alcoholics anonymous . Anyone been?

[darlink]

I am going tonight for the first time.

Please if anyone can offer advice / help post here

I am the DH of llareggub and have been going to AA for almost exactly a year.

You will almost certainly feel awkward before hand but the people you will meet tonight will be lovely, friendly and welcoming.

Look for the likeness in peoples stories to your own, not the differences.

There will be a mention of God. (this scared the living daylights out of me the first time)

AA is not religious!! if you keep going you will see why god is mentioned.

Try to get lots of peoples phone numbers, and most importantly use them if you need to (pick up the phone and not a drink).

I really enjoy AA, it has made Soooo much difference to my life. In fact I am off to a meeting soon.

Also hang around for a little bit after the meeting rather than disappearing straight away, its a great time to talk to other AA's

Good Luck

No advice about Alcoholics anonymous but just wanted to offer some support, good luck tonight darlink..thinking of you, this is a big step in the right direction well done for coming so far . Let us know how you got on

Thanks so far. I will be leaving the house in half an hour for the meeting.

I am stupidly worried I might get recognised by people I know in real life.

darlink, anyone you get recognized by will be there for the same reason as you

I went to my first meeting over 20 yrs ago, and I was scared stiff - but its amazing how fast it can become 'home', and a good place to be. I hope you get a warm AA welcome and the relief of knowing you're in the right place, good luck!

Well, if they do recognise you, they will most likely think "WOW, good on them for DOING something about it"

Good luck - am sure it will be a hugely nerve-wracking experience but worth it

Will be thinking of you too (not that you know me!)

Hey, how did it go? Was thinking of you.

It went very well. The people were so welcoming . I will def go back.
I do have a problem.

I drank between half and one bottle of wine most days.
I stopped 3 days ago.

i feel sick and shaky.

Is this normal?

Kokeshi great for this stuff. It would be worth posting on the dependent drinkers thread. Sorry hopeless at links but I think its under this topic.

heres the thread you need Well Done

Did someone call?

Hi darlink, well done for taking positive steps towards recovery. I'm a member of AA, have been for a while now and it's changed my life.

There are quite a few of us AA members on MN, some of whom post on that thread charliecat linked to. We've also got other people who're struggling at the moment but everyone understands how you feel.

It's a difficult time of year and well done for deciding to do something about it now. Stick at it, it's been the best move I've ever made - for me and my family.

You won't regret it.

ps. Hi Elibean

fkokeshi are the shakes and nausea likely to be related to stopping drinking?

Yes, darlink. These are withdrawal symptoms you should be over the worst of it within 36 hours (they say 2-7 days depending on the severity of your drink problem). Did you seek any medical advice about withdrawing? The reason I ask is that if you drink a lot some of the symptoms can be pretty serious. I should think though, if you only drank half to a bottle of wine a night, you shouldn't be too bad. You may experience sweats and insomnia as well. If your symptoms do get worse, please see a doctor who may be able to prescribe you a course of Librium, which dampens withdrawals. When was your last drink?

MAke sure you drink plenty of water and try to eat well. I would advise you to go to the GP anyway and let him/her know about your situation. They can prescribe a Vitamin B injection (parbinex) or tablets to help with nerve function, which is damaged by heavy drinking.

Keep posting, and if you feel like a drink, please call the AA helpline or your twelfth stepper. You're doing really well and you'll feel much better soon.

kokeshi I rushed to the pc this morning in the hope you would have answered. Thank you so much.
Insomnia , yes. Only slept for about 2 hours last night.

My last drink was on Dec 27 when I drank about 2 bottls of wine in the course of the day and made a total fool of myself.

I drink for the instant warm happy glow it gives. Of course it is short lived and just makes me crave the next drink. I always have had to try really hard not to overdo it.

And then sometimes ( at weekends) I don't really try at all to curb the excess.

Oh, I'm so glad the meeting went well. My DH (who posted last night as me) found it helpful to go to quite a few meetings in the early stages.

IME the symptoms you describe are normal withdrawal symptoms. My DH was advised to drink lots of orange juice during this phase. The AA members he met were all v happy to call, be called just to talk.

My DH has been sober for nearly a year now and could not have done it without the AA. Did you pick up any of the books at the meeting? They are very helpful too. DH says you need the big book and one called "living sober."

Good luck, and keep posting. I will be praying for you.

Well done for going to AA. I'm def cutting down in the new year 'cos I drink 1 bottle of wine every night and DH drinks more. I never thought of AA 'cos I know that I can stop if I need to, did it a couple of weeks ago, had no alchohol for a whole week! Didn't have any side effects thank goodness and lost 2 pounds in weight. It's got to a stage tho where I have to run the kids around a lot at night and I don't have any wine in the house until I've got back, 'cos sometimes it is a struggle not to have "just one glass" 'cos I won't ever drink and drive. Good luck with your meetings!

Glad you had a good experience at AA last night, was thinking of how you got on and rushed to the PC as soon as I got up..well done

well that has been a week with no wine at all and I am ok, resolved but strangely sad.

Well done, darlink

Sad sounds normal to me, rather than strange, tbh....I had to grieve my drink/drugs (anger, sorrow, the lot) and besides, if you're anything like me you probably drank partly to anaesthetize feelings. If you can, and want to, try to talk about that at a meeting - I bet you'll get lots of people relating to how you feel.

fKokeshi (would that be festive? I'm hoping! ) hi to you too - have been awol for AGES due mostly to internet provider problems (oh how life has changed, eh?) and then Xmas, but have managed to post occasional, painfully slow post [frustrated icon]. Happy New Year

elibean did you kick the booze/drugs for good and how idid you feel at the end/now?