Has anyone stopped a bottle of wine a night habit?

[CocoBean22]

Been drinking a bottle of rose wine 11% for about a year now from 7pm - 11pm ish.
Like many others it’s my ‘treat’ from a busy day at work, my ‘relax and wind down a bit of me time’ watching tv with a glass of wine.
I know it’s too much. I want to cut down.
But the thing that is stopping me is the fear of seizures due to withdrawal as I googled and with my already severe health anxiety it’s obviously worried me sick.
So the cycle continues of opening wine in the evening for fear of something happening if I don’t.

I have no ‘withdrawal’ symptoms during the 20 hours I don’t drink between my nightly wine, no shaking hands or anything.

I know no one can say as it’s individual, but based on anyone’s own experience has anyone drank this amount or more and just decided one day to stop?
I don’t mind a few weeks of crappy nights sleep but it’s the severe withdrawals like DT and seizures I’m terrified about.

Please be kind, it’s taken me a while to get to this first step of addressing that it’s too much alcohol, and I want to make changes. Thank you 🙏🏼

You wont have a seizure etc stopping on that alone. But you do need to stop you are an acoholic.

Yes, i have, although i did drink a bottle last night. I cut right back last year, had a "blip" october time but have scaled back again. No withdrawal issues at all and tbh didnt even occur to me. I think you have to be drinking a lot more/much stronger for longer for that. I might be wrong.

For me, it really is a habit. Ive replaced with tonuc water (a nice one) lemon fanta, pink soda. Something tart and cold.

I feel, and look, MUCH better for it .

Yes I have, had a couple of rough nights but I am 4.5 years ish sober now.

caveat, I’m not a dr but I don’t think you’d get withdrawal from that amount. But if you are concerned you could taper down over a week or so.

@CocoBean22 You are very unlikely to get withdrawal seizures on that level of drinking - seizures are very rare even in the most chronic long term drinkers. You are drinking a lot and are psychologically dependent on alcohol and no doubt it is negatively impacting your body, buts it’s unlikely you are chemically dependent.

it’s usually those who drink literally all day every day, keeping themselves “topped up” (although not necessarily being outwardly drunk), as once they stop drinking, the brain gets “deprived” of the alcohol stimulant sending the production of certain neurotransmitters into overdrive leading to the DTs/seizures.

if you’re really worried, taper off ie cut down over a week by steadily drinking less. You can find information online about tapering off.

good luck moving forward. 💐

I used to drink this much regularly. I used the Reframe app to help me quit.

Some people then need / want to keep alcohol cut out completely, while others are able / happy to drink in moderation.

I drink again now, but not daily, in fact I go some weeks without, and the idea of drinking a full bottle of wine now seems horrendous even in a sociable, NYE type situation, never mind on my own and regularly.

DH was drinking at least one bottle a night, often more, but not every night. He never drank on Sundays as we tend to eat our main meal at lunchtime then and he’s not a day-drinker. I was worried about the effect on his health and it was an awful lot of calories so it did affect his weight. It has been cured by Mounjaro. I assume it’s probably a temporary cure but I’m hoping it may continue when he reduces his dose. He still has a glass or two. He had been consuming about 10-12 bottle of wine a week for about 20 years and no withdrawal effects from stopping

Thank you. Did you just stop one day when you decided enough was enough?

I was drinking two bottles a night for about 3-4 years, then got diagnosed with a heart murmur during a GP appointment and quit cold turkey in September ‘24. So much of it was getting to that mental/emotional place. Best of luck.

Can relate to these threads. The book This Naked Mind by Annie Grace was a big help to me. It might be worth a read OP.

Yes although mine was mostly weeknights - usually a bottle of 11% Cava, Mon-Fri. I cut down slowly and tracked everything using the Drink Aware app. I enjoyed watching my intake go down in the app and move from the ‘red zone’ to the ‘yellow zone’.

That was probably 5 years ago and I now drink around 8 units a week, down from about 40 (some weeks 50) a few years ago.

I’m not sure I was alcohol dependent, more that I’d just developed a very bad habit and like you, saw it as my way to unwind. For me, the first step was not finishing the bottle and then when I was used to that, learned to split a bottle over 2 nights and so on.

Obviously, no one should take advice on this from some strangers on MN (for example, you might be drinking more than you’re happy to admit here) so if you’re really worried, it’s worth chatting to your GP. They might be able to help with the health anxiety too (if you’re not getting help already).

Yes. Years ago I drank over a bottle of wine a night for probably 2 years. Decided to stop drinking alcohol during the week. Completely changed my night time routine for a while in order to break the habit. Went to bed early and read. I had no ill effects from giving up apart from having problems sleeping the first couple of weeks.

You definitely won’t have seizures, you can just stop. I drank a bottle a night at one point - 1.5-2 bottles sometimes - and cut right down - my rule became that I didn’t drink at home, full stop. So I’d still have a few glasses when out but that wasn’t often, so the days/weeks in between was sober. I didn’t taper down or anything. So don’t worry about side effects. The side effects will be good ones! Way better sleep, clearer head in the morning, spending less, probably losing weight if you need to. And that’s just the stuff you can see - never mind the positive side effects to your liver! You can do it!!!

Nb. For me it really helped to have a rule but not to just suddenly try to become tee-total (though I am stopping entirely for January this year!) It was less pressure to say I didn’t drink at home / alone, but could still have a glass out with friends. But everyone is different… some people need to go cold turkey for stopping to work. I only mention in case my way works better for you!

I got close to that over ten years ago. Not every single night but prob 3-4 a week, maybe more. I started to dislike what I was doing. Gradually cut down. Now I don’t drink much. Why are you drinking so much? I was a single parent, high stress job, trying to escape the lonely evenings. Understanding why could help. You want to stop so that is a start

It's highly unlikely that you would get seizures, but it is a good idea for anyone stopping regular drinking to take high doses of Thiamine (vitamin B1) for 6-8 weeks after the last drink to prevent alcohol-related brain damage. 100mg three times a day, or a high dose (500mg) tablet is recommended. You will excrete any excess, so can't overdose. It can make your wee bright orange/yellow, but that is harmless, so don't worry about it.

I had a 3 bottles of wine a day habit and I just stopped.

In retrospect, that’s the sort of drinking when you really should have some medical support. I was drinking about 200 units a week. But at the time, I really thought that was only for ‘real’ alcoholics, not people like me. I definitely am a real alcoholic, but it still kinda felt like my drinking was normal ish.

It was absolutely fine. Only withdrawal symptoms I had were simply being tired and unusually irritable. It was totally doable just to stop. I largely didn’t have any cravings. I do have the occasional day when I wish I could just check out like I used to. But I see that for what it is now: just needing to sit with hard feelings and sometimes be a bit bored and miserable.

I am coming up to 3 years sober in April and I really never have looked back. Life has not been easy since then, but it’s been a hell of a lot easier than it would have been if I was still drinking. I’ve never regretted stopping.

You absolutely can do it and you will be so grateful you did. There isn’t really a magic trick for getting it to work. You just have to leap and trust yourself that it will be okay. It will be.

Thank you all so much for the replies, and the words of support!
I feel so motivated, someone asked why I drink, for me I think it’s a mixture of habit - ‘Sitting down after a days work good series on tv, GLASS OF WINE in hand 😏 And the second factor is sleep, I literally touch my head on the pillow and I’m out. Granted my QUALITY of sleep is probably terrible when drinking wine but at least I get off to sleep quickly and easily. I think I’ve come so used to wine to be able to get off to sleep easily, that it worries me about how to get to sleep without it if that makes sense.

@CocoBean22 I can promise you, your sleep WILL be better without the wine.

I quit 5 years ago. I read Allen Carr's book (listened on audible) and just stopped my 20 year habit overnight.
If i can do it, anyone can do it. I was truly, truly miserable.
Now I am free.

I did this - stopped on Feb 12th 2024 and haven't drunk a drop since. I couldn't be happier - I was drinking at similar/higher level than yourself.
My advice:
Reach out to family/friends telling them you're stopping- gives a level of accountability.
Keep a track of sober days with money saved - then be amazed at what you used to spend and also treat yourself occasionally using the saved money!
If you're going out, choose an alcohol free drink - I liked Koppaberg ZERO- way better than diet coke all night!
Have a plan for when you crave - I used to either go out on a dog walk or jump in the bath.
Take Magnesium-glycinate-3-in-1 (the nutrition geeks one is excellent) to help with sleeping- It really does work!
Get your blood pressure taken as it's likely to be high - it will hugely improve not drinking.
Use forums/follow sober people on social media for inspiration and support.
GOOD LUCK!!!

DH drinks a bottle of red every night, with an occasional can or two of lager. He can go a night or two without and doesn’t have any problems.

Happy New Year! I’m so pleased I found your post because I’m feeling exactly the same. I’ve been drinking roughly a bottle of wine a night for far too long. Sometimes less but sometimes a G&T too just to round off the evening. I don’t go out often so this is at home. We have busy lives, dogs and teenagers so it’s a habit we’ve got into of drinking when we finally sit down in the evening. Or I’ll start with one when I’m cooking. I’m fairly sure it’s habit not addiction but, although I keep telling myself to stop, I don’t. I know I’ll feel better, I know I’ll look better, I know I’ll have more money. I think (hope) reading your post and all the replies will give me the kick up the arse I need. I’ve bought some Whitley Neil flavoured 0% gins to try to fool myself. There aren’t many soft drinks or juices I like. Why is there no good 0% wines? Good luck to you and everyone else who’s trying to cut down or stop x

Yes , I have . I was drinking at your level for quite a while, some years back . I dont agree with the assumption that you are "an alcoholic" if you drink at this level (and the term isn't used medically any longer) however i realised my relationship with alcohol wasn't physically or financially healthy . I haven't quit drinking, just cut down significantly . I now drink under the recommended units per week . I do know that moderation isn't possible for everyone though .

A bottle a day is very unhealthy. But it’s nowhere near the level required to induce withdrawal seizures. Absolutely nowhere near.

Alcohol does do the following when you drink it though:

Damages your DNA making it harder for you to recover from and heal from injury or illness or ageing.

Overworks your liver and kidneys.

Causes any carbs or fat eaten to be converted straight into body fat because the body is using the alcohol for energy first.

Damages the cells in your brain.

If you’re scared for your health… drinking is the last thing you should be doing. You’re literally drinking poison.

Sorry I didn’t see that you’d replied to my post.

I had thought about it for a while, and something happened that I very much regretted, but tbh I can’t remember ‘the day’ I stopped. As I said, the Reframe app really helped me, but other people hate being told what to do by their phone!

Either way, I highly recommend stopping for a decent stretch to reset your relationship with alcohol. I realised that I’d never gone a month without a drink - even when pregnant I’d had the odd one.

It can be hard which is why the apps can help as there’s psychology with it. On the one I used, there were things about it I thought were naff, and I’m sure there are others, but the focus helps. I’m sure it’s boring to other people, but not drinking can become a bit of a new hobby!

Also thinking about that £7-10 a bottle & putting it into aside & watching the money stack up can really help!

I was a bit like you - I loved drinking wine and falling into bed into what I thought was a good sleep but it actually want. I started tracking my sleep with my watch and I was waking up/far more restless than I was without it. I now usually have a herbal nytol about an hour before bed. It gives me a low grade mellow feeling so that by the time I turn in, I’m ready to fall asleep.