The Brave Babes Battle Bus - All Going On A Sober Holiday! <crosses fingers that it stays sunny>

[Mouseface]

Hello, tis me, mouse

Welcome to The Brave Babes Battle Bus, grab yourself a seat, they're really comfy and a , oh and a home-made chocolate chip before they all get eaten!

We're a Bus full of alcohol abusers/addicts, some of us say it out loud, some whisper it and some aren't ready to say it at all just yet.

That said, there are a few of us who just have the occasional drink and that's something that they can handle. There are a few of us who must NEVER have another drink because that first one will lead to many, many more which will only ever end badly.

We're open to all....there are no requirements to join us on our journey to sobriety, there's support, great laughs, tears and tantrums here and that's just me!!!

If you'd like to see how we got here, follow THIS LINK

Your post makes for interesting reading Soma, I envy your self-knowledge and contentment.

checking in - am still bloody knackered. am too old for all this partying lark.
Well Dh has been busy today returning the glasses and the kilt and taking visitors back to the airport, so the house should be a bit tidier - here's hoping.
Trying and failing to get my head back into work mode.....
mouse are you and DH ok?

Thank you lovely fairie I have no intention of drinking today.

soma interesting post. I did some of those daft psychometric personality test questionnaires, years ago as part of a course. I'm 'offically' an extrovert with introvert tendencies i.e. a big gob who happens to be a bookworm.

Social drinking is just as bad for extroverts, I always wake up knowing I've been talking, singing,attempting to quote poetry etc. I can shrug off the comments fairly easily but I know that I'm making a clown of myself and setting myself up as the being the funny drunk.

On a much nicer note, i'm reading 'The song of Achillies' and it is one of the most exciting books I've read in avery long time.

Bum. a and very, not 'avery' !

Sorry, this is a 'me' post. I'm on holiday, so haven't been around.

Just had a call from the doctor about my follow up lft test. Still elevated! Nit sure what to think now

I hardly had drank anything in that 4 weeks before the retest! I'm worried.

I have to make an appointment when I get home.

No, no other meds. The occasional Nurofen and night kalm is about it. Oh and I had been taking milk thistle to help.

Today is not going to be Day 1 (again!)
Sorry

* I know that I'm making a clown of myself and setting myself up as the being the funny drunk.

goog, I do that too, to the extent I think I'm boring if I'm sober. *

I have been doing that for a long time too. This weekend I went to the pub with my b/f and drank soft drinks and it did feel a little weird at first. After a while though I realised that I don't need to drink to be sociable I just thought that I did.

He actually admitted to me that it made him feel uncomfortable at first too but later on it was fine and we both just relaxed about it. I guess it's just a very ingrained habit that will take time to change but it sure does feel good to have cut down so much in the last two weeks.

Daisy just stay off the booze until your next test. If it's something else, the GP will be able to advise you. If it's through alcohol, then now you know you can do something about it. Try not to worry. Just be completely honest with yourself and the doc x

Daisy sorry, re-reading that it makes it sound simple 'just stay off the booze' If it were that easy, we wouldn't need this thread would we, sorry for that.

How are you getting on not drinking. Will you be able to not drink between now and your next test do you think?

Gugg I get gobby when drunk and have had many a friend call me a party animal. Basically I'm a bookworm with extrovert tendencies :) Obrigada thanks, I certainly feel I know myself better (it's only taken half a century) but whether my contentment is of the lasting kind, I simply don't know. I think I made a mistake in stopping the antabuse after a couple of months and thinking I could control my drinking. I appreciate the kind warnings about relapsing and how it sneaks up on you and have decided to go back on it PDQ as I experienced a huge craving out of absolutely nowhere earlier on and felt almost powerless to resist.

It's been a wake-up call for me; I'm nowhere near out of the woods and think it's obvious that really I can't drink at all. Don't be sorry it's Day 1 again Notdrinking, be proud that you've posted and told us.What made you have a drink yesterday, can you identify the trigger? Nice to hear from you Daisy and try not to be down-hearted. You've done brilliantly over the last month and most probably it's just a matter of time until your levels even out.

And as for sitting on the fence, I feel as if I'm about to fall off and on the wrong side.

faire My not drinking isn't easy but okay. Week days are fine. It's the Friday feeling that kills me every week! But I thought a bottle of wine over a weekend would be alright. But in a month, my levels are still high. I must admit, I thought I would be fine.

soma thanks X I want to think that another wee while of drinking sensible amounts would reverse whatever I have done. Please don't you go and ruin what you have achieved!

I wish I hadn't gone and ticked that box now

soma do you still have antabuse left? Could you start taking it again? You've been sounding so clear-headed and insightful - and I have to say that is a massive change from your very first postings here. I would hate to see you dip back towards that, especially when you know how good it feels to be not drinking (and not wanting to drink), and when you know that with the help of antabuse you can do it.

daisy if you hadn't ticked that box then you would have no idea what damage was going on - damage that eventually may have been irreversible. There are many reasons why you might have odd lft results, and whatever has caused it, you're best to get it sorted. One friend of mine had odd results relating to the statins she was taking, and another had apparently had hepatitis - without ever being aware of it.

Good evening babes,
Not posted properly for a few days for the obvious reason, fell off the bus big style on Saturday and continued to drink since then.
Really want to get back on track.
Big wave to new babe lelli you are doing really well
not drinking stay with it, you are ahead of me Im on day zero, talk to us if you need support and avoid triggers if possible.
koti you are doing so well AWESOME. I found the cravings increased when I did 10 days but although I relapsed I think its the triggers that tip the balance. I got upset and stressed and picked up and haven,t really recovered from it yet. Keep going THE BOING IS DUE
gugg still amazed you can drink one glass and stop. The binge is in the past and you are back on track day 1 will soon be done. .
Bye for now babesxx

I am creeping back after a tough month or two. Loads more medication for pain, funny how many of us have chronic pain and self medicate. Makes me think about the high number of youngsters with in diagnosed (or untreated) mental health issues who self medicate with cannabis...

The only bit of good news is that I am now on my sixth day of not smoking. I am pretty pleased with this. I wish I could say I was on sixth day of not drinking though. I am very down ATM and know alcohol is contributing to this. Just not sure tablets alone will see me through to bedtime especially as I have spent all day on the bed. Maybe though. I have not poured a glass yet. I am a bottle and half woman. I then pass out due to combination with tablets. I so want to pass out but feel ok in the morning. I will lurk and listen.

starting to feel stressed about work and life, not craving a drink yet but I can see that by the end of the week if I carry on it will build up.

My appraisal is coming up, which I'm dreading, and my boss has complained that I didn't fill in the whole form - even though last week I specifically asked her and she said 'just fill in the bits which are relevant'. Because this was mentioned in a general email, it was cc'd to colleagues which basically implies to all and sundry I did something wrong again. That pisses me off.

The dog has been sick yesterday and today. No idea why.

Still no wiser as to why I'm so exhausted and aching. Worried that when the summer hols are over, doing the school run & chauffering the kids to activities is just going to hit me for six.

I tell myself that alcohol will just make it feel worse. I think tomorrow I'd better stock up on chocolate and ice-cream.

koti I've already picked up tonight so have decided to make a real effort to get back on track tomorrow. I am trying to come up with alternative ways of dealing with real life stress as this is my biggest trigger. Looks like its back to running around fields screaming I WILL NOT DRINK. When I did 10 days the cravings got worse day by day too but towards the end the cravings were coming later at night. I felt better and I think the cravings would have lessened if I had managed a few more days. Don't make my mistake try to stick with it.

alias are you sure your boss isn't trying to undermine you on purpose. That sounds like a deliberate act to belittle you. May be nothing, but rang alarm bells here.

Kotinka I think of the cravings as a sliding scale in a direct relationship with my resolve.

If I am 100% sure I'm not going to drink, I get 0% cravings.

If I start to waver and think I might have a drink (say 90%) that craving gets stronger (about 10%)

When that little voice in my ear tells me that I could have 'just one glass' and my resolve wavers to, say 40%, the craving is a strong 60%

And when I start thinking about that trip to the shop, there's only 10% of me left that doesn't want to drink and the craving is up to a massive 90%

So I know that as long as I am sure I won't drink, the cravings don't bother me. Soma this might be why you didn't struggle with cravings when you were taking the antabuse. Because there was no doubt in your mind that you would drink.

As soon as that little fecker starts on about having a drink on Friday, or just having one glass, or any other excuse, just bat that thought straight out of your head. Don't give it any thinking space at all. Go and do something else. Once it knows you mean it, it will go away.

How mad do I sound talking about all these voices

faire you are the wise woman again tonight. Cravings do seem to be directly related to resolve. Iv,e just got to get my resolve back.

Dear all

Thanks for your encouragement. My sober stretch ended last Thursday and I have been trying to haev 'Day 1' since then. NOt sure what is stopping me!

I know it is all or nothing for me. An open bottle is an empty bottle. My triggers ate boys arguing and fighting (and DH) and being exhausted and fed up.

Forthe 3 drink free days, a couple of my chikdren were elsewhere which made it do-able.

BTw I am a very 'old' MNer who went away and has come back for this very reason