The Continuing Support Thread for Anyone Trying to Lead an Alcohol-Free Life Autumn 2024

[REP22]

Hello and welcome. I’m glad you’ve found your way here. We are a bunch of people who are trying to give up and keep off alcohol. No judgement, just honest support and kindness.
The original thread was started by @Drybird2020 in 2020 and we have plenty of veterans and newer members who can offer advice and signposting. You are welcome here, whether you post several times a day, once or twice and then never again, or if you only just come to read but have no intention of ever posting.
Whatever your stage on the AF journey, and whatever you’re going through, someone here will have gone through it too. Don’t be shy about posting, we love to celebrate your successes of whatever shape and size - and will support you when things get challenging. We get it, we've been there too.

All we ask is that you’re genuinely trying to abstain. We don't encourage moderation-only here, as it can be triggering for some to read. If you’re looking to moderate your drinking rather than quitting it altogether then MN has another long-running and very active moderation/abstaining thread that’s always near the top on the alcohol support board. Lots of fine support there from those worthy people too.

I started trying to give up drink in 2018, succeeded (mostly) in 2019 but had a few “wobbles”, one of which led me here in April 2023, where @WendyWagon (our most recent ship’s captain) and the others made me feel so welcome. This thread and its wonderful posters has been a lifesaver to many, and have certainly seen me through many good and not-so-good days.

These books were particularly helpful to me and I still go back to them from time to time: The Sober Diaries by Clare Pooley (Amazon - Sober Diaries) and The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober by Catherine Gray (Amazon - Unexpected Joy). Others have found This Naked Mind by Annie Grace (Amazon - This Naked Mind) helpful. There are Apps that help track your AF journey, including Reframe and the one I use, I Am Sober. Podcasts can also be helpful. I have found One for the Road by Sober Dave to be a good listen. But different things work for different people. Feel free to post and ask. There is solidarity, wisdom and support here. This is a safe space where your voice will be heard, understood and valued.

Fantastic on six months @ponzusoup and @NextPhaseOfLife that's absolutely brilliant! 🏋️‍♀️

I'd be interested to know how the Mounjaro goes. I am persevering with Slimming World but am finding it a bit hit-and-miss at times. A week of salads and I put weight on, two weeks of not really bothering (holiday with Sid when I ate mostly Cook ready meals, plus hiding from the consequences last week) and last night found that I have lost another 2lbs. Most odd, but I shall not complain.

Not sure who @WendyWagon would cast to play the wrong 'uns in a drama about her old workplace, but I feel there's a role in there somewhere for Danny Dyer. Can Sid have a cameo as "dog who bites boss's arse"?

Ooh ladies I want the jabs too for the slimming. Apparently there is some evidence that they stop booze cravings too. Win win.

I'm starting on Friday evening.

Will keep you posted. I think there's something in us 'all or nothing' ladies - all the snacks, all the wine, all the talent and beauty 😂💕😂

Morning all.
I was sick as a pig last night post covid and flu jabs.
I took to my bed and needed other meds. Twas horrible.
I am fine this morning.
The dog demanded an early breakfast. He was on Nanna duty.

Having lost five stone since giving up the grog I haven't lost a pound since April. It could be these new meds or it could be me eating cheese again (I've just ordered the Merry Wife again from the Bath cheese company). The DS wantef to try it. I need to lose another three stone and preferably before my big birthday next year. I don't really get hungry anymore but I do like a scoff. Like most people I need more veg. If I get my farmhouse next year I'll have my veg garden and chickens. That will make me very happy.

Thanks for the welcome. Day 5! I'm fortunate that I've done a lot of prep for this, in that I've taken a naltrexone tablet before every drinking session, for about a year. Naltrexone is an opioid inhibitor, so I haven't actually been feeling the "benefits" of alcohol for a long time. I was drinking and getting none of the rewards: my body is now trained not to crave alcohol even though I'm now without alcohol in my system. So that's made this week much easier, I'm just a bit bored so spending all my alcohol money on different options for the evening.

Someone above talked about there being an addiction treatment that works: using naltrexone against alcohol use disorder is gaining more widespread recognition. It's called The Sinclair Method.

Unfortunately it is misunderstood/ my DH in particular didn't really see the point, he thought I was being conned. But once I'm in good habits, I don't want to abstain entirely. I will continue to take a pill every time I drink, for the rest of my life. That way I'll never get back into abusing alcohol, but will be able to have a social drink and then leave it. That's my goal anyway.

Morning all.
I'm glad it's Friday as I have no commute.
The DD had a stinker yesterday with buses not turning up.

We're going to be watching Rivals, I can't wait. The DS is away and I'm not down to cook for a few days, hoorah.

Morning all.

Start of Half term here today. DD will be off to Venice on a school trip on Monday so just DS home for a few days before we head to Italy to pick DD up and try catch some 🌞.

Work is insane at the moment and I am not exercising as much as I would like at the moment.

Much love and strength for the Friday night and weekend ahead.

Good morning ☀️

A lovely sunny day here. I got my days mixed up, I thought I was a day ahead!, so today is Day #13 alcohol free.

Feeling very positive and the 'noise' around booze has lessened so much. The 'Will I drink today?/damn, I drank last night but I had promised myself I wouldn't/ I'm such a failure/ going to an event but will there be a bar?/ friends coming over so I'll just have a few drinks before they arrive as it makes me more sociable/ meeting up with people I don't know very well so I'll have a couple of glasses of wine before I leave the house as I'm a bit anxious/ ..............

Already life is so much easier without this constant chatter in the background. It was exhausting.

Well done carrots 🥕

Ah well done @CarrotSeeds almost 2 weeks now. That's great.
I've ordered some new brand of CBD drinks called Little Rick. Anyone tried them? Apparently they use CBC as well as CBD and it's meant to be more effective at relaxing. No THC though. I did check. So I wont be high. I can't pretend I'm not a teensy but disappointed about that. Ha!

I haven't tried Little Rick but I like the Hip Hop CBD Kombucha. Please let me know when you've tasted the LR stuff, and if it has a calming affect?

@CarrotSeeds totally agree that trying to moderate drinking is so much more mentally exhausting than just making the decision not to drink at all. somehow it just takes the pressure and the head games away.

i'm about to open some LA brewery kombucha which i keep coming back to as a firm favourite. might be something about popping a bottle of something fizzy complete with cork action etc ... and if i drink the whole bottle... so what?

@NextPhaseOfLife i think you mentioned you start your weightloss jabs today. I'm investigating to see if I can have them too.
My skinny consultant wasn't keen but was so rude I didn't challenge her.
Good luck, take photos!

Yeah Im really interested to hear about the weight loss jabs too. I'm so intrigued about the reports of other cravings (like alcohol!) being reduced. I think it might end up being some sort of wonder drug. Good luck with it

Morning, a little bit damp here today.

Need to organise the house this weekend but don't have a huge amount of motivation to do so.

I have heard good things about the weight loss jab (and for other uses such as alcohol use disorder etc) and I think it is going to be a game changer for many.

There is so much research coming out about fat tissue being hormonally active and increasing levels of certain hormones and decreasing others that I think anything that supports people in weight-loss is a good thing.

The only thing I am a little bit concerned about is that they can be so easy to access on-line. I read an article in the paper yesterday about a woman admitting that she lied on an online questionnaire to get them.provately even though she has a normal BMI and is a size 12 because she wants to be skinnier.

Isn't you marathon coming up @Onewildandpreciouslife ? Good luck of so.

@Itsrainingten I have tried Little Rick, can't say I noticed any difference in my mood etc compared to a normal soft drink. And didn't particularly enjoy the taste. Much prefer a Dash flavoured water.

DH was in London during the week and came across Club Soda. He was with DSIL who is teetotal (10 years) and they tried some of the AF wine. DH said the red was indistinguishable from normal red and DSIL said the white was almost too good. She found it a bit triggering.

I have nervously ordered a bottle each of white/red/rose which I am going to reserve for special occasions and give a go. I haven't found any issues with AF beers or spirits but I am a little anxious about AF wine as that was my poison.

I have also been finding that I am relying on the AF booze less and less and gravitating more towards just normal.spft drinks and herbal teas. Which is probably overall a good thing anyway.

Enough rambling, need to get cracking.

Much love and strength

Morning all.
Thanks for remembering @EastCoastDamsel - yes, the marathon is tomorrow. Heavy run and gusty winds- just what you want!
Well done on 14 days @CarrotSeeds - lovely to read your updates

Morning all.

Omg @Onewildandpreciouslife good luck!
@EastCoastDamsel an AF red wine that actually tastes like red wine is literally the hold grail I've been looking for. Could you please tell me which one it is?

@Itsrainingten he couldn't remember which one it was! Of course 🤦🏻‍♀️

I have ordered a bottle of the Noughty Red to see. Will report back.

Donr bother with the Noughty white, it tastes like old socks.

I had an alcohol free gin and tonic for the first time yesterday and enjoyed it. I've been drinking litres of sparkling water so it felt nice to have something a bit different for a Friday night. The 'gin' was called Clean G and recommended by a friend of my husband, who doesn't drink alcohol now.

Two weeks sober today and I don't know if it's hitting a two week bench mark or physical or psychological changes but I feel fabulous today and can't stop smiling 😂😂😂. We are going out for lunch at friends' house later and I'm taking a bottle of AF Pinot Grigio called Not Guilty. It may be foul in which case I'll switch to water.

Have a great weekend everyone and good luck with the marathon @Onewildandpreciouslife

Thanks for the warning @WendyWagon . I have opted for the Zeno White as that is what SIL tasted. 🤞🏻 It isn't horrible.

@Onewildandpreciouslife good luck today with the run. It's raining here.
I use to hate running in the rain. However I wouldn't mind a stagger around these days in any weather!

Another poorly day yesterday, the DH thinks we've had covid. I have been very ill post the jabs. He's off to buy some tests and soup. A Marks run is needed.

@REP22 thank you for managing this thread- although I don’t post often I do read it most days and it really keeps me going. It’s a tough gig at times and doing this alongside you and all the other women on this thread really really helps. How is Sid today? I have the spaniel and two cats sat next to me. It feels like a game of Buckaroo. It could kick off at any minute. The spaniel has very high attention needs and is most put out by the cats interfering with this. He is giving me his Princess Di eyes. One cat is quite prone to acts of spontaneous violence and the dog knows this.

@Onewildandpreciouslife thinking if you doing your marathon today- good luck, what an amazing things to do! I hope you enjoy it.

@WendyWagon hope you feel a bit better and get to rest up today- soup sounds like a good call and hibernating indoors also good when the weather is bad. It’s wild and windy here- I think rain is coming.

For AF drinks I find that AF beer gives me a weird sort of hangover sensation the next day if I have more than one or two. I like the LA Brewery that @ponzusoup mentioned. For wine that actually tastes like a more complex ‘sipping’ sort of drink, as an alternative to wine, I have found the ‘Wednesdays Domain’ and ‘Non’ drinks good. The downside is they cost the same as drinks with alcohol in. I buy it from here DELLI.com tbh most of the time I stick to tea , fizzy water or fresh lime and soda.

I went to a party last night for a good friend’s 50th. It was really hard. It was a wild gang of people, lots of booze and I have a feeling there was coke and MDMA floating around from the presentation of some people. I am not particularly judgmental about that, I was pretty wild for a long time. It wasn’t hard not drinking and taking class a drugs is not even remotely appealing to me age 45, but being around people who were properly going for it was hard. I was very aware of feeling socially nervous when in the past a drink would have taken the edge off and it was hard work keeping up conversation with people as the evening went on. I was really glad not to be in the trashed crew. Needless to say I had a nice chat with friends and then drove home, at 10.30, gave a friends a lift and had a lovely cup of tea watching some crap tv with the dog. And slept well and no hangover. Never gets old.

Day 350 for me today. And I feel grateful for this sober life.

I resent paying wine prices for AF wine. There is no tax on it, so there's no need for it to cost the same and (there's no getting away from it) it doesn't taste as good.

My AF wine of choice, other than supermarket fizz, is Bon Voyage, which is cheap as chips and IMO tastes as good as AF wine can.

I hope everyone's enjoying the weekend. We were going to go away, but the weather is awful, so we've put off until tomorrow.