The Brave Babes Battle Bus - On Their Way To............... Amarillo?

[Mouseface]

.............. sorry, ran out of ideas tonight!

Hello, tis me, Mouse and I have a very abusive relationship with alcohol, vodka in particular.

Welcome to the Battle Bus, full of totally Brave Babes all on their own personal journey to sobriety. Some are there, some are still on their way and some aren't quite ready yet but stay on the Bus for a good old natter

Wherever you are in your quest to get back control of your drinking, we've all been there too so you're not alone, not by a long shot.

Come take a seat and say hello.

If you'd like to know the history behind this amazing journey, you can follow the links back HERE

See you soon x

I like lime and soda or apple juice and soda while I'm cooking. But I've found that I have a glass sitting there and I drink most of it, but not usually all, whereas when it was wine, I'd have downed the whole lot. It clearly wasn't thirst.

Currently drinking juice out of a wine glass, hoping to trick my body into calm

Not working yet though! Damn cravings!

Buddy this craving will pass. As soon as you think of a drink, bat the idea right back out of your head. Don't give it any thinking time at all. Remember you only have to focus on now. Take it a minute at a time if you need to x

Obrigada fab to hear from you again my lovely

Saf and MsGee you rock babes

I decided today to spend the money I'm saving on booze on treating myself to shopping at Waitrose instead of Tesco. I have a fridge full of yummy things and lots of unusual soft drinks to replace my nightly boozing.

To Buddy and all the other day 4 babes there seem to be - stick with it, sisters!

Thank you everyone for the wonderful words of support earlier. I'm back home with a cup of tea and some leftover Easter chocolate and will not be drinking tonight. Will have a nice healthy meal later and eat it whilst watching last week's Mad Men which I recorded. DD is at her dad's so I'm on my own but that's OK - will go to bed early and read.

Upsy what you said about being pissed in front of DD struck such a chord. I had way too much yesterday afternoon (posted here) and she just reminded me we watched a whole film together which I'd completely forgotten about. As well as falling over and not heating the fishcakes properly so they were stone cold in the middle :( I've been thinking about it all day and I know it's got to stop.

Ferfux, I think it might have been me who mentioned the GP and social services? I told her my drinking was so out of control that I didn't trust myself not to drive when I was drunk - so she reported me because she was concerned about DD. If you go to your doctor because you're concerned you have a problem, don't worry about the information going anywhere else - what helpyourself says is correct. Your medical records are confidential anyway and can't be shared with a 3rd party such as an employer/insurance company unless you give your consent.

I hope everyone stays safe and happy this evening. Will be back later.

Hello lovely Babes.

Welcome slot and upsy.

I've had my liver function blood test today - results later this week so fingers crossed I haven't fecked it up. I went into Sainsbo's today for the first time since last week and noticed how much bloody wine there is by the entrance - I hurried past.

great idea carrie

is there a new series of madmen sadsoma??????? what side is it on if so?

have googled - how did i miss that season 5 had started? sadsoma you have made my day - mwah!

Oh dear Saf, we're up to episode 6 I think! Sky Atlantic Tuesday nights 9pm repeated Sundays. Don Draper is looking more gorjus than ever but is sickeningly loved-up with new wifey. Joaney's curves are more outrageous than ever! The amount of drinking that goes on - morning, noon and night. Reminds me of my own days in advertising....

Msgee and saf you are doing so well - congratulations! Please don't worry about the weight, you can tackle that later.
Great idea to treat yourselves to lovely soft drinks, I tried all sorts of weird and wonderful concoctions. I usually just drink tea or water now, but I always buy something nice if I am going to friends for drinks or dinner, they tend to forget the non wine drinker and only offer coke or orange juice, neither of which I like/can drink due to acid reflux problems.
Good luck this evening 'early days' Babes, keep the soft drinks and snacks flowing and keep yourselves busy!

Yes, Bproud these last few months have made me think more carefully about drinking options for visitors. I have a friend who doesn't drink hot drinks so even if we're just having a cup of tea I only used to be able to offer him squash, milk or water. Nowadays I have a whole selection of soft drinks to offer with all the trimmings

Something I said?

Buddy how's it going, did the craving pass?

Guess what babes - It's raining

Faire at the rain!

Or maybe not

Day 5 nearly over and done with - I thought it was 4 but I hadn't counted day 1 d'oh.

Well done Sunny

I notice that there is a programme scheduled on tv this week to discuss the drought problem

Evening brave babes, thanks for all your kind words. And yes, Carrie I will join you. I've only just got round to posting because I've spent most of the evening with DD, cooking dinner with her and reading to her/cuddling her in bed. Her parting words to me were "you're the best mummy in the world". I remember why the reason that i found it so easy not to drink when i was pregnant was because I couldn't make some excuse to put stopping drinking off until tomorrow or next week or when I've finished this bottle because I'm pregnant now and if I drink, i could end up damaging my baby for life. I think I have to get into that mindset again because my drinking is damaging my childrens' lives now and it needs to stop. Also, my DH has put up with so much shit because of this in the last few months and he deserves better. Anyway, I'm off to bed - looking forward to reading my book and waking up with a clear head and no guilt. I'm on the bus to stay this time.

hello babes.

it's all going horribly wrong here. First, had a bad day at work (lost a mornings worth of works because of the effing 'puter) nevertheless I was determined the wine would stay in the car

But now my sister has phoned to say BILs mother very poorly, and I will have to stay with my mother on Wednesday [evil witch icon]

My mother and I have, umm, issues.
And also she doesn't approve of alcohol.
And also we'd have to spend the evening alone together without any cheery relatives to lighten the mood.

Being at my sisters I could manage sober. Even being at my in-laws. But my MOTHER is a whole different 'we took you to stately homes' thread. Thats when I went and got the wine from the glovebox.

Very cross with myself. She's not really an evil witch, and there are people struggling with worse problems.

I survived another evening, toughest night so far though and it's only day 4 - feels like day 40! Praying these cravings don't last long.

Joey - sorry to hear things got tough this evening :( There's always someone with a worse mother but it's all in context and she's obviously made you feel bad. I'm afraid my mum approves of alcohol a little too much!

Oh Joey there's nothng like family stuff for a good ol' trigger, is there! Did you drink both bottles? How do you feel now, do you think it helped, or do you think you could have done something else to deal with that feeling?

thanks mia have only had the first, am off to have the second in the bath (they are only little! i spose thats part of the problem, I tell myself 'they're tiny, what harm can it do?' Just checked and they are 2.2 units each.)

DH came in and grumbled that I was spending too much time on mumsnet and it was 'putting ideas in my head' ??? WTF

I haven't dealt with the feeling. I have put it off till tomorrow, after a nights sleep it might not seem like such a big deal.

and mumsnet keeps going off line just as I try and post something!

Hello Babes!

I am on Day 4, which is the first day that I have been taking this drug called Antabuse, which officially pretty well gives you a coronary if you drink when you are taking it.

The whole point of taking it is that it gives you a break and you learn coping mechanisms for drinking triggers. It does have a reasonable success rate. I was quite desperate to try something, anything, to get out of the cycle. It's given me a bit of a headache, but nothing to complain about really.

But I am turning into such an awful liar though. I simply cannot tell everyone about the seriousness of my drinking problem. I've just been around to a friend's for supper, and rather than just tell the truth - which is my natural inclination - ie that I am on a drug to try and break my drinking habits - I just told a complete and total lie. I told him that I couldn't drink because of my blood pressure and they were trying to stabilise my medication.

I hate the shame of drinking. I hate the shame of not being able to give up without some form of chemical assistance.

Anyhow, the effects of this drug stay in your system for 10 days or so. So I simply can't drink or I will end up in A&E.

sunny - well done on day 5 that's brilliant

hopefully - it was fine to lie - lots of people don't tell anyone the reason they're not drinking - people say they're on antibiotics or on a diet or whatever. lots of the babes do it, or did it until they were confident/ready to say the real reason if they wanted to. better to fib about why you're not drinking than to be caught in the lies and concealment of problem drinking.

joey - i'm sure you've already said and i've just missed it but how much did you usually drink a week?

faire - rain you say! grey and pissy here this morning, yesterday was a brief respite from it. i'm secretly glad as my in between hair is standing on end this morning and now i can just put a hat over it - if the sun had been shining i'd have had to deal with it silver linings....

day 21 here. 3 weeks. someone said day 4 but it feels like 40? day 40 will feel easier than day 4 honestly! it doesn't get harder and harder as you go along unless you've put a deadline in when you're going to start drinking again. ime if you've done that it does get harder because you're keeping up that desire and sense of it as some treasured prize.

Sorry joey kept trying to reply but MN playing silly buggers. Well done for not drinking the second.

putting ideas in your head? We'll come back to that one later!

I've got a sore throat, a cracking headache and a potentially terminal case of self pity this mornong. Got to drive 70 mile round trip in rush hour to collect DD because DxP can't integrate having daughter with normal day to day activities has 'things to do' this morning. Tuesdays we always have a lad from school round so that DD doesn't become feral gets well socialised despite being HE, which always attracts other children via this subliminal call of the wild they seem to emit. I may need a bit of hand holding later to resist the numbing effect of wine on my overloaded nervous system.

have a good day Babes x

I was halfway through an epic post and lost it! What with MN going offline all the time I think I'm going to sceam! Hopefully good luck with the antabuse, it's a godsend for some people. I'd like to try it myself but don't know if the GP would prescribe. Did you ask for it or was it suggested? Upsy I had little desire to drink when pregnant also, and I like what you say about how it still affects our childrens' lives. I don't think DD is aware of how much I'm drinking currently because I hide it, but she certainly was before when I was still with her dad. My behaviour then could be very damaging to her and shook her little world to its foundations :(

I think it's time for me to examine my reasons for drinking. It's not down to shyness or trying to fit in anymore (a common theme I know), rather it helps to fill a void. I've been single now for a while and although I really enjoy my own company, I still feel alone at times and miss having someone around to share with. I know it's not all roses and I told myself after my divorce that I'd never live with anyone again, but I'm not so sure now. The thought of living alone when DD goes to uni in a few short years fills me with a mixture of excitement and dread. So maybe drinking has become a sort of relationship substitute which is very unhealthy I know and I must find other ways to interact with people. A friend who I haven't seen for ages has asked to meet up for a coffee this afternoon so that's a start.

Well, that's my day hopefully started on the right foot! I really don't want to drink today and that's good enough for me. I think I'm finally getting the hang of this one day at a time business! Sending love to all my fellow travellers.