The Brave Babes Carry On The Charabanc Trip - Leaving The Booze Behind!

[Mouseface]

Hello and welcome!

This is thread number eight!

The Brave Babes are all at different stages of quitting the booze. Some have stopped, some are thinking about it and some are just cutting down.

They are full of support and wisdom for those of you wishing to climb aboard the Bus or Charabanc!!

The Babes aren't an exclusive club, they never judge and they don't charge for advice either!

So, come meet them. I'm Mouse, by the way, and I've been sober since August 2nd 2010, something I would never have even considered without the support of these threads.

Here are the first seven threads, if you want a bit of history.

JWN's original thread

Thread two

Thread three

Thread four

Thread five

Thread six

Thread seven

Thanks forthe. I am not much of a worrier so I am not overly wound up about it, I get a lot more stressed about the actual process, and a bit about why they take your blood pressure at the same appointment. Mine always goes along these lines...

Nurse: "oh yes I see you have a retroverted uterus. Hmm, that may be a little more 'uncomfortable' for you. Oh now I am finding it a little tricky, I'll just get the doctor..."

Nurse a few minutes later: "oh, your blood pressure is a little high".

Yup. 'Uncomfortable' is not the exact description I'd use, and lying around without any knickers on waiting for the doc to come and fiddle around, is not really conducive to keeping me calm and relaxed. Or perhaps my blood pressure goes up because of the very patronising tone of voice that the very overweight nurse uses when she tells me I should lose a few pounds and do I watch my diet and take any exercise.

If we are sharing - sorry MIFLAW - smear/furryfrontbottom stories, my last smear was enough to make a bloody nun drink!!

Foolishly, I agreed to let a student do it. I know, I know.

But they have to start somewhere. Anyway. There was I all naked from the waist down lying on the bed, spotlit chuff for all to see etc.

Student tried her very best for a good hour, ok, 5ish minutes to get the specular thingy in. It popped out each time she tried. Then she didn't push it in deep enough so when she let go to get the swab out it popped again!

'Relax please Mouse' er ok........

'You need to relax' I'm know..........

After yet more trying and prodding, the sister said to her, 'I'll have a go!'

jusy invite the whole bloody surgery in why don't you? Nice.

She did 'have a go' and was in and out like a bloody smash 'n' grab!! Seconds it took her.

Thank God.

Just incase any of you were wondering.

Can beat that - polyps removal from cervix - "we'll have a go but you might need to come back and have it done under general anasthetic"

Me "erm ok - go for it - my GP said it's just a little growth and I won't feel anything....."

Doc plus student have a good look and a very long sharp silver instrument is passed over by nurse.

Me oblivious and chatting to nurse about kids, the weather.................

FUCKING HELL nurse grabs my hand and I think I left nail marks in hers. Doc says shall I stop? I say no get it if you can and grit teeth, and try birth panting breathing

Doc "Oh look we've got it - do you want to see it?"

For some really fucked up reason I said "oh go on then". IT WAS GROSS.

beat that!!!!

and a funny one from years ago - my sister's mate goes for routine smear

up on table - legs spread etc

doc produces a BUS TICKET from between her legs

poor girl had gone to the loo on the way to the doctors - no loo roll - used tissue out of her pocket in place of said loo roll - you can guess the rest.

I'm knackered but feeling v positive today, as it seems are a lot of us are.

I can't begin to say what a difference this thread had made to my life.

IT IS HUGE!!!

Love to everybody.

I'm obviously feeling the luurve today!

Hey Silver

I'm glad that you are ok. And that you are finding this thread as great as I am! V positive posts on here today!

Take good care of yourself. xx

They take your blood pressure to make you feel looked after. A med student told me that. Also they like looking at the jumpy jumpy spider behind your back. Have a great time.

just popped in to say hi and now i feel all tense, i am about a year overdue for a smear , daft i know, i will try and make a mental note to make the appointment next week!

had a good day, not wavering at all this evening! , hope everyone else is ok?

have dropped dd off at the new bfs, looks quite a nice house but right in the middle of nowhere, i just dont get it, i am an urban animal, the countryside is nice to look at but i would hate to live in all that air and stuff!

JWN - I was over due for one by about 5 years and just kept ignoring it, but until I had it done and got the all clear I hadn't realised how much it had been playing on my unconsious mind.

DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW TO SPELL UNCONSCIOUS........

Once had it done - felt like a big invisible but heavy weight was lifted - just get it out of the way - horrible and uncomfortable but once it's done it's over for another three years.

And if I hadn't gone they wouldn't have found polyps - harmless but I feel better knowing it's gone, and that was the reason I was bleeding a bit after sex - that would be about twice a year then (oops another story) We put these silly little things off but it's worth the bother to know you are in the clear.

MILFLAW hope you are enjoying this topic! !!!!! and by the way I'm just going to address you as M now - make life so much easier for us all!! don't have to examine keyboard while typing x

Would that be OK ?

M as in James Bond's M?

could be - or M as in 'motherf*r - M give us thoughts on this - it will be your name - I went through MIL and FLAW - personally would go for the latter - or maybe just something like 'MAN ON WOMENS THREAD BUT I DON'T GIVE A SHIT' - so somthing simple like - god i was going to say ANGEL - that's a step too far - how about TWATTY?

Get you giddy knickers taking on MIFLAW!!!

Good luck with that!

Spritzer here tonight. Just one and then bed. DH had the rest of the wine so no danger in having more.

Nor do I want more.

Night Brave Babes!! Well done for getting through another day. xx

I'm another one who hadn't had a smear for donkeys years. The Jade effect worked on me. I also thought that as I was now a mother of two girls I ought to be a bit more responsible and stop making excuses.
Legs in stirrups, some dopey nurse faffing around trying to find your cervix all whilst asking if you've been anywhere nice on holiday.
When I had DD2 and the midwife was stitching me up afterwards, when she'd finished she held up a chuffing mirror for me to examine my "front bottom/undercarriage" from all angles.
Was tempted to ask her to take a bit off the sides.
I have passed my most dangerous time for starting to drink - Friday night between 7 and 9pm. I feel edgy, a little bored and restless but I'm not drinking.
Thanks for the comments babes. They mean a lot. I started this week in a complete mess physically and mentally. I am still reeling from how awful I felt TBH.

I am going to find tomorrow hard. Evening wedding reception. DP's cousin. Pub in Chelsea. I don't want to go. I don't feel ready but DP really wants us to go out together without the kids.
One day at a time.
Goodnight brave babes.
Sleep well.

Night Luci

Another day done Brave Babe. Sleep well xx

Luci- you are doing so well - you should be really chuffed with yourself. Can you take the car tomorrow and then the choice and temptation is removed? How great will you fell come Sunday if you get through tomorrow? A week can really make a difference. Keep focused and well done !

"Now you see, I disagree. I LOVE the taste of an ice cold lager with a curry. Oh yes!!

So I have a Becks blue which is 0.05% but I only have the one and don't then get the urge for a real beer or anything else.

Maybe I'm odd."

Not odd. But on this thread.

Most people who "LOVE the taste of an ice cold lager with a curry" have an ice cold lager.

Then stop when they've finished their curry.

Hence no need to drink the alcohol free stuff because they've only had a pint.

They never "get the urge". That's my point. They fancy a drink, they drink, they stop drinking.

By and large, only people who do "get the urge" feel the need to use the alcohol free stuff as a control mechanism.

M is fine - an abbreviation of an abbreviation. That's very post-modern, that.

Not fazed by smear tales btw.

Does not BEGIN to compare to some of the conversations I had - sometimes with near-strangers- back in the day ...

M - that is my choice. To have the Becks Blue. I could have a Cobra. I choose to have the Becks as I am sick of how alcohol makes me feel most of the time.

Tonight I had a spritzer. I enjoyed it, made with 13.5% white. It was lush.

I wanted it, I had it. End of. Just the 1.

Bedtime now.

I get your point but what I drink is now my choice.

Mouse

Of course it's your choice.

What I was saying originally - and it wasn't addressed at anyone specifically - is that I don't think that it is a choice that many people make who have not struggled with drink.

That doesn't make it a bad choice - clearly, for a lot of people, it keeps them away from a "real" drink - I was just saying (quite light-heartedly, actually) that maybe that is why it is next to the strong lagers, because it's aimed more at (ex-) problem drinkers than "normal" drinkers who can be let loose on the ordinary stuff with impunity.

Sorry if I've offended you or anyone else, it was not intentional.

Morning.

Funnily enough I had a smear test yesterday. My cervix is set back so theres always some digging around. Dont know why , probably the shock of activity in that area , but I started sobbing . Poor nurse all she could suggest was making fists and putting them under my bum to elevate it !.

It does make you wonder I hadnt actually intended sharing that but after reading other posts - the joy of MN !

Well had dinner at my friends last night. She offered me a glass of wine and I accepted which I hadnt intended to and then another. It crossed my mind to say Oh go on then I will stay over after all so I could get stuck in.However I didnt and drove home feeling that actually 2 small glasses of wine was ok and I didnt feel deprived when I got home and had water. Truthfully the only alcohol available was warm white wine so it wasnt hard to resist.

Tonight is my drinking night and I am looking forward to it. This week has been emotionally draining with divorce stuff and find a job quick stuff and I am really proud that I have stuck to my guns even though its been intense.

SAF I too never wanted to give up completely and the only at weekends and special occasions is the holy grail.

When I got on the thread I had no faith in my ability to do so and after reading a lot on here I thought I might need to give up completely.

Its 3 weeks today that I have been whatever I am being and I have drunk on 4 evenings. As long as I can stick to this I will but I know I will have to watch myself like a hawk to stick to the rules. I think I will probably have many weeks ahead where I am having to grit my teeth and avoid alcohol the rest of the time and in the coming couple of months there will be plenty of reasons excuses to neck a bottle of wine.

I am starting to quietly hope that one day this will be my norm and the saturday night bottle wont be quite so looked forward to. In the meantime I am really proud of myself.

SAF pregnancy 1 I drank a glass and a bit a day pregnancy 2 I didnt at all. More excuses but always had xh there drinking like fish.

Hope everyone has a nice weekend to look forward to with or without alcohol. Is it only us SAF doing the controlled drinking thing ?

I hear you SAF but this is a 100% improvement on the last decade and I suppose its one step at a time. As I typed the part about wine tonight I knew how it sounded,how it is in fact but its the best I want to do atm iyswim !

Might have a friend tonight not sure yet otherwise sit down in front of Mad Men with laptop and drink wine.