The Brave Babes Battle Bus - Starting the Summer Filled With Luscious Mocktails.

[Mouseface]

Hello, I'm Mouse and I used to drink far too much. Too much vodka to be exact, then too much wine, then too much cider....... you can imagine how it went.

This Bus is full of people like me, and people like you actually. Sober people, drinkers, a few not surers, and those who are simply 'somewhere'.

The one thing that we have in common is that we can/do/did/will abuse alcohol.

Some for a number of years, some months, some for their entire adult (and before) lives.

The support here is for everyone. Those in AA, those who are taking medication to help, those going it alone, those with the support of others. We're all here for the same reason.

Why not come and say hello? We are all so very different in our every day lives but we all have a common theme.....

And, for those who want to see where all of this began 2 years ago, HERE IS a link to all of the past Bus rides.

Isinde how was the big day???

isinde welcome back, how are you?

My blood tests have come back normal. Still waiting for Vitamin D results, but symptoms aren't consistent with Vitamin D deficiency.

My GP hinted at Chronic Fatigue Syndrome talked about mitochondrial cellls - I didn't understand a word!

What's confused me, is I seem to have a 'mild' case (I didn't know there were different levels of severity) so I hope it doesn't get worse. Also I don't know if I should tell my work - it doesn't really affect my job, except sometimes I feel very forgetful and lack concentration. Will they just see that as an excuse? Or should I keep quiet and book a days annual leave every few weeks to recharge the batteries?

The good news is, I probably wouldn't have bothered chasing this up so much if I'd still been drinking. Being sober means we can rule out any alcohol-related issues. Thats gotta be good, right?

joey - yes it IS good. Whatever is wrong, and whatever is the right way to treat / alleviate it, not drinking is only going to help you.

isindie glad to see you back, and nice to hear that you had a wonderful day.

So sorry. Have got to page 2 of this thread with glass of wine in hand. Due at doctors on Thursday for more blood tests cos I have a "fatty liver".

Please can I get on your bus?? It has taken 20 mins to type that message btw

Welcome Chabli I love the name btw but you might want to think about changing it to something like NeitherChabliNorSancerreThanks if you stick around!

You've come to the right place - this bus is absolutely amazing and full of wise and supportive Babes. Keep posting and someone will be along soon with more helpful advice than I can offer.

Isinde so glad it went well! Did your horrible parents behave themselves?

Joey sorry to hear you're still feeling low. Venus is right of course (as always!!) in that drinking would certainly not be improving things and would only cloud the picture even more.

I'm sitting in a car park contemplating whether I should hand in a job application. It's completely different to what I do now. But I am so frustrated with my current position.

So, I've changed my drinking pattern. Do I go for this change in job too? Might not even get an interview of course! Scared I bump into my prospective boss, I know him

Right......I'm going in!!!

Hello all you lovely people, I can't stay away for long, you're like family :)

I thought I'd list the ways in which life has become so much better since I stopped drinking:

• I'm never hungover
• I can be totally present for DD
• am patient with DM (hard)
• go for walks 3 times a day with Alfie and love it
• am able to look forward to a second sober date with a nice man and know I

won't do anything I regret

• I've lost weight and am full of energy
• I don't hate myself for drinking
• have made new friends - I met the wonderful Bproud on Sunday (waves)

and it felt as if we'd known eachother for ages. She's decided to not drink at all and has managed it for 20 months. The longer I don't drink, the more I don't want to and the idea of feeling buzzed doesn't appeal to me anymore.

• I'm saving money and spending it on positive things like pets and things for

DD (and a new pair of size 12 skinny jeans which I wouldn't have fitted into when I was drinking

• I can answer the door to a cold-caller and when I see it's a forlorn looking

spotty lad with a heavy bag over his shoulder, can raise a smile and buy a pack of dusters for £5! He'd come down all the way from Nottingham to try and make some money and I was only his second sale of the day. No surprise in the snotty area I live. I gave him a hug when I said goodbye and his face lit up. In my drinking days I would have been pissed at 4pm and not answered the door.

So it's all good giving up the booze. I say this especially to those of you who are struggling. I'm a different person without alcohol in my life and hope to always be on this blessed bus :) (even if I have to hop off from time to time) xx

soba I am a long time lurker and I had to de-lurk to say how much I LOVE your list. The cold-caller story really melted my heart.

Waving back at Soma it was great to meet up, I'm so impressed to see how you have turned your life around. It was amazing to be able to be completely honest with someone I had never met before, looking forward to meeting up again, lovely lady.
plus Babes, you will be jealous, because I got to meet Alfieas well! Very cute and lovable...

now, there are many varied reasons why life gets better by being sober, the ability to buy dusters at the doorstep may be a novel one but hey!

Hi Brave Babes, first I need to say to all of you well done on your individual journeys, you are an inspiration. Mouse you really have a lot on your plate, congratulations on starting these threads and for sticking to your guns. Congrats Isindie I am delurking to ask Soma and Hopefullly if they wouldn't mind imparting some info on antabuse please? Does it take the cravings away? Do you get sick if you have a drink? Any other thoughts you might think relevant. TIA, I don't really want to google.

Also are you worried about stopping the meds? Thanks, great post earlier btw Soma .

Soma, you just ooze contentment and are a great advertisement for life without booze:)

I'm impressed at how you've turned your life around too Bproud - you're an inspiration to me.

Calypso thanks for de-lurking and saying hello. I hope you're getting what you need from just reading or posting just now and again. JWN :) I do actually use dusters and would prefer to buy cheaper ones, but the Dickensian waif on my doorstep was just too much to resist.

theresafire, I'm very glad you de-lurked and that this forum is helping you. What's your relationship with alcohol and why do you want to cut down/stop? With regards to Antabuse (generic name Disulfiram), it works by making you VERY sick if you drink on it (think horrendous nausea and worse). It doesn't do anything for cravings and is designed purely and simply to be a deterrent. A lot of people don't comply when they're taking it and some even try to drink on it (to test its efficacy) and therefore it's quite hard to get it prescribed. I went through my GP, to the D&A team and then back to my GP again! You have to be persistent with them and convince them that it'll work for you but you'll get it in the end. It's been a godsend for me (and Hopefully too, how are you BTW?) because I knew from the start that I'd take it properly (ie every day) and that it would stop me from drinking.

Interestingly my cravings (which were incredibly strong) started to abate within a few days of taking it and I can only put this down to how it's affected me psychologically as it doesn't work in that way. The freedom it's given me is huge - I take a pill at night (actually only half the recommended dose of 200mg which is still enough to make you sick) and know that I can't drink the next day. It actually stays in your system for ages and when you stop taking it, if you drink within 10 days it could still make you ill. A big problem has always been the internal dialogue that goes on around drinking; shall I have a drink today or shan't I, doing round and round in circles. Anatabuse has stopped that in its tracks.

I plan to stay on it for about 6 months (have done 2 months so far) and my intention is to not drink again at all. It's giving me the breathing space to find a new way of living and the joy I'm starting to experience is immense (see previous post!). I know the test will be when I come off it but hopefully by then my ammunition will be good and strong. If you've got any more questions and don't want to post here, please PM me. BTW if you're looking for something for cravings, GPs quite often prescribe Acamprosate which I've tried and found to be useless which I hear is common. Another drug is Naltrexone which is more effective but more commonly prescribed for opiate cravings (it's used routinely in the US for alcohol though). Oh yes, one initial side-effect of Antabuse is tiredness but that does wear off, especially if you only take 100mg as me and Hopefully do.

Hope that's enough info for now, am here if you need more.xx

Hello Obrigada, lovely to hear from you. I can't believe someone has said that about me, two months ago I was a wreck!

Hope things are good with you. xx

Back again for advice please!

For those of you who remember SexToyMan, he's asked me for a second date tomorrow evening. We'll have a meal and I'm driving so no hanky panky whatsoever as I'd like to have a far idea of who he is and what he wants before or if I get involved. He's still online all the time in any case, so best to assume he's a player until he proves to me he's not.

My question is, when should I tell him I don't drink, or should I just leave it tomorrow night at "I'm not drinking because I'm driving"? Apparently he's not a big drinker but likes his red wine and on our first meeting (which was afternoon with the dogs), we went to two pubs and he had coffee first and then half a beer next. Maybe leave the "I don't drink" till we've seen eachother a few times?

Sorry Soma didn't realise you were disembarking...

Soma thanks for your very insightful reply. Congratulations on making it work for you, you really do 'ooze contentment'! My relationship with alcohol is a long standing one and the best I've got down to is about half a bottle of wine a night. I let go on that a bit while I tried to quit smoking and while I've finally quit that awful smoking business I am back to a full bottle agaiin nightly and lots of bargaining with myself for a bit more. I'm just sick of it. Sorry for no paragraphs am on my phone. Thanks.

My doctor suggested antabuse ten years ago but I was dealing with bigger issues and was not anywhere near ready to stop. I feel like I can't do it on willpower alone, a bit of chemical assistance has worked for me before to kick a habit. And most of the concerns voiced by everyone else on this thread are issues for me too, ha ha!

My doctor suggested antabuse ten years ago but I was dealing with bigger issues and was not anywhere near ready to stop. I feel like I can't do it on willpower alone, a bit of chemical assistance has worked for me before to kick a habit. And most of the concerns voiced by everyone else on this thread are issues for me too, ha ha!

Doh!