have stored up too much magnesium, with unpleasant results. I know a few of us have been taking magnesium, so maybe something to be aware of.

Yes,you have to be careful with Magnesium. There are several.different kinds of magnesium supplements and some will really give you a dose of the sh*ts!

Interesting, I've been taking Mg supplements for a couple of months now, haven't had any bowel problems, but today, 1 week AF, and the bowels moved quite swiftly!!!!

@Neptunium93 and @Hohofortherobbers have you tried magnesium creams / topical magnesium? I’ve been using these and really like them. I wonder if they’d mitigate some of the effects you’re experiencing

Thanks @Hedjwitch , @ParsnipAndPoppy , and @Hohofortherobbers . I've been down a bit of a rabbit hole investigating the different types of magnesium, and it seems that I am taking the right kind in terms of bioavailability and digestibility, so I think it is just the quantity that is the issue. I will stop taking it for sleep and carry on with the bone supplement and see how that goes. It's likely that my sleep is going to be fine while I'm AF in any case.

Fingers crossed for tomorrow morning - hopefully no mad dash to the bathroom! 😉

Hi can I join too please? I’ve not drank since NYE and so far haven’t found it too bad - I did dry Jan a few years ago but caved after 20 days I think and I felt miserable the whole time, but I think that was also due to circumstances then. Up until nye I was drinking wine most evenings (usually the best part of a bottle of red) I’d do a few weeks of “no drinking in the week” but they weren’t that often and it usually crept up back to daily pretty quickly. I’m loving not feeling anxious/headachy in the morning and also not worrying when I go to bed how crap I’ll feel the next morning! X

Made it to 8 days! My eyes look brighter am having crazy dreams and feeling less anxious

Hmmm. Didn't expect to feel so low today. Cried a bit at my work bestie when she asked how the vets had gone (last thing on Friday). I've fielded divorce, depressions and deaths of multiple relatives with much greater dignity than this.

I wasn't quite expecting this void - the weight on my bed, the pad pad pad into the room, the companion by my side while I'm working. I hadn't realised quite how much he punctuated my day, from morning cuddles to night time ones and everything in between.

I would sorely love a drink, but it wouldn't bring him back, so....

Fortunately blogwise, we have one I made earlier to draw on - this time a summary review of The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober by Catherine Gray, the first of a few quit lit reads this week to come...

https://wellitywellness.com/2024/01/08/dry-january-8-unexpected-joy-of-being-sober/

I was feeling great all day then DH came home from work and snapped at me and the kids (we were playing a noisy game) that he wasn't feeling well and he was going to bed and to keep the noise down. He's not usually a twat so I was a bit taken aback and quite worryingly I suddenly wanted a bottle glass of wine!

I'm also a fixer so I'm trying to stop myself from fussing round and asking what's wrong etc because clearly he wants time alone. Quite annoying though that he can just announce that he's off to bed and I'm left to do all the bedtimes etc.

Omg- what a gruelling day. Went to work then drove my oh to his sister’s funeral which was about half hour away- then the 40 min drive to the wake in driving snow, ungritted roads- cars sliding everywhere, ( se England) including mine, then the wake - with loads of people I don’t know- then an 1.5 hour drive home in the pitch black- no street lights and narrow roads.
i could murder a bloody drink. My nerves are shredded and I am beyond exhausted.

Just checking in to say that I didn’t get the “twitch” today despite the cooking smell at food prep time. So that’s an improvement. Went to sleep quite late, like 2am, but then slept through till 8am and felt great when I woke up.

I’m so pleased I decided to join this thread.