The Continuing Support Thread for those who want an alcohol free life - Autumn 2026

[Onewildandpreciouslife]

Hello and welcome. I’m glad you’ve found your way here. We are a bunch of people who are trying to live a life free of 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.

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.

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

@Lovechicken get some 0% peroni Nastro Azzurro. It’s the number one that I think tastes the exact same as real beer. Also the zero guiness is very good, then your husband just has a different drink in his glass. It’s great that he’s supporting you like that x

I’ve been feeling really tired but just be the change in the seasons as I’ve just got all my bloods back and everything looking good.

Just keep swimming everyone x

Hello @needtoquit - welcome. I am glad you've found us. No shame here, just kindness and understanding.

How are you doing @GunnelVallquist?

I lied to my Dr for ages about my own drinking. But my worst lies were to myself.

I lived (live) in fear of liver failure, ascites, etc., But most of all that Sid might outlive me. So that's worth putting the poison down.

Strength and courage to you all. It will be alright. xx

I hope that you are okay too @GunnelVallquist?

Today is my day 1 again, have proven to myself (as if I needed more proof) that moderation is not possible for me.

I will quietly follow in the background x

Yes the health anxiety was horrendous when I was drinking. It got to the point where I felt I knew I didn't have a future. Someone would say something about the future - a trip in 5 years time, something about when our children were married, the idea of my nieces having babies - and I'd think "I won't be there". I still have the same body (20 pounds heavier - write that up in the journals!) but I don't worry all the time now. I don't flinch and want to change the channel if a character on tv has a drinking problem or a health issue related to drinking (back in 2025 I had to stop re-watching ER as my anxiety was going through the roof).

I second the Peroni 0 recommendation. It is a lovely A/F beer. Corona A/F is also nice. I was a wine drinker mostly but now I order an A/F beer or mocktail if out (these are so popular where I live - lots of people just don't drink alcohol). Or I have one in a nice glass if hosting a dinner. At the beginning it was really important to have something nice in a nice glass so I didn't feel the immense sense of missing out but 10 months in that feeling has almost gone.

Also thinking of you Gunnel - and all the others trying so hard. onwards.

@anewyearthisyear yep I’m convinced I’ve got cirrhosis and won’t see my son grow up. I’m terrified.

Even if you do have cirrhosis, if you have no symptoms and stop drinking you can live a long time - decades, assuming that you don't die of something else first. I was told that many people die with cirrhosis (rather than if it) without knowing they had it, and it's only at a post-mortem that it is diagnosed. The trick is to keep the liver compensated (ie the good bits able to support the scarred bits) and not to tip into a decompensated state where they stop being able to do that, and the symptoms start getting scary (wet brain, ascites, jaundice etc).

The only way to do that is not to drink. There is no treatment for cirrhosis. They can manage some of the symptoms, but basically the treatment is abstinence, which only you can manage.

This is why I recommend cutting out all booze for 3 months before getting LFTs if you feel well. A lot of non-permanent damage will have reversed by then, so what goes on your records will be better. If you do feel ill though, you should speak to your GP ASAP. It is important to know that a LFT on its own will not necessarily tell you if your liver is damaged (although obviously it is a clue). People with cirrhosis can have normal results if the liver is compensating - you really need an ultrasound to diagnose cirrhosis, and a fibroscan to see how bad it is.

Thanks for the reply @ShyMaryEllen
I had bloods done in September prior to starting HRT.
My ALT was normal and my GGT was slightly elevated.
They repeated them in October after 7 days af. ALT was slightly raised but I’d weight trained before and apparently that can raise it. GGT had started to come down.
Im booked in on 18th for another set, not sure how I’ll cope till then.

I’ve just ordered a DIY/home liver blood test kit. Depending on when I get it, results should be available early next week. Results will be “private” to only me. Will keep you posted 🤞they are “ok”.

Honestly, @BoringWind, try not to worry. Lots of things can throw different enzymes out of alignment - drinking or not drinking coffee, what you last ate before the test, an infection or inflammation etc.

Remember that the tests are on a working liver, which is doing what livers do - filtering things, helping with digestion and so on. A liver performs hundreds of tasks, so any of them can give a (usually temporary) result that is out of kilter.

Something being slightly raised is entirely usual. The odds are that it will be fine at the retest, and if not, and if you stop drinking, it will come down over time.

If you want to post them when you get them, we can have a look for you.

I'm not a medic, but have had a lot of liver tests, so am a bit of an old hand at reading them, and other shipmates can do so too.

Well I've just had my bloods done for my new meds. We'll see what they say.

I have a cuddly dog on my lap. Blinking cold outside.

What's the house situation, @WendyWagon? Any progress?

Hello all.
For those getting blood tests etc, I really wouldn’t get too hung up on what they show you about the current state of your liver.

It will just show a tiny, tiny piece of the relationship between your alcohol intake and your physical and mental wellbeing.

I have suffered badly from anxiety for years, and I remember one therapist telling me that “anxiety is a low tolerance of uncertainty”. So I really understand that feeling that a blood test will give you certainty and take away your anxiety- but it won’t. It will just be one data point.

Becoming free of alcohol is about so much more than preventing liver damage - it’s regaining the time, and relationships, and joy, that alcohol is stealing from you. Unfortunately the only way to experience this is to slog through these grim early days of sobriety, and get there one day at a time.
And a lovely side-effect is that your anxiety levels will drop massively… so it’s win-win

@ShyMaryEllen no news on the houses.

Hi Everyone I’ve been a lurker but would love to check in. I lost a dear friend on Xmas day 2025 from drinking. I probably knew she had a real problem but so much of our group’s dynamic was at the pub or long boozy dinner parties that if I’m honest I did not dig too deep. You would never have known how close to the end she was. I think the most terrifying thing was that the doctors said even if she had stopped or gone to the hospital 6 months earlier there would have been nothing they could do. It’s had a profound effect on me and my husband we have mostly stopped drinking at home and have realised how bad it makes us feel. But we still slip into drinking all week sometimes and it’s a work in progress. I just wanted to say well done and that it can happen to anyone xxx

Sorry to hear that, @WendyWagon. I hope things (and you!) start moving soon.

Welcome, @endofthecorridoor. I'm sorry to hear about your friend. Did she know she was ill, do you think?

It's good to hear that your husband is onside with giving up. Moral support is very helpful. As a lot of us said upthread, cutting out is so much easier than cutting down. It's not 'easy', but it stops a lot of the psychologically difficult bits, and any physical ones are better if you only have to go through them once.

Welcome @endofthecorridoor - I'm really sorry about your friend. It most certainly can happen to anyone, usually those we'd least "suspect". I am glad you have found your way to us.

I used to look down at the shambolic chaps in the local parks, with their bottles, frequently horizontal in the municipal flower beds. Now I think, actually, they are the ones who are honest about who and what they are.

We can change, we can be different. We're here and we're trying; that counts for so, so much.

I have been REALLY appreciating the advice and encouragement on health matters from the wise people here, especially in the last few days. Your words have brought much solace to my soul. Thank you.

Sid remains on active duty. He's still muttering about turrets and betrayals. I've taken his green cloak away until he explains himself. In the meantime, here he is, to remind us all that despite stormy skies and wild grounds, there ARE rivers that can be peacefully crossed, and easier paths ahead, if we keep to the tracks.

Strength, courage and love. xx It will be alright. xx

Lovely faithful Sid😍

@Onewildandpreciouslifewhat you say about gaining time is so true. During my six month AF stint I felt like I had twice as many hours in the day and I just got stuff done. I’m looking forward to that again but just this clawing my way there again that is hard.

Thanks @ShyMaryEllen and @Onewildandpreciouslife

I’m aware that blood tests only show a piece of the jigsaw. In the past, I’ve had slightly raised enzymes when my “bad” drinking was just starting so I guess I’m just intrigued to know. I’m part wishing they do come back abnormal as an extra kick in the ass to put me fully on the sober path. It’s mainly curiosity and it was really cheap so I thought I’d just go for it.

@endofthecorridoor another one saying sorry about your friend. It’s tragic really when you think about it - so avoidable. A friend of mine is really struggling with my drinking because she lost a colleague (who was only mid 40s) to alcohol and I know she’s pulled back from me as she finds it painful. Which I totally understand so I’ve not pushed it but rather will wait until I’ve got a decent spell of sobriety under my belt before contacting her.

DD has put some chat in our family group chat today and has “thumbs up” some of my comments. It’s a start. She’s been so supportive in the past and I think she’s just really hurt and disappointed I’m still drinking - well I was up til the start of the week. I know it will take a lot of time and a massive effort for her to trust in me again but I’m so up for that.

Planning a nice dinner, few treats and another early night after watching Adultery on TV. It’s ok - I’m only on episode 3 and it’s a tad slow but it’s keeping me occupied.

Hope everyone is having a good day.
IWDWYT ❤️

@WendyWagon we can have a “blood off” with our results. Hoping for good things for you.

Evening

There’s a decisiveness to your posts @Lovechicken, it’s like in your head that this is Your Time re quitting. Small positives with your DD too.

Clawing the way back is definitely a slog @needtoquit, we are here to support.

I’m so sorry to hear about your friend @endofthecorridoor, there are no words really that are adequate. Bloody drinking is so normalised - it’s wrong.

Keep posting @pinkclouds26, ❤️

I am not a medic either @BoringWind but I am fairly sure GGT is a very sensitive marker, so it doesn’t take much to elevate it. The only one of mine which took a little longer to come down, but is now well within normal range was MCV.

I’m sort of glad my results were elevated at the time. I actually think if they had been normal I’d have given myself an excuse to keep drinking. Anyone else cringe when they look back at their distorted thinking? Aargh!

@needastrongone Glad your markers are all looking good now. My MCV was normal, as were platelets, white blood cells etc so hoping that’s all a good sign.
I’ve enquired about getting the ultrasound privately as I can’t carry on like this, I can’t eat or concentrate at work.

Evening all. Day 3 almost over. I’m in bed with a glass of healthy metal magnesium and a bowl of onion rings watching tv. So still on the treats lol but as I was advised, whatever it takes to stay off the booze. My hangover has completely gone and I feel good physically - mentally still overwhelmed with grief and guilt but hoping that will fade as I move forward sober.

I’ve spent £70 buying 60 days supply of the magnesium drinks - 30 sachets of raspberry lemon and 30 of pineapple & mango. I absolutely love them but I’ve only bought packets of 5 before for £5. I was really struggling to spend the £70 (only a little over a pound a drink) even though I can afford it and it got me thinking how much I seem to struggle to pay for AF drinks yet would spend a tenner a night on wine and more on “secret” gin/vodka. Amazing how brainwashed we are by alcohol!

Praying for a better sleep tonight 🙏- even if I got 3 or 4 hours, that would be great. Working again tomorrow then I’m starting back at the gym on Thursday, got a family celebration Thursday night and have booked a massage for Friday. So all in all feeling not too bad.

Hope you’re all grand this evening and that no one’s struggling too much. Sleep tight and “see” you all tomorrow 😴 ❤️