DRY 18

[vxa2]

Link to old thread www.mumsnet.com/Talk/relationships/2841743-DRY-17

Good luck!!

Is there something non-wine bases that in your head is still a treat? I went through gallons of chocolate milk initially, something I had previously dismissed as too unhealthy to consume!!! But it replaced the wine, and despite being full of sugar it was free from alcohol and at that point that was all that mattered......

Pour it into a wine glass if you have to... or elderflower presse if you want something less sweet, anything really to get you through!!

Well done - the hardest step is the first one!

Hi everyone, glad your back Fontella, I did my first af weekend and even had friends round everyone was drinking but I managed it.👍. I feel so much better and must make sure I don’t forget the last few years of everyday hangovers that until now I didn’t even recognise as hangovers because they had become my norm.
There are lots of things I need to address in my sober life but at this moment I’m not putting any extra pressure on myself as that will lead me back to the wine. Taking each day as it comes seems the only way forward. My biggest trigger is making the dinner when I come in from work, I’m so use to gulping down glasses of wine from my secret bottle, that it feels strange to cook without a glass, I don’t particularly want the wine it’s just that the two actions go together. Looking back at my past behaviour especially the last 6 months and I really was not far off from being a first thing in the morning drinker. Thanks Allan Carr you have helped me open my eyes.

Hi everyone & well done for every single sober day.
Have done 115 AF days & feel so much better for it. I go to bed and wake up every day so relieved my drinking nightmare is over. Am tempted occasionally but find winding the tape forward to the disturbed sleep, anxiety, hangover and shame really squashes the urge - a tip I read here. Everything is better without booze & I am finally the parent my children deserve.
To anyone lurking and reading; set a date to stop and then move forward with hope. You never regret the days you don't drink!

hello all; nice to see this thread still going, all be it a bit sparse!

I joined back in March 2016 when I had absolutely had enough of drinking and had huge support here and on my blog. With that support i've been sober since then, 770 days, and my whole life is immeasurably better. I would never says its been easy, but it has been SO worth it.
I've recently started attending AA as I was lacking real life connections with other sober people, and I have to say (having been very very apprehensive) its been wonderful; such a positive and empowering experience.
Seeing what Fontella wrote about the money you save, I checked my little app, and I have saved £14,049 ....
amazing :-)

Lily xx (www.alcoholfree2016.com)

Hello!

Looks like this thread's gone very quiet recently. I joined this back in 2016 and 2017 and it looks like I'll be needing some support again. Hopefully this time's the sticker.

It's Day 3 for me and I've just stocked up on some fruit tea and fizzy water, my dh and I always seem to slip into a Wednesday Night Club when he returns from work so I need to be strong, I feel like this is the first hurdle and maybe the easiest to fail at so that I can tell myself it's okay top 'start next week'

It really isn't.

God...I'm soo weak, I'm already having a wobble...there's a real feeling of "well you've barely started, why not have a drink bottle tonight and start proper tomorrow"

I hate me sometimes

God...I'm soo weak, I'm already having a wobble...there's a real feeling of "well you've barely started, why not have a drink bottle tonight and start proper tomorrow"

Sometimes I just think the time isn't right to stop if you know what I mean.

I've stopped drinking several times - for months on end, and then I've wanted to stop but not been able to for whatever reason so it gets postponed.

I'm on Day 22 - so just starting my fourth dry week and I've got all sorts of weird things going on with my stomach, feeling very anxious, a little down and not exactly depressed, but just sort of flat. Also had a few moments where I felt like bursting into tears - very emotional - but I guess there's all sorts of stuff going on with brain cells and liver regeneration and so on and it is ONLY three weeks! I guess when you 'detox' it has to have an effect on your body and I read yesterday that 4-6 weeks after you stop drinking is when the liver starts to repair itself. It feels at the moment it feels like my cells are in shock - where's the wine!! Like I suppose when you withdraw from any kind of medication it is going to take time for the body to adjust.

So often if I'd had a shit day (self employed so often very stressful), I'd treat myself with a nice dinner washed down with a bottle of wine, and I'd get merrily 'numbed' - that lovely warm glow of the wine hitting my tummy and then the 'buzzy' heady, happy feeling. It certainly helped an evening pass.

Tonight I just had a bit of quiche from Marks with some salad followed by a cup of peppermint tea. Not quite the same somehow and of course, nothing to hide behind emotionally - no anaesthetic in the form of wine.

So emotionally and physically I'm feeling a bit wobbly - but still no desire to drink - it's not even on my radar.

In other news I can feel I'm losing weight - a definite loosening of clothing etc. in only three weeks, and a couple of people have commented. Given how many calories I must have guzzled in wine - usually drunk with great plates of pasta and garlic bread, crisps, tortilla chips, dips, olives - always had good with it ... then of course the hangover food - stodgy, greasy shite next day ... it's not surprising I'm losing.

Good luck everyone - onwards and upwards.

.

always had food with it!

So bloody pissed of with this. Sick of failing . Failed yet again at moderating . It just doesn't work

So I have to be dry .

Day 2 . Angry tired and pissed off

Am back again after long time of being good but then it started creeping up and up again so this is Day 11 AF for me keep saying I can moderate but I can’t!

Hi Laurely & Rose and welcome. It's quiet here but a good, safe and sober place to be!
Finally accepting my inability to moderate took a long time but in its way has been a huge relief. No more head space wasted on stop starting. Just keep plodding on bit by bit, the days mount up (160 for me) and the benefits multiply. You'll never ever regret not having a drink. Fail

Thanks fail . I didn't drink yesterday . And I'm not going to drink today . Day 3. That's the best I can do at the minute

It's good enough, just keep moving forward with hope. The benefits of stopping drinking can be slow to reveal themselves but they will come.

Day 5 . Got brain fog still and headache. But I've not drank , and I'm not going to today .

Day 10. Still headachy on and off. Still fighting the cravings at times but I'm not going to drink today

Well done on double figures laurely. I think it's common to feel rough in the early days. What positives are you noticing? The mornings were, and still are, very reinforcing for me. Waking up fresh and clear; remembering I don't drink any more!

Can I join too? Been on a bottle of wine a night for about 3 years. Crisis at weeken meant I went through three bottles of fizz and three bottles of cider over Saturday and Sunday and it's got to stop. Had a beer and a glass of wine at lunchtime but nothing yesterday evening. Aiming for a/f today as my liver will eventually pack up and I don't want to die!

Fail , I do enjoy the mornings. Wake up with no regrets and ready for the day . The witch starts whispering at about 3ish and lasts till about 7ish . She's very persistent and it's hard .

Ginger I was on at least a bottle a night, failed many times to moderate . How are you today?

Today I won't drink

@laurely bit rubbish although I've done well on the drink from. Went to see an alcohol counsellor as didn't think AA was quite the right fit and I'm psychologically dependant as s coping strategy due to emotional trauma both past and present basically. So I've got a support group to attend twice a week and we've agreed on a starting point of 2 glasses per day for now rather than complete abstinence. Got to find healthier coping strategies and keep my toxic ex out of my life

The witch gets quieter. I rarely hear it any more, but know I can never let my guard down. Just so enjoying being in control again so it's easy to ignore. If you're struggling maybe play the tape forward to how you would feel the next day with a hangover and full of regret.
Well done ginger on being brave enough to seek help. What a huge and important step you've taken today. You should feel very proud of yourself

Dis my 2 glasses yesterday. Had a massive anxiety attack that would normally see me reaching for the wine but I weathered the storm although I thought I was going to be sick and/or faint! Feel better for it. More alert, more positive. Although I'm not completely dry am I ok to still hang out here?

I do like the play the tape forward approach. It does work for me . Day 12 today. Still not feeling brilliant, still headachy with almost constant tiredness . Moods are up and down .

Today I'm also starting to tackle my foid issues and weight problem . I'm 6 stone overweight. I gained 5 stone over two years through drinking and eating rubbish . It's alll very overwhelming but I have to do this .

Ginger I'm new to the thread so not sure of the " rules"

We ask people not to post while actively drinking at that moment, so not if you've had some this evening for example, but if you lapse, yes post next day and get back on it :) we're always here to help.

I'm 260 plus days now, but lapsed a lot in the past since I started in 2014. Done a year, 6 months, 9 months, etc. Lapses getting smaller and fewer days, last time was a glass of wine and one evening. Some people wouldn't reset their count but I chose to. It's a personal choice.

Day 15 and finally feel better . The fog and flu feeling have gone .

Eating well using MFP .

Onwards