Dry January and beyond - Thread 2

[BulldogMumma]

Hey everyone
New thread as the old one was filling up
@Flicitytricity @coastergirl @TimeForNosecco

Well done all for keeping going. This week has been damp rather than dry for me. That’s ok though- I still count it as a big win. What I didn’t want to happen was simply going mad once the 30 days were over.
i certainly notice the difference in the morning but I have only had a small amount of alcohol on the odd evening this week- much much less than I would have had previously. It doesn’t really have the same allure that it did before and I am very mindful of it in a way I wasn’t before. Another win!☺️

Almost there for the dj’s!!! Im excited for you!! 😅

I’m also amazed I’m where I am and kind of excited to be carrying on!!

I had blood tests on Tuesday & got the results today! Liver & kidneys all ok!

I’m amazed tbh I’d convinced myself I must have done some damage but I’m grateful !

I had a moment of my brain going oh that’s ok then it’s obviously fine no need to do the 90 days…. I had an internal conversation instead about feeling grateful I’m ok & not worrying next time I have blood tests done because I’m actually trying to look after myself! So standing firm! 90 days snd onwards here I come …

@BulldogMumma yes, thanks for setting this thread up!

I'm definitely doing Damp Feb, actually starting tomorrow (Fri 31/1 🤭) because I'm planning on having maybe 2 glasses watching US Traitors. I look upon this as long haul, so although I don't advocate anyone else quitting a day early 😊 I'm frankly amazed I will have managed 30 days! I won't be returning to my bottle, or more - every night. Any cutting back is better than no cutting back!

@BigButtons I need to be aware of not going mad, as well, assuming that if I can quit for 30 days, I can quit whenever I want! 😬

Day 30 OMG! Going into another '10' feels like a real milestone even though DJ doesn't finish until tomorrow. So nearly there and thanks to everyone who's been posting this month - you've been such an enormous help. I'm another one not intending to go mad but see how it goes moderating. Damp Feb here we come!

@Seahorsesplendour so pleased to hear you had good results. Nice news on which to finish the month tomorrow.

Is there a way of sleeping well, feeling energetic and not anxious....but still being able to drink?
I like how I feel right now but still want to be able to drink again.

Day 33 done for me and omg the wine witch was more like a wine demon tonight telling me just enjoy a large red glass of wine. I ignored it and cracked on with some paperwork I had to finish but tonight was definitely tough especially as I am off tomorrow. I think tomorrow night will be ok DC2 has a birthday party on sat early afternoon then we have family coming on sun for my oldest birthday but that's not something I would off alcohol at.

Day 29 for me. Had a twinge earlier while cooking dinner but it came and went and I'm really chuffed I've got this far!

So I've done DJ 100% . Ends tomorrow but I'm gonna do slightly damp February. Sticking to 10 units a week is the plan.. Thanks to this thread it's been really helpful. Good luck to everyone! 😀

End of Day 30 for me! I've decided to have a couple of glasses tomorrow night, Day 31

Well done everyone!

Heading for Damp Feb, hopefully there'll be a thread! I don't dare start one as I think I'd be Billy-No-Mates! 🤣

I've been secretly lurking and doing (nearly done!) dry Jan mainly because my cholesterol needs sorting out and I like to have a health reset to start the year.

Does everyone here mainly drink wine? Because maybe that's the problem, once a wine bottle is open it's 6 glasses and it's pretty strong stuff.
My usual tipple is a bottle of nice cider - at 500ml and 4.5%, as well as being gone when it's gone so it's easier to stick within limits.

When I drink wine - anything can happen 😄

So is the answer possible switching drinks for some people? It seems to work for me and things only get messy if it's a weekend night with a friend and the prosecco gets popped and popped, and popped

Its wine I drink and far to much of it as it goes down to easily. That's a good idea about a cider. I actually really enjoy a AF cider so could maybe have one alcohol one and one AF one instead of wine. I struggle to moderate wine which is why I started DJ.

@Seahorsesplendour that's good news on your test results...can I be cheeky and ask how much and how often you were drinking before DJ and for how long / how many years?

I sticking on. DJ is now 5 months dry so having managed a holiday and Christmas dry I might as well continue...oh and just lost 2lb as well this week so has made losing weight really easy..means I now need to up calories but from food and not alcohol

That’s amazing Christmas dry go you!! If you can get through that and a holiday you most definitely can carry on 🙌🏻

Morning! No problem! Long time drinker I started binge drinking on nights out at 15. Until early 20’s when it became more of an every weekend deal and this stuck to some extent or another, through various incarnations. More latterly weekends were thurs night, Friday night, sat night & often Sunday from 3/4ish depending on plans.

love a Sherry and could drink this like a bottle of wine if I let myself I’m horrified to say. This was the first drink I was allowed to try as a child so I think always associate it with home comforts.

wine - red or prosecco featured a lot too with cocktails added in to the mix on holiday Altho not really since having our lo.

very functioning, good job, happy family, mostly drink when lo in bed and not to the point of being blottoed for many years but I think this says way more about my tolerance levels than my ability to ration.

I'm late 40’s so 30+ years of it.

thank you for asking!

The Sherry has felt like a dirty secret all month as not mentioned once by anyone else!! it feels good to have got that out there!!

happy Friday everyone!!!!!

Morning All - hooray we've done it 🍪🎂🍰

I'm one of the lucky ones who hasn't struggled at all this month, which I still can't believe, considering I was drinking so much and panicking if the wine rack was empty, turning to vodka instead 😒

I weighed myself this morning and I have lost 1st 1lb in weight. My mood has improved, I'm sleeping well ( had a couple of horrendous nights, but sorted them) and I just feel liberated, having been so dependent on booze.

I'm continuing being AF, but not setting it in stone - I'm aiming for Dry 100.

Never thought I'd still be here at the end 😁😁😁😁

That's really good....I started with having a month off and just continued. I felt that having a drink was a real shame and after 5 months in I just can't bring myself to self to have a drink....not evangelical about it but just don't need the crutch

Last day of DJ and feeling very proud. The last couple of days have been hardest for some reason. I'm looking forward to having a drink now and then at social events...but worried it will be the slippery slope back to disaster. Definitely damp February for me. Going to aim for 5 days a week AF as a baseline.

If I'm disappointed about anything it would be weight loss. I'm not overweight but I like to stay lean and I thought I would drop a few kilos. I've been eating a sensible diet but without the intervention of wine which turns me into a garbage disposal unit, I expected to see a wee drop.

Well, I sleep badly, wake up feeling muggy and unrested and mostly keen to roll over and go back to sleep- after 30 days AF! 🙄

It has been useful to me to note which things turn out to be 'just me', and which are down to alcohol.

I'm with you on that one.

I honestly feel no different, although of course there must be improvements, going from a bottle of wine a night to none!

My sleep is rubbish, it'd take a miracle to pep up 60+ year old skin and brighten 60 year old eyes, admittedly; I'm not particularly anxious anyway, so no change there; my weight is resolutely the same; and, post menopause, my get up and go got up and went 10 years ago. I was hoping my generally flat outlook might change with the removal of the depressant of alcohol.

So if there's one positive (other than the hidden benefits to my health), I guess it's the knowledge that it's other things I need to look at, other than alcohol, to try and 'pick me up' a bit, although I really wanted it to be just alcohol! It'd be a lot easier to quit for good if I'd seen some benefits!

But congratulations to all who made it, blip or not, and genuinely pleased for those for whom it has been a revelation.

I was hoping my generally flat outlook might change with the removal of the depressant of alcohol

@Fordian me too, having a clear head every morning doesn't seem to have produced a pick-me-up effect for me, so going to have to do some soul searching about why that is.

I'm another one that's a bit annoyed about the lack of weight loss, given how much wine I was knocking back last year I did think something might shift in that department. I've been tracking all my food too, so it's not like I've just replaced wine with snacks. Oh well.

Well done, everyone - last day of DJ!

Enjoy whatever comes next, whether it's dry, damp or slightly moist 😊.

@SatinHeart yup!

Thanks for sharing that. That sounds quite similar to me early 40s but I started drink on nights out late teens and then uni was carnage and probs every weekend binges after that!

The reason I’m asking is that I’m petrified to go and get my liver / kidneys checked but I also want to so it might spur me on knowing things are coming back quite stable after a month off - that’s great news