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Alcohol support

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I think I need to face facts.

31 replies

smegley · 30/10/2023 17:31

I think I have develop a drink problem.

I am now consuming approx 50 units a week.
A bottle and half of wine a night, or wine and alcopops.

I get the shakes and constantly think about where my next drink is coming from.
Every day I wake up and vow not to drink. This lasts until after work when I start again.
I have just returned from the gp who gave me a number to call and thats it.
I don't know how to stop, deep down I know I need to but I like the feeling that first drink gives me.

Not sure where to go from here...

OP posts:
Brava · 30/10/2023 17:43

Well done for taking action & going to the GP op - you’ve done a really hard thing & admitted you have a problem. I don’t have experience of this so can’t advise but didn’t want to read & run. I’m sure others on here will be able to help more but definitely ring the number the GP gave you & reach out to AA.

SkyFullofStars1975 · 30/10/2023 17:45

You've taken a massive step by acknowledging this. Reach out for support - it's a tough journey to do alone, and talk to your family/friends. Let them help you too.

TwilightSkies · 30/10/2023 17:45

Being honest with yourself is really difficult so well done for that OP.
Have you thought about AA?

Paperdolly · 30/10/2023 17:51

Give that number a ring. That’s your next small step. Well done 💐

JennyForeigner · 30/10/2023 18:03

There will be people here better able to help than me, but just to say I saw a book called the Naked Mind recommended here. It's on kindle unlimited. It was a very helpful read to me because it concentrates on the physiology of alcohol and how it is psychologically addictive for all of us.

Understanding how and why the amount I drank had tracked up over time just let me stop debating with myself and just stop for a day, and then another day and another day, and to focus on the stress that was underpinning my drinking.

Best of wishes to you in however you go forward x

smegley · 30/10/2023 18:07

I have been on the website (the number the gp gave also has a website) and requested a referral.

I've also had 3 glasses of wine.

I know I need to stop.
Im in a spiral and can't see a way out.

As a side note I went to the gp for another reason and my drinking came up.
They think my ongoing heath problems are possibly related to my drinking.
I have blood tests Thursday

OP posts:
Onewildandpreciouslife · 30/10/2023 18:14

Well done for seeking help. Not sure whose number you’ve been given, but definitely give them a call.

Different things work for different people. It helps to think what has worked for you in the past with any other challenge. For me, reading about issues and measurable progress have always helped, so I read lots of quit lit and downloaded the Try Dry app. If you find peer support helpful, AA or SMART may be a good way forward.

Good luck. You’ve taken a huge step forward- keep going!

Coyoacan · 30/10/2023 18:18

You can do it, OP. I recommend you take vitamin b complex meanwhile. I personally find Berocca to be the fastest acting. As alcohol depletes vitamin b from your system and you need it for your nerves

Vintagecreamandcottagepie · 30/10/2023 18:21

Well done op.

I hope you get the help you need.

Usually involves past trauma and self medicating so don't be too hard on yourself.

Can you cut down to one bottle as a start? Not have any more in house?

humblebeedle · 30/10/2023 18:27

Watching YouTube videos helps me. My favourite is Sober Leon. Also I’ve not really told anyone that I’m trying to quit just say that I’m not drinking today when asked.

Be careful re quitting cold Turkey as that can have bad consequences. Eat good food and take vitamins especially the b vits.

Good luck!

skamama · 30/10/2023 18:33

Well done! Admitting there is an issue is a huge step! Things will get better a day at a time.

I'm assuming you already know not to stop cold turkey as it can be quite dangerous and should always be done with the support of a health care professional.

Fahbeep · 30/10/2023 18:55

smegley · 30/10/2023 17:31

I think I have develop a drink problem.

I am now consuming approx 50 units a week.
A bottle and half of wine a night, or wine and alcopops.

I get the shakes and constantly think about where my next drink is coming from.
Every day I wake up and vow not to drink. This lasts until after work when I start again.
I have just returned from the gp who gave me a number to call and thats it.
I don't know how to stop, deep down I know I need to but I like the feeling that first drink gives me.

Not sure where to go from here...

Well done, and I mean that. You are not in denial any more so that gives you a place to start. Unless you accept the problem exists,you can't overcome it.

Look into AA meetings and go to them. They will help you on the next step (that's all you need to do for now). Be honest with them and yourself when you get there. Each step at a time.

I wish my Aunt, who died from alcohol related illnesses, had had the bravery you have to take the step you've just taken. She was unable to accept it, never admitted it, and lived badly and in denial. You can make make the change that she couldn't. I wish you well on this journey, which will take you to a happiness and good life. It is yours to live.

GracePalmer33 · 30/10/2023 19:05

I recommend you go to an AA meeting. They are every single day. You don't need a referral, you don't have to wait to reach the top of the waiting list, you just go there and help is there. Good luck!

Namechange4234 · 30/10/2023 19:05

Listen to Mathew Perrys autobiography. It's eyeopening

smegley · 30/10/2023 19:10

I think my next immediate step is to talk to my husband.
Im certain that he knows I'm drinking too much but I have hidden the extent of it.

Bit maybe it should wait until tomorrow when I've not had any alcohol at all

OP posts:
WeeDove · 30/10/2023 19:24

There is a lot of quit lit written by women who got there in the end. I "enjoy" quit lit

MissSmith80 · 30/10/2023 19:43

As others have said, admitting the problem is a huge step forward. There are a few of us trying to become AF on the Tulips and Snowdrops Day 1 thread. You'd be very welcome to join us - we are a friendly group and no judgement at all. I'm on day 18 AF now and just reading the posts on there are so helpful.

My husband asked me what was going on as he knew I was drinking a lot every day - and there I was thinking I was hiding it!

I read Allen Carr's how to quite drinking (for women) and it really helped but there's loads of other quit lit. I'm also listening to a lot of podcasts - Sober Stories from everyday people is my favourite, Sober Awkward is also good. I listen to at least one a day to keep in my mind that others have quit from a similar position to me and I will too.

I am saving the money I was spending on wine and am going to treat myself to a spa day soon.

Also agree with others, eat well, take multi-vitamins, I'm taking milk thistle too.

Call that number, speak to your husband and take one day at a time. Good luck xx

skamama · 30/10/2023 19:48

smegley · 30/10/2023 19:10

I think my next immediate step is to talk to my husband.
Im certain that he knows I'm drinking too much but I have hidden the extent of it.

Bit maybe it should wait until tomorrow when I've not had any alcohol at all

Sounds like a good plan, I'm sure he will want to support you in any way possible.

Whenever you feel most comfortable telling him only you will know that answer.

smegley · 30/10/2023 21:03

Thank you so much to everyone for the support and helpful advice.

I really am hoping I can make the changes needed.

Not sure if I'm ready for AA meetings.

OP posts:
TooOldForThisNonsense · 30/10/2023 21:29

Good for you.

I was in what sounds like a similar position over 2 years ago.

drinking 60 - 70 units a week. Rarely having a night off because of the night sweats and withdrawal when I did.

the feeling of shame when I woke. The promise to myself today will be different and then it wasn’t. I knew I had to stop but it took me a few months to get there and do it.

I’m now over 2 years sober.

i haven’t been near AA. It is an amazing organisation but it is not for me.

I have used quit lit books, podcasts, social media, online community

I never thought I could change I was in the absolute depths of despair and self loathing.

Change is possible and you’ve taken the first step which is hugely positive x

TooOldForThisNonsense · 30/10/2023 21:34

As for telling your husband don’t feel under pressure. Mine works evenings so I was amazing at hiding just how much I was drinking. When I stopped I just told him I wasn’t drinking “for now”.

When I felt stronger I told him it was going to be permanent. However when I first opened up as to how bad it had got for me he wasn’t ready to hear it. That took a lot longer. I guess it’s hard to hear your wife was a functioning alcoholic basically x

annabelnw9 · 30/10/2023 21:44

I think getting your blood tested done as part of a general check up can really help crystallise why change is needed (it did for me as i saw the hard numbers in the results and it was clear there was an actual real life health impact that meant I had to take action). I knew I needed a bit of outside help and I contacted Allen Carr in London and arranged to go to one of their stop drinking seminars one Saturday morning. It was a revelation. I now also have the Allen Carr Stop Drinking Now book by my side for whenever I need it to reinforce my sobriety. Catherine Grey said in her book (The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober) that she finally realised the MOST important thing was protecting and maintaining her sobriety. Everything else had to come second while she established her long term sobriety. You have to do whatever it takes and whatever works for you. Good luck!

HangingOver · 30/10/2023 21:52

Well done OP! I self referred to my local community drugs and alcohol service they were BRILLIANT. You can miss out the GP but if you like. Try the online SMART recovery meetings, they're Great.

GardeningIdiot · 30/10/2023 22:36

Be careful that you're not minimising. Even one bottle per night of 11.5% wine is 60 units per week. 1.5 bottles of 12.5% wine per night is 98 units per week.

You don't have to be "ready" for AA or SMART you can just go/log in and listen.

QuickChangeAgain · 30/10/2023 23:02

Hi there, and very well done for recognising the problem. With the amount you're drinking, as you've described it, there can't be any doubt about you having a significant problem.

As others have done already, I'd suggest visiting AA. I know you've said you don't feel you're ready for it, but you definitely need some kind of help and when do you think you might be ready, if not now? Much better to decide you're ready before something catastrophic happens, as it almost certainly will if you continue to drink at the rate you've described.

I was very nervous about my first visit to AA, but I Googled in advance and found an AA number to ring. They put me in touch with a couple of women locally, and I arranged with one of them to attend a particular meeting. She met me outside and took me in, and I can genuinely say that nobody there could possibly have been kinder or more accepting. Everybody there was also an alcoholic (that's the case at most meetings), and I found it was quite a relief to know that everybody else had felt the same kind of fear and shame that I was feeling.

Something that could easily have been catastrophic was what caused me to take action. I was pretty lucky to survive it. I'd developed a drinking problem over many years, and come from a family of alcoholics on my father's side. My drinking got out of hand during Covid, with WFH, to the point that I'd drink from mid-afternoon onwards at the same time as working. One night I'd drunk a load of gin and wanted more of a buzz, and so I decided to start on a bottle of Oramorph that I'd been prescribed for dental pain.

I fell asleep on the couch, sitting up, and woke up something like 36 hours later. I'd slept through a whole day and night. When I tried to stand up I thought I'd had a stroke as I couldn't straighten my neck and could barely walk. Fortunately I have a great neighbour and she drove me to the GP, who confirmed that it wasn't a stroke. It took more than a week before `I could stand up straight again, and the GP said I could quite easily have died.

The whole thing scared me so profoundly that I haven't had a drink since. I went to several AA meetings, but stopped going simply because for various reasons it was difficult for me to get to them in the evenings. I still have them in the back of my mind, though, and I won't hesitate to go back if I feel seriously tempted again. Hearing stories from the others who were there was a pretty frightening insight into how much worse it could actually have got.

I've not told this story before, other than to my GP, my neighbour and my family, but if there's anybody else out there who's struggling with alcohol and wondering whether to try out AA to get help then I hope this might spur you into giving it a go. I've heard others say that things have to get truly awful - as bad as possible - for many of us who are alcoholics to give up and get help, and that was my experience. It doesn't have to be yours, though, OP. Not everybody has to hit rock bottom. You've done a great thing in recognising the issue. I hope you can take the next step and get the help you need. Don't hesitate to PM me if it might help Flowers