Alcohol abuse..need some support to stop it

[Littleblue]

Im ashamed to talk to my GP,drinking gets out of control on a regular basis,never to the point of overt drunkenness but i know what im doing to my health..can sink 2 bottles of wine a day in a bad week

Can you change to a more sympathetic GP?
Or how about a self help group like AA?

Please don't be 'ashamed' - know you are one of many of us who've been at some point out of control with our drinking. I haven't drunk for six years now but I was forced to stop by rapidly declining health after years of drinking too much - I too was never drunk but I relied on alcohol far too much - as entertainment, as stress-relief. I drank every day for years and then my liver gave up on me in a rather dramatic way (it has recovered now - I was lucky).

Giving it up has brought me into the happiest, least stressed years of my life. I thought alcohol was making me feel better, but actually it was a major cause of me feeling bad. Anxiety is a side-effect of over-drinking, so you drink more to relieve it, and then you feel worse again - you will feel loads better physically and mentally when you have broken the cycle and alcohol is no longer in your system.

Your doctor will have seen or know of many people just like you, it's no longer a shameful secret, it's something of an epidemic in the nation. It's heroic to face up to it and do something about it! something to admire, not something to be ashamed of.

You definitely do not want to be forced into it as I was by a sudden health crisis caused by alcohol. The likelihood is you haven't done yourself any lasting damage. So go to the doctor and get some help and I know you will get some support on here, there are a few of us who've been through this or who are going through it now.

Thank you,thats good to hear,i am worried about my liver,not only from the alcohol but the resulting paracetemol from being hungover/migraine too..
My stepfather (a GP) spent many years dying by inches from cirrhosis and my mother also has a drink problem,to the point on occasion that her voice is roughened!
Im going to get more exercise,i know that will lift me in a positive way.
Thank you again

2 small glasses of wine tonight..half a bottle left and its not calling me

well done

i went a bit ott last night, so just had one glass tonight and a short.

then onto coffee. i find if i done buy it i cant drink it!

Im still hanging onto having a little bit in the house,which i know is alcoholic behaviour too..but im doing fine today.
Well done you,heres to an equally good day tomorrow,or even better eh

apple how did your liver give up.i drink too much on bad days jus bad habits.would like to know the signs.thanks

littleblue, see if there is a women's alcohol centre in your vicinity, they may be able to provide group/individual programmes for cutting down (not neccessarily abstinence, if that's too giant a leap). they may help you draw up strategies to stick to a 'safe' no of units a week and recognise your binge triggers. also women-only means it's a 'safe' environment.

good luck, you can do it i used to have more hungover days than not; now i just love the sensation of waking up without a banging head...f.r.e.e.d.o.m

Thanks incandescent,i had no idea there was such a thing!..il check it out :-)

panicky today

nearly burnt my ruddy house down,2 days after the smoke alarm broke..woke up to smoke filled house after a teen forgot a candle...awful

sober..il add

littleblue - I have been drinking too much recently too. I have given up since 3rd Jan and am intending to carry on until my bday on 6th Feb. It's going well and although I get a moment of panic early evening when I realise I can't drink at all, I do have a great feeling of freedom.

BTW this is the first time i have been sober for 8 days in a row since I was last pregnant 7 years ago.

Could you try a booze holiday just to get things back on an even keel?

I did when i got swine flu ..shame i had to get so ill.You have done really well,early evenings my trigger too,its not only health worries that are driving me to stop,mental and physical health..its my intelligent and observant teenagers too,they miss very little,and the very fact im adopting behaviours to hide how much im drinking is a massive warning bell.
Also im skint,and i have added up roughly what i spend on wine,and i could pay my loan back on that alone..ridiculous.
I gave up smoking,and thats when the drinking got worse,a major part of my problem is loneliness i think,i find being 'at the helm' on my todd,a bit much sometimes,with 4 kids to support..and my business isnt going well,and theres no ruddy jobs either

not a good day today,i detest jan/feb

Oh, the signs of my liver giving up were not to be missed. I actually lost my sight for a while (pressure on the optic nerve I believe) but the main symptom was constant vomiting, just couldnt kep anything down, and finally I turned completely yellow and was rushed into hospital.

I am sure it hasn't gone anywhere near that far for you, LittleBlue, and livers do recover very well (mine has, amazingly) but you don't want it to get that far, so act now.

Believe me when I say you will feel LESS stressed and panicky when you are alcohol free.

Good luck!

ah lb You sound as if you have got a lot to deal with. I am feeling a lot more 'whole' since I stopped. As if the core of me is stronger. I don't know if that makes sense.

AA, littleblue.

One day at a time.

I was fine yesterday,today i feel worse than i have in years,i keep falling asleep,im not drinking but i bloody want to..vile day.
Thanks expat,oh i just cant be an alcoholic..what a weakness,after everything ive watched my family do,cant bear it.
It does make sense omirian..im amazed one day can be so different from another,i was strong.
The near house fire,and it really was a close call,blackened broken glass and burning paper and wax on the carpet,sore throats from the smoke..frightened me badly this morning.

It's not a weakness, LittleBlue, not in the way you mean. Try not to feel 'ashamed'. You are very strong and very brave! you faced up to having a problem, you bravely posted on here and you are determined to get better. Be proud of yourself instead of ashamed!

Sleep lots, if you can. Make a hot water bottle for comfort, and sleep for hours, or lie in your comfy bed and do silly, simple word games in your head to stop any anxious thoughts and maybe hasten sleep (girls' names beginning with each letter of the alphabet - that sort of thing.) You need to look after yourself and think of yourself as a little ill (alcohol is a poison, after all) and soon you will feel stronger.

When you are feeling a little better, make icecubes for your soft drinks, add sparkling water to cordial perhaps, that's what I do, and serve it in a nice glass.

It's perfectly possible to get better and move on and have a good life, a better life. If I could, you can too.

UnMN-ly

you don't have to admit anything. you just go to the meeting. you can even be drunk. nothing is expected of you.

but you will see, just by going, that there is a life without booze fucking everything up.

and it's a good one, too

hope MIFLAW comes along and see this, too. he's a real inspiration.

Im rarely 'drunk',i expect thats how ive kidded myself so long..thanks,weepy now lol x

I was in that position a year ago and just had to stop. I never contemplated AA - a personal decision - I think everyone does it their own way. Anyway, I have been virtually alcohol free for this long - did have a couple of lapses late last year but, to be honest, my feeling of well being and health always makes me stop. It's hard - there are 'cravings'and they can be difficult to resist to start with but honestly, when, (not 'if' ) you start to feel better, you'll erally want to carry on that good feeling. Good luck.

oh my son got his hard fought for uni place...YAYY!!!!!!

Thank you coolma ,its so good to hear from folk who have cracked it..