Today I have accepted that I must end my love affair with white wine.................

[mummypoppins]

I adore it............consume it in bucket fulls and like a gorgeous man it takes over my life and leaves me feeling shite most of the time. Im fat, pasty , dry skinned and constantly tired and now it is starting to affect my work and home life. Yes I function very well and my children are happy and healthy cared for a lot of the time by a nanny as I work 60 to 70 hour weeks but I dont like myself very much and I know I could do so much better without this obession in my life.

So no more wine ( red or white ) or beer etc. Its gin and slimline tonics from now on and only at the weekend. Goes well with the weight watchers plan too.

Anyone else want to join me in suuport ?

I think you may be right Ladylush. I really don't enjoy feeling so sort of knackered all the time. I have so little energy to do anything and I have never been so unfit in my life apart from when I emerged from hospital! I am back on Sertraline which seems to do the trick, although I feel pretty dead. I can really feel that there is no twinkle in my eyes!

I've just started a writing course and I hope I can make a bit of time to do something. The house we're in is full of books I haven't read, so it's easy to pick something up and work through it.

DDs are 3 and 1, and pretty exhausting. Dh is brilliant but also knackered. We're both bored of drinking and can't really afford it anyway. Usually I drink when I feel vaguely cheerful!

How are you getting on?

Hi,
I have read most of this thread and think you have all done well to cut down. You have given me inspiration over the last 2 weeks
Can I join you - I too had worked up to a bottle a night - I have put on so so much weight, am pale and pasty and very very dry skin.

I am pleased with my progress so far. Week 1 I had alcohol free nights, on the Friday I had 1 glass ( unheard of before), but on Saturday finished the bottle . Sunday was a big family gathering and I must have had a bottle. Week 2 I was alcohol free until Friday and had one glass, had 2 glasses on Saturday and one on Sunday. This week - week 3 - I am alcohol free so far....but it is the weekend I dread. I will be fine on Sat as my youngest DD is having a sleepover - and having other peoples children to look after means I will be stone cold sober!.

I have found I have slept better - waking up feeling fresh and not drained. It is this that has helped me keep it up.

How are you all doing?

Hi Sonnet and welcome Yes, waking up fresher helps big time. I also don't like my breath to smell of alcohol the next day. I felt mortified when ds (3) told me I had wine breast (he calls "breath" breast ) Over past 10 days I've just had one small glass of red wine and I think that's the best I've done for years (apart from when I was pregnant and abstained). You're doing really well - keep up the good work.

hellobello - I'm tired a lot too. I was diagnosed with an underactive thyroid in December and have to take Thyroxine but the dose isn't optimal yet. Have you had full range of blood tests done since the all clear? Just wondered if your hb count is ok - or thyroid for that matter. Mind you, depression causes metabolic changes and that alone can make you feel tired.

That sounds really positive! Tonight we've got a bottle of wine. That's it though. I don't quite understand that I seem to be losing the taste for it, though that may be a bit premature!

I expect it takes a lot longer than we think to recover from major surgery. I think it's one of those things like childbirth that nobody really tells you very much about until it's happened to you! I have a good friend who's had a transplant, so I talk to her about the effects of surgery.

We have 2 DDs aged 3 and 1. We are pretty much alone in looking after them. It's quite difficult at the moment and we don't know many people where we are. My parents are no help on a day-to-day basis and live miles away.

I think having such young children is strain enough............without adding post op recovery into the equation. I think you're coping really well given the circumstances. Do you have friends locally who can help babysit etc so you and dh can have time on your own?

Hi Ladylush - thnaks for the welcome. 10 days is great. LOL at DS and wine breast!!

The great thing is that I now longer miss it on a week day evening ( noticed that on Tuesday!) BUT Friday is a big temptation. I then find I'm longing for wine od Saturday evening and by Sunday I want one at lunchtime.....

Checking in here is helping me....thanks

Yes I identify with those cravings. Those are the days I usually want to drink. Just haven't felt like it recently. Strange!

Hello everyone. Welcome Sonnet.

Got back yesterday. I am afraid to say that I had a drink every day while away but not more than three at a time.

It was absolutely freezing. We have no idea what cold is! -50C with the windchill!!! Lots and lots of snow. It was quite refreshing.

Good luck to everyone this week. I will be trying to keep to alcohol free school nights.

Thought I was doing well and had four glasses of wine last night. Almost had whole bottle but forced myself to leave the rest in the fridge. Hope to use Lent as an excuse to stay off it completely.

How's everyone else doing?

Welcome back Detta. Did you enjoy the trip? How is your ds btw? I've been pretty good alcohol-wise. Up til yesterday I had only drunk a couple of glasses of champagne and a glass of wine. Then I got my period yesterday and had 3 glasses of wine cos I was sulking! I was hoping for a bfp

Sorry to hear that LL. I'm afraid that I would be rather worried if I had a BFP as we are at the stage where we don't want any more! Spent years trying not to get pregnant, then years trying to get pregnant and back to the trying not to again...

DS is doing well, ta. He has a big scar which he was a little afraid of but it's 'growing on him'.

I came back on Saturday to be greeted in the airport by three sick children and a sick husband! They all had this horrible cold/flu like illness. Crossing fingers so that I don't get it.

Finished off a bottle of wine last night. Today is the first day of Lent so I am using that as an excuse to keep off it.

Glad your ds is ok, hope the family feel better soon. Good luck with the lent resolution. What a good Catholic you are

Thought I'd check in and see how you are all doing.
Sorry to hear about your sick family dettajnr - hope they are a lot better.
Great news that you put the rest of the wine back and didn't finish the bottle!

How are yiu getting on ladylush - I was alcohol free last week until Friday - I had 1 glass of red, none on Saturday ( but none in the house) and 1 and a half with Sunday lunch. Did have 1 last night as went out. What a difference to a bottle a night - can't believe I've achieved it actually.
To be honest the only reason I have done it is that there is no wine inthe house!! ( even walked past a 2 for 1 offer in budgens on Tuesday!)

Wow Sonnet - you're doing really well. I find it helps a lot not to have wine in the house. I buy it on a thursday, open it on a friday and finish it on the sunday - generally. Though I did have a few on Tuesday cos I was hacked off that my period arrived! I'm ok by the way. Are you feeling proud of yourself? Feeling any healthier?

Well done Sonnet. That's a great achievement.

We are off to a fundraiser for the kids football team tomorrow night. Fancy dress 70's and 80's karaoke!!! I am hoping that I shall remain sober but on these occasions I find it difficult to abstain completely, especially when everyone else is drinking.

Tonight is my 4th night without alcohol! I can't remember when this happened before! We drank a lot over the weekend which may have something to do with it, and I felt terrible. I didn't let the doc take any blood out of me on Monday. Anyway, I'm very very tired and going to go to bed and read my book. I don't know if it's the anti ds that are making me so so tired. Do they do that?

hellobello - I didn't think ads would cause tiredness but look at the leaflet and see if it's one of the side effects. It's more likely to be the depression making you tired. How long have you been on the ads and do you feel that they are working?

Well done on the alcohol free week. Very impressive

The tiredness could also be hang over from the weekend. I get very tired after a heavy drinking session and the tiredness can last for a few days.

Couldn't stick to my alcohol free w/end. Had far too much to drink on Friday night. Continued on Saturday and had family over for dinner yesterday and had a bottle of wine each! No hangover today as I cleverly drank spritzers.

Going to try for an alcohol free week this week.

Good luck to everyone this week.

I had some large glasses of wine over the weekend and was shocked to see that I drank a bottle and a half altogether. How many units do you think that is?

A bottle of wine is about 9-10 units. When they first did the units a bottle had about 6, but wine was normally only about 9%. Think Lambrusco or Liebfraumilch - that sort of thing if you can get anything that strength now!

Our old neighbours came to stay at the weekend,and we all drank far too much. I am much better without alcohol. I've really noticed that my tummy is better. I think I like the idea of drinking, but it isn't as much fun as I remember!

Oh god - I remember some student days drinking liebfraumilch. Revolting Although I am drinking less overall, I think I am tending to cram my units together now. 14 is probably too much over 3 nights? Or do you think that is ok?

14 units over three nights sounds ok to me. It depends if you feel bad the next day or not.

I haven't been doing well this week. Apart from going mad over the weekend and drinking at least 25 units I also ended up opening a bottle of wine on Wed and finished it off last night (Valentines). Mind you, there was a time in my life (before kids) when I had a bottle of wine every week day night and two on weekend nights!!!

So much for my lenten promise!!! Shall try harder tonight.

How's everyone doing? I haven't been too good this week. So much for Lent! Hope you all had a good week.

Is this the end of the thread?

Hi Detta, I've been rather busy dealing with major marital problems but still managing not to drink during the week. Iron will? Not really - just thought to myself that if I go down that path I'll never stop. How are you doing? Had your ds recovered fully from his op?