New Year, New Start. Probably dries and lows as we Tryers to be Dryers try 2019.

[Frouby]

New thread for the New Year.

Support thread for those who want to moderate and reduce alcohol. Absolutely no judgement, just advice and support. Absolutely everyone is welcome whatever your goals or hopes for 2019.

Am no good at clicky linke but there are previous threads and we look forward to continuing to moderate and reduce in 2019.

Especially today. 14 coming for 3 courses at 3pm and I have a raging hangover to start the year. Fml.

I second being glad about the DDs, Frouby and Zoflora.

I was ironing to take my mind off wine. I gave up ironing about 8 years ago, but am going to take it up as my evening hobby. FML.

Glad the job is potentially better than expected, Longest.

If I'd been to a GCSE options evening, Flossie, I'd be sharing the bottle with you.

Canshop, how are you getting on? I have had a ton of Fruit Pastilles, a smoothie and an AF G&T. Stocked up in Tesco on AF beer, then made dinner earlyish, before I could cave in. So Day 2 is almost over, THANK GOD.

Fab going Dionysa! AF here after all. Feel ready for bed too. Trampolining and ceilidh dancing is too much for my creaking bones, to say nothing of my pelvic floor

Well done, Longest.

I brushed my teeth at 8.50 so as not to be tempted.

Dionysa - bloody well done. AF here too by skin of teeth. Went out to a school meeting with DD and came home to find DS still on effing Fortnite, not had a bath, done any homework etc. Read the riot act to both DS and DH for his lax parenting so they are both in foul moods. Gritted teeth and opened a Becks Blue!

Flossie - I have options evening on Thursday. 2 school meetings in one week, lucky me!

What’s going on with all this ironing lark? I think the lack of alcohol is meddling with your brains 😅

Canshop, woo you!!! We have done Day 2!!!!! I can't remember when I last did 2 days in a row.

Mine was very much skin of my teeth, too. Only 15 minutes to go before I can take DD's phone (I'd have been in bed an hour ago if I hadn't had to wait for that).

She did ask why I was brushing my teeth so early. I said I was very tired.

Wahooooooooooo

Dion and canshop.....you did it!!!!!!!!!!

well done guys!

That’s brilliant Dion and Canshop. Day two here too.

I can’t wait to pick up my ironed bedding in the morning. I tried out some lavender pillow spray a few days ago, which over time has started to smell of weed.
It’s quite unnerving.

NC4 - well done on day 2 too!!
As for the lavender weed smelling pillow spray..bloody hell..maybe we should all transfer our interests over to pillow
Spray!!

I know Flossie I feel like a student again 😂

Frouby good news for your DD. Reynaud's syndrome is a pain, literally, even in mild weather for me. My hands are often white, I have to wear gloves a lot when outside.
Longest what is your new Brexit related job? I'm worried about being able to stay in France as although I've been here 17 years I've been too lazy to apply for nationality.
Canshop Dion so pleased you both managed Day 2! Great idea about brushing teeth early. I need to do that after each meal so I'm not tempted by chocolate. Day 3 here as well, despite DP being here and drinking wine. I still had a terrible night's sleep last night despite being AF. I slept in a strange position Monday night and can't move my neck. Good luck to you both for Day 3 [flowers
Ironing - I iron all the bed linen in my gites, most evenings in the summer season I'm at the ironing board. Consequently I rarely iron my own after doing 18 duvet covers, 18 sheets and 48 pillow cases. But then it's one of my jobs. It does help with being AF.

Lol at lavender / weed pillow spray.

Well done on all the day 2s! And sympathy for all the ill children 💐

I don’t iron anything ever (cleaner does Dh’s shirts) but when we had our house on the market I had all the duvet covers and pillow cases ironed and I admit I liked it a lot. If money was no object I’d be sending them out every week to be ironed.

Today is day 22 AF and I’ve already claimed my teacup on the dry January app. Won’t drink today. My challenge will be AF during the week in February and beyond, that’s what I want to be.

I have loads of social events planned in Feb and March so will have to be AF around those. Hmmm.

Can I join? I’ve been drinking for years; haven’t had an AF day in over 5 years. It used to be a bottle of cava a night but last 2-3 years it’s 2 bottles plus occasional spirits. I’ve gained 1.5 stone in the last year and I can’t look at myself any more. I feel awful in the mornings and often have my first drink before 11am. I absolutely hate what I’m doing to myself and live in terror of liver failure. I don’t think I can just stop as I think I would have serious withdrawal symptoms. Occasionally over the year I’ve managed 1 bottle a day rather than 2 but that’s as far as I’ve got.

Like everyone I have big life stresses - dd 16 has had major anxiety / depression for 2 years, lost a lot if school time and now at a medical PRU. My mum is in the last stages of alzheimer’s and in a care home. Dh is 10 years older than me and a good guy but not affectionate. I was made redundant from my job of 17 years last year and am now working from home so eating and drinking non- stop is easy.

I don’t sleep properly - usually crash at midnight and wake at 3.30 - sometimes I can doze off agsin after an hour ir 2 but often I just stay awake hating myself, promising myself I’ll drink less the next day and worring obsessively about DD.

I hope you’ll have me - some of you are doing so well, I don’t want to be a downer.

My realistic, i.e. possibly achievable, plan is to not drink til 2pm for a week then move to not drinking til 6pm. As I drink steadily all the time rather than binging this plan would mean I’d automatically be drinking less.

I am SO sick of failing though.

Welcome TheLittleDog. You sound like you have an awful lot to deal with. Of course you can join in,don't worry about anything you say in here, we all support each other.

Your plan to gradually reduce sounds good. Have you spoken to your GP at all? There are side effects to consider when reducing alcohol so definitely do it slowly, and you might find you need a bit of medical support.

I understand completely that it will be difficult to do that so do lots of research online before just stopping. I hope you find this thread helpful.

Slept terrible last night. Awake on and off all night and now feel headachey and bleurgh. Am definetly AF tonight. Its not worth the hangover for a couple of beers. Got some AF Budweiser to keep me sane.

Got my smear this morning. What joy. Then working and got to go and pick some new work boots up for DH. Sigh.

I hope chuff doesn't have stale beer breath for the nurse 😂😂😂

Thelittledog- welcome!! As frouby said, we aren’t a bad bunch and here to support each other. We can help you do this. Small steps are more achievable. I used to drink from 5:30/6 but now I wait, or attempt to wait, til 7:30/8 to shorten the time I’m drinking. I also try and leave some wine in the bottle whereas I used to finish it. That’s my currently goal. I’ll then move back to trying half a bottle, then a few af days. I got there a few months ago but dropped back quickly again unfortunately.

Frouby - spat my tea out laughing at the thought of your chuff with beer breath!!

You know when you type a really long post and accidentally press back and it's disappeared?! I hate that! Can't Mumsnet have some autosave function? Or I could just be less clumsy!
In a nutshell 7lbs down so far, keeping drink to weekends only, have switched to gin and slimline tonic - only a small bottle, less calories than wine/beer and it's not my favourite drink so I drunk less of it!
And Flossie44 I love your OK tea caddies!
Well done everyone, it's not easy but this is the best I've done in 10 years. To reduce and not drink every day.

Flossie44 I also try waiting as long as I can before having a drink and play daft games with myself e.g "you can have a drink....but wash the dishes first" etc etc until it's 9pm and I'm too shattered to finish the bottle/get drunk so just go to bed.

No ironing here, but I have cleaned the fridge. Does that count?

@Thelittledog - welcome. What I love about this thread is that everyone is in different stages of drinking/not drinking and there is no judging, just lots of support. Baby steps are definitely the way forward and every unit of alcohol reduced is an achievement.

I haven’t been on here long but am so chuffed when others name check me to see how I’m doing - thanks guys 😊 I am rather rubbish at name-checking but do try - I’m always worried about leaving someone out so apologies if I do.

Oh and according to some of this crazy bunch, ironing is the new drinking 🤪

Canshopwillshop you might be onto something there....
Stares at ironing pile....

@Thelittledog welcome from me too. I second everything Frouby said. I haven't been drinking quite as much as you, but I am also worried about the effects of going from rather too much to none at all. The problem is that most of us on here find it very hard to stop once we've started, so gradual cutting back is a real challenge. I have wondered about seeing the GP. I think if I drank even more than I have been doing, I probably would do. It's very hard, though. As you will have noticed, we're all at different stages. I can't begin to imagine being on Day 22 (as some amazing people here are on) - but for me, two days is a major achievement.

Frouby, PMSL at the chuff with beer breath 🤣🤣🤣

I have a CAMHS appt this morning with DD (well, she has the appointment, obviously). She is glad if only because it means she has a morning off school. She has already told me that they will say she doesn't have to go to school at all. They had better not, or I will not manage Day 3.

Canshop, I might do an extra wash today, just to have something to do tonight. You have also reminded me that I have a weed lavender scented candle, NC4.

Thinking of you, Flossie. xx

Oh, and Shrunkenhead, 7lbs? Wow!!!

Welcome TheLittleDog - this is such a good thread for encouragement and non judgement of drinking habits. Agree with what Frouby says, you might need some extra help because the side effects of stopping drinking can be quite scary and it needs to be done in a controlled way. Good luck, it is hard admitting the fact that you have a problem and we are all here to help you.
Frouby Good luck with your scan. Shunken 7lbs is brilliant, great motivation for staying AF in the week.
Dion no idea what a CAMHS appt is but hope all goes well for DD.
Tired cleaning anything helps and a fridge is particularly therapeutic. I have my freezer to do soon, goodness knows what I'll find lurking at the bottom of it.

Got my freezer to sort too Angalise. Its supposed to be frost free but is looking suspiciously wintery in there. I suspect its due to DS helpfully baking ice for mummies gin. He keeps finding the ice cube trays and filling them up in the downstairs loo then shoving them in the freezer balanced on top of all sorts so the slop everywhere.

Just having a post school run coffee then having a naice bath, stealing dhs razor and tackling my mary so she looks nice for the smear nurse. Don't think the nurse will care one way or another but it's nice to make an effort for strangers to poke your cervix. Fuck sake.

Hope the cahms appt goes OK Dion. We have found them bloody useless for nephew. I think we find out today if he gets the funding for his residential place. I really hope so before something awful happens. Dsis was so scared of him on Monday she locked herself in the bathroom and phoned the police. Every window is smashed in her house. Her car is smashed up and all the electrics ripped out. This was because she bought the wrong flavour milkshake. He's 11 so not even a teen yet. So it's only going to get worse. So sad for them both.