I want to give up alcohol - how

[dimwit]

I have been drinking about 4 pints of strong (5%) beer every night for a few months.

I stopped drinking when pg, but other wise have been a heavyish drinker all my adult life.

I gave up drinking completely a couple of years ago but stupidly started again.

Now I'm back up to 3 or 4 pints a night every night. I want to stop again completely.

Last week I developed a really itchy red rash all over. It's fading but still itchy. dunno if this is related to the booze, but has given me the push. I have had my eyes opened and thinking of my dc, I need to be well for them.

I don't want to drink anymore. Can I just give up and go cold turkey? Or should I have eg 1 small glass of wine every night to avoid withdrawal symptoms, and then go cold turkey? Anyone got any experience in giving up?

thanks, dimwit x

Can you limit the amount of beer you have in the house so you can't reach for that 4th pint?

CAN you go a day without drinking at all? What I mean is, where do you 'score' on that 'am I an alcoholic' test? I'm not suggesting you are but I think your approach to stopping might be governed by whether you have a dependency on alcohol.

I DO feel some of those questions are a bit silly- sort of "IF you answer 'yes' to ANY of the following you are a raging alchy who must enter The Priory NOW"

1. Do you occasionally look forward to a glass of white after a hard day's graft at work?' Yes/No? AHA!

There are examples of folk who have permanently reduced their alcohol intake as in NOT gone cold turkey- is it worth you pursuing 'drinking less' like 2 pints a night for a month, say, then one and keep it there; over going cold turkey altogether?

There is an alcohol support thread where you might find someone with more experience. Maybe you want want to go to the doctors and get your liver function checked if you are worried.

Tbh I've also been a bit of a heavish drinker most of my life although wine would be my poison (prob bottle wine bout 4/5 nights a week if not more cos of birthday parties etc). Parents were as well because of high stress jobs and I suppose I saw it as normal. Stopped also when pregnant and didn't bother me.

I stopped drinking slightly more than a week ago as I'm stopping smoking and it hasn't annoyed me in the slightest. I haven't missed the booze at all and haven't felt any ill-effects from stopping. In fact, it's great to wake up feeling refreshed every day.

Good luck

Hi dim wit (it doesn't seem very polite calling you that, I'll just call you dw, if that's OK)

I think the advice on going cold turkey is varied. If you are a heavy drinker there are some medical risks of stopping suddenly, but personally my problem is that once I've had one drink, I would quite like another, so not drinking at all is a better solution for me.

Drinking is such a habit in so many ways, so if you're going to stop, or cut down, then finding ways of dealing with your current habits is a good idea: plan what else you will drink in the evenings (juice? tea?); plan a change of routine (if you always have a drink while watching TV, then go out, or get a friend round, or play a game); find something to do to keep your hands occupied (ironing, knitting, typing on MN).

Good on you for trying to do something about it. There's another thread on here that is quite active at the moment and you might want to have a look at that too.

Also I have heard of people using hypnotherapy, EFT, or NLP to help them change their thoughts about drinking. Can be a bit wacky, but if it works for you, then it works for you.

If you're into that kind of stuff its easy to google and find someone near to you, or there are people who do down-loadable MP3 files.

Thanks for your help. I honsetly am sure I can stop drinking really easily, making the decision is the tough part, and I've doen that. I'm really cross with myself for being so stupid, but I'd consider myself to be a habitual drinker - drink every night just cos I do, rather than craving a drink.

I decided on Friday enough was enough, as I felt I was drinking too much. So I had nowt on Saturday at all, and nowt on Sunday, and felt fine. Didn't crave a drink, want a drink and felt physically fine and normal too. But then at night time I looked at various booze sites all going on about the dangers of going cold turkey and dropping down dead with no warning , so I forced myself to have a small measure of gin (yuk) before bed.

But is 4 pints a night really at the level of being dangerous to just stop.?? I'd find it easier to just stop, like you said beinghonest. I'd rather not just quit.

Trixie, you've given me hope - I guess 4 pints os about same amount of alcohol as 1 bottle wine? And you gave up without problem?

Will check out other thread too. Thanks