The Continuing Support Thread for Anyone Trying to Lead an Alcohol-Free Life Summer into Autumn 2026

[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, solidarity 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. 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. You're here because you are strong and want to pull free. However ashamed and wretched you are feeling right now, as you read this sentence, I can absolutely guarantee that someone here has felt exactly as you do now and knows what you are enduring. It can change. You are not shameful. You are strong and you CAN do this.

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. Keep trying. Sobriety may not be easy - but I guarantee you that it is worth it.

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. I still struggle sometimes but the posters on this thread have been an absolute godsend of wisdom, support and encouragement, along with my dog - known here as Sid (not his real name), and they keep me going. I hope you find strength and comfort here too. 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 ones I use, I Am Sober and TryDry. 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.

Evenings are drawing in, the season of hot chocolate approaches. Power up with your favourite anthem (The ever-fabulous Dolly is reminding us "Better Get To Livin'"; and the Wilson Phillips girls "Hold On" in hot pursuit) and find your safe space here. Pull up a chair, and make yourself at home. It's going to be alright. x

Many congratulations on your year @FiloPasty !!🎉

Well done on getting to day 6 @GunnelVallquist - physically you are through the hardest part now. Hang in there

That all sounds so positive on the work front @Lavrander - I love that you say you are able to advocate for yourself now.

In answer to your question, treatment has been paused for a while now due to side effects, and I’m having scans soon to see what’s going on - all scary stuff. And youngest DC is off to uni so I’m going to have an empty nest. Most of the time I do ok mentally- I’m managing to run, which is a huge help, but sometimes fudge helps too!!

Fudge helps with a lot, I find. I hope the scans show nothing to worry about, @Onewildandpreciouslife. x

Good luck with the sofa shopping @ShyMaryEllen . 🍀

Congratulations, that’s amazing!

(and yes to the numbers being much closer to daily than weekly 😱)

Thank you @Onewildandpreciouslife .

I keep looking at pics from when I was eight months sober and it upsets me that I was stupid enough to start this shit again. And then a couple of years later after seven months off the booze 🤦🏼‍♀️. How stupid do you have to be to do that?!?

I’m not sure what health issues you have, but I hope all goes well. 🍀 🌺

It will be two years on 20th October @GunnelVallquist if I do not have a lapse. I was a weekend binge drinker and Friday nights were hell when I first quit; I coped by replacing alcohol with copious amounts of junk food. `I am out of the habit now, but I get temptations at odd random moments as well as at times of stress or unhappiness.

Wow, almost two years!

Amazing. ❤️

Fantastic achievements @mumzof4x and @FiloPasty - you are amazing. ❤️

A tough day for me today, as for so very, very many people. 25 years on and it still feels like yesterday. But I am here and I am thankful. Heartfelt love and support for everyone who finds today a challenge.

Monty Don wrote a lovely book about one of his dogs - "Nigel: My Family and Other Dogs"; picked it up in a charity shop and it was a very enjoyable read.

Bonkers week this week at work. But looking forward to the weekend.

Strength and courage. It will be alright. xx

I’m sorry if I sound ignorant @REP22 , but are you American/ do you live in the US?

My husband and I spent two years in America in the early noughties when he was still in the Military (he was with the British Embassy in Washington DC) and loved our time over there.

When we went to New York it was obviously long before the Memorial and Museum was built and our hotel room (we stayed at the Hilton in the Financial Center) overlooked Ground Zero. We were so shocked to see the sheer size of it.

You don't sound in the least bit ignorant @GunnelVallquist - No, I am English and have only ever lived in the UK. One of my late father's closest business colleagues - his office-mate; his DS and DiL both worked together in the WTC. They survived (just), but because of the power outage and comms difficulties in NYC after the towers fell he didn't hear until well after 9pm that they were alive. Also I had a job at the time that involved me having to tell some children (who were Americans and whose parents were there; it was a boarding school here) what was happening as the events were unfolding. The cry of one boy in particular still sounds in my ear sometimes.

Absolutely zero nothingness by way of personal suffering to me, in any way, compared with the poor souls who were there and lived through it, or their families. But it did affect me a lot and I had a breakdown in February 2002.

It must have been gut-wrenching for you and your DH. I'm so sorry. x

Ah ok, that sounds really hard. So many lives impacted by this tragedy, just horrendous.

We actually weren’t in the US at the time; my husband didn’t get his posting until 2007.

I still remember the day so vividly though; I guess it’s one of those events where you will always remember where you were and what you were doing at the time.

Same as 7/7.

Very cute pic of Sid by the way. 💕

@REP22 I don't know if you have read Caroline Knapp's book Drinking: A Love Story. Wonderful book. Later, when sober, she wrote a book about dogs called Pack of Two - I highly recommend it. As I do the book by her friend and fellow dog lover (and former drinker) Gail Caldwell - The Long Way Home.

@FiloPasty well done!!

I am reading Alcohol Explained by William Porter (again) I am finding it very helpful.

My gp phoned and all my bloods are normal range except my ALT is 47, I think she said it should be under 40. She said she is not hugely worried by that she will retest in a few months. I had been taking painkillers for the hangovers too so that probably didn't help my liver the paracetamol 😬

Again its only part of the puzzle the scan will tell more I think it is a general scan looking at all the organs around that area including the liver because I am having pain she wants to rule out other possibilities too. I didn't think to as would this not be as detailed as a specific liver scan?

Has anyone had levels of 47 ALT?

She did say they are seeing this more and more in Women at my appointment and it is a lot more common than we think. That made me feel at lot less alone, but also very sad.

You’ve just made me check my results on the app @pinkclouds26 and it looks like mine is really low???

Apparently that can happen if you’re low on Vitamin B (I’m a Vegetarian, is this why?)

I didn’t scrutinise the results when they came back last year as it said everything was normal and I never heard from the GP either.

(I’ve attached a screenshot)

Am I looking at the wrong thing here?

And does this mean I need to take B12?

@pinkclouds26, my ALT was 87 back in 2017. It's 10 now, and was down to 15 by 2020, when I hadn't drunk for a couple of years. 47 is not far out of range.

B12 might be a good idea, @GunnelVallquist, but get your levels checked. I think low B12 is common in heavy drinkers. If it's low you can get quarterly injections of it. I don't think it matters if your ALT is low, though, unless your other scores are out of range. It is low B6 that affects ALT, but all B vitamins are depleted by the grog. Thiamine is the most important for brain health, particularly when stopping after a history of heavy drinking. That, plus a B Complex tab a day should put most people on the right road.

I hope you're feeling relieved, @pinkclouds26? The scans will almost certainly come back saying there's nothing to see, and you should easily get your LFT scores into range. As you say, something like paracetamol (or changing coffee drinking habits) can affect them, so my advice is to have a celebratory glass of something AF, and toast your good health.

We did the sofa thing, and may have made a good start. I just need to rob a bank or something to pay for them, as the place we went to is at the fancier end of the market. They will tweak anything you want to suit, so alter heights and depths etc, and there are thousands of fabrics to choose from. I've ordered some samples, and will take things from there.

Thanks @ShyMaryEllen , you’re so knowledgeable about all this stuff. 🌺

Well done @FiloPasty!

I really wish I had a glass of wine tonight.

Instead I’m having a cup of tea (alongside my sparkling water) and some chocolate.

(as is my husband who thankfully isn’t drinking either)

I will not drink today

Morning all.

Another night of crap sleep but at least I didn’t drink.

Morning all.
Well done on not drinking last night @GunnelVallquist - is that a week now?

Thanks for sharing your story about the GP @pinkclouds26 - it’s really helpful to know what happens in practice when you seek help. Your GP sounds lovely.

I think Alcohol Explained is a great book- it covers all the mental and physical aspects of alcohol really well

Thanks @Onewildandpreciouslife .

Yes, seven days today.

Morning all.
Off out to lunch to meet up with one of our number. DD is taking the dog for his trim. Eight weeks ago I was barely driving.
The wonder drug has certainly worked.