Drinking WAY too much and need to detox - any shared experiences?

[TimeToStop]

I'm a daily drinker and have been for absolutely years. Since the start of lockdown 1 I've gone from drinking around half a bottle of wine or a couple of beers a day to now drinking 1/4 bottle of spirits, a bottle of wine and maybe also a few beers. Because I drink all the time, I don't get drunk any more, it's a steady drip feed of alcohol through the day. My sleep is appalling; up around 4/5 am after 3 hours sleep and then I need to have my first drink to steady the withdrawal.

I'm supposed to be working from home but I'm really beginning to fail in that and I am desperate to stop. I stopped in February 2019 for 3 months - it was sort of enforced as I was very unwell and in hospital for 3 weeks with an ovarian abscess. I felt so much better. Since then it crept up from a beer at the end of the day to where I am now.

I've spoken to my GP and been put in contact with my local drug and alcohol service as I'm drinking too much to safely stop on my own now. I'm scheduled to do a community detox on February 8th and I wondered if anybody here has done this and what it's like? I'm so nervous about it.

4 days! Brilliant. You inspired me to give alcohol a rest as I have been using it to cope, far too much, the last few months.

I am on day 4 too and I have you to thank for that x

I'm just very hungry and not sleeping

@BillieSpain that’s amazing. I am doing the same! Was drinking far too much. Too much to even admit to. So proud of @timetostop. You are inspiring us!

4 days! You're doing great! The shaky hands is not a nice feeling. I'm sure they will stop soon. And look- you've inspired someone else to do the same! Well done, BillieSpain! Be proud of yourselves!

Blessex- just read your last post there. You be proud of yourself too! So great to see the support between all of you to inspire and encourage each other. That's what it's all about.

Wow - glad I am inspiring people. I feel far from out of the woods yet though. The whole process has shaken me up somewhat but I'm just taking it hour by hour now.

@TimeToStop, you should be so proud of yourself. Thank you for posting here, I've been really touched what you've posted, and how brave you've been to start this process. Hope you have a restful night.

Just popped onto this thread to say well done, Op.

You’re doing amazingly well. Hang in there. Not just for you, but for us all. Hour by hour will become day by day, week by week, month by month. You’ve got this

You're all so supportive, thank you xxx

Today I've showered, gross I know but I have lived in the same clothes since Monday morning. And I've made it to my home office. God knows what I'll manage to do. Armed with mint humbugs and Diet Coke, still quite shaky and prone to huge bursts of tears. So now I need to learn to live without turning to alcohol every time anything happens, that's probably the long haul, right? But Day 5 alcohol free. I have to remember that this time last week I would have given anything to be where I am right now.

You are doing so amazingly OP!!! You've come so far in such a short time. Now you've got to find ways to keep moving forward with it and not slide backwards. Once is enough to go through this. You've suffered enough.

Although at times you may be tempted to turn to alcohol to cope, try to remember that you can cope with nothing properly when you're drinking. My life just used to stop when i drank. Nothing got done, acheived, sorted out, resolved. I missed all appointments and forgot to be where i was meant to be. And yes, i also stayed in the same clothes for days on end while trying to come off it. It's hard to explain to anyone who hasn't been there how utterly unable it makes you feel to do simple tasks. So well done on getting to the stage of managing a shower!
Try to focus on every little thing you are able to do in these next days and weeks that you couldn't do while drinking.
You're brilliant.

Well done. I am also drinking copious amounts of diet coke and other canned soft drinks. I like cloudy lemonade and kombuca (fermented tea). It's good to have something to open that replaces the old habits.

Yeah, cans of Diet Coke seem to be a good alternative. My detox guy told me not to have any of the alcohol replacement drinks like no-alc lager because they do contain tiny traces of alcohol and it keeps the habit alive too much? Ginger beer is good too, gives a bit of a warming feeling. Strong tastes like marmite. I'm having very strong cravings to drink, very regularly, and my hands still shake a lot.

@TimeToStop

SMART is a CBT based recovery approach...no God stuff, no sharing your life story etc, just practical tools and support. They meet every night on Zoom. You don't have to use your real name, turn your camera on or say anything at all if you don't want to, you can just listen in the background. It helped me so much at the start. Want to come tonight? Tonight's is 7.30pm - joining code is on here. They're a good bunch.

smartrecovery.org.uk/online-meetings/

I'm very happy to try anything and everything right now to be honest so yes, I'll give it a go.

@TimeToStop well well done on getting this far. Please remind yourself when tempted that it simply is no longer a pleasure to drink. That is what I am telling myself now. I think a relaxing pleasure. But it isn’t. It will turn bad. Am so proud of you !

Apparrently, we all need Epsom salt baths to soak in (not wash or wash hair) to replace lost magnesium and relax us.

I am enjoying a less puffy and red face!

Well done @TimeToStop and Blessex!

*apparently

My eye bags have reduced

@TimetoStop that's great - lovely to see a change when we look in the mirror. Hope you have a peaceful night's sleep. You have come so far this week.

Dont go cold turkey its awful,
If your anything like i was you're probably not being fully true about how much you actually drink,
It will constantly creep up to small bottle of spirits etc..
I cut down gradually, but had attempted cold turkey.. sweating, shaking, nightmares
buy lots of fizzy drinks, and sncks... eventually you'll get through it...you can and you will
massive difference to skin and purse.. I had wine and alot of baileys at christmas but nothing since because dont feel like any
few years ago I would have two bottles of wine a day or large bottle vodka.... i was bad so I know how hard it is

The OP didn't go cold turkey. She's been doing a supervised detox. She's doing great.
Sounds like you've also had a rough time LouisaAWOL. Great that you don't feel like drinking now.

Finished day 5 no booze. A few v wobbly moments so I hid in bed for a while. Sugary sweets definitely help. This time last week I was such a mess ...

Well done getting through day 5! Hello day 6! That's nearly a week OP! You're brilliant the way you're just getting on with it. Yes, do whatever you need to get through at this stage- sugary sweets, a bit of time in bed, whatever works! And wonderful that you're already seeing benefits.

@TimeToStop you’ve done amazingly... you should be so proud. This time next week will be a totally different ball game, you’ve come so far already. Keep noticing those positive changes to your sleep, your appearance, your feeling of well-being. Hang on to those accomplishments. You’re a real inspiration x