Less booze. More AF days. But still a bit damp. Not dry jan, but not a soggy summer. Support thread for reducing alcohol.

[Frouby]

New thread in case the other fills up while I am busy this weekend.

Did I mention I get married tomorrow? 😁

Rubbish at clicky links but sure someone clever will be along to link the last thread.

This is a support thread for those wanting to reduce the amount you drink. There is no judgement on here. We are all struggling along with our own problems and lives and looking to cut down. You might only want a couple of weekends off. Or reduce the amount of days you drink. Or the amount you drink. Or both.

Whatever your starting point and whatever your goal come and join us for friendly chat and support.

Actually - you speak a lot of a sense. All those distraction techniques. I will deffo give that a try.
But tonight is Friday.......

My distraction this evening is a 17km race at wine o'clock It will still be very hot so I'll probably feel sick after and won't even want a cold beer.
Distractions are great but you also need to have reached that point where you know you have to change. It took me 20 years of too frequent red wine consumption before I reached mine!
In the absence of the DC I have seen Mr Maybe a few times this week and have to say that there is a rather nice mutual sexual chemistry which I'm enjoying a lot. And good exercise too, makes a change from my usual running, cycling and swimming And of course all sex is 100% sober!

Anglaise, I hope your race went well. And sober sex is better than drunk sex!

Actually, I am in awe of you.

Woosey, how are things?

This week has been a wet washout for me thus far. I need to get a grip.

dion hugs is it DP or DC causing the wetness?
My race went really well, I was 5 mn faster than last year (when I was still drinking quite a lot) and I finished 2nd woman overall, not bad for an oldie!
I even managed a cold beer after the race without throwing up

Anglais that’s fantastic. Well done!! You must be really proud. Maybe it’s mr perfect that’s helping your race times
Dion - you ok?

Well I got smashed last night. Woke up so much through the night with beer fear and still got palpitations now. Never get this with my usually drinking but woah last night was awful bad!!
Day 1 today!!!!!!

Anglais, that is fab. Well done.

Woosey... God, I hate the beer fear and palpitations thing. Why do we keep on doing this to ourselves?

Not sure whether DP or DC are more stressful at the moment. Plus lots of family events this weekend, so I think I have to write this week off as a bad job.

Thanks ladies, I won another ugly cup and 60€ of supermarket vouchers, so not a bad 90mn work 😅. I won't be spending the vouchers on beer or wine either! I'm the middle aged one in black in the photo.

Anglais - really well done.

Dion - don’t blame you writing this wkend off at all.

Why do these palpitations happen?? I’ve only ever had this as a hangover symptom once before, and took myself to A&E as thought something really wrong!! Today’s been awful!! Felt nauseous on and off, sweats, palpitations. Have just felt awful. Couldn’t curl up in a ball either as had loads of things to get on with so have basically not stopped all day....shopping, cooking, cleaning, dd1 to a party. Etc etc.
So AF for sure today!! Feel poisoned!!

Woosey Alcohol prevents your body from absorbing vitamins and minerals so palpitations can be due to magnesium depletion in the body or just simply that alcohol also increases the volume of arteries and your heart has to pump faster so that blood gets to the skin and other organs. I sympathise, it is horrible. A lot of people who stop drinking notice a drop in their pulse rate and blood pressure. I hope you feel better this morning
I can still remember what a hangover feels like and I never want to go there again!

Woosey rather appropriately an article in the DM based on a new Channel 4 series on health about the benefits of how stopping alcohol can improve women's health, including heart rate and pressure....
www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-5954181/How-banning-booze-just-one-month-boost-body.html

Thanks anglais, that makes a lot of sense. I discovered last year that I have a heart murmur. I definitely felt it more yesterday. Was horrid. Had a good nights sleep last night with no alcohol on board.
That’s a great article. I’m going to put that programme onto record.

Hoping for AF day two today. Tricky as having a bbq on the beach later. Just feel utterly put off alcohol at the mo..that hangover scared me!!

Urgh. I feel today as you felt on Saturday, Woosey. Went to a neighbour's barbecue. They are generous with their drinks, and it is easy to lose track.

I think I will not struggle with Day One today. Did you manage Day Two?

I seem to have got on a very slippery slope back to where I was when this thread first started. I really do need to get a grip on myself. Whatever is bothering me is not going to be improved by alcohol.

Love the photo, Anglaise. And thanks for the link.

Oh no Dion, really empathise with you. Awful feeling!! Nope I didn’t manage day 2 but I did moderate. Prob only Cos I still felt so crap. Dh and I had a quick drink (1glass of wine) in the golf clubhouse opposite our house. Then came home and I had a third of a glass with dinner. And then another third of a glass watching tv. So very restrained for me. But know it’s Cos I still felt rubbish and still had palpitations. Will try ahain tonigjt!!

Dion it must be very hard to refuse when you go to a neighbour's bbq and of course you didn't drive so you don't have that excuse for not drinking either.
Woosey well done on moderating yesterday, I hope your palpitations calm down soon!
I spent yesterday afternoon and evening with friends celebrating a birthday and of course watching France win the World Cup so a double celebration. I probably had 4 very small glasses of wine from midday to 10pm, the men were very drunk but there is no pressure for women do drink in France. I had a really good time anyway but was glad to leave because when people have been drinking a lot they are a lot less interesting! I'm pretty sure there are a lot of Français with sore heads this morning.

Anglaise, I am full of admiration. I am starting to think that moderation is even harder than abstinence, though I really don't like the idea of total abstinence because there are some situations where it's nice to have a glass of wine. I just want to be able to go back to that. I feel so scared that I really do have a problem now, if I can't moderate in the way that I used to be able to.

Stay strong, Woosey. No chance of me drinking today. Even looking at a bottle of wine makes me feel ill.

Dion, don’t beat yourself up. Sometimes we have sooo many things on our plate, that even the stress of thinking of stepping back on alcohol is too much. I know that I feel it’s my only outlet sometimes in a world of stresses, and to take that away would leave me no escape. When I feel strong enough to say to myself that I can give myself a break and to not beat myself up, is when I usually feel the strength to step back on wine.
Don’t beat yourself up. You’ve got so much going on right now with dp, exH, dc’s and your job situ, that you really should look after yourself. The moderation will indeed follow, in sure.
Sending you oodles of hugs hunny x

Moderation I can actually do. Every fucking day. What I can't seem to do atm is AF.

Hmph. Am banning myself from lager. Have a beer belly and everything. I love gin so why I keep opening lager is beyond me. Well it isn't. Its because they are there in the fridge and nice and cold and easy to drink.

This weeks challenge is to avoid all lager until at least friday. Have no little bottles of bud left, and cans are not as nice so hopefully if I do drink it will be gin which I only tend to have 2 of.

Been naughty the last 3 days and let dd had today and yesterday off school. It was the end of year school trip yesterday which she didn't want to go on so was staying in school to help teachers strip classrooms down. And sports day today which she would have been cheering as she wasn't competing.

So we have been riding baby pony instead. Dd lost her confidence last year but does love baby pony so said she could lead her while I got on. But she found brave pants from somewhere yesterday and got on, and again today.

So much more productive that what she would have done in school.

Am knackered though now. Been up since 5am working, got miracles to shit this afternoon and just want a nan nap really.

Frouby, I’ve done that before re dc and last day at school. They just watch dvd’s In class while the teachers clear up. Much better off having fun with you and baby pony!!
Good thinking re gin v lager. Gin is so much better re the weight gain issues isn’t it.

So I asked last week what your ‘heavy night’ involved re quantity of alcohol. So on the same note..when you say moderation....what level are we talking here??
So my heavy night is a bottle of wine. Very occasionally if we go out with friends, I’ll have a gin to start too. But usually ‘just’ a bottle of wine!!
Trouble is.....that’s most nights!!
So I’m trying to moderate. Literally my aim is not to drink the bottle!!!! So Friday night I drunk too much, Af sat due to hangover (which I never normally have). Sunday was 2 glasses of wine (moderation), and last night was one large glass across the whole evening.
I’m pretty pleased with that. Know I’ll drink tonight but again hope to moderate.

Good news today..not run for ages due to a knee ligament issue. But today the physio gave me green light to try again. So as soon as Dh gets in, I’m off for a run. Therefore not eaten yet, and deffo not had a wine yet!! The evening window is getting smaller

Very quickly... Woosey, thank you for your lovely message. Kindness like that makes such a difference. Fab that you might be able to run again - definitely a better habit than wine...

Frouby, I'd have far sooner been on Baby Pony than at Sports Day when I was your DD's age!! Gin is def. better than lager (and wine) from a weight point of view.

Hoped to manage Day 2, but ended up succumbing to one can of full-fat G&T (1.3 units). The main reason was that I felt sick and flu-y this eve and had a terrible fear that it was related to alcohol withdrawal. I think it's good news that it didn't make me feel any better. It made me want another, but I now have no alcohol in the house, and I reminded myself that alcohol is really not my friend, and also that I cba to go to the Spar shop again... So moderation, which is worse than AF, but better than over-indulgence. Will try for AF tomorrow.

Dion - hope you feel better soon. That was indeed moderation, one g&t tin isn’t a big measure at all..deffo not a home measure!!

We had a take away last night in the end as Dh got in really late....and it seems wrong to have a take away while drinking water. I can’t find a drink that I love that’s not wine!! But I did moderate in that there’s still a glass left in the bottle!!
I managed a small run last night too, so kind of celebrated!! I truly love running and it’s been nearly a year since I ran last due to injury. Anyway, I managed it without pain. Wahoooooooo!!

woosey moderation is 1 or 2 drinks. So either a couple of lagers, maybe 3 small Budweisers or 2 g and ts or half a bottle of wine.

Anything above that and I feel pissed and feel bleurgh the next day.

I found when I was AF 5 days a week I was actually drinking more units over the week as bingeing a bit on wet nights.

A non moderating night would be a full bottle of wine and maybe a gin or lager or couple of lagers as well.

I can't cope with the hangovers anymore.

AF may be enforced here for a few weeks. At least on week days. Sat down with a g and t last night at about 5.30pm. Panicked phonecall from mate who owns the stables where my ponies live. The land refill site at the side of us which is planted up with grasses and trees was on fire and it was heading towards our fields and stables. Advised by fire brigade to evacuate. Fml.

Spent 3 hours holding the ponies on a council green across the road from the yard. Various neighbours and residents helped evacuate as there were 7 ponies and at this point only yard owner there as well were all on our way.

There were 4 fire engines at 1 point. There is a methane gas pumping station there so apparently a big concern.

So because it's happened once we will all be.pretty anxious until we have some decent rain. Which isn't forecast for at least 2 weeks. And yard owner who lives literally on site goes away in 3 weeks for a fortnight and I am in charge while she has gone. And I live a 20 minute drive away. Fml.

So will be limiting alcohol to 2 nights a week. Worse case scenario I get a taxi up if necessary but I can't rely on taxis 7 days a week.

So dry here tonight. Will have a drink friday and saturday if all looking ok. But dry otherwise.

Crikey frouby, that sounds awful!! Glad all ok though but what a worry. In a way enforced AF will make things easier for you and may indeed help to break the cycle.

Frouby that is terrible, I hope the ponies weren't too traumatised by the events. I hope it doesn't happen again but if you are in charge and need to drive, there is an incentive to keep within the driving limit for the next few weeks definitely.
Woosey I'm so pleased you managed to get out running at last. And that your knee stood up to the run. It will give you much needed 'me' time if you can get out a few times a week.
Dion be kind to yourself. You will go AF when you reach that trigger point. You haven't got there yet. Have you managed to talk to your GP yet? Or got any further with hypnotherapy? I'm pretty sure both those things helped me when I realised I had to do something about my relationship with alcohol. Coming up for 12 months now and I'm so pleased I faced up to it. Even though I have problems I know that alcohol isn't one of them and I've never once been tempted to drown my sorrows because I know drinking isn't the answer, its better to face up to them - preferably without a sore head! ((hugs))

Frouby, that is awful. I am so sorry. How very worrying for you. As others say, it might help to break the drinking cycle, but it's hardly the way you would want to do it. In fact, after that kind of night, you'd want a drink. I am thinking of you and the ponies.

My moderation/wet nights sound pretty similar to Frouby's. And, likewise, I think I probably drink more units overall when I have AF nights .

Another small can of G&T here. Couldn't resist, as I was in Aldi and they were so cheap. Did have a bit of a scout around at home in the hope of finding something else, but couldn't - so had some of DD's Diet Coke (yuck) instead. Couldn't find the bottle opener, so I couldn't have a Becks Blue. Still feeling ropey anyway, so slightly less tempted. Wonder if it's the HRT, which I started last week. I feel pregnant (though am definitely not), in that I feel sick and hideously, crushingly tired, and headachey but have no symptoms other than that.

Anglaise, I am sorry to say I under-exaggerated when the GP asked me about alcohol consumption when she assessed me for HRT. I now feel bad about it, but it's part of the reason why I'm trying to go for moderation. I've tried pretty much everything now: drinking slightly too much every night, struggling through AF nights only to binge on 'wet' nights, and now I seem to be trying a small amount every night.

Woosey, it's brilliant that you managed to run without pain. When you've been in pain for such a long time, it must be almost miraculous not to be. And if it keeps you off the wine, so much the better!!

Dion - let me say this....it most certainly isn’t keeping me off the wine!! Met a friend on beach and shared a bottle. Came home, large glass and now pining to fill my glass again!! Ffs