Anyone gone teetotal after heavy drinking..if so how did you do it and for how long have you kept it up ??

[no1andno2]

Anyone ? I need some help and fast..........

Hurrah! Congrats lulu, that's great news. Sorry you felt rough this morning, but do keep posting. I think we are all being much more aware of our drinking and how much we are putting away rather than mindless guzzling. That has to be a good place to start!

Without wanting to be in the slightest bit smug, I think I'm just a little bit further down the road I've chosen (i.e. cutting back considerably and no drinking during the week). Mainly because I started earlier (back in Jan/Feb) and as I was away in the middle of nowhere with work for 10 days and decided to take no alcohol. Trust me I was twitchy and angsty and desparate as hell for wine most evenings, but it simply wasn't an option. And for me, once I'd broken through that initial barrier it did get easier (not assuming it's like that for everyone, but that's my experience). Not sure I'd have had the sheer willpower not to reach for the bottle (plus ) every night if it had been there tho...

I'm only saying this because now I have cut down I am really truly feeling and seeing the benefit. I'm dropping weight, my skin looks much better and I feel mentally and emotionally stronger. I'm really not boasting here (and God knows I've had some bad nights since and easily could do so again) but for now I seem to have broken the wine-every-night-habit and the further I get into this the easier it gets and the better I feel. This experience seems like it might be shared by others here and I hope could inspire everyone to think "not tonight"...

Chenin - that's really great to hear! I'm glad that you are now feeling the benefits and hope that the rest of us will be posting similar messages in a couple of weeks.

Chenin I agree that it's that initial week or so that is the hardest. If we are not actually chemically dependant, which a lot of us probably are not, then it's just the habitual nature of drinking we have to overcome.

I'm not quite there yet, but I'm trying.

I think the fact that I am no longer enjoying drinking is a huge factor. I used to absolutely LOVE getting home from work on a Friday night and DH and I opening a nice bottle of wine. But that isn't a special event anymore. More like a habit every night, so no longer fun

Found it sooooooo hard not to have that first drink this evening. The boys had been playing up just before their bedtime, DH was late getting back from work, felt like I could find a million and one excuses to crack open the gin. Stuck to tonic water in the end but only just. How have I let it come to this, feeling that I NEED a drink? The moment has passed (for now) and feel quite ok now but it took me by surprise. Hope others are finding it easier!

no bellababy we are all there...........been to a work social and I could have had a glass of wine but stuck to diet coke and Im now at home with a cup of tea !

Going to start weightwatchers again tomorrow. I really do hate myself at the moment and I know if I sorted out my weight a bit it would help in the self esteem stakes which again would help in the drinking.

To be honest im not enjoying my job much at the moment either. I would love to just get under the duvet and crawl away. My job is very pressured and I just want the world to cut me some slack !!

no1andno2 - that is great that you resisted the wine. Hard to do but I bet you feel pleased about that? If you are like me, the weight and the drinking will all be bound up together - great idea to do something positive about the weight. I'm trying to do a bit more exercise each day and watching the scales with interest becasue i'm sure quite a large percentage of my excess weight has been caused by alcohol!

Just been reading this for a bit of inspiration and thought it was great, so am posting here.

Well done to those achieving their goals tonight. It gets better.

S

BTW short-term, one way to beat those cravings is to eat something like a Creme Egg or a Mars Bar, or to eat or chew something with a strong mint flavour - the taste of both will make the thought of a drink very unattractive.

I realise this is not the most welcome advice if you feel you are struggling with your weight too but, as I was advised myself, tackle your problems in the order they're harming you. Besides, when you have reached a satisfactory situation with drink, you will feel much more positive and powerful with regards to any other problems you may have because you will be less depressed.

Advice that worked for me - yours to take or leave ...

I've not read all of this thread but would like to join if it's OK. I've got to the point when I'm having between a half and a bottle of wine every night (i know that might not be alot by some standards and heaps by others) but I feel grotty today and need to knock it on the head. In fact I can't remember the last night I didn't have a drink! Any support would be very welcomed. My low point is 5.30 onwards. Once I have eaten I don't fancy a drink but dh doesn't come home until quite late so sometimes it's 8 - 8.30 before we eat. He always pops a cork or grabs a beer when he gets in. He can have one beer but once I've had the first glass I just keep going until the bottle's gone or nearly gone. Anyway....have tried eating early with the boys and that works but dh gets grumpy.

The other trick is a quick burst of exercise during the craving. We're talking 5 minutes here. Got stairs in your house? Step on and off the bottom one, fast as you can, in a quick burst.

Skip rope for one minute. Do jumping jacks. Run in place. Do push ups against a wall.

It will take the edge off the craving.

Sibble - sounds like you share the same trigger point as the rest of us. Day is stressful, then when it gets to 6pm, it's wine o'clock! Like you, I have been craving it from the moment I get home til after dinner - which is usually about 8.30. I really miss cooking with a glass of wine.

Like you - until last week I could not remember the last day I DIDN'T have a drink. I'm only in the 2nd week of this, and am still craving, but I feel better and more energised at work. In fact, thinking about it, I generally feel more positive and have written myself a list of things eg paperwork that WILL get sorted out at home, rather than sitting in a huge pile.

Try telling yourself that it's Wednesday, you CAN manage 2 nights without, and then have a drink on Friday if you REALLY want to.

welcome sibble.

Man thats what I have been doing which is why I havent seen the weight benefits yet...........but I will get there.

Its a bright day here today and I am out tonight so no drinking again.

If I really want to on Friday i will but not if i dont. Lets see.

morning everyone - I drank last night again not as much as the previous evening. Going out tommorrow for a meal with friends so will probably drink again - so not doing so well this week after my initial enthusiasm!! Keep going all you folks out that are doing well

Again, if calories are an issue, try Extra Strong Mints or Fisherman's Friends - anything that's going to make a drink taste horrible if you have one.

Really sickly stuff is very effective, though, and the drink will make you a lot sicker than a few extra pounds so it's worth prioritising that till the danger is passed.

i find mint chewing gum helps or even just brushing my teeth. lulu, just take it a day at a time. Would it help to try alternating every alcoholic drink with a soft drink? I thought I might try that next time I'm out with friends.

If you're going out with friends and possibly feeling pressured to drink, would it help to tell people you're giving up for a limited period (eg Lent) so you don't get the feeling you have to drink? I used to find that other people had a real problem with me saying I wasn't drinking, but if it was a 'detox' or 'I'm just having a break for a month' they were fine about it.

In my experience people do become uncomfortable around non-drinkers (I think because it makes them feel they should be examining their own habits, or they're being judged in some way) and so they can tend to be less than supportive of your efforts.

Good luck, everyone, anyway. Think you're all doing really well and being wonderfully supportive.

The problem with anything involving alternating drinks, if you are in the situation where "once you start, you can't stop", is that it's very hard to stick to once you've had your first alcoholic drink.

also, of course, the further you get through the evening, the more alcohol you've got in you and the more your judgement goes - so, even if you start off okay on this, you might find you give it up half way through the evening!

Lulu, don't feel bad (((hugs))) You're still doing better than you have in the past, so it's still a step in the right direction.

I nearly had a glass of wine last night. The kids were in bed and I was watching my recorded episode of Loose Woman. Well, what ere they talking about? Drinking too much! So after their conversation I think I may have choked on it. I had Ovaltine instead and went to bed to read my book.

I'll be watching Mistresses from last night tonight and they drink for England. They've always got wine in hand haven't they. Hopefully that won't make me think that it's okay.

MIFLAW, I'm sure it was you who said that it's a Red Herring when you say things like "I wouldn't leave the kids alone in the house while I went to get alcohol" I have ALWAYS in the past managed to ensure that I have wine in the fridge so I'm never in that situation. Even if that's meant being late for work because I have to buy first thing in the morning after I've dropped the kids off at nursery. That makes me feel sick when I think about that.

I was also thinking in the car today that if I count back all the days in my fifiteen years of drinking fairly heavily, I've probably only not drank when I as pregnant. That's nearly every day drinking for 13 years!!!!!!!!!!! Blimey!

hang in there, lulu.

and keep posting!

F2B Im watching mistresses later too and we have just had the same conversation in our office.........every bloody scene has a glass of wine in it!! LOL

I wondere where you all live ??

Shall we have an anonymous thread meet up !!!

No1andno2, mmmm how would that work then? LOL!

I'm in Scotland by the way

I watched Mistresses last night and yes, so many glasses of wine were being drunk! I noticed it far more than if I'd been drinking too but funnily enough it didn't make me want a glass

Watched Mistresses too but didnt notice the wine but then I was probably more focussed on my own

dh and I are used to drinking 3 or 4 cans on a Friday night, a bottle of wine each on Saturday and another bottle each on Sunday, plus a few pints inbetween.

We've both given up for Lent and this is Day9. During the week it's not too bad as we didn't tend to drink then anyway, but weekends are bad as we used the drink to relax and wind down.

I'm now drinking Ginger Beer, which suits my savoury taste-buds. We also found a bottle of natural raspberry and vanilla drink. If you have a Garden Centre with a farm shop nearby they do tend to stock a wide range of non-alcoholic drinks that are 'different'. I highly recommend them.

Hi thanks all. I didn't have a drink last night but if I'm honest it was more to do with feeling grotty all day than will-power. Dh was going to be late so I ate with the ds's at 5.30 and problem solved. Do feel so much better this morning though. For a while anything over 1/2 bottle gives me insomnia - about 3-4 hours - wide awake middle of the night so I'm doubly grotty the next day.

Funnily I drink more at home than when out. I don't drink spirits or beer so if that's all there is I can quite happily go without and usually drive (dh's unofficial chauffeur).

I think tonight will be harder when dh is around. F2B, I can relate to that - I've probably drunk to a lesser or greater degree for the best part of 20 years unless pregnant . It's just so easy - start cooking, pop a cork..............

Good luck tonight with everybody.

PS - I might have to do a virtual meet up I'm in NZ!