The Brave Babes Battle Bus - Battling The Wicked Wine Witch, One Day At A Time!

[Mouseface]

Hello, I'm mouse, one of the Babes who have been on this lovely, rickety bus called Gerald for some time now!

There's no judgy pants worn on this bus, nor hoking of bosoms!! It's filled with every day life, love and laundry. As simple as that. The rest falls in between.

We're a welcoming, supporting thread, filled with a mine of information from many years of experience, from those who have consumed alcohol day in, day out...hidden the 'habit', the lie, disguised our drinking with many an excuse. So perfected over the years or new to the guilt of drinking more than you think you should.....

Anyway, old or new, lurker or not, come and say hello to us if you feel the need. We'd love to meet you if we haven't already :)

Thank you for reading this, find a seat, hide green opal fruits if you find any, they're like gold dust around here! Aren't they ma!!

See you soon, I hope.

Mouse x

And, if you'd like to see where we all began, sit with a cup of tea/coffee and have a peek at this - the beginning

And our latest thread that will take you back to many others enjoy your read!

I thought exercising two minutes after a c-section was a tad ambitious.

May I board the bus again?

Apologies for being so absent, it's ages since I even lurked (it's taken me days to catch up!) and I've missed you all.

It's lovely to see so many new babes - well, not really lovely, because I'd rather no-one was struggling and needed to seek the bus out, but you know what I mean.

And a huge hello to .... I'm struggling to know what to call you, I don't want to say "old babes"!

ma, I was so sorry to read about your job. Fingers ever so tightly crossed that there is good news soon.

What are you all up to this evening? I'm multitasking - planning next week's food, doing an online shop, watching Midsomer Murders and drinking camomile tea. I've had wilder Saturday nights.

Hello April I am a newbie at this and not really doing well this week, but tomorrow is another day.

Will catch up in a bit but first Saturday booze free in a while. Feeling great. I wanted to cave and buy wine earlier but refused to leave the house.

looking - ooh a BABEs trip to Iceland sounds good - the drink there is extortionate prices so we could sit in hot pools and watch the northern lights and get high on nature and friendship

elba I recognise the ups and downs of feeling steely determined to give up, and then not really wanting to do it at all. Just maximise the moment when you do feel the steel and really go for it - chuck out bottles, make promises, set yourself goals. The feeling may not last for long but capitalise on it while it does last - EVERY drink avoided is a drink avoided.

From your posts it sounds like you work a very variable shift pattern - so what works for other people might not work for you. Also don't underestimate the effect that shifts have on your mood, your concentration, your determination - and all of these will be related to your desire to drink. How about keeping a pattern diary - something where you note your shifts, your moods, your drinking. Will it give you some clues about what you could do? It might not make you decide to go completely alcohol free, but it might help you formulate strategies so that a couple of days a week you could drink less, or nothing.

My DH's lovely wine delivery came earlier. 15 bottles. It's bloody everywhere. FFS!

venus keeping a pattern diary is a brilliant idea thanks! I've worked shifts pretty much constantly for the last 10 or so years so should be an old hand at it but it's getting harder to manage. I know my massive issue at the moment is going from nights to days. I just can't get in from work and not drink, so drink in the morning after a night (not much if I'm back in that night, justify it to myself that 'it's my evening' etc). The problem is after my last night shift I will drink in the morning and the evening. In the last few weeks nights seem to have triggered massive mood crashes too. Can't avoid doing them though, there isn't really a 9-5 option in my job unfortunately, but I do think some routine would help me massively. I'm about to do what will probably end up close to 30 hours in two days so by Monday night will feel I've earned a drink (or six!), and tonight instead of an early night I'm savouring the units I've calculated won't (hopefully) put me over the limit to drive tomorrow.

Reading that back the amount of mental energy I put into drinking is crazy...

Oh bicycle does he realise your trying to cut back and how hard it is? Can he store it somewhere and just bring out the odd bottle for a special occasion (from memory I think your moderating??).

Hi everyone! I'm sober now, and just starting to feel well.

Yay nobody ! Well done. How long did it take you to feel well?

Today was the first day I felt normal-ish. I'm trying not to count days, it makes me nervous.

Please please help me. I'm an alcoholic i think and I've really over done it this time. Since Friday lunchtime I've had about 4 bottles of wine - I've stopped now but I obviously feel awful and scared and I'm alone (parents/sis out the country and no DP). Am I going to die? Should I go to hospital?

If you feel that panicked you should get medical help...but...you are typing coherently, punctuation, you don't sound blacked out alcohol positioned drunk...that said...what can anyone tell over the net...

Hi daisy, maybe call nhs24 (if you're in uk), they can give you guidance about whether you need to be seen by someone. It does sound as though you've maybe triggered an anxiety/panic episode rather than having drunk a toxic amount. It's horrible and terrifying, but you're not going to die.

special, very well done.

nobody brilliant news. Well done.

special what an achievement you brave brave lady. I'm floored with flu here but had to step in to say that to you keep going , one step at a time. daisy welcome to the bus you will be ok. Can you eat and rehydrate well today , vitamins and rest , and see your GP tomorrow. Depends what your daily consumption has been whether you are physically dependent on alcohol or just very very hungover and panicky. I've been the latter before many times but not the former . Stay on the bus today we will help you.

nobody - well done to you - now please change your user name!! You've done brilliantly. How is your DH?

Hi daisy - it's difficult to tell what you should do without knowing your "normal" drinking patterns. As nobody said, you are typing coherently so you've probably scared yourself with the realisation of how much you have drunk - it does add up. If this is a build up over a period of time, it's best not to go cold turkey but to cut down gradually. If this was a binge, it's fine to treat it like that and not drink any more but keep yourself hydrated - lots of water, sweet tea, eat something if you haven't done so, get some rest and hopefully you'll feel a bit better. You are not going to die either way, but a panic attack can be a scary experience. Either way please let us know how you're doing.

The talk of hidden bottles reminded me of a time (years ago) when I thought my washing machine had broken as it was emitting strange clunking noises. When the cycle had finished, I found among the washing two bottles of wine, quite undamaged from the wash, rinse and spin. I was delighted. I used to lose track of my more obscure hiding places .....

Whistle, april, spanna, ma, margie, claret, elba, looking, cunning, ginger, sober, winter, sweet, bicycle, elephant, venus, made* - hope that you all have a lovely Sunday and many apologies to those I haven't included.

Sorry evil - and you.

Gee thanks lobster. I do prefer pop . Silly name really. It's from a song my DD2 used ding aged 4. I don't post anywhere else on MN just here. I do enjoy reading other threads though. My drinking has been an issue since mid teens. Drank every day until pregnant in mid thirties with lots and lots of bingeing blackouts and lots of drugs on the side. Last decade brought 2 kids and a creeping desire to gain control and live to a riper age. Like many on here I have very little control. One drink is too many a million isn't enough as they say. But that said lately I can stick to half a bottle of wine on a weekday and I'm trying to have 3 or 4 school nights AF. When I let go though ... I regularly wake up with dread and fear having had way too much. I managed dry Jan this year and like others would like to build up my dry periods so that I'm not drinking more than drinking. I love the euphoria though. Life with no highs or lows seems so dull. That said , I feel so much better after a few weeks or even days of sobriety. More patient and kind, more energy , the lovely lovely sleep quality , brighter non puffy skin. The more even moods. Today I'm absolutely ban jaxed with cold/flu. Moving house in 2 weeks after a lovely decade here. Moving for high school in the ridiculous London school wars. Making me feel sad and weird but also well aware it's a middle class problem.

Anyway love to you all from my sickbed.

Special well done you. So proud of you, you absolute . How is your DH? Sending you huge hugs and
Lobster ... Shouldn't laugh but the wine in the washing machine did make me giggle
Daisy welcome. Drink lots of fluids (not alcohol) and try to eat. Maybe ring a drinking helpline or 111. And sleep. We are all here for you so keep posting.
Made are you ok honey?

Oh popstar didn't see you there. Get well soon and good luck with the move x

Thank you everyone - I have managed to sleep and feel a bit better. Does anyone know if there is a way if I can work out if I'm physically dependent? I normally have two or three AF days a week so I'm hoping not but then I do drink a lot on the other days....

Hi Daisy and glad that you got some sleep. If you have two or three AF days a week with no physical symptoms, you are not physically dependent. When I used to drink, it would be in a continual pattern - generally not seeming "drunk" necessarily all the time but any significant lapse from the stream of alcohol would, within 24-48 hours, lead to hallucinations and on one occasion a withdrawal induced seizure. I hasten to add that this does not happen to all alcoholics who stop drinking cold turkey. The safest way to stop if you are physically dependent is to halve your daily intake day by day - so if you're drinking four bottles a day (for example), have two the next day, one the day after, half a bottle the next day etc. It gives your body a chance to adjust but is, for an alcoholic, incredibly difficult to do for obvious reasons and requires a lot of will power and genuine desire to stop safely.

You sound as if you will be fine. Just see how you feel and do keeping drinking (water, tea etc).

Hi pop (I'll remember that from now on) .... you sound as if you can moderate really well. I know that I can't. Half a bottle a night and a few AF days a week sounds like a dream to me - but I can't kid myself any more that I'll ever be that person. I've thought too many times "ah, kicked it!" - fatal, for me anyway. The desire to drink for me is about relaxation and escapism. I'm a bit hyper most of the time and find it really hard to wind down - I've tried yoga and meditation but my head won't stop its whirring. Hope you feel better soon.

Thanks lobster I'm def so so much better than I was ... But weekends are generally another matter. One Battke at a time though.

Hello everyone, it's a beautiful day and I'm feeling quite motivated to deal with all this wine. DC were out yesterday evening and I offered to be the taxi which is quite unusual (I obviously can't drink if I'm the taxi so I avoid offering myself up) so I was able to moderate yesterday quite well. I'm going to try and just use DH wine when he is having some because I know he will have half an eye on how quickly it's going down. If I need more without drawing attention to it I will need my own supply. I hate that I'm thinking like this. I would also need a hiding place because he'd think I'm nuts buying more when we've had this delivery but I'd never have thought of the washing machine!

Elba No, he doesn't seem to realise at all! He does comment on my drinking now and again. If I'd bought the 15 bottles I think he'd be having words with me!

Special It's lovely to hear from you. You are sounding great.