Quitting has made no difference

[Barkingdogbarks]

In a typical week I think I drink:
1 litre of spirits (gin, whiskey or vodka)
a couple of bottles of cider a night
wine at the weekend
A couple of cocktails in a can
sometimes a couple of pints if in the pub

And have done for a few years - some time off for childbirth/ breastfeeding, but generally I’ve been a drinker for a while.

I never drink before 5pm, I don’t crave it when I get up in the morning. I generally don’t get hangovers that a couple of paracetamol can’t fix.

But, I’ve quit. Wound down over the past week and am now 48 hrs alcohol free. I thought there would be great feeling of wellness? Better sleep? Glowing skin?

The only difference between last week and this one is that I’m now bored in the evening? I can’t be bothered doing the ironing and cleaning in the evening now, it was the alcohol that made that fun. I know there are health benefits, but as it wasn’t making me unhealthy I’m just not feeling it.

Doesn’t seem worth the effort at this point.

Anyone got any words of wisdom?

It's only 48 hours, you really need to give it longer to see any change. Your skin will not magically improve overnight, nor will your sleep. Your body has had a big change.

I think you probably need to give it longer to feel the benefits and change your evening routine to avoid the boredom.

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/detox-liver-from-alcohol

What were your reasons for quitting?

You need to give it time.

I gave up after getting rid of a boozy boyfriend. I didn't drink as much as you, but about 10 days later I was aware of having much more energy, my taste buds and sense of smell were more sensitive, my skin and hair became softer, I was much more alert and aware. I felt great.

Give it time.

Give it more time - I wasn’t drinking as much as you but it took at least a week to notice any changes. The first positive was better sleep but during week 3 I started to literally ‘deflate’ that’s the only way I can describe it! My puffiness is gone from my face, the waistbands on all my clothes are looser (I’ve changed nothing else about diet or exercise!) and my skin has massively improved. Currently at the end of week 4 and interested to see what happens next. Stick with it @Barkingdogbarks

Even if you don't feel better (yet) know that it definitely IS better, sounds like you're doing really well, stick with it!

Op could you have adhd? I find that alcohol fills a boredom gap for me and I'd I adore it, my drinking creeps up to a shocking amount. I was worried at driving 70cl of vodka a week ( over Tuesday/Friday) but I'd be very worried about my Health if I was drinking every day and to that volume. You must have been consuming 100+ units a week? I think it would help you to find an easy to learn hobby to fill that space in the evening. Cross stitch? Boxed sets? Darts? Baking? Or make sure you just aren't at home in the "down times"? I like a trip to IKEA for meatballs and a wander if I'm trying to stay busy from 5-8pm.

The invisible damage that level of drinking causes to your long term health is huge. It takes quite a while for the liver to repair itself, and other changes will be more noticeable after 3 months or so. Well done for a healthier lifestyle.

Keep it up! It took me a while to feel the full effects of not drinking, but I feel so much better than I ever thought I would - mentally and physically. I'd give it at least a month.

Also I think you should set yourself a time grade. Say you ARE going to stick with this despite the burden for 4 weeks? 8 weeks? It could be you are trying to look for a reason to start drinking again and using "it's made no difference" to justify it. Also known as self sabotage. Give it chance to work!

You should be proud of yourself, being so proactive.

The sleep is going to be amazing - stick with it. It’s a few nights of weird dreams and feeling annoyed you can’t drink then the Sleep comes and it’s incredible. Energising, deep, true rest. So worth it.

48 hours isn't long enough to see a change

Well done for quitting!! This is amazing!!!
48 hours isn’t very long and usually when you quit something you feel worse before you feel better. Persevere you’re doing brilliantly!

Definitely takes longer. I'm 18+ months in and life is infinitely better in every single way, but at 48 hours I was so resentful of how shit I felt. The amount you were drinking was similar to me - and it is doing a number on your health, despite not feeling it (I didn't either). It's also a slippy slope, life is fine now, but just one shit thing can pivot it into ruining your life. Give it time, read some sober books, let yourself indulge in other vices such as sugar etc. It is hard to fill the evenings at first, but now it's unthinkable that I spent a large amount of time just knocking back booze. You won't regret doing this, but in a few years if you keep drinking, you absolutely will regret not giving sobriety a chance! Commit to 100 days so you have a set number in your head to work towards, and assess how you've feel when you've given it a real chance.

It will take months before you feel any better and you'll have to face all the issues that were leading you to drink to that extent in the first place. Having clearer skin is pretty low down on the agenda.

Or you could just give up and start drinking again, it's your choice.

You've got the booze blues. It's the start of alcohol withdrawal, its really common - I'm a heavy weekend drinker and I get it every Monday which is one of the reasons I'm trying to change my habits. You'll get it worse as you've been drinking more and it seems like you've been drinking every day.

Stick with it. It does get better.

Are you supporting her or trying to get her to start drinking again it’s not entirely clear?

I'm telling her the truth. It's up to her if she wants to do it or not. Nothing we can say will encourage her to stop drinking if she doesn't want to. Clearly drinking that amount of alcohol is harmful. The OP knows this.

The fact that she's given up for 48 hours and is already thinking it's a waste of time - on a Friday night as well - means that she's thinking about drinking again.

A friend recently died from cirrhosis. Only 62.

It was horrific. And so quick, other health issues tripped him up and something that would normally be a minor blip, couple of days in hospital, started the chain reaction. He couldn’t get better.

He was like you. Normal, drinking for fun. But drinking loads for fun and sociability and doing it for years.

So as they said, it was just cumulative and a small bout of ill health was too much. Everything just stopped working.

Forget what your skin looks like after 48 hours and think along these lines. You’ll get older and less able to bounce back. One day, your liver will pack up and what that will mean is that you’ll feel pretty ordinary until you have a small setback then it will hit you like a train that your organs have no ‘bounce’. And you’ll die. You’ll probably be as utterly astonished and shocked as he was.

Someone once said to me, if you can't give up alcohol for a month you have a problem. I tend to go by this.

OP, can you give up for a month?

I've watched someone die from cirrhosis of the liver and it isn't pretty. Even if you're not feeling an amazing difference on the outside, know that it will be making a huge difference on the inside.

It takes longer to feel the benefits

I am now 3 years sober and to be honest I have other health issues now I didn’t have when I was drinking! But these things happen and better to deal with them without poisoning myself too.

the peace of mind and lack of internal voice about my drinking is the best thing

waking up in the morning without the feeling of agony that despite not meaning to I drank the night before never gets old

and it’s not damaging your health- yet - or that you can see. At that level it is or it will

boredom - gym, quit lit, podcasts. I couldn’t watch tv without a drink in the early days so I didn’t watch tv. I sat in the kitchen and filled in puzzle books or did jigsaws

drinking is not a productive use of time so there’s nothing about it that adds interest to boring activities like housework. This is addiction trying to lure you in

presumably there was a reason why you quit so hold on to it

You cannot be seriously expecting 2 days - 2 days - of ridding your body of significant amounts of alcohol to show visible improvements seriously? How would you know how or if your organs are rejuvenating, your risks decreasing etc anyway let alone over 2 days?

Not only is 48 hours nowhere near long enough- you can expect to feel worse after the amounts you’ve been drinking (and I’m not judging as I was a terrible binge drinker getting through litres of vodka over a few days).

You may not be aware of it but your brain chemistry has been changed. Alcohol causes huge disruption to neuro-chemical pathways causing our bodies to change which brain chemicals we make ourselves. For example, alcohol causes a surge in dopamine so the body stops producing it so we don’t have too much - cut the alcohol off then we have none/very little. Experts reckon it can take months for this to correct itself.

This is also basically the reason that the DTs typically start about day 3 or 4 after the last drink of the chronic abuser.

Give it time. Know that you are doing an amazing thing for your body and your wellbeing overall. Revel in the fact that you’ve been able to stop fairly easily (assuming that is the case). And good luck staying off it.

Why have you stopped?