Yet Another Cycling Forum
General Category => The Knowledge => Health & Fitness => Topic started by: Tiger on 11 August, 2008, 12:40:31 pm
-
Giving up fags was easy compared to taking on the drink.
It has snuck up on me over the years and now I am in its power.
Don't even want to admit it.
Never again in the morning becomes 'what I need' in the evening...
-
You're a far braver man than me for even trying.
-
We keep agreeing that we'll cut out mid-week drinking. Then my lass has a stressful day at work, and out comes the beer.
It's very very easy to become used to having alcohol to relax, and very hard to find a substitute.
-
Giving up fags was easy compared to taking on the drink.
It has snuck up on me over the years and now I am in its power.
Don't even want to admit it.
Never again in the morning becomes 'what I need' in the evening...
Admitting it's the most important step. If you really want to stop, there's lots of help available, and don't be afraid to ask for it. It can be very difficult - alcohol is such an ingrained part of our culture and "we" struggle with how to react when someone says they want to stop.
-
I am not even sure I want to stop!
But I do need to get it back under control - it has increased over the last year through. Usually I give myself some sort of physical goal each year which enables me to focus and put booze in its place in life.
Since the PBP crashed out last year I have not had the focus and drink seems to have increased.
-
I am not even sure I want to stop!
But I do need to get it back under control - it has increased over the last year through. Usually I give myself some sort of physical goal each year which enables me to focus and put booze in its place in life.
Since the PBP crashed out last year I have not had the focus and drink seems to have increased.
Personally I found that there was no happy medium - or at least none that was not occasionally interrupted by excesses that affected my well-being. I feel a lot better in many ways since stopping 2 years ago. I'm not saying it is forever, I don't think of it in that way, but for now there is no doubt that I feel better mentally and physically.
-
I have also failed to find a happy medium, it's all or nothing - and nothing it is.
Once its all out of your system, if you can go cold turkey for a sustained time, you will be amazed at the change in your body. Amazed and fascinated, and horrified at the effect just a few beers will have on your system for days afterwards, once you know what 'clean' feels like.
Try it and see, what can go wrong? Its not like trying to live without clothes or anything mad like that, its just alcohol.
-
My Mrs thinks I'm an Alchoholic because I drink 'every week' and 'can't stop'.
I don't drink at all during the week but over the course of the weekend I get through a bottle of wine and a couple of beers.
I do it because I enjoy it and on balance I don't think I'm harming myself. It's the only stain on my otherwise monk like existence. I always make sure I pay in full with interest for the extra calories consumed.
If it got to the stage where I was drinking every night of the week I might be slightly concerned though.
-
I am not even sure I want to stop!
That is a classic example of someone who does want to stop. Be it fags, booze, smack, whatever.....
Just stay off the stuff for a week or so. It's easier than you might think....
-
I stopped 8 years ago - in fact my eighth anniversary was 10 days ago (who's counting though?). It's all or nothing for me - I'm either sober or falling down drunk, and when I was the latter for most of the time I realised I had to stop completely. I tried to limit my intake, only took a tenner out to the pub, but that only put off the inevitable binge by a couple of days, and when it came it was worse than ever.
I stopped by doing it a day at a time. Every day I wake up without a hangover I am grateful for. It's hard at first but mentally you need to rediscover why life is worth living. When I was drinking I had no life, and I nearly threw it away a dozen times or more. So over the last 8 years I have learned to live again. Gosh that sounds melodramatic. :D
Seriously - you know you need to stop. So don't drink today. Chuck it out, pour it down the sink. Go for a walk, bike ride, eat something, do something else. Stay busy until you tire yourself out. But whatever you do don't open another drink that day. And when you wake up clear headed tomorrow, enjoy your sobriety. And don't drink again that day. It gets easier.
I will never drink again. When I first gave up I thought I'd never laugh again, or feel happy, or do anything at all. Little did I know how much I was missing out on by being constantly drunk. Now I don't ever want to drink again. Anyway, maybe this will help:
-
You wouldn't believe the problems I've had with the stuff. A combination of genetics and culture bestowed upon me an Irish inclination towards inebriation coupled with a misspent youth growing up in Southern Africa where you were a bit of a wuss if you couldn't down 10 beers and then drive home. Relocating to the UK should have been the perfect opportunity to deal with it; if anything it got worse. I drank like a maniac, incessantly pouring it in, and became increasingly dissipated, washed up on the tide of life in a small English town populated by eccentrics and other refugees from reality. I convinced myself that writing was my salvation and then found I couldn't write unless I'd had a few drinks to unlock the treasure chest of memories. Then darker stuff began to surface; walking into a burning village and finding a blood trail that led into the trees; children who had been disfigured by Renamo with faces twisted into permanent snarls betrayed by their pleading eyes as they proffered limbless stumps; a friend walking into a minefield that replayed over and over again in my head. Terrible things.
I started to drink more, and was sometimes too drunk to hold a pen; frequently I couldn't even hold a conversation - people wandering within range got fragments of an endless, increasingly slurred rant. People were very kind, and very confused by it; why did someone with so much potential, still so young, choose to destroy themselves in this way? I was becoming an embarrassment in such a small town, so I moved to a nearby city. Some of you may have seen me - I was the one sitting on the bench by the market, or slumped in the doorway on Prince of Wales road watching the clubbers vomit up their kebabs. I'd be alright for a few days, stay off the stuff, but the tension would build and build, culminating in one explosive binge that could go on for days. I went 4 days without food, my sister sent me £10 to keep me from starving and I went and drank it. I lost count of the places I got barred from. I ended up in the gutter.
But I could still write. Whatever punishments I was meteing out to my beleagered brain, the bloody thing kept ticking along. I was attacked one night and got kicked in the head so hard some of my teeth came out - I was saved by the owner of a Pizza place who came running into the road brandishing a knife and scared off my assailants. I lost the sight of my left eye for a few days but was all the while keeping up a commentary in my head, utterly detached from proceedings - this is not me, this is not my life, I've ended up in the wrong scene by mistake.
By this time I knew it was the alcohol that was doing it - it may seem extraordinary, but it was hard to admit it to myself, and there were many reasons I was as screwed up as I was. I went to my GP and asked for help. He gave me a phone number which I lost. I knocked on the door of a police station one night wanting to be taken into custody so I couldn't go and drink any more, and the (incredibly patient) duty sergeant told me to go home and sleep it off. I rang the Samaritans, and one of them must have given me a phone number I didn't lose, because I woke up on the floor of my flat, a dropped bottle of wine on the floor, with the phone off the hook and a number scrawled next to it. I dialled it without knowing what I was doing, and got through to Alcoholics Anonymous.
The meeting was in one of those churches that inhabit the industrial wastelands of so many British cities. An elderly priest was just opening up as I arrived, going round and switching on dim energy saving bulbs. "Ah, you're here for the meeting", he said. "Do come in." I was such a basket case of raw emotion I had to go outside again and lit a cigarette to calm down. A figure emerged from the shadows. "You're first time here? he asked in a strong Northern Irish accent. I nodded. "You'll be fine", he said. "You've done the right thing by coming along." I had the shakes as I'd been off the drink for 48 hours and it was starting to get bad. I sat there dripping with sweat as people took turns to read out of a large book. Everythign they said, every line that they read, was like a bomb going off. "That's me", I kept thinking. "They are talking about me." It was such a relief to hear these strangers describe things that I felt each day and which shut me off from the rest of society. They were of all ages, from an 18-year-old through to a very elegant lady in her seventies, and all had different stories, some unbelievably harrowing, others quite mundane, but we all had the same thing in common - we were all alcoholics.
I left that evening trying to get to grips with the truth of what they all said, and which I knew to be true; I could never drink again. I knew that if I did, I would be straight back in the gutter and face the long, agonising crawl back to sobriety again. It's like playing chess against yourself - you are always trying to convince yourself why you should have another drink. But you can't. It's not an option. One drink is too many and a thousand wouldn't be enough. I wished I could drink like normal people, but I can't, and that's all there is to it.
My last drink was on August 2nd 2000. I've been doing alright - I'll never go back to it. Today we had a staff party in the local pub, and I found it pretty heavy going; it's probably what prompted this confession, which is the first time I've tried to describe what happened to me. It was difficult in the pub, and a few people asked me what was wrong, but I got through it. I'll ride it out.
-
Blimey Jezza, that's harrowing and inspiring at the same time. Was that a Norwich reference?
-
Bloody hell, Jezza!
That made a great read and top effort for getting off the stuff.
I'm just "A bit of a piss head" in comparison to that!
Well done :thumbsup:
-
Bloody Hell indeed! Sober for 8 years and 10 days. Add another day to that, Jezza.
-
Jezza, fantastic achievement staying off the booze, and well written.
-
Thankyou for writing that Jezza. I have just been scrabbling round my desk for a tissue.
It puts the petty struggles of my mundane existence into some perspective.
..d
-
I am not even sure I want to stop!
But I do need to get it back under control - it has increased over the last year through. Usually I give myself some sort of physical goal each year which enables me to focus and put booze in its place in life.
Since the PBP crashed out last year I have not had the focus and drink seems to have increased.
I don't drink,never have so I can't imagine your addiction because that's what it is. Alcohol is the most widely abused drug and what's more it's legal and the Govt. makes money out of it. Can you set goals for yourself? How much are you spending per week/month/year on alcohol.? Is your weight/health affected? Since you are on this site you must be a keen rider so what about a dream bike that you can aim for, using the money from alcohol towards that. It could be a Pinarello, a Serotta, a custom audax bike which you could take on a dream trip(s) - Etape/Marmotte/Roscoff-NiceRaid Pyrennean etc. Then there is all the kit you could buy, lights, wheels,dyno hub etc. You could aim to be a point scorer for AUK, no way you'll achieve that if you are drinking
-
Every day I wake up without a hangover I am grateful for
Ditto. Looking back now, I don't know how I did it.
When I was drinking I had no life...So over the last 8 years I have learned to live again
I feel as if I am in the early stages of that learning process. Unfortunately I am already 42 but anyway. Spending my twenties and most of my thirties largely out of it in one way or another means that when you stop there is a steep learning curve. On the other hand I've had a lot of experiences that I hope are of value to me and those I know.
Great post Jezza and well done.
-
Addiction is known only to the sufferer, and ultimately only Tiger can know if that is what it is.
Nutkin makes some very good points in my opinion.
You will always have ambivalence about quitting a habit that is very pleasureable.
Our society creates ambivalence around the consumption of alcohol with words such as 'sociable', 'pleasureable' with respect to it.
It is also a big depressant and can lead to big problems
If you seriously think that alcohol is becoming a problem in your life (and only you can really decide this, Tiger), then you could do worse than visit this site with an open mind.http://www.rational.org/ (http://www.rational.org/)
It will certainly help explain the inevitable ambivalence associated with giving up addictive substances, and if AA does not appeal, this is another method to be used.
Some people just have to quit for good, without half measures.
Cheers!
-
Phew! Jezza. That's some pretty mind blowing stuff.
Once in a while someone says or writes something that makes you call into question some aspects of your life and this is such an occassion.
I drink around 20 - 25 units a week and Monday is my 'dry' day (although it's not written in stone!). I very rarely get drunk but the fact that I am counting and having Monday 'off' is worrying in itself.
Perhaps time to re-assess. Thanks Jezza.
-
That Rational Recovery stuff is very good - really does describe the ambivalence of the addiction! I am in a battle between my rational self and my beast - and the beast has been winning lately. I really don't buy all that 'disease' language around drink addiction - I don't have a disease at all - I have an irresistable desire to drink which I fail to control.
I also like the RR take on AA - inclined to agree that the only person involved in taking control of myself must be me.
-
And I am writing this on the site as a way of raising the stakes on myself so that I might take action.
-
That Rational Recovery stuff is very good - really does describe the ambivalence of the addiction! I am in a battle between my rational self and my beast - and the beast has been winning lately. I really don't buy all that 'disease' language around drink addiction - I don't have a disease at all - I have an irresistable desire to drink which I fail to control.
I also like the RR take on AA - inclined to agree that the only person involved in taking control of myself must be me.
Whatever works for you. I only ever went to one AA meeting. It told me what I already knew but didn't want to admit, so it was invaluable from that perspective. Others find it helps to keep going to them on a regular basis.
But I agree 100% that you are the only one who can take control of yourself. You can do it.
-
What constitutes a problem is a tricky thing. I sometimes find myself wracked with guilt about how much I drink; but it never impinges on my life. I don't get drunk, it doesn't affect my work, I can afford it, and it doesn't affect my marriage - but I can regularly put in a 50 unit week, which is dangerous by all accounts.
Conversely, we had a family member who definitely had a destructive relationship with booze; he lost his driving license, job, wife and kids, and pancreas through it. I have no idea how much he drank - though it was a lot - a bottle of vodka in a day, several times a week is my vague recollection. He was also a lying conniving so and so because of it, and would drink secretly.
Heavy drinking doesn't necessarily mean problem drinking; though health problems down the line might well turn it into a problem.
So - rather like the OP - I'm not sure if I need to "do anything about it" or not. It was much more clear-cut when it was about smoking...
-
My parents were not great drinkers.
One year, I visited them for Christmas lunch. They brought out a bottle of white wine and we had a glass each. Then I asked for, and got, another glass - though the atmosphere was a little frosty while I drank it.
Next year, I visited them for Christmas lunch again. The same bottle of white wine (now half-empty) was produced ...
-
Thanks for sharing, especially Jezza.
I used to drink too much. It was the nights out with the lads. I stopped about 8 years ago too, after having given myself a fright in 1999. I was sober for 3 months, and when I drank again I had lost my tolerance, and became quite ill. I think I did myself some damage to get to that stage.
I was basically teetotal for about 4 years. I now allow myself the occasional drink if I feel I deserve it. Say after PBP, for instance. It's not an addiction, and never was, but if you have frequent black-outs in your memory of a night out with your mates, then you have a problem.
And I do feel much better for it. I reckon I'm as fit in most respects now than I was when I was 25, and in some ways I'm obviously much fitter. I am getting close to the body fat level I had back then, though I doubt I will ever be under 10 stone again (not that I need to be!).
I occasionally miss some of the things that went with it, but I think the positives outweigh the negatives about 10:1.
-
My parents were not great drinkers.
One year, I visited them for Christmas lunch. They brought out a bottle of white wine and we had a glass each. Then I asked for, and got, another glass - though the atmosphere was a little frosty while I drank it.
Next year, I visited them for Christmas lunch again. The same bottle of white wine (now half-empty) was produced ...
;D
I recognise a lot in that story. I dare say my liberal attitude to self medication stemmed, in part, from just such an upbringing.
I occasionally miss some of the things that went with it
Likewise.
But even two years or so without alcohol, I still often (as in a few times a week) wake up and marvel at how good I feel in the morning.
-
Is this a symptom of addictions, whether to alcohol, drugs, a sport, even food?
When you exercise, your brain releases endorphins, which are effectively opiates. So yes, it's quite possible to become addicted to exercise and sport.
-
Great piece Jezza.
I seem to have the ability to consume vast amounts if booze, mostly with little or no affect but I have no doubt that it does me no good whatsoever and I hate 'wasted Saturdays' when you just can't get going.
Reading other people's comments, it seems that 'it's all or nothing' is a common thread. Although I can and have cut back, I still binge.
As it happens, I plan to be off the booze for a period of 40 days sometime soon but am struggling as to when this period should start. If it starts now, it means that I will not be drinking when my wife's family stays with us. If the period starts after they leave, then this means I will not be drinking when I go cycling in France with my old (drinking) chums from Exeter.
My dilemma is not the lack of booze (oddly, I'm looking forward to that) or that I feel I will be missing out. It's the effect it has on the people around me who are used to boozy Hummers, the living embodiment of Bacchus himself. (In the past, people have even invented an expression for it "I've been Hummered" which to be honest, does not fill me with pride.) No, the issue is that I know that my wife's family will feel a bit put out and my chums, no matter what I say to convince them otherwise, will be convinced that I am not enjoying myself if I am not sinking bottles of wine and balloons of Cognac.
This is not a new thing as I have gone without booze for over month a couple of times in the past. I agree with others that it is surprising the uplifting effect it has on your capacity to enjoy life. It is also interesting to note how you really notice the smell of stale alcohol on others - something you find hard to notice when you drink regularly yourself.
So the question I find myself asking as I type this is why do I drink at all? I suppose A massive part of it is the social aspect but I feel that is entwined with my identity as a man who draws deeply on the cup of life more than it is to do with the grog itself.
Of course, there is the taste of drink.
Real Ale, by far my favourite, is almost irreplaceable as a social drink and one pint brings me far more pleasure that many. I tried to match my mates, drink for drink, with orange juice and threw up.
Wines are bursting with flavours and textures in your mouth. There is nothing like having a good full bodied red rolling over your tongue? Yes, I know I just typed that and there is not a hint of intended smut, honest.
Single malt whiskey is also high on the list but I drink a lot less of that since my friends moved away to Scotland to live. Oddly, they would (and do) say the same.
Outside of all of this, there is the 'coming home and opening a red' which Mrs H and I noticed was on the increase - so we stopped buying wine when we shopped.
I think that if I could have the tastes and textures without the affects (and if possible, the calories too if that is not asking too much) I'd be perfectly happy.
H
-
Why 40 days??
Mrs Rapples and I keep trying to cut out all alcohol Mon-Thur. When we succeed the first few fridays are a bit of a blur, but we then find we generally drink less at the wekends too.
Unfortunately, the best we have managed is about 6 months, the summer seems to be the hardest, and gradually we creep back into drinking every day.
Today has been a bit of a write off, we didn't drink that much, but some friends popped over, and we didn't eat anything!
-
Great post Hummers.
Alcohol is, overall, a depressant. For me, the sum of the good and the bad was a negative quantity.
It's the effect it has on the people around me who are used to boozy Hummers, the living embodiment of Bacchus himself.
Here's how I came to see just that issue: the people around me were not so much interested in "me" but in the confirmation or reassurance that their own behaviour was OK that my companionship gave. I found that whether I drank or not was irrelevant to my true friends and that the others just fell by the wayside when I stopped. No great loss.
I had to make a massive change in my lifestyle when I stopped. Frankly my social life has never been the same since but overall this is for the better.
I think that if I could have the tastes and textures without the affects...
For me, I found that I was purely interested in the effect. Yes, I did enjoy a good bottle of wine but the subtleties were redundant. If subtleties and nuances of flavour are so important, do you feel the same way about food / tea / coffee?
As it happens, I plan to be off the booze for a period of 40 days
About 2 days after the end of that 40 days, things will be as before.
-
I do it because I enjoy it and on balance I don't think I'm harming myself.
It can be fun to intoxicate yourself. It's testament to the human body that it can effectively deal with being poisoned on a regular basis.
I sometimes find myself wracked with guilt about how much I drink; but it never impinges on my life. I don't get drunk, it doesn't affect my work, I can afford it, and it doesn't affect my marriage
It's funny (in a sad way) the lengths people go to to justify their drug use. Alcohol is just that, a drug. It's no better than cannabis or heroin. The only difference is that it's legal and you pay tax on it.
Wines are bursting with flavours and textures in your mouth. There is nothing like having a good full bodied red rolling over your tongue? Yes, I know I just typed that and there is not a hint of intended smut, honest.
Single malt whiskey is also high on the list but I drink a lot less of that since my friends moved away to Scotland to live. Oddly, they would (and do) say the same.
Alcohol tastes foul to me. Sprits especially so, just smelling them makes me gag.
-
It's funny (in a sad way) the lengths people go to to justify their drug use. Alcohol is just that, a drug. It's no better than cannabis or heroin. The only difference is that it's legal and you pay tax on it.
True I guess, but if I wanted to be a Monk, I'd have joined a Monastery ;).
-
Alcohol tastes foul to me. Sprits especially so, just smelling them makes me gag.
Chacun a son goût, innit?
Talking of which, I've got some port somewhere...
-
I probably drink to much
I do from time to time take a break though and it never seems to be a issue for me when I do, if it ever does become one I may look more closely at my levels of drinking
-
Mon night - Bottle of red
Tues night - 4x500ml beer
Wed night - 4x500ml beer
Thur night - 4x500ml beer
Fri night - 4/5x500ml beer
Sat night - 6(+)x500ml beer
Sun night - 4x500ml beer
Mmmm.... about 45 units. Chug-tastic :thumbsup:.
-
Chacun a son goût, innit?
I smell BS when people say they enjoy the taste of spirits. How can you enjoy something that tastes like poison? Next you'll be telling me that meths tastes pleasant. There's a reason alcohol tastes bad, it's because it's poisonous.
Enjoying the effects of a drug, now that's a different matter.
-
Mon night - Bottle of red
Tues night - 4x500ml beer
Wed night - 4x500ml beer
Thur night - 4x500ml beer
Fri night - 4/5x500ml beer
Sat night - 6(+)x500ml beer
Sun night - 4x500ml beer
Mmmm.... about 45 units. Chug-tastic :thumbsup:.
It's impossible to calculate the units involved without knowing abvs, but assuming 13% for the wine (and assuming a 750ml bottle) and 4% (which is fairly low these days) for the beer, that is closer to 62 units.
-
I am humbled by some of the posts on this thread and understandably brassed off by others.
I am lucky; I've never drunk to excess; revealing my own drinking habits would be unhelpful.
I have worked with colleagues who were problem drinkers.
I have seen people die of alcohol-related illness.
My father lost his sister at the hands of a drunk driver.
I never really had insight into the mind of the drinker until I read some of the posts here. You are so brave!
Many here have battled successfully with the bottle ; chapeau!
Some have decided to start the battle; they need a chapeau too.
Saturday night's NOT alright for fighting.
Right?
-
Anyway, to come back to Hummers' interesting post, it has made me think of something else - pubs, clubs and bars.
When I had stopped drinking for a while I returned to a couple of old haunts that I had been in the habit of spending far too much of my available time and money in. I'd found myself missing one or two particular bars. I wasn't sure what it was that I missed, and I wondered if whatever it was would still be present even without drinking. I tried this a few times with one or two old favourites and came to realise that (for me) there was nothing there in the absence of alcohol. The "cameraderie", good atmosphere, feeling like a home from home - all these things disappeared. It was an illusion brought about by the fact that most of the time when I had been in those places I was, to a greater or lesser extent, drunk. Now when I walk past pubs (the ones around here anyway) I can't imagine why the hell I ever spent time there. So strange.
I suppose this is perhaps a change in attitude that has come about deliberately to some degree, I don't know.
Regarding the taste of alcohol, although my attitude to drink has obviously changed I don't think I could ever say that I wouldn't like the taste. There were few forms I did not enjoy (alcopop type confections being an exception). I can fully appreciate that drink in all its forms has its devotees. But my drnking went a different way.
I don't think I'd ever condemn anyone for drinking. If it doesn't affect your health or life, go ahead and enjoy, even if that includes occasional excess. But for some people it just goes wrong.
There is still a part of me that has a need, once in a while, to get a bit out of it. But most people seem to have some sort of inbuilt safety valve that stops it before it goes too far, whereas I found that I had a self-destruct button that I could not resist playing with. So I don't do it now.
-
I don't think I'd ever condemn anyone for drinking. If it doesn't affect your health or life, go ahead and enjoy, even if that includes occasional excess. But for some people it just goes wrong.
There is still a part of me that has a need, once in a while, to get a bit out of it. But most people seem to have some sort of inbuilt safelt valve that stops it before it goes too far, whereas I found that I had a self-destruct button that I could not resist playing with.
Great post, Sgt!
I worry about those who seem to be in aggressive denial of a problem; methinks they can't see things are going wrong.
-
I wasn't sure what it was that I missed
Oh I've remembered now: women ;D
I supose the whole question is can you stop when you want to?
The way it was for me was that once I'd been going overboard for a while, I would stop. I'd get sick of it and have a break. Maybe for a few days or a few weeks. Over the years this ability to stop helped reassure me that my drinking habits were all fine and dandy. ::-)
My problem was not that I could not take the occasional break, it was that I could not sustain that break. It was only a matter of time. My other problem was the old AA classic of not being able to stop after one drink.
-
Zoiders, that's not really all of the question, is it?
No my dear, its why you drink to excess in the first place
I think it creeps up on you...
-
I can never find a moderator on Saturday night - they must have lives or something.
I'm locking this for now (we've had several complaints) so someone more competent than I can sort it out and decide whether to reinstate it tomorrow. I don't really want to lose a thread which has a lot of valuable stuff.
If anyone wants to reconsider in the meantime, I believe you can edit posts in a locked thread ;)
-
Several posts have been removed from this thread for showing a lack of general excellence to one another. Some more innocent posts may have got caught in the crossfire if they quoted or referred to the argument.
This thread is now unlocked.
-
I smell BS when people say they enjoy the taste of spirits...
I often have a bottle of my favourite malt in the house. I'll have a glass once or twice a week, just for the pleasure of the taste. The bottle will last a month or more. Cheap whisky is, however, an abomination.
-
If subtleties and nuances of flavour are so important, do you feel the same way about food / tea / coffee?
Indeed I do. Cheese, chocolate and decent coffee come a close second to booze. I don't drink instant coffee for the same reason I don't drink John Smiths :sick: and will walk out of a pub if it does not sell decent beer (assuming they can't sell me a decent cup of filter coffee). As for spirits, I won't drink cheap Cognac (it's XO or nothing) and the only thing cheap whisky is good for is being mixed with ginger wine - making it palatable and a useful companion in a hip flask. Mind you, having a nip whilst out on a mountain on a cold day is all about the warming affect.
At the risk of contradiciting myself, what I have found before is that the first glass of my favourite red tastes vile after a bout of abstinence. This is almost certainly due to alcohol and I can understand why people hate the taste and smell of drink. When it is completely out of your system, it smells and tastes disgusting.
About 2 days after the end of that 40 days, things will be as before.
Undoubtedly so but then again I was not intending to give it up for good, just 40 days. I also expect that 30 days into the 40 I will become a sanctimonious PITA, telling everyone who'll listen how I feel a lot better, have more energy, can cycle faster, am sleeping better, have dropped half a stone, how much I haven't spent on wine/beer and how I can't understand why the demon drink was such a large part of my life in the first place.
Hold on a minute.
Have I just talked myself into giving it up for good?
Who knows.
H
-
I sometimes have up to 7 or 8 single malts in my drinks cabinet, mostly in the winter time. Some of these bottles last several years (unless Jaded and Matt come to dinner). However, I never drink whisky in a pub.
-
I sometimes have up to 7 or 8 single malts in my drinks cabinet, mostly in the winter time. Some of these bottles last several years (unless Jaded and Matt come to dinner). However, I never drink whisky in a pub.
Similar here, although my cabinet is not so well stocked. For Jaded & Matt read Michael & Jon.
-
I sometimes have up to 7 or 8 single malts in my drinks cabinet, mostly in the winter time. Some of these bottles last several years (unless Jaded and Matt come to dinner). However, I never drink whisky in a pub.
Whisky and Cognac are all about enjoying it with other people. A big heavy tumbler, by a fire and a comfortable armchair. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/fastshow/characters/rowley_birkin.shtml) I'll have the occasional, solitary tot now and again but this is pretty rare. This is a good thing as there was a time when not even a bottle of bannana liquer was safe in our house.
H
-
... feel a lot better, have more energy, can cycle faster, am sleeping better, have dropped half a stone, how much I haven't spent on wine/beer and how I can't understand why the demon drink was such a large part of my life in the first place
Most if not all of those aims would be addressed by just cutting down, laying off alcohol prior to Audaxes etc. Stopping totally is a drastic step. The 40 days would be a good way of finding out if it is even necessary. We only live once and if by and large you enjoy your drinking, have a good social life with alcohol involved, do yourself and those around you no harm, then why feel that you need to consider stopping?
For me there was no half-way house but for most people there probably is.
-
I smell BS when people say they enjoy the taste of spirits. How can you enjoy something that tastes like poison? Next you'll be telling me that meths tastes pleasant. There's a reason alcohol tastes bad, it's because it's poisonous.
Enjoying the effects of a drug, now that's a different matter.
Some people don't enjoy the effects of drugs at all.
As for the taste of spirits, it's an acquired taste isn't it?
Who actually enjoys their first cigarette?
I'm probably not adding anything to the debate at all here but I don't drink Mon - Thurs now. We used to buy wine by the box but realised we were probably drinking quite a lot each night. We knocked the boxes on the head and then the next step was to stop drinking through the week - merely as an aid to getting fitter for going on holidays but has continued and is probably not a bad thing.
To be honest, I do like the chilling, slightly numbing effects of the first couple of drinks on a Friday night, but if someone could invent 0% booze that tasted the same as alcoholic drinks I'd quite happily drink that. Unfortunately they haven't. I drink not to get drunk but because I like the taste.
I have massive respect for people giving up, it's so difficult in this country.
Chewin The Fat (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDHl84hPKE0) sums it up perfectly. 6mins11 in - 'Tak a Drink!'
-
I smell BS when people say they enjoy the taste of spirits
That didn't come out quite right, and sounds a bit harsh. That wasn't the tone I was aiming for. I think what I meant to say is that, yes it's an acquired taste. The first time you try spirits it makes you gag, and I've never managed to acquire a taste for them. Even wine tastes bad to me. Beer and cider, however, I have acquired a taste for.
-
I think what I meant to say is that, yes it's an acquired taste. The first time you try spirits it makes you gag, and I've never managed to acquire a taste for them.
Well lucky you, they have the ability to inject serious amounts of alcohol into your bloodstream alamingly quickly.
As someone who adores neat scotch and brandy,( not together I hasten to add), I know not to drink it at home!
Although, I can stop drinking I find it very hard. I am probably bordering on alcoholism, it probably depends on your definition. Once I had made my mind up to stop smoking I found it relatively easy I think.
-
Although, I can stop drinking I find it very hard. I am probably bordering on alcoholism, it probably depends on your definition.
Same here. I drink 50+ units per week, which is way too much. I recently tried to stop and managed 3 days only :( Will try again.
-
The stupid thing is as Hummers said upthread, when you wake up after not drinking you feel much better, after a few days you think why the hell do I ever drink.
However alcohol takes away your willpower, couple that with social pressure like the clip above Tak a drink. and I stand no chance :o :o
-
I'm on the wagon again. Have managed one day so far. Hey, don't knock it, it's unheard of for me not to drink on a Friday. My current strategy involves drinking caffeine, smoking tabs and playing video games to keep my mind occupied and not thinking about beer. I should probably do more cycling too.
-
I'm on the wagon again. Have managed one day so far. Hey, don't knock it, it's unheard of me not to drink on a Friday. My current strategy involves drinking caffeine, smoking tabs and playing video games to keep my mind occupied and not thinking about beer. I should probably do more cycling too.
Good Luck!
A journey of a thousand miles must start with a single step...
-
It was sad day that by chance Hummers found me slumped in a Southsea street crying and wailing 'Oh woe is me alas I am drunk... again...'
It shook me up and I didn't touch the stuff for nearly a month until forced to by a loose woman in the Sahara desert. (really it's true!)
I reckon its all a waste of money pouring it down my throat but it makes me sleep (although I have to wake up to pee at 2.30am)
And... it takes the pain away from my muscles as my job is physical and I am small and weak.
My limit is low (thank God!) and so I rarely get drunk as when I do I go to pieces over imaginary slights and self generated depression. Its disgusting to see and not nice for me either.
However... I really did enjoy 'not' drinking... Felt better, slept better and felt morally better.
There, my tuppenny quote for you.
-
It'll be 3 weeks on the wagon for me on Sunday
I even survived my mother staying last week :)
-
Good Luck!
A journey of a thousand miles must start with a single step...
Thank you. Have made the decision that things need to change. My drinking is verging dangerously close to alcoholism and it's slowly and progressively ruining me physically, emotionally and financially.
I get terrible beer cravings and the off license is dangerously close. I can be there and back and have a beer open within 5 minutes, before I've had chance to take a step back and see the cravings for what they really are (i.e. drug addiction).
I'm just going to take it one day at a time and not get too upset if there any minor setbacks.
-
I don't usually preach but I rather like the
'Be strong and of good courage'
quote from somewhere in the bible.
Be strong,
we'll he here to help.
H
-
I sometimes have up to 7 or 8 single malts in my drinks cabinet, mostly in the winter time. Some of these bottles last several years (unless Jaded and Matt come to dinner). However, I never drink whisky in a pub.
Now that was an evening!
I remember it well...
I don't drink whisky in a pub either - although I did in student days - doing the Royal Mile pub crawl in whiskies.
-
I gave up for 3 days last week. It was quite successful although failed the Friday night test.
Now pursuing a moderation approach.
-
Working hard for a week in Scotland we brought a friend along for his expertise in valuations. He was also useful in insisting on a proper lunch each day, otherwise I would have been out-voted (cos I don't get a vote) and forced to work through.
The downside was that he is a four-pint lunch man. Further, he regards early evening as a proper time to serve G&T, with top-ups; and dinner without wine is anathema to him. Also he'd brought his own bottle of Grants for nightcaps. I shall confess that, to my shame, I couldn't keep up, but still needed to dry out last week.
-
The downside was that he is a four-pint lunch man.
Cripes, that would have me in an incapable state all afternoon. I don't drink at lunchtime, it wastes half the day as you're not fit for anything. I generally cut out all booze Monday to Friday unless there is some work event on, in which case I relapse for that evening. We'll share a bottle of red each week-end evening, if there is a lot to talk about or we have friends round, then it may extend to a bottle each, but that is pretty rare.
Average week - 1.5 bottles of red - 15 or so units
Bad week - 2.5 bottles of red - 25 or so units.
Not really a problem. I've cut it out for weeks at a time (when training for the Etape) and noticed no discernable difference.
-
I would imagine that everybody is different. Much of the whole booze thing is psychological anyway.
About 5 or 6 years ago I decided that going down the pub every night and never getting into bed sober was a Bad Thing. So I quit for a while.
I was nervous about it, but soon realised how easy it was. I also broke the association with beer and fun. I always loved going to a pub at lunchtime to sink a few pints and read the newspapers. I now realise I just like pubs. I go to the pub pretty much every lunchtime now to read the papers. But I drink coffee. I enjoy it just as much. I have absolutely no desire to drink alcohol in that situation.
Sure, I go mental sometimes - I consumed a huge volume of beer this weekend, but now normality has resumed, I have no desire to drink. None at all. I might even go down the pub tonight and drink blackcurrent and soda.
It's that psychological bar that needs to be jumped - once you've done it, everything is easy.
-
Although, I can stop drinking I find it very hard. I am probably bordering on alcoholism, it probably depends on your definition.
Same here. I drink 50+ units per week, which is way too much. I recently tried to stop and managed 3 days only :( Will try again.
I'm on the other sde of this. I find it really hard to drink more than one or two, my safety valve is clearly set very lightly. I probably drink around 50 units a year, for no reason other than this is what works for me.
-
Epic fail today. I got stressed out and downed 4 beers. Still, two steps forward, etc...
I'm on the other sde of this. I find it really hard to drink more than one or two, my safety valve is clearly set very lightly. I probably drink around 50 units a year, for no reason other than this is what works for me.
50 units is about my normal minimum. It can be anything up to 100. You're one of the lucky ones, and long may you stay in control. Some people, myself included, have tremendous difficulty controlling their intake. For those people, the best way to control it is to abstain completely. As Jezza said, one is too many and 1000 is not enough.
Have just registered alcohol-forum.org. I'm going to build it into a self help and support site for people with alcohol and drug problems (yeah, I've had those too). Have been thinking for a while that I want to do something to help other people, and running a forum looks like fun. Plus it will give me something very positive to channel my time and nervous energy into while I'm on the wagon :thumbsup:
-
Alcohol Forum (http://www.alcohol-forum.org/) is now online :thumbsup: Oooh, Shiny!
Would appreciate any comments or suggestions, and anyone who wants to sign up and post is more than welcome. You don't need to have an alcohol problem ;)
Until then, it'll just be me talking to myself. Nothing new there, then.
-
I have popped in under a slightly different name.
Activation email fell into BT's spambox buggrit!
-
Hooray, my first proper member! :thumbsup:
I think it's going to be very quite over there for a while until google indexes it. In the mean time I'll add some useful information and links 'n' stuff.
-
Epic fail again today. Four beers and a bottle of wine after work, then off to a club and another 4 beers and 4 vodka redbulls.
Need to stop treating my body like a dustbin.
-
This is not good.
One day at a time.
Start again. Don't start with another drink. You will feel like 5h1t today whatever you do or don't do.
Have a large lemonade and get out on the bike.
I've just sent partner out on a bike ride...
I am thinking of you.
-
I had a great time last night. That's part of the problem, I associate alcohol with having a good time. Have felt a bit spaced out today due the hangover and having only about 4 hour's sleep. It's funny how "I'm never drinking again" (this morning) turns into "I could murder a bottle of wine" over the course of the day. Must be strong... am going to cook dinner for my parents and try not to think about booze.
-
May I recommend this book? (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rational-Recovery-Cure-Substance-Addiction/dp/0671528580/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1220209830&sr=8-1) It sounds as if you are of two minds..... on the one hand alcohol seems very pleasurable, on the other... only you can decide.
Not an uncommon problem.
Good luck with your decision regarding alcohol
-
Had two beers last night, which is very unusual for me. Felt the effects this morning - sluggish legs, now aching thighs.
-
That's it.
Off the booze now until the 12th October.
Chin chin.
H
-
Good luck Mr H :thumbsup:
-
That's it.
Off the booze now until the 12th October.
Chin chin.
H
Yarr, an' how will ye be celebratin' TLAPD wi'out quaffin' down the grog wi' a wannion?
-
That's it.
Off the booze now until the 12th October.
Chin chin.
H
I'll join you.
Apart from special days like Thunderbox rides etc.
-
Yeah right. See you in the pub friday night.
-
A month for me today :)
next week I have to go to the US, so I'll need to resist the plane-booze and the evening "social" drinking. And the boredom.
That'll be a challenge.
-
A month for me today :)
next week I have to go to the US, so I'll need to resist the plane-booze and the evening "social" drinking. And the boredom.
That'll be a challenge.
Good luck!
Just two days for me so far ::-). Small steps...
-
Yeah right. See you in the pub friday night.
I did mention special days, didn't i?
-
next week I have to go to the US, so I'll need to resist the plane-booze and the evening "social" drinking. And the boredom.
What MV said. However, it is not humanly possible to go on holibobs and not drink, so any attempts to cut it down or off will have to wait until I get back :-\
-
A month for me today :)
next week I have to go to the US, so I'll need to resist the plane-booze and the evening "social" drinking. And the boredom.
That'll be a challenge.
Avoiding US beer shouldn't be too much of a hardship...................
Plane-booze, well that's a different matter. Especially if you're sat near the front !
-
Luckily I'm sat at the back :)
We're paying, not a client, and it's only 7 hours to Newark from Bristol*. A factor 5 or so in cost seemed hard to justify for that. And that's such a quiet route that you usually get 2 or 3 seats to yourself anyway.
And it's Continental, which means that you have to pay for alcohol. <just remembers>
*and then 6 more to SF, but at least I get a break and a leg-stretch
Some US beer is OK - the microbrewery stuff - but I'll be spending a few days schmoozing potential buyers of our stuff. Hard to do stone-cold. But I'll try.
-
and then 6 more to SF, but at least I get a break and a leg-stretch
When are you arriving in SF? I'll be the one being refused entry having buggered up the green form :P
-
Saturday evening. 'bout 9 I think.
It's a long journey cos of the 4 hour stopover at Newark, but that's better for me than going via Heathrow.
What are you doing there ? Fancy a bike ride ?
;D
-
I get there Wednesday afternoon en route to Battle Mountain (http://www.wisil.recumbents.com/home.asp?URL=wisil/main.asp); I just wondered if there'd be anyone I knew to help keep me sane while queuing to get into the country ;D
-
My queue to get in is in Newark on Saturday so I doubt we'll meet :)
Keep an eye out for Charlotte & Liz tho'
It's not that big a country...ah
-
That's it.
Off the booze now until the 12th October.
Chin chin.
H
Yarr, an' how will ye be celebratin' TLAPD wi'out quaffin' down the grog wi' a wannion?
:'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'(
By the bunions caused by Black Ankles' badly fitted galloshes, I could murder some grog!
H
-
By the bunions caused by Black Ankles' badly fitted galloshes, I could murder some grog!
H
Same here, but I just had some chocolate and that seems to have helped :P
I'm back to day one again. Pesky grog.
-
By the bunions caused by Black Ankles' badly fitted galloshes, I could murder some grog!
H
Same here, but I just had some chocolate and that seems to have helped :P
I'm back to day one again. Pesky grog.
What is scary interesting to note is how often I have to stop and say to myslef "no, I can't do that". :-[
H
-
I managed 4 days this time. Epic fail.
I noticed that after 2 days of abstinence I started getting cravings first thing in the morning, whereas I normally only get them in the afternoon/evening. Seriously not good. On the plus side I didn't notice any withdrawal symptoms (apart from terrible cravings), I just felt like I had more energy than usual.
Starting again from day 1 today...
-
Day 1 every day. Stick with it.
-
I managed 4 days this time. Epic fail.
I noticed that after 2 days of abstinence I started getting cravings first thing in the morning, whereas I normally only get them in the afternoon/evening. Seriously not good. On the plus side I didn't notice any withdrawal symptoms (apart from terrible cravings), I just felt like I had more energy than usual.
Starting again from day 1 today...
Bob. You seem like a nice chap. So apologies for this in advance...
Why did you go out and drink yet again? Cravings? What sort of cravings? 'Gosh, I've got so much energy I think I'll go and get pissed?' Or was it the old 'My life is such a fuck-up I just want to wipe out?' 'I don't know how to have fun so I'll just get legless instead?'
When you are puking your guts up and staggering all over the road, looking like a complete twat, or remorseful and with zero self-esteem the morning after, cursing yourself for being so weak and knowing full well you're going to do it again next time because you've given yourself a neat little get out clause ('I can't help it - it's The Cravings, you see'), remember just how lame that sounds, and how the only person you're kidding is you. In fact you're not even having a good time when you do it, hence the hand-wringing and mortification of the flesh on here about it afterwards. I went through cravings that made me shiver like a cartoon, teeth going like nutcrackers, with faces appearing in the wallpaper, and I still didn't go out and drink.
The reason is not because I am any stronger than you are - it's because I was sick and tired of lying to myself by saying I needed help and then going back on it, cheating myself and everybody else who took the time to help me, and because the truth, which is staring you in the face, is that you have to stop drinking - not forever, not for a year, but just for today - and you are perfectly capable of doing that, because you already did it today. But it's only going to work as long as you haven't already mentally prepared your next post about gee shucks I've fallen off the wagon again because I'm such a mess, it's beyond my control. If you're sure you want to set this one up as a target, then do it properly. Either call AA, or don't, or keep drinking, or stop, but don't make a fucking great drama out of stopping and then fail to do so on a weekly basis just so you can beat yourself up a bit more.
Right, rant over. Hope this helps ;D
-
I managed 4 days this time. Epic fail.
I noticed that after 2 days of abstinence I started getting cravings first thing in the morning, whereas I normally only get them in the afternoon/evening. Seriously not good. On the plus side I didn't notice any withdrawal symptoms (apart from terrible cravings), I just felt like I had more energy than usual.
Starting again from day 1 today...
It's not an epic fail. It's four sober days to your credit. AA might be really useful for you, they'll give you a sponsor you can call when you have the cravings, and you can get a lot of support. You do have to go to lots of meetings though.
-
Jezza, wasn't trying to make a drama out of it was just trying to keep a record of it because I can't remember when I've stopped and when I haven't. I should probably do this elsewhere.
Kirst, have been to AA and I intend to go back, but it's a bit scary. The people there are great though.
-
I managed 4 days this time. Epic fail.
I noticed that after 2 days of abstinence I started getting cravings first thing in the morning, whereas I normally only get them in the afternoon/evening. Seriously not good. On the plus side I didn't notice any withdrawal symptoms (apart from terrible cravings), I just felt like I had more energy than usual.
Starting again from day 1 today...
Bob. You seem like a nice chap. So apologies for this in advance...
Why did you go out and drink yet again? Cravings? What sort of cravings? 'Gosh, I've got so much energy I think I'll go and get pissed?' Or was it the old 'My life is such a fuck-up I just want to wipe out?' 'I don't know how to have fun so I'll just get legless instead?'
When you are puking your guts up and staggering all over the road, looking like a complete twat, or remorseful and with zero self-esteem the morning after, cursing yourself for being so weak and knowing full well you're going to do it again next time because you've given yourself a neat little get out clause ('I can't help it - it's The Cravings, you see'), remember just how lame that sounds, and how the only person you're kidding is you. In fact you're not even having a good time when you do it, hence the hand-wringing and mortification of the flesh on here about it afterwards. I went through cravings that made me shiver like a cartoon, teeth going like nutcrackers, with faces appearing in the wallpaper, and I still didn't go out and drink.
The reason is not because I am any stronger than you are - it's because I was sick and tired of lying to myself by saying I needed help and then going back on it, cheating myself and everybody else who took the time to help me, and because the truth, which is staring you in the face, is that you have to stop drinking - not forever, not for a year, but just for today - and you are perfectly capable of doing that, because you already did it today. But it's only going to work as long as you haven't already mentally prepared your next post about gee shucks I've fallen off the wagon again because I'm such a mess, it's beyond my control. If you're sure you want to set this one up as a target, then do it properly. Either call AA, or don't, or keep drinking, or stop, but don't make a fucking great drama out of stopping and then fail to do so on a weekly basis just so you can beat yourself up a bit more.
Right, rant over. Hope this helps ;D
Jezza,
that post impresses.
-
9 days, one weekend and one Wednesday night CTC club run (normally a 3 pint bonanza) and holding steady.
The first week was hard but waking up with no hangover on Saturday and Sunday, I could get used to that.
H
-
2 years and a few days for me and I still love every morning I wake up not feeling like I used to.
Bobajobrob: for what it is worth, my advice is to go along to an AA meeting tomorrow. Tomorrow, Thursday. Get the little book that they should have in there that lists all the local AA meetings and keep it. Chat to people. Or don't. But just start going and listening and you may learn a lot.
Your problem is a common one: once you have one drink effectively you aren't in charge any more.
-
Jezza, wasn't trying to make a drama out of it was just trying to keep a record of it because I can't remember when I've stopped and when I haven't. I should probably do this elsewhere.
Kirst, have been to AA and I intend to go back, but it's a bit scary. The people there are great though.
Fair enough - it's none of my damn business anyway, and I've got no right to judge. It's more a case of what I would say to myself, when I was in that situation, from where I am now.
I found that I liked the idea of giving up more than the actual reality of doing so, which is why I kept failing. It took me years, and all the while I was writing storylines in my head to justify why I was going to fail the next time.
Going to AA is a major step, so it's great you've done that. Like everything it's all about timing: I only needed to go once to give myself the push I needed (after a year of dithering), but I don't think anything less of people who go to a meeting every week.
The only advice I can give is that when you spot the warning signs that would have traditionally led up to a binge, pre-empt them by distracting yourself. If you were locked in a remote mountain cabin you couldn't go out and drink and you'd still survive. A binge is not inevitable. Nobody is holding you down and pouring alcohol into you. Only you, and you are in command, so if you decide you are tired of that way of life, then stick to your guns, and don't drink for that next minute. Or the next hour, or for the rest of that day. You go from counting the minutes at times, through to hours, days, weeks when you don't think about having a drink. And then, one day, you realise that you haven't thought about it for months, and that you wouldn't want one anyway, because everything that messed you up in the past was down to alcohol. That's the mental association you have to cultivate.
-
I conflate being thirsty with needing a drink.
Several glasses of water, cups of tea etc. and I can get through those early evening rumbles. Then it doesn't matter any more. It's way more satisfying when there is a beer in the fridge too.
-
S. Pluck: I think you're right. There's a meeting on tonight, will make an effort to go. I was planning to go at the weekend but I got totally absorbed by something I'm working on.
Jezza: thanks for your input, it is appreciated
-
I conflate being thirsty with needing a drink.
Several glasses of water, cups of tea etc. and I can get through those early evening rumbles. Then it doesn't matter any more. It's way more satisfying when there is a beer in the fridge too.
Yes, but what to drink in a pub?
Out of principal, I won't drink alcohol free and ended up paying £2.50 for a pint of Diet Pepsi :sick: the other night which is bloody scandalous.
Two pints of orange juice/lemonade and I want to gag.
I suppose I could go for tap water and squash. :-\
H
-
I know what you mean. When i stopped drinking, I almost stopped going to pubs for a while. But it was much harder to get soft drinks back then.
Now, i find most pubs do coffee or tea, which suits me fine, but maybe I'm just an old duffer.
-
Yes, but what to drink in a pub?
I don't bloody know :( The options are usually very limited and awful. One or two pubs do an organic ginger beer I'm quite partial to. But only one or two. I do like a Big Tom but you can only drink one or two of those before you run the risk of having your arsehole go on fire the next day.
Some time ago I was on a ride with Charlotte, among others, and on entry to the pub on the Thames she asked for a large mug of tea. I did the same and it was just perfect on a cold day. Not many pubs can rise to this though.
-
me too - I normally go for orange juice and soda water. Lemonade gives me a splitting headache and soda is (normally) free so you just pay for the little bottle of orange juice.
-
I find it really hard to find a suitable non alcoholic drink in a pub. The best I have come up with so far is fizzy water with lemon. A pint of milk would suit me as a substitute for beer but I've never seen it on offer in a pub. I wouldn't fancy a whole night on the milk though. :sick:
-
A St Clements when on a ride is a delight Butterfly has introduced me to, so I might order that as well as a tea ;)
-
Two pints of orange juice/lemonade and I want to gag.
It does bring home the ridiculous quantity of liquid an average beer drinker will imbibe in an evening. Pint of tea, anyone?
-
I either go for ginger beer or orange juice and lemonade. But there's no way I'd drink more than a pint of either. I once made the near fatal error of three pints of cranberry juice. I was a mere empty husk of a man the next day.
I find pubs slightly uncomfortable places, for obvious reasons, so I tend to avoid them. It's another reason why I like travel in places such as North Africa or Asia where there's always a teahouse, cafe or noodle shop.
-
Likewise. I almost never go to pubs now, again for obvious reasons, unless it is called for during a bike ride or work related do.
Even in SW3 / 7 in London I find the non-pub options very limited.
-
Two pints of orange juice/lemonade and I want to gag.
It does bring home the ridiculous quantity of liquid an average beer drinker will imbibe in an evening. Pint of tea, anyone?
Always; would you like it in one of my bight yellow pint mugs, one of my 'builders' brown mugs, or a 'girlie pink floral' 600ml mug??
-
Pint of tea, anyone?
Never had Clarion over for a cuppa or six, then? ;D
-
J2O is a bit sweet and sickly but OK in small quantities. The manufacturers seem to bring out a new variety quite frequently. I alternate J2O with water.
Some pubs now serve Tropicana orange juice in (almost) half-pint bottles; nice but pricy.
My partner usually orders a lemonade (which I don't like).
Many of my cycling friends drink little alcohol but few seem to find choice too limited at the Wetherspoon's at which we meet every month.
I also have the odd Diet Coke...
-
Pint of tea, anyone?
Never had Clarion over for a cuppa or six, then? ;D
Obviously have not visited my abode either...
-
Soda and lime, ginger beer, ginger beer and lime, Diet Irn Bru, tonic water would be my soft drinks of choice. Pub lemonade is horrible though.
-
The very idea of 'Diet' anything puts me right off. Just call me bitter.
-
The very idea of 'Diet' anything puts me right off. Just call me bitter.
I can understand that but there are times when a solution that is >10% sugar will not quench my thist. That's when I go for Diet Coke (or Diet Irn Bru in Scotland).
-
Diet Irn Bru's nicer than the fat stuff, although if you're mixing it with vodka, you have to use the fat stuff because the diet stuff makes it taste rancid, for some reason.
-
The very idea of 'Diet' anything puts me right off. Just call me bitter.
No choice for some of us - diabetic. Although I could inject for the sugar, I prefer not to.
As for the bitter - yes just see the LA topic. LOLOL!
-
I've been having a glass or two of Diet Coke each week-day evening, these past couple of weeks instead of the usual beer/wine. So far, my dumb brain hasn't noticed the lack of booze content, but my waistline has started to respond :thumbsup:.
Diet Coke is rank - but sugar is worse, so full fat Coke is out, and booze...well, this thread says it all really...
-
Diet Coke is rank - but sugar is worse, so full fat Coke is out, and booze...well, this thread says it all really...
LOL, that's what I used to think too. After 6 months of drinking diet coke, it's normal coke that tasted rank. Like root beer, actually. :sick: :sick:
-
American diet Coke tastes of chlorine :sick:
-
Slimline Tonic :thumbsup:
I was DJ Marky Mark last night at a friend's party and this tincture seemed to do the trick..... and is cheap.
Aren't pissed people rude. ;)
H
P.S.
Health observation - Have more energ in the mornings and I am not getting the horrible hot sweats I was getting before. It could be because it is getting cooler and sleeping better or is it the lack of booze....
-
So, I'm into the third week of weekday sobriety. It's going well.
I was determined to do last Saturday's Audax "clean", so eschewed the bottle on Friday evening; that was quite hard - it was a busy week at work last week, and I fancied a drink come Friday. I did rather make up for it Sunday evening, and polished off a bottle of red.
I've found that 10 units a day, day in day out, and I start to forget stuff. I think one becomes chronically pissed and you're never clear of it. That feeling has gone now, and I feel much more upbeat and positive about things.
I'm still drinking diet coke in the early evening as a substitute, and that seems to work OK too.
-
Limiting myself to one bottle of beer on weekdays seems to be the trick for me at the moment, it's made a massive dent in the cost of booze each week already. The mistake I was making was drinking wine during the week. Once that bottle is open the ideas of control and measured drinking seems to go out of the window. The next step is getting more control at the weekends.
-
...you're never clear of it. That feeling has gone now, and I feel much more upbeat and positive about things.
That was my early (and ongoing) experience. Glad it is going well.
-
Limiting myself to one bottle of beer on weekdays seems to be the trick for me at the moment, it's made a massive dent in the cost of booze each week already. The mistake I was making was drinking wine during the week. Once that bottle is open the ideas of control and measured drinking seems to go out of the window. The next step is getting more control at the weekends.
Likewise!
-
I don't drink and never have so can't empathise at all, but good luck to everyone trying to give up/cut back. This brings home to me just how hard it must be.
-
Interesting article in The Graudina today about a binge-drinking housewife.
Mum's a binge drinker |
Life and style |
The Guardian
(http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2008/sep/20/family.drugsandalcohol)
-
I'm not generally much of a drinker, but last night I was out with two friends and between us we had 3 bottles of champagne and a bottle of wine and then I had at least 2, possibly 3, vodka & tonics and somewhere between 2 and 5 Smirnoff Ices, plus a couple of pints of water. I can confirm that drinking that amount can cause
1) a hangover comprising of a headache and a puking session
2) a compulsion to gatecrash a wedding reception and join the guests on the dancefloor
3) a further compulsion to go clubbing til 3am
The clubbing session will lead to further health problems, namely
1) a sore neck from head-banging to 80s hair metal
2) a broken nail from doing metal devil finger salutes too enthusiastically
3) very sore feet from dancing too much in unsuitable shoes
4) severe injuries to one's dignity when one remembers one was dancing to PJ & Duncan's Let's Get Ready To Rhumble - psych!
I feel like shit today, and I look worse.
On the other hand, if you happen to find yourself in Harrogate on a Saturday night and your idea of a good club comprises cheesy 80s pop interspersed with cheesy 80s hair metal and occasional Queen songs, I heartily recommend a place called either The Carrington or Carrington's.
-
1) a hangover comprising of a headache and a puking session
Are you sure you didn't just have a "bad pint"? :P
-
Yeah, it'll be those pints of water you had - you got to stay away from that stuff. :P
-
Yeah, it'll be those pints of water you had - you got to stay away from that stuff. :P
Water is full of Dihydrogen Monoxide which is particularly evil. See Dihydrogen Monoxide Research Division - dihydrogen monoxide
info (http://www.dhmo.org/)
-
Are the Daily Mail and Sunday Telegraph aware of this?! ;D
-
Could be the mixers.....?? (http://www.gizmology.net/images/toxic_water.jpg)
-
11 days to go and I am doing fine.
Have found my form socially and can be just as 'Hummers' sober as with a drink in my hand. I'm fine in Pubs and can still appreciate a good one. It is a strange thing but I feel people drinking are the odd ones, not me.
It's my last day cycling in the South West before setting off for France. The people I'm riding with are going to give me some stick but there you go.
H
-
11 days to go and I am doing fine
Good stuff, H :)
-
11 days to go and I am doing fine.
Have found my form socially and can be just as 'Hummers' sober as with a drink in my hand. I'm fine in Pubs and can still appreciate a good one. It is a strange thing but I feel people drinking are the odd ones, not me.
It's my last day cycling in the South West before setting off for France. The people I'm riding with are going to give me some stick but there you go.
H
I am impressed.
-
Keep going Hummers.
I worked for a brewery company for many years where the drink was free so the temptation was there.
Nowadays, working in education I am just down to the weekend drink and unwind but a bottle of wine can go quite quickly.
You guys are impressive and as I am under pressure from my other half to lose weight I think I may need to follow your example.
Drink less (or none) for a few weeks and increase my riding.
(I could then spend what I did on wine on the bike ). ;D
-
Back from France after my yearly cycling trip with 3 chums and am now nursing a stinking cold. :(
No real moments of beer yearning as the stuff over there is usually fizzy pisch and apple juice was a fair replacement for wine when we ate. I only had one envious moment and that was when the huge measures of single malt turned up. It smelt good.
Interestingly, my chums were less than happy about my abstinence. It seems that I normally push the pace on the drinking side and apparently this was missed as a facet of the trip. The net result that they were slightly inhibited.
Ho hum.
H
-
Interestingly, my chums were less than happy about my abstinence. It seems that I normally push the pace on the drinking side and apparently this was missed as a facet of the trip. The net result that they were slightly inhibited.
Ho hum.
H
'Tis what I found.
Here's how I came to see just that issue: the people around me were not so much interested in "me" but in the confirmation or reassurance that their own behaviour was OK that my companionship gave.
-
Someone I know has been drinking ridiculous amounts recently (about 15 units spirits/ night + beer as well). He had a liver test a while back (2 yrs) and that came back healthy, the cost isn't an issue for him and basically, he sees no reason not to.
Does anyone have a reason I can give him to stop drinking?
-
Show him the story of this guy, a brilliant engineer who killed himself through alcoholism:
The short, tormented life of computer genius Phil Katz (http://www2.jsonline.com/news/state/may00/katz21052000a.asp)
Works for me! ;)
And on that cheery note... ;D
-
Was he drinking a lot when he had the liver function checked 2 years ago? :P
If he doesn't want to stop in himself he'll not be the slightest bit interested in potential hazards to his health. There is not much you can other than to point out any negative effects on others, if any while he continues to enjoy himself.
-
Try this: linky (http://sarahkennedy.blogspot.com/2008/09/sarah-kennedy-with-her-boyfriend-adrian.html)
Best not to wait until yr liver functions off: by then you can be down to minimal function sadly.
Hope that's not Sarahs problem, but she doesn't look to well at the moment IMHO.
-
A relative's friend has just been diagnosed with lung cancer. She's in her early 20's and a heavy smoker. Has it stopped her smoking? Has it f*ck!.
There is really no logic to behaviour and lifestyle choices.
-
Someone I know has been drinking ridiculous amounts recently (about 15 units spirits/ night + beer as well). He had a liver test a while back (2 yrs) and that came back healthy, the cost isn't an issue for him and basically, he sees no reason not to.
Does anyone have a reason I can give him to stop drinking?
A friend of mine died aged 30.
He looked perfectly healthy, spent a fair amount of time in the gym and ran a half marathon in 1h45 a couple of weeks before he was found dead.
His last liver test, 3 months before he died, came back "healthy".
He died of multiple organ failure caused by chronic alcoholism.
There are often no visible symptoms until it is too late.
-
A prominent poster Elsewhere lost his sister to alcoholism last year (I think). Horrible
-
Ta for the tips everyone. I'll see if any of that works.
-
Ta for the tips everyone. I'll see if any of that works.
Unfortunately it is difficult to tell someone that what they are doing is wrong, especially where drink is concerned. Be prepared for a kickback. :-\
Good luck Gonzo.
H
-
Two days to go. Mrs H has tried a recount but I've had to tell her that it is definitely only on Sunday that we can drink again.
Hmmmmmm. Drinking. I have mixed feelings about this.
On the plus side:
1. I am thinner and feel fitter however I've done a fair amount of cycling so it's probably a mixture of both
2. I feel I've more energy and have had greater capacity to deal with the ups and downs of my job
3. I am able to focus on things for longer (although this also happens when I am feeling fit)
4. I have really enjoyed waking up and not feeling hungover
5. Overcoming a hold something has on you feels good and bolsters one's self esteem
6. I have enjoyed food far more than I did although am eating less overall.
7. We have saved about £15-£20 a week
8. I have taken immense pleasure in proving the "I'll believe it when I see it" contingent wrong.
9. Watching someone else emptying glass after glass of wine or beer and thinking 'that was me' is really
10. Thankfully, drinking together is not an integral part of married life and this has been largely unaffected
11. Whilst I've missed the texture of a good single malt, the taste of a good real ale and the roll on my tongue of a full-bodied red, other than the first week of jitters, I have not missed the effect of alcohol at all.
Lots of positives but on the minus side, should I decide to stay off the booze completely:
1. To varying degrees, nearly all of our long-term friendships have drinking as a component. I think if we went tee-total for good, most of these relationships would be diminished and some would die.
2. The greater part of my social identity is based on me perpetuating the beer monster image; setting the pace on pub crawls and beer related outings. I have come to realise that in some cases, this is why people choose to socialise with me.
3. I have missed enjoying the ritual of relaxing and enjoying a glass of wine or pint of beer with friends. The problem was that it wouldn't stop at one or even four pints/ glasses of wine. :-[
My hope going forwards is that I can adapt my drinking habits so I can still enjoy a drink but no longer drink excessively. This is going to be tough as I am an 'all or nothing' person and find moderation pretty tough.
Also, that drinking is restricted to the social diary and cut out pretty much completely at all other times.
We'll see how that goes.
H
-
I have not stopped but cut down heavily over the past 2 years because of various reasons, lack off money, cycling more, age(?), in relationship with a tee-totaler. Like Hummers said my image and social life was based around drinking, every meet up was at a pub so that we could get the rounds in, and many of them.
A friend of mine who I used to go out with moved Down Under and send me a t-shirt saying " I fear no beer" on it because when he saw it it made him think of me.
I do not know if I'm lucky but I can still drink a few and call it a day, and don't need to have a drink to be able to handle the ups and downs. So therefore I can go out and have few pints with mates, and I have learned to say no (on thing I was sure I would never be able to do) when the next round is being ordered.
The best part of this cut down in alcohol is that I have lost over 5 stones, I feel much fitter and better, though I did not suffer the hangovers like other people I still felt well dehydrated and shite the next morning and I really learned that the hair of the dog worked big time, I do not miss the morning after. It's such a great feeling to be able to leave the pub and say no to that kebab, as it does not smell good to you as it will do after 15 pints, and enjoy your ride/walk home. And that when I do drink now I really enjoy the taste of the single malt, bitter, ale or even a larger.
I went out the other night from 18:00 until 22:30 I had 5 pints where as before I would probably had 10+ pints and some shorts and rushed over to the off license to get some can's for the walk home and with the kebab.
Before : I drank a 6 pack of Stella (500ml) on a night in, 12+ pints on night out which was around 2-3 times a doing the week, on the weekend it was a 6 pack before going out and then the 12+ pints. And we are not even talking about the shots here. I could easy at a bbq/party, starting early afternoon and continue well into the next day 4-6am, kill a slap of 24 can's of beer (500ml).
Now : A pint or 2 over a pub lunch or when eating out, one bottle of beer (330ml) over dinner at home once a blue moon, a glass of single malt once a very blue moon. I go out for a drink once a fortnight if not longer between, around 4-5 pints, and going out on a bender now is 6 pints in a night.
So it is easy to understand why my circle of friend have become very little, when you are planing the next pub crawl/party/bbq you get them to call/text you, but when you are not doing that anymore or have said no to the last 3-4 piss ups they stop inviting you.
But hey I know whom my real friends are and what is better for me.
-
Enjoyed Hummers and Woolly posts. I am heartened to see Hummers example. I woudl emulate but my most recent abstinence attempt only lasted 24 hours!
I must deal with the beast. Slay the dragon.
-
I ain't read back thro' all the above so apologies if I rehearse others' experiences.
Me, I'm an alcoholic. I've not had a drink for 5 years, 5 months and two weeks. If anyone ever tells you that they are an alcoholic and can't remember when they last had a drink, then they are lying on one or other of the two. There are two kinds of alcoholic: one wants a drink 24 hours a day and has one as often as possible; the other wants a drink 24 hours a day and doesn't have one.
And an alcoholic can't have "...just one...a few..." About 10 years ago I quit for 21 months. Xmas Eve as a reward I had 2 whiskies. By New Year, back on a bottle a day.
The last time, first I tried dead stop cold turkey - no medication. BIG mistake. Could easily have died from fitting and the halucinations got me very nearly sectioned. Released on condition that attend Day Unit etc. Didn't work really (nor did AA, can't be doing with the religious undertones). So, with a very understanding GP prescribing a complete de-tox "kit" (against local PCT rules) I locked myself in for 5 days of hell. It hurts. But I ain't had a drink since. Does it get easier? No, not really. Wherever I go I pass offies and pubs where I bought the gin and brandy....and I yearn. The folk in the doorways seem somehow to know that REALLY I belong with them - and in some ways they are right.
It's always said that need a strong motive to quit. Well, maybe. I did have a couple of triggers - but then I'd had those before. In the end a question of pride I think.
Not a fear of death - drunks don't have that by and large. Perhaps one thing at AA DID stick. "I'm an alcoholic and I've lost....home/job/family..." I hadn't, but I did just add "yet" on the end.
Will I drink again? Yes, probably. Cettainly given the right prompt. Or excuse.
Somewhere above I saw mention of "admit" the problem: yes, that is a pre-requisite. And not easily done. After all, everyone has a drink, don't they? Drinkers do. Alcoholics do more than that. They drink to get .... drunk. Not to socialise. Not to relax. To get mindless.
There, that's it.
Any old-time C+ Forummers on here may well have heard this before. Apologies. All it's meant to do is tell anyone who needs it that it can be done.
dave j
-
That is one of the bravest and most honest posts I have ever seen. Thanks for sharing it.
-
Not really - "honest" is the one thing that HAS to be done, especially to oneself.
Hummers, just read your Post(s). Any and all efort(s) good, but in all honesty (that word again), moderation is a VERY difficult state for a drunk. And it gets more difficult the older one gets. I was 55 before I reached near bottom.
But not for me to preach.
-
Good post dave, and a massive achievement. Keep at it.
I did a home detox too, but got off lighter than many. No fits, but bad twitches in my legs and hands, tripping out a lot, seeing things. I swelled up like a balloon and thought I was going to burst - kept throwing up blood. And after that many years of not being right mentally. My spirit withdrew into itself, and I was off balance with the rest of the world, out of sync. I always give a wry smile when I meet people who say stuff like 'I'm just so crazy.' No, I think to myself, you're not. But I was.
I tried moderation myself, for quite a few years after I knew I had a drink problem, but which I thought I could control. 'I'll be alright if I only have a couple of pints.' Doesn't work. I only took a tenner down the pub, or I'd only buy two bottles of wine at the bottle store. And as soon as I'd finished them I'd be back for more. No money? No problem - just borrow some, just lift a bottle off the shelf. Seriously - I became a shoplifter to get more booze while convincing myself that I was controlling it because I'd 'only' spent £50 on booze that week. It's all or nothing for me with the booze, and I chose nothing. In return I got my life back.
There was a good piece in The Times about a home detox the other day.
Home detoxing my alcoholic friend - Times Online (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article4861010.ece)
-
Hummers, just read your Post(s). Any and all efort(s) good, but in all honesty (that word again), moderation is a VERY difficult state for a drunk.
I have never considered myself as being dependent on drink and have known people who needed a half-bottle of vodka to start the day. Things have never been that bad for me but like Wooly, when I stopped completely, I was alarmed at how big a part of my life was given over to drinking and how it was a large part of my identity. I think this proves that there are different levels of dependency that are not all about addiction and physical dependancy.
Moderation in anything is something I struggle with but hope that at least with the booze, I can manage the balance of enjoying a drink with friends without going over the top (too often).
We'll see how it goes but given that I listed out 11 positives against 3 negatives of not drinking, I would serioulsy consider giving booze up for good if I found myself under it's control again.
H
-
Not really - "honest" is the one thing that HAS to be done, especially to oneself.
Hummers, just read your Post(s). Any and all efort(s) good, but in all honesty (that word again), moderation is a VERY difficult state for a drunk. And it gets more difficult the older one gets. I was 55 before I reached near bottom.
But not for me to preach.
Hi davej
Just the other day was wondering where you had got to? Nice to hear from you again. Good to hear you're still on the wagon. Cheers FF.
-
Thanks - and you, FF! Still on the wagon and still on the pedals, so can't be all bad, really.
-
I've read through this thread with great interest. I wouldn't say I was a heavy drinker, but I wouldn't would I? I very rarely get drunk, but there are many times when I can't remember the last day I had without a drink. A lot of my social life involves playing traditional music in pubs - I can be out as much as three or four times a week, so I'm wondering if I'd cope better drinking on fewer days.
I know several people who can't have a drink and although I admire them immensely, I don't want to be like that. What's motivating me to drink less is the fact that I really do enjoy a drink. I love real ale, belgian beers, wine, red and white, single malts and a nice drop of cognac. You can keep the rest! I realise there's only so much money you can spend, only so much food you can eat and only so much alcohol that you can drink and therefore for me moderation is the way to go.
A little while ago my doctor had a go at me. He said how much do you drink? My answer was - well I probably go out three times a week and have a couple of pints each time and then a couple of bottles of wine on the weekend. His response was to tell me that I probably had three pints on three nights of the week, and the wine would make it up to the massive total of 50 units a week. Since then I've been recording what I drink - units are quite easy to calculate - the percentage of alcohol in the drink, multiplied by the amount in milililtres (spelling looks wrong there?) no I am sober - it's new specs I need! Some weeks I have exceded the 50 units that he predicted.
The one thing I have noticed is that when I do get pissed I tend to wake up with a cold or worse the next morning. Both of the nasty colds I've had this summer started the day after a heavy night - or at least a night where I felt myself that I'd drunk too much. So I've decided to try and have a relatively sober month. I've just come back from a week in France where I had a hangover most mornings, so now seems a good time to start. I intend to give drink a wide berth until the start of December - I am going to have a couple of pints on Friday, and again on the last Monday of October - I run a traditional music session at a Camra winning pub. Today is my second day without a drink. I can't say I feel any different yet, but that's probably because I had a flu jab today, and I've been feeling a bit funny since.
I hope nobody takes offence at my expression of the fact that I love a drink, and being able to continue drinking is one of my motivations for cutting down.
-
Join the club! :thumbsup:
H
-
"A little while ago my doctor had a go at me. He said how much do you drink? "
Doctors etc very often automatically double whatever a patient SAYS they drink - at least if a "problem". Declaring a truthful c. 300 units per week, the medical profession was thus quite surprised by my still being alive!
-
I've just caught up with this thread.
Once again, I'm floored by the honesty and bravery of people here.
I have been worried about how much my wife and I drink, more for her than me. Her life has become sedentary (due to job/children/time pressures) and with the stress has come a habit to have a drink every night. This seemed fine and enjoyable to me; one beer a night didn't hurt. But then it became two beers each, or a bottle of wine. If we'd each bought a bottle that night, it was 2 bottles of wine. Followed by spirits. Not a lot, but it was enough to affect her health and our bank balance. She suffers from arthritis in all her joints, the alcohol make it worse, and putting on 2 stone in weight hasn't helped.
Reading some of the posts here makes me realise that neither of us are alcoholics, we just drink a bit more than we can afford and is good for our health.
-
I've given up giving up for the time being. I think the best I managed was 4 days. I've been keeping my intake around 50-70 units per week and I'm quite happy with that.
The bigger problem I have at the moment is spliffs and pills. I love them. Whenever I take pills I always seem to end up with the phone numbers of hot girls :thumbsup: If I had a decent supply I don't think I'd drink at all. Am going out tomorrow, pills and bongs are on the menu.
-
Could this be rephrased as:
"Whenever I give away pills I always seem to end up with the phone numbers of hot girls" ;)
Each to their own. Enjoy yourself and don't do any harm.
-
Could this be rephrased as:
"Whenever I give away pills I always seem to end up with the phone numbers of hot girls" ;)
I think that's a possibility ;)
Each to their own. Enjoy yourself and don't do any harm.
It's pretty much impossible to do any damage with spliffs and bongs. Pills are slightly more dodgy since you don't know what's in them, but I do them anyway and it's always a good experience.
-
It's pretty much impossible to do any damage with spliffs and bongs. Pills are slightly more dodgy since you don't know what's in them, but I do them anyway and it's always a good experience
I'll refrain from comment on that one.
Don't come crying to us... ;)
-
It's pretty much impossible to do any damage with spliffs and bongs. Pills are slightly more dodgy since you don't know what's in them, but I do them anyway and it's always a good experience
I'll refrain from comment on that one.
Don't come crying to us... ;)
That's not really refraining, is it?
-
That's not really refraining, is it?
True. I just don't want to preach.
How can I put this while avoiding, as I'd like to, any criticism of others...
Alcohol, spliffs, E's... it's about deciding to live one's life in a different way, without these things, and realising that life can actually be better without them for some individuals.
Or, for me, realising that I could not live my life that way any more.
-
That's not really refraining, is it?
True. I just don't want to preach.
How can I put this while avoiding, as I'd like to, any criticism of others...
Alcohol, spliffs, E's... it's about deciding to live one's life in a different way, without these things, and realising that life can actually be better without them for some individuals.
Or, for me, realising that I could not live my life that way any more.
Plus one : thumbs up :
-
It's pretty much impossible to do any damage with spliffs and bongs.
Not in my experience. I know a couple of people who have large empty periods of memory due to overindulgence in spliffs.
I take it you've never come across Afgani Black.
-
"I take it you've never come across Afgani Black. "
That was a LONG time ago....
What pray are bongs? And pills surely covers a multitude of susbtances ( I used to be very fond of speed and guiness and gin cocktails).
-
I once had a very nice glass bong made out of bits of old lab equipment. The Afghan black did for it in the end - the plug of resin got so hot that on a particularly long drag the glass bowl started glowing red then exploded with a crack, spattering bits of black all over the ceiling. Silence, then a rather stunned 'Woah, man...'
Ah yes. Pills and bongs. Possible damage might include schizophrenia and assorted types of bipolar disorder. Ask me how I know :).
-
What pray are bongs?
A bubble pipe or hookah that cools the smoke by passing it through water. Cab be a commercially made object (very popular in teh Arab world for smoking fruit tobaco) or home made from lab equipment or a plastic bottle and a ball point pen case and sellotape.
-
50-70 units a week? Fk me man, that's an incredible amount of alcohol, enough to see you without a working liver in a very short few years!!!
-
70 units is about 10 pints a day !
-
70 units is about 3-5 pints a day !
FTFY...
-
50-70 units a week? Fk me man, that's an incredible amount of alcohol, enough to see you without a working liver in a very short few years!!!
It's really not. 70 units = 10 units a day = 3 anna bit pints of Carlsberg Export or 5 pints of regular Carlsberg.
I probably got through about that per week at university, courtesy of the £1 / pint bar.
-
70? Nobbut a drop honest! As above, I reckoned 1 1/2 to 2 bottles of gin/brandy a day comes out at about 300 p.w. If I could stick to 70 I'd not have bothered stopping.
-
50-70 units a week? Fk me man, that's an incredible amount of alcohol, enough to see you without a working liver in a very short few years!!!
It's really not. 70 units = 10 units a day = 3 anna bit pints of Carlsberg Export or 5 pints of regular Carlsberg.
I probably got through about that per week at university, courtesy of the £1 / pint bar.
Your right Liz. Don't know what happened with my maths. Average pint these days is 5% which is 2.8 units so 70 units is 25 pints or about 3.5 pints per day.
-
As usual, I suspect it'll be your parents' fault when it comes to how tolerant/intolerant you are to booze - in that it's set in your genes.
The BBC carried a story about a mid-forties housewife who turned her liver to jelly in little more than three years on half a bottle of red a day. That's 35 units a week.
The oldest man in Norfolk died recently, aged 106. When previously asked what he attributed his longevity to, he said "Long walks and half a bottle of red a day.".
Two people with startlingly different outcomes to the same intake, though granted - a mans larger metabolism might help a bit with tolerance.
The maximum recommended levels are complete guesses, but the stats show an increase in poor health in line with increased levels of intake - in exactly the same way as happens with smoking. But nobody can predict how each of us will tolerate long term high intakes of booze (or anything else for that matter). That's why the "Moderation Message" works for everyone.
I've found a middle ground that currently works for me. I drink much less during the week now - quite often not at all. Weekends, I might despatch a bottle of red on two nights. This blows through the recommended daily maximum amount for men (4 units) but keeps me around the recommended weekly maximum.
Will I be able to tolerate this long-term? Who knows? It's a lottery.
-
I take it you've never come across Afgani Black.
It's just black. It may be stronger than other kinds of black, but then skunk can be strong too. THC content is largely irrelevant, you just smoke more or less of it to achieve the same effect, in the same way you don't drink scotch from pint glasses.
-
50-70 units a week? Fk me man, that's an incredible amount of alcohol, enough to see you without a working liver in a very short few years!!!
It's really not. 70 units = 10 units a day = 3 anna bit pints of Carlsberg Export or 5 pints of regular Carlsberg.
I probably got through about that per week at university, courtesy of the £1 / pint bar.
At Uni it was a one pint per year rule on birthdays. 11am start in the Student Union bar. $DEITY knows where you'd end up.
On my 21st I finished my 21st pint of Guinness at around 11pm still in the Union bar at which point we went out on the town. It was a Thursday so it was probably Cairos, wouldn't have been Roxy because Thursday was Grab-A-Granny night (a.k.a. over 25's only).
Draught Guinness back then was usually 4.3% ABV so that's 51 units of booze in one 12 hour sitting.
I now stick to under 21 units a week. When I first tried this I was surprised at how little booze it is once you work it out and keep a tally.
My tolerance is also completely gone. I'm often slurring my words after 4 pints now, which is nice.
-
I'm ofshen slluruuuring my wordssshhh after 4shh pintshhh now
Pardon?
-
...in the same way you don't drink scotch from pint glasses.
Is that where I'm going wrong then? :-[ :-[ :-[ :-[
-
in the same way you don't drink scotch from pint glasses.
Who is this "you", paleface?
Drink it straight from the bottle; it saves on washing-up ;D
-
Not sure I'd agree with that, drinking 10 units of alcohol via pure ethyl alcohol will have a different effect to drinking 4 pints of lager.
But if you sipped the alcohol over the same time period as you would have drunk the pints, the effect would be the same, no? Only without the bloat from 4 pints of liquid ;)
-
Have had some unpleasant physical experiences since I've started to drink again.
I can have two pints of beer and feel OK. Any more than that and I feel like crap within an hour.
I can have two large glasses of wine and feel OK. Any more than that and I feel like crap within an hour.
I've also think that my fitness on the bike has been affected by my drinking.
I really enjoy drinking beer and wine again but it seems that although I can quaff many pints down without getting lashed, the detrimental affect it has on my health is more obvious than before.
Another thing, over the period I gave up the booze, I ate better, exercised the same amount but still dropped below 16st for the first time in about 5 years. Since I have started to drink again, this process is going into reverse. :-\
Of course, all of this may be due to my having a succession of colds and man-flu but it could suggest that my body is trying to tell me something.
H
-
I was thinking of this thread earlier today when I read this article (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article5009583.ece) in The Times, asking whether as a recovering alcoholic, it's ever OK to drink again. It's been on my mind lately. Playing mental chess with myself again, I've started to occasionally harbour dangerous thoughts, along the lines of how I'm such a different person now after 8 years of sobriety, perhaps I actually could drink again. I've made such a virtue out of giving up purely on willpower it's become tired. Maybe if I faced up to it it wouldn't be such a huge issue. Just go out for a pint of Guinness. I'm not thinking of whiskey or anything - that'd just be mad. There's a reason they call it spirit. It is the imbibing of spirits - possession by them, a giddy warm bloodrush where you lick the last drops of liquid fire from the glass. Maybe that's why they call it liquor. No, I'm not thinking of that at all.
Maybe there's a known condition called '8 years in' or something, which is when it starts to catch you out again. I don't want to feel starving hungry, hideously bloated on cheap lager (urp) as I so often did. But I'm so changed - I have a skill, a talent, a career, self-respect. In the old scheme of skewed priorities it was drink first, everything else afterwards. But now if I'm warm and have just had a good dinner, why not, with my cigar, enjoy a glass of John Jamesons finest golden liquid smoothness again, just a sip? But I'm just scratching an old itch there. I know if I ignore it it'll go away. Because otherwsie I'll end up like this:
“I couldn't resist the challenge,” says Claire. “Within minutes we had downed the first glass of whisky and then another and another until the bottle was empty. That was the start of a two-day bender that ended up in hospital after I knocked myself out. I understand now that I can't ever have just one drink. I never could stop at one.” [/quote]
-
Some months after I stopped I had the mind games. I'd been thinking that I missed pubs, or one or two particular pubs. I thought I'd pay a visit and see if the bonhomie and the warm glow actually existed without being hammered. That's what I thought I was thinking - what was really going on was little niggling voice in my head suggesting that I might like a dose of oblivion.
Anyway, I went to the pub. I had a coke. The pub was rubbish. I hated having drinkers near me. I bought a pint. I found it impossible to enjoy: the memories of the mess it had got me into at times made it unpleasant. I also realised the utter pointlessness of "a pint" to me - the was no point unless it was the first of many.
a succession of colds and man-flu
One of the first things I noticed after stopping, once the initial phase was over, was a drastic reduction in colds and flu.
-
For probably the first time, I "agree" with The Times: ".....only abstinence will enable her to control her drinking. For those who are dependent, just one drink is not an option. They must stop and never start again."
ONE drink is never an option for a drunk - because it doesn't get them DRUNK. And that is the reason why drunks drink. They like being drunk.
My working assumption is "one drink today, one bottle tomorrow". I expcet I said this before, but some years ago after 21 months stone dry I had two whiskies on Xmas Eve. Before that year was out .... back on half to one bottle a day. Now that I don't have the discipline imposed by work, it would increase VERY quickly. My other assumption is that if/when I do start again, two years to live.
-
I'm glad I read this thread. It confirmed something I'd been thinking about for a while but hadn't done anything about. I couldn't remember the last day I did't have a drink - apart from three days in July when I was ill. I have cut down quite a bit - avoided opening a bottle of red on a work night, and drunk water in pubs. I've been recording everything I've drunk and in the last three weeks it's been 18, 32 (bit of a slip up there) and 22. I'll have to watch it this week, I've had 11 already - btw I start the week on Sunday.
It is surprising how little 21 units is.
-
Your not mixing up your units with your push ups are you Robert? ;D ;D Only joking.
Those figures are very impressive. I too very rarely go a night without a drink and I am currently measuring my intake with a view to whittling it down but I'm ashamed to say that I have a lot further to go to get anywhere near your levels. Last week was 57 and this week I will be please to stay below 50. My optimistic aim is to produce a graph of consumption that falls steadily until I get to around 30 units a week, I would be happy with that.
-
I've shocked myself, downed 10 units this week, which is massive for me.
-
last week I was in the pub 3 times, I can't remember when I last was in the pub that many times in a week, I had about 6 pints (4 over three hours, 1, 1 I think it was). But I feel good that I can do that now, go into a pub an leave after one, without the need to have one for the road.
-
Hauling this thread back out of Novemberdom.
I've decided (I was sober at the time, so it counts) to hang up my tankard and put away the wine glass for a couple of months at least, come the New Year - like I did last year.
It did magical things for my weight loss, and I was also much more focussed and "with it".
Actually, I'm kind of determined to make it to Easter this time.
-
That's awesome Chris, well done!
I must confess to drinking a quarter or half glass of red wine 3 times a week or so over the last two months. Heath purposes, I promise!
-
That's awesome Chris, well done!
I must confess to drinking a quarter or half glass of red wine 3 times a week or so over the last two months. Heath purposes, I promise!
The band leader or the PM?
-
How many units is a pint of lager & a glass of wine?
-
How many units is a pint of lager & a glass of wine?
About 4 depending on the strength of the wine and lager, as well as the size of the wineglass.
-
I've decided (I was sober at the time, so it counts) to hang up my tankard and put away the wine glass for a couple of months at least, come the New Year - like I did last year.
It did magical things for my weight loss, and I was also much more focussed and "with it
Me too on both counts.
Starts from 5th Jan for a month at least.
It's all or nothing with me as I can't mess with Mr Inbetween.
H
-
How many units is a pint of lager & a glass of wine?
About 4 depending on the strength of the wine and lager, as well as the size of the wineglass.
Thanks for that.
What is "the recommended" limit?
-
How many units is a pint of lager & a glass of wine?
About 4 depending on the strength of the wine and lager, as well as the size of the wineglass.
Thanks for that.
What is "the recommended" limit?
Four a day for a bloke.
Three a day for a bird.
-
Used to be 4 units/day for men and three for wimmin. I think it's been revised down to 3 for men and two for wimmin.
-
Used to be 4 units/day for men and three for wimmin. I think it's been revised down to 3 for men and two for wimmin.
Spoilsports.
It's all a big guess anyway.
None is pretty safe though.
-
Used to be 4 units/day for men and three for wimmin. I think it's been revised down to 3 for men and two for wimmin.
Spoilsports.
It's all a big guess anyway.
None is pretty safe though.
Quite... it's not a one size fits all, age has a lot to do with it:
BBC NEWS | Health | Alcohol 'only benefits old' (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/2153052.stm)
They found that women over the age of 65 could drink up to three units of alcohol a week without increasing their risks of dying.
Similarly, men over the age of 65 could drink up to eight units a week without any noticeable effects.
But the researchers said their findings suggested that the recommended alcohol consumption for younger people should be reduced.
They recommend that for men, drinking should be limited to one unit a day up to the age of 34, two units a day up to 44, three units a day up to 84 and five units a day after that.
For women, they recommend one unit a day up to 44, two units a day up to 74 and three units a day after that.
Dunno if this study has been repeated or contradicted since, though.
I reduced my alcohol intake to zero from the age of 28 or so, til recently, looks like I should be thinking about drinking even more! :)
(Total intake this year around 1-2 units per week I reckon).
-
What an odd study.
Surely it is not about the "health benefits" of alcohol at all, but the fact that the negative effects become relatively less significant as we get older (relative to the increasing overall risk of dying)?
-
What an odd study.
Surely it is not about the "health benefits" of alcohol at all, but the fact that the negative effects become relatively less significant as we get older (relative to the increasing overall risk of dying)?
Well, the two ideas aren't necessarily contradictory. There is also the cumulative exposure effect. If you start younger, you accumulate more risk.
The other factor is the claim that people who drink a small amount of alcohol fare better than those that do not. I believe studies like this indicate this effect is confined to middle aged and older people, and isn't true for young people; thus if you are going to the doc's in your 20s and they say a small amount of alcohol is beneficial, that's probably bad advice.
-
What an odd study.
Surely it is not about the "health benefits" of alcohol at all, but the fact that the negative effects become relatively less significant as we get older (relative to the increasing overall risk of dying)?
People who drink a bit are less likely to die than people who don't drink at all.
It's more like the amount of alcohol at which the risk of death matches that of a TT person.
So...
If you are 60 and are TT, you've a 1% risk of dying each year.
If you are 60 and drink 2 units a day, you've a 0.9% chance of dying each year
If you are 60 and drink 4 units a day, you've a 1% chance of dying each year
So they say a chap of 60 can drink 4 units a day without ill effect.
(randomly selected numbers, but you get the idea)
-
I ve stumbled onto this thread rather late. I used to work in substance misuse services, so I know that this time of year can be difficult for some of you who have posted. My best wishes to you , and I hope you come through xmas into a healthy new year. You did the right thing so keep on doing it.
-
Best wishes to all who are hoping for a clean Christmas!
-
Rather beaten to it by last two posts, but I dropped by to say....
if anyone else finds, as I do, Xmas Eve the most difficult dry time of the year (I just KNOW that the pubs are full and that "everybody else" is having a drink), then you ain't alone. And that tomorrow you WILL be glad (and even smug) that you stayed clean.
Well, that's what I tell myself. So with luck it WILL be my sixth dry Xmas.
Happy Christmas all.
Dave J
-
I found this evening quite difficult.
[Post edited somewhat, sorry]
-
But you've got through. Well done. Keep on track. You're more important.
-
What clarion said.
And I did and having been for a pedal I DO feel good about myself. Hope you do also.
-
Yeah, very funny. Not.
-
Yeah, very funny. Not.
?
H
-
Yeah, very funny. Not.
?
H
I think the poster has sobered up enough to remove the post that sparked the response.
-
Yeah, very funny. Not.
?
H
I think the poster has sobered up enough to remove the post that sparked the response.
Whatever the reason, yes, removed. I really wasn't just imagining things!
-
That's OK.
I know ALL there is to know about lapses in taste caused by too much port (or indeed just about any booze you care to name)!
-
good thread, :thumbsup:
Pint of beer a day raises cancer risk by fifth, says expert |
Science |
The Guardian
(http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/dec/27/alcohol-cancer-health)
ahh im giving up!!!
-
Right that's it. I'm not going to eat anything, drink anything, go anywhere or do anything. It's all too dangerous.
On a serious note, this thread is tremendously useful as a reminder, and a drip feed of pressure to keep me on the almost straight and narrow. All the best to those of you who are finding this time of year difficult, I admire your self control tremendously.
-
Jezza glad to read your uplifting story of how to beat the booze.
I agree though you have to say away from the demon .
I worked for a major brewery for twenty years .
Alcohol was always freely available,at lunch,after work invites to pubs .In those days I was careful to keep drink uder control as many work mates needed drink to start the day let alone get to the end without a drink.
No I am not joking and as it was free,cost did not figure.
We also had as well as accesss to free booze in the canteen,4 pints allowance per day and a staff purchase allowance of £100 per month (a tray of carling 24 cans was £8) so lots of access.We also bought kegs and had parties at home so temptation everywhere.
I did not indulge too badly however these days drink creeps up on you.
A stressful day?It is so easy to open a bottle of wine and finish it after a bad day.
I now have reverted to no drink monday to saturday and limiting saturday to a bottle of wine and one double spirit. Not good I know but better than I was.Weight has come down and I feel better.
Alcohol ,if it was brought in now woud be a dangerous drug!!
It does need handling with care in these stressful times whereits so easy to put a couple of bottles in your trolley when you shop.
Good luck with your demons everyone.
-
Wishing good luck everyone for Old Year's Night, if you're battling the bottle.
-
What peliroja said - it ain't an easy evening for us retired (temporarily or otherwise) drunks, BUT it does mark either "end of the first year or Xmas sober" or "another year and Xmas sober" so a "good thing" also.
Happy 2009 to all.
dave j
-
Well, it's another notch on the calender in many ways - it was the year 2000 when I gave up, which is a nice round year to be starting from. I always find New Year much harder than Christmas, for some reason. I was talking to my sister earlier on about how we'd always end up at a party somewhere when we were younger. Nowadays I'm afraid the highlight of my evening is downloading a podcast of some trance music, smoking too many roll ups and having a nice cup of tea.
Good luck to everyone for the New Year.
-
Happy New Year Jezza. I suspect you have helped a lot of people on here in 2008, thank you.
-
Not sure what to say here, it's difficult to pin down why I find Christmas itself a bit tricky. Not so much on the alcohol front specifically, more that it makes me reminisce about times past.
Anyway, 2 1/2 years now.
Happy New Year to all :)
-
Two years ago I got a call to say my mate Tom had died. I had to take a few seconds to think 'Tom who?' because I hadn't seen him for a while. We'd been drinking buddies in the past, and used to swap travel stories - like me he spent quite a bit of time in South-east Asia and loved it over there. He found it hard coming back to the UK. He had OCD when younger, which had really strung him out, but we all treated it as a bit of a laugh, and would tell him we were leaving at 8.45 to give him time to turn on and off the lights, check the doorhandle, wash his hands a few times, ready to meet us by 9. Anyway, he got a job in a pub which was awesome, because he could spend the whole day polishing the brasses. He used to lighten up when he'd had a drink, and just relaxed a bit with the routines. He had a hell of a sense of humour: ultra dry. And you really had to be there, but the impression of a Viet zookeeper he'd once met ('you want wild enemas?') would leave us crying with laughter.
Anyway, there's bugger all work round this way out of season, so he moved to a nearby city - the same one I'd moved to years earlier. I didn't see him much after I got sober - our paths didn't cross in the pub any more. One day I was shopping in town with my bro-in-law and bumped into him. We went for a drink down by the river and I stuck to coffee. He was full of plans - new job lined up, starting a college course, new girlfriend. I know now that all this was a lie. But that was the last time I saw him.
He got caught drink driving, and was due to appear in court. He missed the court appearance (he was drunk) and was arrested. Got a fine he couldn't pay. He got another court appearance and someone noticed his intoxicated appearance. There may have been a couple of other charges. He got sent to prison for a month. He got sober in prison, started a course, got himself together. He was released on December 31st. He walked straight back into his local pub.
The call came from my sister. Tom had been best man at her wedding. He'd been found dead on the floor of his flat. They reckon he'd been there three weeks. He'd lost contact with just about everyone - all his mates. He kept open a line of communication with his sister, but the last conversation they'd had had been a row. Everyone was sick of him lying, borrowing money and never paying it back, using people. His last act was to call an off licence and order some takeout booze. Some time in the night he got up from the couch, fell over, hit his head and died. He was 30 years old.
I went to the funeral. The entire town here went - there wasn't room for everyone in the church. I gave my condolences to his family. His sister cut me dead. It could have so easily been me instead, you could see her thinking. And I can't blame her for wishing that it had been.
Anyway, last year I was on a beach in Vietnam. There was a small shrine there, and a woman selling incense. I went over and bought some sticks, lit them and placed them in the holder. And there, in front of the South China Sea, so different to this sea here in England which we used to sit in front of, I offered up my best attempt at a prayer for the memory of my friend Tom.
The world is round. You have gone but are only out of sight. I will see you again.
-
:'(
-
Well last night was a pleasant surprise for me. Went to the party and everybody was joking about the last two years, when they'd carried me home.
When buying drinks to take I'd said I would only take the 4 cans as I was bored of "drinking". I was told to take more as 4 wouldn't enough.
Soooo, at 8pm I turned up at the party with my 8 cans of tanglefoot.
At 03:00 this morning I walked back carrying the unopened 4 cans, wife, and sister-in-law.
-
Well last night was a pleasant surprise for me. Went to the party and everybody was joking about the last two years, when they'd carried me home.
When buying drinks to take I'd said I would only take the 4 cans as I was bored of "drinking". I was told to take more as 4 wouldn't enough.
Soooo, at 8pm I turned up at the party with my 8 cans of tanglefoot.
At 03:00 this morning I walked back carrying the unopened 4 cans, wife, and sister-in-law.
Blimey! That's impressive! :o
-
Two years ago I got a call to say my mate Tom had died...
Very moving, thought provoking post Jezza.
-
Blimey! That's impressive! :o
even more so considering it was downhill on black ice...
-
Christmas presents from family included:
Bottle Opener
Corkscrew
An Engraved Pint Pot
Another Bottle Opener.
Having read this thread, I'm wondering if they're trying to tell me something. So I'm going to give 'the wagon' a trial for a month.
Wish me luck.
-
Wish me luck.
Good Luck. Next drink for me - Easter at the earliest. Wish me luck.
-
Good Luck to all who are on the wagon.
My thoughts are with you.
-
I'm on too
I did 2-3 months in the autumn and it went well. I came off in November because I wanted too, but now I shall try to stay dry until Easter
-
Good luck all.
-
Like last year, just January for me. Hardly even on the wagon really, and nothing in comparison with what others are dealing with, but it's a break and enough time to see things from the other side.
Booze is not the problem with me, it's the mind that does the damage.
Do I believe in addictive personalities? I do. Whether it's genetic or whether one is driven to it by stress, I've never quite sure, but I do know in myself that I have 'free-floating' addictive traits. They don't always have to find expression in 'bad' things like smoking [quit 9 yrs ago] and booze. It can be other things like building bikes and pouring over forums on the internet. It's the same compulsion - something done to excess that can get out of hand. The key is understanding to what's going on, so you can try and reign it in to restore a bit of balance. Doesn't happen very often though!
Thank god I've never grown up in an environment where hard drugs have been around.
Poignantly told story Jezza.
-
I'm struggling. I don't intend to give up but I really need to cut down. I am suffering from horrible mouth ulcers at the moment and a few glasses of wine give me some relief for a while but I know that it is just another excuse really. I'm not giving up on cutting down and this thread is a useful part of the process.
Good luck once again to you all, whatever you are trying to achieve.
-
I was never addicted, so I don't find the occasional drink causes me to lose control. For me it was drinking with mates for the most part. I don't have any mates now. ;D
-
I'm your mate :thumbsup:
-
For a variety of reasons I went on the wagon for 50 days in the run up to Christmas. For the first time in years I felt fantastic. I was sleeping well, keen to get out on the bike, more relaxed and above everything I had much more time for those around me. I decided to have a few drinks over Christmas. Plenty of festivities and one spectacular binge later I decided that I didn't really want to feel like that any more.
So I'm back off it again. Lots to get on with this year....
If anyone is trying to reduce the pangs there is a herbal treatment called Kudzu, which you can get in Holland & Barrett. I tried it with and without drinks and found that it made wine and beer taste a bit strange and also found that I was drinking a lot more slowly than those around me.
-
Over Christmas/New year I drank at a level that would have done me harm if it had continued so I decided to go on the wagon for January.
It's gone OK- going to the pub after football and having soft drinks wasn't a hardship and the only thing I missed was a glass of wine sometimes with dinner (and a real desire to have a malt after reading Woolly's whisky thread !).
So I've stayed strong.
I don't feel any better for it. I don't bounce out of bed in the morning, I don't have more energy, I don't look 10 years younger. I'm disappointed.
I must admit that I thought that I would notice something straight away.
Naive or impatient ? I can't decide.
-
You probably weren't drinking enough before you gave up ;)
I'm back on a no alcohol from Mon-Thur regime. feel better in the mornings and realise during the weekends that what I previously considered normal was not :thumbsup:
-
You probably weren't drinking enough before you gave up ;)
LOL !
I did wonder that.
It's a thought that I must dismiss though, I don't want a target to aim for.
-
Over Christmas/New year I drank at a level that would have done me harm if it had continued so I decided to go on the wagon for January.
It's gone OK- going to the pub after football and having soft drinks wasn't a hardship and the only thing I missed was a glass of wine sometimes with dinner (and a real desire to have a malt after reading Woolly's whisky thread !).
So I've stayed strong.
I don't feel any better for it. I don't bounce out of bed in the morning, I don't have more energy, I don't look 10 years younger. I'm disappointed.
I must admit that I thought that I would notice something straight away.
Naive or impatient ? I can't decide.
I think you only feel a dramatic change if were chronically pissed previously.
If you drink a lot (arbitrary guess: >10 units a day) then you start drinking again before your body has finished clearing up from the previous batch, so you gradually become more and and more pissed over a long period of time.
I've definitely felt better since I stopped in the New Year; but then I was drinking between 40 and 80 units a week, so chronically pissed by my measure [sic].
As it happens, I'm planning on stepping off the wagon this coming Saturday, as it's me burfday. Back on the wagon next day though...
-
I too started the no alcohol Mon to Thu last week. It went surprisingly easily and same again on Mon this week then last night I was lured into a pub on the way home by a mischievous work colleague so bad marks for me. Back on the Ribena tonight and we will see how it goes for a few weeks. I definitely feel better getting up in the morning but I'm not sleeping well at all.
My main concern with this kind of regime is that the body has just got used to no alcohol after four days and then has to adjust to three days with alcohol (yes I know it isn't compulsory to drink at the weekend but I enjoy it). I sometimes wonder if that isn't more strain on the body than a moderate amount of alcohol five or six nights per week.
-
I've found that it takes a while for your body to adjust it's sleeping patterns, but in the end you sleep much better for no alcohol. I would normally be falling asleep at about 10.00, only to wake up at 3.00am or something stupid. Now I don't feel sleepy until 12.00, ( I normally get up around 5.30- 6.00)
Once you settle down I find that generally I drink less during the weekend aswell,( although the first few Fridays are a bit of a blur ;) )
One "failure" a week is nothing to worry about. I find it all goes to pot in the summer, the temptation of hot weather, friends popping round etc :'( :'(
-
"One "failure" a week is nothing to worry about."
Sorry, but the whole point is that - for SOME people - YES IT IS.
-
For some people yes possibly.
However, toekneep said giving up Mon-Thur seemed pretty easy, like me, alcohol isn't a necessity, but a bad habit of drinking too much possibly. If he were talking about stopping completely it might be a different matter.
It's no use beating yourself up for being weak willed occasionally ;)
Edit: If you are only trying to cut down not stop
-
We need to be careful here that we don't confuse the difference between genuine alcoholics trying to give up drinking forever, which as I understand it from my many family sufferers, is the only option, and people who are drinking more than they feel is good for them who are trying to cut down. I have three cousins who are now dry, and two who are dead through alcoholism so I do speak with some experience. Personally, I believe that I have the potential to become alcoholic if I don't keep a lid on it. I have been in the habit of drinking every night for years and years and I have decided that I need to break the habit and limit my drinking by having several dry nights each week. I am hoping that if I can make this a new habit it will make it a lot easier to meet targets of a limited number of units per week. Not necessarily the governments figure but something that I feel comfortable with.
I have the utmost sympathy and admiration for any genuine alcoholics who are taking one day at a time and for whom any lapse can be disastrous.
-
Well said TKP, well said :thumbsup:.
-
Well said TKP, well said :thumbsup:.
Yes indeed.
-
I'm having a booze-free January as part of an early-year bid to lose half a stone and do a bit more exercise (there is no early-morning swimming if I've had a drink the night before).
I went to a close friend's birthday bash last night. I'm usually one of the 'let's have another one somewhere else' brigade, and people seemed to take it... personally that I wasn't drinking. :-\ I'm not not drinking in order to make them feel like a bunch of booze-soaked reprobates, it's because I want to, just for a few weeks, but there was a distinct air of accusation over it.
[/whinge]
-
I think that's quite common. I think sometimes people justify their own drinking on the grounds that so-and-so drinks more. Or, sometimes people worry or feel bad about their own drinking and see other people choosing not to drink as some sort of moral judgement on them. We have a very screwed-up attitude to drink in this country.
-
Quite. The old definition of an alcoholic was 'someone who drinks more than their doctor'...
-
"I need to break the habit and limit my drinking by having several dry nights each week."
No idea if such a service exists in your locality, but Notts ADAS (which is VERY good) runs "controlled drinking" help groups. It does seem to work for some people (not for me though).
-
"I need to break the habit and limit my drinking by having several dry nights each week."
No idea if such a service exists in your locality, but Notts ADAS (which is VERY good) runs "controlled drinking" help groups. It does seem to work for some people (not for me though).
Thanks Dave, I'm doing OK at the moment and I've no idea if there is such a thing in my area but I will keep a note of your post for when and if it warrants more investigation. I had no idea that there was anything other than AA for support. Apart, of course, from YACF. :)
-
No problem.
-
I had no idea that there was anything other than AA for support. Apart, of course, from YACF. :)
Yep! I'm off to the pub with several of them this evening! :-\
-
I'm having a booze-free January as part of an early-year bid to lose half a stone and do a bit more exercise (there is no early-morning swimming if I've had a drink the night before).
I went to a close friend's birthday bash last night. I'm usually one of the 'let's have another one somewhere else' brigade, and people seemed to take it... personally that I wasn't drinking. :-\ I'm not not drinking in order to make them feel like a bunch of booze-soaked reprobates, it's because I want to, just for a few weeks, but there was a distinct air of accusation over it.
[/whinge]
I find that it really helps to have a goal in mind. My current one (and last year) was that as I am racing I need to keep on top of the training and I don't ride well if I have been drinking. So if I am training then I cannot drink.
I have events targetted and am actively training for them. This gets me kudos from friends who then don't try to persuade me to have a drink but actively support me not having a drink because I am 'training'..
It does help to have some genuine events to be training for. I'm considering being totally TT.. I am effectively so at the moment as we drink maybe a bottle of wine a quarter (and i have 1 pint a week after climbing with my mate).
..d
-
It's really with TRAT in mind that I'm not drinking. I think this is the longest that I've not had any booze at all, even a pint or a single glass of wine with dinner since I was.... oooh... fifteen-ish. It is peculiar not wanting any because it will interfere with my training plans the next day. This is not a mindset I'm used to.
Unfortunately the friends I was out with on Wednesday have known me for far too long to take me seriously as an aspiring athlete. ;D
-
It's really with TRAT in mind that I'm not drinking. I think this is the longest that I've not had any booze at all, even a pint or a single glass of wine with dinner since I was.... oooh... fifteen-ish. It is peculiar not wanting any because it will interfere with my training plans the next day. This is not a mindset I'm used to.
Unfortunately the friends I was out with on Wednesday have known me for far too long to take me seriously as an aspiring athlete. ;D
But you can still turn round and say 'this is important to me and I can do it if I do the proper training'.
..d
-
Yeah. They know, really, and they will be the first to applaud
if when I do it. It's just that they're not used to me not drinking and I'm not used to me not drinking (in that context). They've already watched me go from being the one who was always around to go to the pub to always crying off because I'm cycling at weekends, and there was a bit of tension round that. Now that on the rare occasions I do make it out to the pub with them, I'm not even drinking, they're feeling a bit snubbed. I've had a facebook chat with a couple of people and I think the compromise has been that I'll lead a righteous and sober life up until TRAT and then they've promised to take me on a "massive piss-up."
Working out whether I actually want a massive piss-up will then be June's problem.
-
Tonight is a bit special for me. After years of trying to limit my drink intake I have suddenly found the will power to do it. I'm not trying to give up drinking, I don't want to, but I really want to get some control over it. Tonight is the end of the fourth week of not drinking at all during the week, Monday to Thursday, and I have only had one slip up during the second week. I can live with that. I have never managed more than a few days in the past before cracking and going back to having a drink every night.
As for benefits, apart from the obvious financial saving, I have only noticed better sleep patterns. I am however, hoping that if I can keep this up the next step might be to go without completely for a week or two or maybe even longer. The title of this thread is very apt, it really has felt like a battle but I finally feel like I am in control.
-
Good Post TKP :thumbsup:
-
Well done toekneep.
I've not had any drinkahol since 3am on 1st Jan. (One or two sips of BEER as a part of being Bar Manager - Quality Control - usually leading to emptying 4 gallons or more of Vinegar-That-Was-Once-Real-Ale into the river)
Last time I gave up, I found exercise as a replacement. This time :-[ it's food. I've just eaten an entire large Domino's pizza. The only excuse I have is that lunch was just one turkey cob, and I've very little proper food in the house.
-
Well done that chap :thumbsup:
H
-
Last drink 23:50 on New Years Eve. So 36 days and counting, including my first dry birthday for about 20 years.
Went out for lunch with the out-laws on Sunday and was told that they weren't used to me without a glass of wine in my hand. Comments like that really help, don't they ?
I suppose the thing for me is that there are too many stories that begin with 'Rob was so pissed that.......'
-
Very well done Rob, that is a really big achievement.
Thanks for the positive comments everyone.
-
Good stuff.
I think that, even if you don't think you have a serious drinkohol problem, it is a useful exercise to see how it feels to leave it alone for a decent period. Some the changes are quite subtle.
-
I think that, even if you don't think you have a serious drinkohol problem, it is a useful exercise to see how it feels to leave it alone for a decent period. Some the changes are quite subtle.
Exactly. I'm doing well keeping my drinking within 20 units within a rolling 7 days but the thought of going to 0 units quite genuinely fills me with fear. Well done to anyone who does.
-
Well done Rob, and Tony. Everyone keeping it up, in fact.
Actually, even for those who've slipped a little; don't give up: You're almost there. Wanting to stop is the first step.
-
Last drink 23:50 on New Years Eve. So 36 days and counting, including my first dry birthday for about 20 years.
Went out for lunch with the out-laws on Sunday and was told that they weren't used to me without a glass of wine in my hand. Comments like that really help, don't they ?
I suppose the thing for me is that there are too many stories that begin with 'Rob was so pissed that.......'
Well done Rob, I'm rooting for you to keep it up. Could you see the outlaw's comments as good? They can only remember you with a glass in hand so maybe it really is time to make a change ? As a fairly light drinker who has only been really pissed less than 10 times in 63 years I struggle to understand why people don't just cut down. BUT (and a very big but) I smoked for around 40 years, tried giving up many times before eventually becoming 'somebody who currently doesn't smoke' a few years ago.
Good luck M8.
-
Stepping off the wagon again this weekend.
Shit week at work, plans for the weekend have all now evaporated (well - frozen I suppose, really) so I'm going on a bender. Normal service will be resumed on Monday.
-
Well done Rob and TKP, excellent news.
Be proud of yourselves, it is a huge achievement.
-
Stepping off the wagon again this weekend.
Shit week at work, plans for the weekend have all now evaporated (well - frozen I suppose, really) so I'm going on a bender. Normal service will be resumed on Monday.
I'm not quite sure what the appropriate response to that is so take whichever one appeals:
1. Well done, good decision.
2. Er, have a nice weekend.
3. Congrats on the earlier abstinence.
4. GWS on Monday.
5. Cheers!
-
5. Cheers!
I pick that one ;)
* raises glass *
-
Well done guys.
Working for Bass made it difficult to not drink but even there it was accepted practice to try and keep Monday to Thursday free of booze.
Very difficult I know so all credit to those who have managed it.
-
Well done guys.
Working for Bass made it difficult to not drink but even there it was accepted practice to try and keep Monday to Thursday free of booze.
Very difficult I know so all credit to those who have managed it.
I met a wine merchant once who said that his practice was to have one dry day a week and he drove to his parents to avoid drinking. He said that drinking was basically unavoidable in his line of work with tastings and sales trips all week long.
Personally, I worked on a trading floor for 7 years and it was accepted practice to work hard and play hard. I managed to avoid a lot of it due to the cycling but also had a lot of major lunches and nights out. I left last summer for a variety of reasons, but escaping the lifestyle was one of them.
Day 45 today. Sleeping well, more laid back but training has been limited due to the weather. Can't have everything.....
-
I'm going to give the non drinking a go for a while. Don't have a huge problem with booze and normally I don't drink during the week but have been drinking a bit too much lately. Since Christmas I have got into the habit of five or six pints on one night at the weekend, a bottle of wine during the week and maybe another night with a couple of pints. I also need to quit smoking again and the booze doesn't help. So tonight a finished the half bottle of wine left over from yesterday and I have one rolly to smoke before bed. I want to stay of the booze completely for two weeks. Let's see how it goes.
-
Good luck, and don't hesitate to come here if you think it will help at any point.
-
Worth a try. It's quite possible that you don't miss it, and enjoy the cheaper bills when you go shopping ;)
-
Well done that man. I have just poured myself a large glass of milk, I find I need a substitute to satisfy the habit element of drinking every night.
-
Night AQ, well done. You are doing a fine job there, keep it going.
-
after realising I was putting away more than was healthy, I've been off the beer for about 10 days now and feel depressingly well. I was hoping not to feel all that different so I could have an excuse for getting back to the pub but sadly I've got more energy, am sleeping a bit better and have lost a bit of weight.
Damn.
-
I have not consumed alcohol for 9 days now. Part of my plan to sort my stomach out, not sure it's working but I am feeling better about myself because of the denial.
-
If this sounds condescending, after 5 years and 10 months dry it isn't meant to be - "well done all!".
And don't forget, if just a drinker, a few lapses needn't mean not worth the effort.
-
I have really cut down on my alcohol intake for the last few weeks helped by the fact that the village pub closed and I won't drive after more than one pint. Have had an odd pint on the way home sometimes maybe two a week and cut out the wine with dinner at home completely. It's amazing how fast your tolerance for booze goes down, last night I had 2/3 of a bottle of red (celebration after making the decision to go ahead with our extension after months of thinking about it) and this morning I feel quite rough. A few weeks ago I wouldn't have noticed it at all. Feeling better generally though this morning excepted. Don't intend to give up completely but want to stay at this level rather than slip back into the 10 pints and a bottle of wine a week mode.
-
13 days and counting. My abstinence will almost certainly last another week until I go to Denmark.
-
I'm sticking to my three or four dry nights a week and it seems to be much easier than I thought. I sleep better but that's the only benefit I have noticed to be honest.
It being Friday and having been out for a hilly ride today I expect beer will consumed tonight.
-
It being Friday and having been out for a hilly ride today I expect beer will consumed tonight.
never mind the compression tights and sports drink for post-ride recovery, beer every time.
-
I'll have you know that I take post ride recovery very seriously indeed. I have had a cup of tea and a couple of slices of fruit loaf and I won't be going to the pub until at least 6 O'Clock.
I is an athlete you see. ;D
-
2/3rds of a bottle of wine? Crikey mate!!
-
2/3 of a bottle of wine is only 4 small glasses or the same units of alcohol as two pints or say two double scotches. The large glasses of wine you get in pubs and restaurants these days are 1/3 of a bottle each.
-
I is an athlete you see. ;D
And he's got the feet to prove it! ;)
-
2/3 of a bottle of wine is only 4 small glasses or the same units of alcohol as two pints or say two double scotches. The large glasses of wine you get in pubs and restaurants these days are 1/3 of a bottle each.
Yeah, if consumed all at once that would leave me a) legless, and b) hungover of note the next day.
-
I have not had much to drink this year at all. I had a glass of champagne on an empty stomach yesterday and definitely fet a bit of a 'hit' from it.
It was a sobering experience drinking soft drinks all weekend on a work retreat - with everyone else left right and centre being somewhat the worse for wear.
Sleep is what I need most of though.
-
Just recently I've been noting down everything I drink, since the nurse (at a sort of "well man" type check up) asked me how much I drink now. I said about 42 units a week - it being the answer to life, the universe and everything. Last week I totted up 38, so that was good. This week's going to be buggered. Before today (since Sunday) I've got to 19. Tonight, though I'll have to add 8 pints of bitter and a pint of 8% cider (knocks it up to 39) - and I've still got Saturday and Sunday to go.
-
2/3 of a bottle of wine is only 4 small glasses or the same units of alcohol as two pints or say two double scotches. The large glasses of wine you get in pubs and restaurants these days are 1/3 of a bottle each.
At 12% that would be 6 units, or 3 pints of ordinary-strength beer.
-
I'm officially off the booze until TRAT - there's only eight weeks to go!
-
It'll make a difference Liz, for sure, even if your consumption is (and I have no evidence to the contrary) modest. :)
-
I'm officially off the booze until TRAT - there's only eight weeks to go!
Only way to go. Good luck.
-
Good luck Liz, come back here and let us know what a difference it makes. Some of us need all the encouragement we can get. ;)
-
I'm officially off the booze until TRAT - there's only eight weeks to go!
And then you're drinking a bottle of gin after each day's ride? ;)
-
I was a heavy drinker in the early 80's and didn't think it a problem as I was working a skilled job with VERY good wages due to there being so few qualified to do the job, it was very responsible. I used to go from work to the Club for a brew before I went home. Have dinner, go to the pub and then on to the night clubs and drink until 2am. I was in Leeds at the time and had an interview in London for promotion one day. The day before that I got so stoked that the Police picked me up off the street I was lying on singing to myself. Put me in a cell overnight and I was charged with "Drunken Behaviour" in court, fined £25-00 and kicked out. I made it to the train but spent the whole of the journey to London in the toilet Blowing Chunks! Got to the Interview in Kings Cross and had to actually excuse myself a couple of times to use pray to the Porcelain prophet. I got the job anyway but it was the final straw that led me to stop drinking. I was 20 years old at the time and had been using Pub's since 14. I was lucky to have the distraction of moving to London and starting in a new post to help me not drink. It was Bloody hard though. I wish Strength and good luck to anybodt trying to stop now.
All I have to do now is work on the smoking... tomorrow?
-
I too feel it is time to ease off! been quite good lately but sat afternoon /eve i had 8 440ml, tins of 1664, then we went out to a dinner party,and I must had had nearly a bottle of red. Felt drained on sunday 8). I'm 6'2 98 kg and according to the bmi thing i'm bordering on obese! Well i'm not that buy a long way, but the booze doesnt help. On thursday night club runs, normally put away 4-5 pints! NO MORE! From now on I'm going to be good. O:-) Want to get to 89kg (14st) trouble is beer is usually accompanied by those luverly salty crispy things. Bad bad bad! :sick:
-
Well then. watever happened to this thread!!!!! I'm now 90kg and being very good re booze! Every one else must have given up for summer! Or are they skulking under the optics. So come on DO TELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :hand:
-
Well then. watever happened to this thread!!!!! I'm now 90kg and being very good re booze! Every one else must have given up for summer! Or are they skulking under the optics. So come on DO TELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :hand:
Congratulations, give yourself a pat on the back. Myself, I stuck to no booze for three or four night a week for about five months. Recently it has been more like two nights a week but although that is a slip backwards it is still something I am pleased with. Any night without a drink used to be something quite difficult, now it is no big deal.
-
Well then. watever happened to this thread!!!!! I'm now 90kg and being very good re booze! Every one else must have given up for summer! Or are they skulking under the optics. So come on DO TELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :hand:
Congratulations, give yourself a pat on the back. Myself, I stuck to no booze for three or four night a week for about five months. Recently it has been more like two nights a week but although that is a slip backwards it is still something I am pleased with. Any night without a drink used to be something quite difficult, now it is no big deal.
tellme ! when you drink do you get happy or morose.
-
Had a very weird dream last night, where I somehow found myself in a pub with a pint of Adnams in my hand. I felt sort of guilty and excited at the same time - I know I shouldn't drink this, but it'll be alright... won't it? I remember it was delicious, but about halfway down I started to feel a bit queasy. The pint went on and on, and I forced myself to keep drinking, even though the room was starting to spin and I didn't know if I could keep it down. I finished it, and resumed talking to whoever was next to me, but felt increasingly ill and couldn't understand what they were saying. In the end I left the pub and can't remember anything after that.
It's strange because it happens so rarely, that I dream about alcohol. I never used to drink Adnams anyway. Still, coming up to 9 years without it now, and judging by the state of my subconscious, I know I'm better off without it.
-
Well then. watever happened to this thread!!!!! I'm now 90kg and being very good re booze! Every one else must have given up for summer! Or are they skulking under the optics. So come on DO TELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :hand:
Congratulations, give yourself a pat on the back. Myself, I stuck to no booze for three or four night a week for about five months. Recently it has been more like two nights a week but although that is a slip backwards it is still something I am pleased with. Any night without a drink used to be something quite difficult, now it is no big deal.
tellme ! when you drink do you get happy or morose.
If I drink in company then almost always happy. If I drink on my own, which I only do very rarely, it can go either way.
-
Coming up to 6 months tee-total now. Less and less cravings on a weekly basis.
The odd bottle of Cobra Zero seems to satisfy the need for the taste of beer.
I had my leaving do at my old job at the end of April and everyone else got smashed. You start to think if you were really that loud and annoying after a few beers......
-
It's strange because it happens so rarely, that I dream about alcohol. I never used to drink Adnams anyway. Still, coming up to 9 years without it now, and judging by the state of my subconscious, I know I'm better off without it.
I still occasionally dream about the drink - usually involves either trying to avoid it or figuring out what excuses I will make.
And that's after 6 years and 1 month and 2 weeks dry. For no good reason which occurs to me, I've been thinking a lot about drinking again (and whether or not I'd enjoy it) the last week or so.
-
The dreaming about booze thing is weird. I think you do it if you've ever really fucked yourself up on the stuff. I often quit booze for a few weeks at a time and it's then that I start dreaming about it. I dream that I've drank a whole bunch of beer and feel really ill. Then I wake up and think "Hang on! You haven't touched a drop for weeks and you're fine!" That's a nice feeling.....
-
A success I think....
Monday night. Had 1 can of strongbow at the very end of the evening.. A huge reduction from my normal daily intake of 6-8 cans of larger, 2.3 units as opposed to the normal12+ units I've been consuming for the past 10 years..
Last night was the first night in many years I went without...
Went out to friends and refused offers of Beer, came home avoided the Beer Fridge which is currently full of Cider & beer... Watched TV for a bit and then went to bed...
Slept very lightly but felt a lot better this morning.
A BIG thankyou and :thumbsup: to all who have posted here its very motivating and inspiring. !
Cheers
Chipster
-
Great start Chipster, good luck and keep coming back here when it gets hard, we are all in this together.
-
Thanks..
I'm not sure what my long term goals are with this... It's just that its been on my mind for ages that I'm drinking way way to much and the long term damage will not be good..
Smoking will be next on the list.... :o
But I think one step at a time.
;D
-
I found that not having long-term goals helped. Starting out by deciding to have some time off makes you gradually become less and less bothered. Eventually you realise that it's been X months since you last touched a drop.
This has got to the point where I *think* I've given up completely, but I'm not going to admit that to myself yet.
I sleep better. I train harder. I am much nicer to those around me. But the best thing is I no longer wake up with the shakes and an unbending paranoia that I have managed to make a complete arse of myself again.
-
I found that not having long-term goals helped. Starting out by deciding to have some time off makes you gradually become less and less bothered. Eventually you realise that it's been X months since you last touched a drop.
This has got to the point where I *think* I've given up completely, but I'm not going to admit that to myself yet.
That's exactly how I stopped smoking. I ran out of smokes and simply couldn't be arsed to go to the shop, so decided to man up and hang out 'til lunchtime. Lunchtime came and I thought - "If I can make it 'til lunchtime, perhaps I could make it to teatime...". This was followed by ever increasing milestones ("Let's see if I can make it to Saturday/Next Weekend/Next Month...") and six utterly miserable months later (no, it wasn't easy - the method was easy, the execution of it was dreadfully hard) I suspected I had become a non-smoker.
But I've never said so in so many words. To me, it's just been a long time since I last had a fag (seven and a half years to be precise).
I can imagine the same working for other habits. Small steps work.
-
"Last night was the first night in many years I went without..."
A BIG step, chipster- well done!
And you re right about the fags - kicking both simultaneously is for most a leap too far and is not expected even in HEAVY re-hab.
-
A success I think....
Definitely a success, now you've got a handle on it. Getting it under control becomes easier with time, and after a while it's better than when you were drinking.
-
Reading the recurring dream posts has struck a chord.
For 30 years, I had a strange habit of picking at the skin on my thumbs, leaving then raw, unsightly and disfigured. Then, sometime in 2006, I stopped and have never done it again. I didn't chose to stop, I just lost the urge.
What happens now though is that I dream that I have picked at my thumbs, making them bleed and raw again. I wake up to find that I have done nothing to myself (much to my relief).
H
-
The support and encouragement the people on the forum give is amazing..
Need a pat on the back smiley ;D
I made it through evening number 2 without too much trouble.. Keeping focused on the "feeling better" in the morning helps. Not sure how the weekend will go, but trying not to think or worry about it.
On the health note... I maybe complete rubbish but I swear I'm feeling better, fare more energy and far more cheerfull... I'm keeping an I on my weight aswell, I've been stuck arount 81 - 82 Kg for years, but I'd like to dip down in to the 70's. As I'm 6' 2" I think that would be low enough..
Congratulations to everyone else who is trying to reduce or give up the booze !!
Chipster...
-
Well done. Keep going. :)
-
Well done Chipster, you put me to shame. I had a really good spell from January to June managing two to four dry nights every week. I was starting to slip a bit in the last couple of weeks and now since Gill's accident I seem to have lost the plot. Bottle of wine each of the last two nights. I keep telling myself its a reaction to the stress of Monday night but that is probably bollocks and I'm just making excuses. I must pull myself together again next week.
-
Don't beat yourself up toekneep. I'm not exactly a saint at the moment either ::-). Getting control of any lifestyle issue is a process, not an event.
-
...that is probably bollocks and I'm just making excuses. I must pull myself together again next week.
You know it is, and you'll deal with it. Pull yourself together (but in your own time). :)
-
I've avoided this thread until today, and just read through it. First off, I must say well done to all those with various targets who are making changes whether they hit their targets or not.
tokneep's posts in particular have struck a chord with me: I've just started aiming for the dry Mon-Thurs. I've had two dry days last week (family events on W & Th) and am on day four this week. I feel better for it, but I know I'll reward myself with a drink on friday and feel shit on Saturday.
-
3rd night completed..
After a rubbish day at work and then getting delayed on the way home (thankyou person who hit the railway bridge at Herne Hill >:( ) I thought I might crack...
Now I can't decide what to do for the weekend.. I had no goal when I started but not convinced that a drink tonight and saturday won't lead to sunday monday etc etc...
Just worked it out... Over the past 4 days I've consumed 2.3 Units total vs my normal 50.4 :o :o :o Damn that number is scary !!
Thanks for listening....
Chispter
-
You could always go for a bike ride ;)
Nice long one, get yourself properly knackered. You'll get a kick off the endorphins.
Chocolate's good too. Boosts levels of seratonin or dopamine in the brain or something, which helps cravings. If you eat well you tend to drink less as a rule, so stay full.
Good food, bike ride and chocolate. Not a bad cure really.
-
Well then....
I decided to let myself have a drink or 3 over the weekend as we had family over both days... So tonight I'm back to not drinking..
I think for a while this is where I want to be.. Alcohol free Mon - Thurs (possibly Sun - Thursday) but what I must do is not binge at the weekend..
Chipster..
-
Excellent stuff Chipster. I will be joining you this week, back on my dry three or four days per week. Tough start tonight as I am going for an evening ride with the crowd from the pub so will have to eschew the traditional pint after the ride.
-
If you think you can manage that schedule, that can be more effective than an outright ban. Good work; stick with it. :thumbsup:
-
I shall raise a glass of pink Grapefruit to you this evening...
Interestingly (or not as the case may be) I lost approx 1kg last week.. I also experienced getting up feeling tired, but not tired and groggy which was nice !
Good luck all... :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
-
If you think you can manage that schedule, that can be more effective than an outright ban. Good work; stick with it. :thumbsup:
A comment only. From my experience at a "Controlled Drinking" support group, very few seriously heavy drinkers can successfully follow such a regime beyond the short term. I certainly couldn't. All or nothing is far more common.
If you can, good luck to you.
-
Damn it...
Failed last night... But didn't drink as much as a normal evening so I could call it a partial pass ::-)
Trying again tonight...
-
About to pour a cup of tea but I may hit the milk later. ;D
-
Anyone here used Antabuse or equivalent? Whilst I don't doubt it works from a chemistry point of view (in that it makes you puke if you drink), is it actually effective in breaking a dependence on booze I wonder?
-
Anyone here used Antabuse or equivalent? Whilst I don't doubt it works from a chemistry point of view (in that it makes you puke if you drink), is it actually effective in breaking a dependence on booze I wonder?
Yes, Antabuse was one of the bundle of stuff I was prescribed to allow a home de-tox (bit against the "rules", only supposed to happen as an in-patient, but my GP is a good guy). I'd tried just dead stop cold turkey, but near killed me - and VERY nearly got me committed when the DTs hit hard.
Five days of hell even with the right drugs - I had to lay 'em all out with schedule before I started, because when into it I sure wouldn't have been able to figure out the decreasing dosages!
Don't know whether Antabuse itself "works", because I never touched a drop of booze.I did carry on taking it for a few months, but more as a pyschological prop, I think.
-
Anyone here used Antabuse or equivalent? Whilst I don't doubt it works from a chemistry point of view (in that it makes you puke if you drink), is it actually effective in breaking a dependence on booze I wonder?
Not by itself. You still need to sort out your life so that you have something to do - and something that you want to do - rather than drink, otherwise as soon as you stop taking it, what's to stop you drinking again? It'll keep you sober long enough for you to get a chance to get yourself together, but you still need to find the reasons why you're drinking and sort that out.
-
Indeed.
If you are predisposed to booze, more booze will be what your body wants which is why I find it hard to stop at just one (or two) pints - unless there is something that overrules the craving for that nth pint.
I have cut back on the booze but am still very happy to binge depending on what I am doing the next day. What has changed is that this would not have been so much of an issue before whereas now, if I am cycling the next day*, doing jobs around the house, spending time with my family or having to get up early for work, I generally won't rip the arse out of it.
That basically means binges are few and far bewteen whilst my life is pretty busy.
H
*NB: There are exceptions; the night before the BCM comes to mind.
H
-
"Not by itself."
Absolutely true - I should have made that comment!
"...otherwise as soon as you stop taking it, what's to stop you drinking again?"
Sheer will power?
I knew the reasons why I drank. I still do. And those reasons still exist. They can't be "sorted out" and I still want a drink every waking moment, I just don't have one. I have no doubt that one day I will drink again.
-
I know nothing about the people behind this site - but it looks to be a rich source of information and advice:
Alcohol Treatment and Help - DryOutNow.com mobile website (http://www.dryoutnow.com/)
I've scan read the first part of the free e-book mentioned on the site, and it certainly pulls no punches.
Having already gone through the process of getting rid of one lifestyle problem (smoking) I can see many parallels with drinking. For example, I know one or two social smokers; they can smoke anything up to a pack of cigs at a party or night out - but then it just doesn't occur to them to smoke again for months. I knew, as a two-pack-a-day career smoker, I could never ever be like that - and it had to go completely.
I've got a sneaking suspicion I might be the same with booze, in that I can very easily fall into a nightly drinking habit that takes great conscious effort to break, only to fall back into it when my resolve/patience runs out. The e-book referred to above certainly implies this is an issue. If you are physically dependant on booze, you will almost certainly never ever be able to drink again once you've stopped, and "heavy" drinkers (not dependant) might be able to become social "occasional" drinkers, but it's doubtful - you have to be very disciplined.
-
Anyone here used Antabuse or equivalent? Whilst I don't doubt it works from a chemistry point of view (in that it makes you puke if you drink), is it actually effective in breaking a dependence on booze I wonder?
Try Kudzu. Herbal remedy sold in Holland & Barrett. There's a few studies that say it reduces the appetite for drink. I tired it for a while whilst still drinking to see if it would help with reducing intake. It's a strange feeling but the desire to drink is noticeably reduced. I found that I was taking much, much longer to get through a glass of wine and then not bothering with another one.
-
"I know nothing about the people behind this site - but it looks to be a rich source of information and advice:
Alcohol Treatment and Help - DryOutNow.com mobile website"
Seems quite sensible and well presented. Proper "warnings" etc. But I guess that its ultimate aim is commercial: residential detox and re-hab e.g. The Priory costs a LOT and there must be a commission element.
Check local Primary Health Care Trust services. Vary enormously, but some are (or were) really very good.
-
6 months completely dry as of last night ;D
-
Well done Rob.
-
Oh great news, Rob :thumbsup:
-
Big congrats.... :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
-
6 months completely dry as of last night ;D
That's really pretty good - congrats!
It may or may not get easier - for some it does and for others it remains "difficult". Best to avoid certain "drinking" situations for a while I reckon. I've just come back from a holiday that included some "free drinks" outings - and, altho' I went, even after over 6 years it was a temptation (resisted!).
-
"heavy" drinkers (not dependant) might be able to become social "occasional" drinkers, but it's doubtful - you have to be very disciplined.
5 pints used to seem quite normal. I drink very rarely these days. If I have a drink, it tends to stay at that. Except for in the last 6 months, I've been to a wedding and had a few drinks there, and I also went to a beer festival on the Wednesday before the MSG 300 and ended up having 4 pints.
If that's the rate of slip-ups, that's Ok. It doesn't lead to a relapse into unhealthy patterns, for me.
-
I am bumping this not because I have leapt off the wagon (6 years and 7 months this week), but because with Xmas coming I KNOW that a difficult time - not least for me even after so long.
So...just a "you ain't alone" for anyone else keeping dry. Whether or not feel able to Post about it.
Good luck. I find an early a.m. pedal on 25 and 26 December gives a warm glow of smugness and ...."haven't I done well!".
dave j
-
I regret my drinking got out of control half way through the summer and blew my riding - lost the enthusiasm. Still haveb't really managed to get back on top of it but am starting to feel the need to do so.
-
Can I advise anyone who is 'battling the bottle' to speak to their GP if they haven't done so already?
Most of the PCTs in England have been increasing the amount of money available for community alcohol services over the past few months. In many places you can also access these services without referral from a GP.
These services are some of the best ways of giving up or getting on top of drinking habits.
-
Can I advise anyone who is 'battling the bottle' to speak to their GP if they haven't done so already?
Most of the PCTs in England have been increasing the amount of money available for community alcohol services over the past few months. In many places you can also access these services without referral from a GP.
These services are some of the best ways of giving up or getting on top of drinking habits.
Oh Reg ::-). If only that were the case here.
I went to my doc a couple of months back; essentially with the message "OK - I did the Stop Smoking thing on my own, but I'm hoping there's an equivalent thing for booze because I think I have a problematic attitude to it, and I'd like to understand it and work on it before it becomes a Proper Problem"
She just prescribed Antabuse - which is the work of Satan (instant hangover symptoms - even if you use an alcohol based hand cleaner) and of course, I didn't even pick up the prescription.
0/10 for support there. As it happens - Mrs S had a similar experience with smoking; NHS Stop Smoking wouldn't even entertain talking to her until she had a "Quit Date", and no amount of "hang on... I'm just after some advice on how to get started..." intervention from her made the slightest difference.
As usual with the NHS (which in principle, is an organisation I wholly back and support) it's a bit of a postcode lottery.
-
I suspect there are elements of individual person(ality) lottery as well as postcode lottery here.
If the first professional you approach is not empathic, any further help is unlikely.
-
Antabuse works - but it's sledgehammer time. There's so many other options available. And most GPs will be operating an enhanced service for alcohol.
-
Antabuse works ...
For some maybe. A family member's close friend knows more about chemical abuse (worked on the front line for a leading drug abuse charity) than me, and was totally gob-smacked that the GP had prescribed this crap. I was after treatment for the cause, not my symptoms ::-)
-
I should have said that antabuse works in the indicated cases. But that's clearly not what's needed here.
-
A few points in recent Posts.
Antabuse is I think useless in isolation - needs to be a longer term "fail safe" to a short term de-tox programme.
GP's attitude can be crucial. Certainly here they are required to refer all patients to the Alcohol and Drug Service. Because I was already an out-patient (a condition of my not being Sectioned when I tried to stop absolutely cold with no medical intervention - NOT a good idea!), my GP took the risk of prescribing all the medication that I would have been given in the in-patient de-tox unit. Having carefully (if drunkenly) scheduled all the 5 days worth of numerous pills....I "simply" locked myself in and did it at home.
I suspect that such an approach by a GP is pretty rare.
Treatment for the cause is almost certainly going to take longer than the 5 days of hell de-tox. IF the cause is ever found. I was offered the 5 week residential + 7 week out patient gig at The Priory. But having witnessed their approach at second hand I knew simply not for me - whatever the outward appearance the underlying assumptions are relgion-based. And I know too many folk who have slipped after even the full 12 weeks.
In short, ultimately one has to do it for oneself, whatever help one accesses will only be short term. If not gone too far down the slope, then it CAN be done cold - with a lot of will power. But once an all day drinker then the risks of a dead stop are considerable - seizures and heart failure quite apart from the truly horrific DTs and halucinations (way beyond acid believe me!).
The local Abuse Service is worth a try (Notts is really pretty good), but as with most aspects of Welfare it is I am sure a Post Code "lottery".
That's it.....where's my bloody caffeine....
-
It is time for me to join this thread.
Over our holiday 2 weeks ago, I relaxed so much and loved every minute of spending time with Emily. When we came back, I went back to work and slipped straight into the old habits - work late, stay for beer, trundle home at anything between 8 and 9pm.
After a week of this, I broke. One night I was coming home by train and there had been a fatality, I was delayed massively. I started missing Emily, really deeply and at about 9.30pm I caught a taxi home instead of waiting to see if they would get a train through or catching the bus which would have taken a very long time.
Lying in bed, I completely broke down - told her how I had been staying out after work on the beers instead of coming home. She was so hurt. She is still so hurt and has been away Friday night and is coming home later this evening. We have spoken a lot about it, but I am having huge difficulties trying to explain to her why I kept staying out. The problem comes, because I don't really know myself. I know that it started by being paranoid about my job - I was determined to show how committed I was. Then it changed, but I don't remember when, and really I was going just for the beer and telling myself that it was only because of the job.
The odd thing too, was that I kept telling myself that I didn't have a problem with alcohol because I didn't consume very much in one go. I didn't see that doing that all the time still counts as a problem, especially when you can't relax after work without a couple of cold ones. I was getting more stressed at work as I struggled to make my brain function properly.
So, it has now been 4 days without having a drink. It doesn't seem that difficult at the moment, but I have got a lot of time to go. Something more serious is the damage I have done to our relationship. It is going to take a long time for me to build back the implicit trust that we shared. That I broke by manipulating the truth in such a way that any politician would be proud of. By neglecting my partner's needs and slipping further into self-loathing each time I did it, but being unable to tell her or get a grip on myself until the dam burst and it all flooded out.
I don't even feel relieved that it is out in the open, I just feel so sorry that I did this to her and determined to change for the better. To give Emily back the non-drinking, switched on boyfriend that she started going out with and get my brain back.
-
Good luck to anybody who's giving up drinking. Especially this time of year when there really does seem to be no getting away from it.
I've been two months without a drink now. There have been times when I've really wanted a drink. Sometimes I've been very very close, but stopped myself by thinking "Don't have one tonight, have one tomorrow". By tomorrow the feeling has passed. If it hasn't, I'll just repeat it again. It's much easier going a day without a drink than the rest of your life.
I'm doing this without the support of my partner, who encourages me to "just pop into the off-licence on the way home and pick up a couple of bottles for me". ::-)
My kids have been fantastic though, I'm much happier giving them a good night kiss without booze on my breath.
-
I've now gone out twice without having a beer. It seems quite easy, but I am cautious because it is so soon. I definitely have yearnings for beer.
I've considered going for non-alco beer, as I don't mind the taste at all, but I don't want to go home smelling of beer yet.
-
Well done, Jacomus. Not easy to take those steps, but you're getting somewhere. :thumbsup:
-
That was a very brave post Jacomus. I hope your girlfriend sees it one day and realises that you are too good to lose. Good luck.
-
Got a work do tonight, this will be my first proper test.
Pretty nervous. :-\
-
All will be well. No need to 'steady the nerves' with anything. There will be soft drinks there. You can do it.
-
I dunno about a brave post, I think you were brave telling Emily. It would have been easier to have stopped the beers, started getting home earlier and just not told her.
I hope she sees that, and values that bravery.
It is hard to maintain trust in a relationship; I have to be one of the worst around for not being trusting. Just call me Bridget Jones. Once that trust is eroded, it is even harder to get back.
-
All will be well. No need to 'steady the nerves' with anything. There will be soft drinks there. You can do it.
Nervous about the proliferation of booze, not the event itself.
Thanks for the well-wishes.
-
It may be that it is best to make a discreet exit when it all begins to get slightly messy. IME if you want to curtail you boozahol intake, even for a short period, it is best to avoid the situations entirely for a while, but I can understand that you are committed to the work night out.
-
It may be that it is best to make a discreet exit when it all begins to get slightly messy. IME if you want to curtail you boozahol intake, even for a short period, it is best to avoid the situations entirely for a while, but I can understand that you are committed to the work night out.
Thats the plan - escape early enough to avoid the mess but just late enough that it doesn't seem rude (the do is being held by our client as a thank you for our work over the last year and a half).
-
It took me a long time to get used to going to events like this minus the grog. I'm still not entirely comfortable with it. Not in the sense of being tempted to have a skinful (I'm not), but more in the way of not wanting to put any kind of dampener on the evening at large by making the drinkers feel uncomfortable about getting rat-arsed under my sober gaze.
One of my few regrets about being a non-drinker is that feeling of setting myself apart from those enjoying a few beverages, a completely unintentional disapproval. I used to think that a few sordid tales of my drinking days might put people at their ease, but in fact it doesn't help as what is missing is active participation.
-
more in the way of not wanting to put any kind of dampener on the evening at large by making the drinkers feel uncomfortable about getting rat-arsed under my sober gaze.
Honest gov as a drinker that have never been a problem :)
Only a bit confusing at first because a round is not 5 larger, 4 ales, 10 slammers etc any more, we have to think about did s/he say diet or full fat coke and is pepsi ok and did they want ice with that. But that problem quickly vanish after the first couple of rounds anyway :)
Simply put don't think what others are thinking of you think about what is the best for you and yours.
Good luck Jacomus and others.
-
Debrief:
:thumbsup:
Everything went smoothly, despite the presence of Guinness Family Reserve Guinness (our client is their family office) I stuck to the soft stuff. There was a selection of 4 different fruity cocktails, all of which were delicious. A very equitable situation as there were 4 different alcoholic drinks on offer - Guinness mmm... white or red wine and champagne.
I'm pleased and I'm also the only one at my desk at the mo! (Though I have always been good at getting to my desk on time, if only in body not mind ::-) )
One day I hope to be able to have a Guinness on special occasions, but be able to walk away after one. Before that can happen though, I need to get past the intense cravings I had last night. Until they go, it would be a terrible idea to have a drink.
-
Good work there young man
-
Good luck/well done to all! I think that "it is best to avoid the situations entirely for a while" is excellent advice. It was many months before I felt at ease in a drinking environment.
Seventh sober Xmas for me next weekend - so it CAN be done. But it ain't easy.
Happy Xmas all.
dave j
-
Debrief:
:thumbsup:
Everything went smoothly
Good show.
more in the way of not wanting to put any kind of dampener on the evening at large by making the drinkers feel uncomfortable about getting rat-arsed under my sober gaze.
Honest gov as a drinker that have never been a problem :)
Seconded!
Actually, having indulged a fair bit in my youth I now don't drink a great deal at all (pregnancy followed by 3 years of breastfeeding then a couple of years off before another pregnancy and year of breastfeeding sort of broke the habit for me - although I appreciate it's not a method of giving up or cutting back that is available to all!) and now don't find any social awkwardness in being the non-drinker. I suspect that this is simplified for me because I'm not conflicted about drinking, if you see what I mean. But in my experience the drinkers around me don't really give a stuff if I'm drinking alcohol, OJ or tea. And if they did then I wouldn't want to be out socialising with them, to be honest.
-
I think it's become much easier to avoid alcohol in pubs over the last few years.
The only time I've ever been jealous of someone else's drink in a pub was when my (pregnant) friend had a hot chocolate on a bitterly cold evening...
-
Going foran abstinent January. Xmas wasoverindulgent and feel a bit grotty so going to give aserious shot at drying out.
-
Yes, and me.
Let's see how it goes.
-
Going foran abstinent January. Xmas wasoverindulgent and feel a bit grotty so going to give aserious shot at drying out.
Rather than thinking of an abstinent month, just do an abstinent day today and repeat. Don't look too far ahead with it to begin with.
-
Doing 3 months abstinence from the ethanol willingly accompanied by Mrs FF.
-
I'm not much of a drinker (no honestly - I'm not, as will become clear below), but I've read this thread since its inception, and have at times gone through a wide variety of emotions reading through the comments and in some cases the mental battles that some people have endured.
The first step in battling the bottle is of course acknowledging that there is an issue. Sadly of course many people don't or won't accept they have a problem. I congratulate those of you that have taken steps to cut back or stop drinking.
The "need" to have a drink blots out rational thought and the effect that a person's alcoholism can have on other people. Those close to alcoholics end up feeling they have to try and stop them drinking, but of course no matter how much you try tricks like hiding bottles or avoiding social situations where drink might appear, it doesn't work in the long run. You end up getting more frustrated and annoyed to the point that you end up suffering twice - due to the effect of seeing someone drunk on the floor again and the fact you can't seem to stop it.
Re-reading some of the comments on here, coupled with other things that have happened recently, have made me realise that long term if someone isn't prepared to acknowledge the effect that their drinking has had on others around them, then it doesn't have to be the case that alcohol ruins everyone else's life as well. Eventually, enough is enough.
I've been in denial for many years about this, so in some ways I've made the problems worse, but I'm married to an alcoholic - but hopefully not for much longer. And cruel though it may seem, that is the only way out that's left.
Edit - The main point though, is that for those of you who do have a problem with drink, bear in mind that drinking heavily doesn't just mean you have a headache in the morning. Your actions can have multiple effects on those around you, that you may not even be aware of.
-
Thanks for sharing this, Adam. This is so sad but so typical.
I don't think there is always an alternative to ending a relationship with an alcoholic; it is brave to end a relationship. Usually a partner has given many, many chances to no avail.
I once worked with a divorced alcoholic; we all gave him many, many chances and they were abused repeatedly.
So sad.
So, so sad.
-
My mother commented yesterday that I'd returned to drinking "with a vengeance".
Yes I had a fair bit to drink at the works christmas party (couple of small glasses of wine, maybe 4 330ml beers) then a pint the next night then 4 330ml bottles of lager on the Friday. After that nothing until a week later, when I had one glass of wine with Christmas dinner. FF to New Year's eve when I drank two double (50ml) G&Ts, i.e. 4 units.
I fear she has no idea what I was like in my 20s. :-[ Or maybe that's a good thing!
-
Adam, all that you say is true and, rationally, to call it a day is the way out. I guess all depends on whether or not your conscience allows your passing what may well prove to be a death sentence upon the other party.
My wife was a full on alcoholic with chronic acute depression long before I went beyond heavy drinking (even for the near two years that I gave up the first time). But she WAS (and is) my wife. I didn't recall anything in the marriage vows that said "or until things get absolutely shit..."
And so I looked after her and the kids as best I could. Simple to me - called duty.
Good luck to you though if you can do it.
-
Adam, all that you say is true and, rationally, to call it a day is the way out. I guess all depends on whether or not your conscience allows your passing what may well prove to be a death sentence upon the other party.
Or a new lease of life. A former colleague was an alcoholic until his wife left him, at which point he says he 'hit rock bottom' and decided to quit, and hasn't had a drink since. It's a bit harsh to prejudge things like that.
My wife was a full on alcoholic with chronic acute depression long before I went beyond heavy drinking (even for the near two years that I gave up the first time). But she WAS (and is) my wife. I didn't recall anything in the marriage vows that said "or until things get absolutely shit..."
And so I looked after her and the kids as best I could. Simple to me - called duty.
Good luck to you though if you can do it.
Sympathies to your situation. That can't be easy to deal with.
Horses for courses though: I'm fairly sure I would find someone staying with me out of 'duty' intolerable.
-
Fair comment oncemore, and I can't disagree with what you'd said. Although of course the children didn't get to have any say in any marriage commitments.
After so many years of lies, denial and occasional violence, and the fact that she won't take any action, means it's not possible to carry on any more with the situation.
Sadly, fidelity is another marriage vow gone bouncing out the window which is why reluctantly I can't see any alternative action, having tried so many times to get her to reduce her intake.
-
It sure ain't easy. My sympathy and kind wishes.
-
It looks as though I may be developing autoimmune hepatitis (that's the latest thinking from the quacks). If so, I may have to give up drinking for up to three years, depending on whether they shove me full of immunosuppresants and steroids... :-\
-
You'll need a substitute Reg.May I suggest cakes & sex :demon:
-
Having sex with cakes is, at best, sticky, at worst dangerous as the urge to experiment with hot-out-of-the-oven cakes takes hold.
-
Or a new lease of life. A former colleague was an alcoholic until his wife left him, at which point he says he 'hit rock bottom' and decided to quit, and hasn't had a drink since. It's a bit harsh to prejudge things like that.
I was discussing this with a new-ish friend over New Year. Her mother is a recovering alcoholic who now works with other addicts. Apparently, she had to lose everything, friends family and all, before she would accept that she had a problem.
As her daughter did two transatlantic flights and two 16+ hour drives between Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve to be with her mother for her 80th birthday, something must have worked.
S
-
Crap crap crap.
I really really want to get drunk. No reason for it, I've not had a worse week than usual, I just want to get drunk really badly.
3 months without a drink. I don't even really want a drink, I just want to be drunk.
:(
-
I've no idea what your personal motivations are, but for me a bit of quiet time (a few seconds usually suffices ;D ) reflecting on my reasons for stopping in the first place is usually enough. Not that I get the urge to either drink or get drunk these days, but when I first began to stay away from alcohol, that helped me.
-
Adam, all that you say is true and, rationally, to call it a day is the way out. I guess all depends on whether or not your conscience allows your passing what may well prove to be a death sentence upon the other party.
Just because you chose a particular way to work out your problem (although, fair play to you) doesn't mean it would work in someone else's situation. In the end, we all have a fundamental duty to make sure we can fulfill our duty to ourselves and our dependants- what use are we in this world if we let one individual's self destructive impulse destroy our potential for making a difference. I would argue, that in some ways, it is harder to make the break with the alcoholic you love, than to carry on in the daily routine you have come to accept as normal. Yet that routine of lies, deceit, desertion, disruption, confusion( for some, violence-although, mercifully not in my family's case, towards us) may well be damaging every other individual in that family. Does that one individual have the right to expect that family to suffer for their sake? When there is a way out, if they choose to take it. Sometimes the break may be what you have to make to limit the damage that alcoholism can do. I did it, years ago, for the sake of myself and for my daughter- I loved her father and still do- we are still friends but he is still an alcoholic and accepts now that there is a limit to the acceptance he can expect for his behaviour from those who love him. Unconditional love maybe. Unconditional sacrifice- no.
-
Crap crap crap.
I really really want to get drunk. No reason for it, I've not had a worse week than usual, I just want to get drunk really badly.
3 months without a drink. I don't even really want a drink, I just want to be drunk.
:(
Nothing I (nor anyone) can say will take away that desire - however often I have been there. Though I think that to recognise the truth of wanting to be drunk rather than the more usual "I just want a couple of drinks) is a big step. Drunks don't necessarily even enjoy DRINKING of itself.
I can't think of any better advice than Pluck's - recall the BAD aspects/outcomes of being bombed rather than the good/pleasant ones (and yes of course being drunk can be fun).
It WILL get easier - NOT easy, but easier. And there will be days when it is more difficult than others. Unlike the Sergeant I still do get the urge (after over 6 and a half years), to my surprise I still resist.
I didn't really do the AA stuff, but fundamentally it is one day at a time....
Hang on and hold out. Get up early and think "HEY I f***in' DID IT STRAIGHT!!"
No simple words..
Good luck.
-
A primarily self-indulgent post, but may also give another some encouragement....
Today is 7 years since I last had alcohol. Not a drop. Not even a chocolate liquer or food cooked in wine or beer (and yes I know that cooking usually removes all the alcohol, but it's a sort of all or nothing thing).
And do I still want a bottle of gin? YES I DO. But that's not the point.
-
Splendid. One more day. :thumbsup:
-
11 out of 10 for Mr. Oncemore.
Respect to you.
-
Nice one. and you might want that bottle of gin, but you really don't want to go where it will take you.
keep on keeping on
-
A primarily self-indulgent post, but may also give another some encouragement....
Today is 7 years since I last had alcohol. Not a drop. Not even a chocolate liquer or food cooked in wine or beer (and yes I know that cooking usually removes all the alcohol, but it's a sort of all or nothing thing).
And do I still want a bottle of gin? YES I DO. But that's not the point.
Nice one. :thumbsup:
Reading this has made me realise that it's been a shade over six months for me now.
-
Good news there, too, then :)
-
Very well done, both! :thumbsup:
-
a bit of thread necromancy.
i haven't commented much on this thread since it started as I have been going through my own personal issues with the demons.
However, day by day I am managing to avoid drinking, the fact I am home every night at the moment, and Mrs T has stopped drinking has helped.
Day 4 and counting
"My name is Tiermat, and for the last 2 years I have been an alcoholic"
-
Oh well. I made it nine months before starting again.
Too much stress and too many excuses have meant that I've started again.
-
I regret that after I stopped cycling a year ago I slipped into a habit of drinking jujst a bit too much most nights - I am now wrestling the demon back under control again and hope to resume riding at some point too.
-
Good on you all for trying. It isn't easy.
-
I am now heading into week 5 of no boozahol. My personal best in my adult life is 8 weeks. That should be no problem to beat.....
-
Not looked at this thread for a while. Nearly 20mths now.
I have returned to the City after 2 years away. The peer pressure is one of the things I blamed for my previous behaviour. Not taking part in the mad nights out is far easier than I expected and I'm happy to be home every night.
Keep at it everyone.
-
Good on you all for trying. It isn't easy.
Just so. I still find one hour at a time IS the only way.
-
I am now heading into week 5 of no boozahol.
I think that's good going. I think it was only after that sort of period had elapsed that I began to notice some of the benefits - more settled sleep, etc.
-
On vodka.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tees-11437449 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tees-11437449)
A pint. Not that much really. The story, a horrible death, made me reconsider (as in, sit and consider it again) the toxicity of alcohol. It's quite something.
-
In fairness, a pint of vodka in four seconds was never going to end well. I could probably handle a pint in a day, but four seconds... Oh My :facepalm:
-
Mephedrone didn't kill him but is illegal. Alcohol did kill him (via the medium of his extreme stupidity, it is true) and is legal.
Hmm...
-
500 grams of table salt would kill too. It's cheap, legal and you don't even need to be over 18 to buy it...
-
Might be hard to actually eat it though!
-
Well, I managed just shy of 2 months in the end. Piece of piss really.
My initial plan was to knock it on the head "for a while". Then I wanted to beat my personal best of 8 weeks, which was no problem. So I went for a calendar month, then double figures and on it went....
I'd kinda decided I was gunna have a few drinks at the party I went to on Friday, so I did.
I didn't really miss booze at all - but my god, that first pint of Adnam's Ghost Ship barely touched the sides! :P
Nothing since then, but I might have a few tomorrow night as I may well have cause to celebrate. Anyway, I've done what I set out to do which was to clear out the system.
All I need to do now is not drink myself into hospital again ;)
-
Good stuff, bobb. I found it easy to give up the booze, and never missed it. But then, I'd never got as far in as a lot of people.
Hope you can keep off the pop, and enjoy spending all the money you're saving on other things ;)
-
Bumping for any and all who are (still) on the wagon - eigth dry Xmas on the bounce for me.
I guess Xmas Eve the most difficult time of the year - with apolgies to The Ginger Man/Donleavy - "I KNOW the pubs are full" and everyone but me is getting out of their heads. Which is of course where every drunk wants to be.
Good luck all.
-
Well done, oncemore. Every one is a victory.
-
Bumping for any and all who are (still) on the wagon - eigth dry Xmas on the bounce for me.
I guess Xmas Eve the most difficult time of the year - with apolgies to The Ginger Man/Donleavy - "I KNOW the pubs are full" and everyone but me is getting out of their heads. Which is of course where every drunk wants to be.
Good luck all.
Exact oppasate here,have been on the wagon since last Feb,my Dads been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer(terminal)Mums going senile I am back on the booze.To make thing worse,I can't even ride my bike,because of the ice and snow. :'(
-
Well. As tradition requires, I'm about to enter my New Year period of Sobriety.
-
And me.
I made it until the last week of April last year.
-
New Years Eve, circumstances lead to having one small bottle of Stella. Had planned to consume significantly more. Probably the least amount of new years booze since the age of 15. New years day was far more pleasant and productive than normal.
2011 will involve less booze by far.
-
I am off the booze from the 11th of Jan for 40 days but quite often think about jacking it in all together.
H
-
Same here, as in thinking about what life would be like tea total. I haven't posted here for fear of tempting fate but the last four nights have been dry which is a bit of a milestone for me. I've never been a really heavy drinker but have always found even one dry night a bit of a challenge. Just lately though I've spent more time in the pub without curbing my drinking at home and the two together have meant a serious increase of weekly units.
So far I have found it remarkably easy to stay off it for a few nights which I don't understand. I'm going to challenge myself tonight by having a drink or two at a friends 21st party with a view to leaving it alone again until the following weekend. It may not be the safest strategy but only time will tell.
-
24 days down and 16 to go. :thumbsup:
There will be a blow-out the week after then I am seriously considering jacking it in for a while longer for all but special occaisions.
I've had a few twinges of "I could murder a glass of wine right now" but despite a number of what would have been very boozy social engagements, I can't say I've missed the booze that much or have resented others drinking.
On the other hand, I can't say I've felt better for it, had more energy or that abstinence has improved my cycling to any appreciable degree. Odd as it may seem, staying up clubbing until 3am still means you feel knackered the next day even if you are not hungover. In truth, what was alarming was that I felt rough for the first week; flu-like symptoms and generally down, making me think I had withdrawl symtoms. :-\
We'll see what happens after the 26th Feb.
H
-
Eight years dry today. Christ, I want a drink.
But only 2 years and 4 months to go until I leap off the wagon. (That's a maximum, obviously.)
-
Well done :thumbsup:
I am looking forward to the time I have spent more time sober than drunk.
Started drinking at 16 in 1980, stopped in November 1998 so 18 years of self abuse :(
So by my reckoning it will be 2016 when I cross the threshold of more years sober :thumbsup:
Anyway back to earth, its one day/hour/minute at a time, let me not forget that :)
-
Are you counting pre-16 sobriety?
IF I keep dry I've got to make 76 (in 2024!) to hit 50/50! Jeez, what a boring last dozen years...
-
From 16yo.
I might have had a drink before 16, but I dont recall anything serious :-\
Its a boring, dull and brilliant way to end my life. I have never felt better :)
-
Ah, if I count from age 16, then I'll have to make 92. Not a chance!
-
Nearly 2.5 years now. Very much not bothered any more. Breaking in new colleagues has been a pain as you're still looked at as odd if hold down a City job and abstain.
I have been lectured by friends that I wasn't as bad as I thought I was. This is usually before someone launches into a 'he was so drunk that......' story. I quit at 36 and haven't really regretted it.
-
"Its a boring, dull and brilliant way to end my life."
That's the bit I don't get - how CAN boring and dull be brilliant?
"I have never felt better." Physically, I suppose I'd agree. Mentally? Absolutely not - just bored and dulled.
"There's a hole in my life where drinking used to be..." and nothing else can fill it.
-
Maybe it isn't really "boring and dull". Maybe it's more peaceful and content?
[EDIT: Rest of message deleted for personal reasons]
-
Peaceful and content would be fine - don't think I've ever been there.
-
It's fast approaching the dry drunk's worse time of the year ("I KNOW the pubs are full and I'm not in there...") so for anyone like me, just a "good luck and keep clean". Assuming I make it (and assumptions are not to be confused with complacency), this will be my ninth consecutive dry Xmas (and every day in between!).
-
It's fast approaching the dry drunk's worse time of the year ("I KNOW the pubs are full and I'm not in there...") so for anyone like me, just a "good luck and keep clean". Assuming I make it (and assumptions are not to be confused with complacency), this will be my ninth consecutive dry Xmas (and every day in between!).
Well done and good luck to bottle battlers everywhere!
-
It's fast approaching the dry drunk's worse time of the year ("I KNOW the pubs are full and I'm not in there...") so for anyone like me, just a "good luck and keep clean". Assuming I make it (and assumptions are not to be confused with complacency), this will be my ninth consecutive dry Xmas (and every day in between!).
Thank you.
This is just what I needed today. This will be my second dry Christmas & today has really tested my resolve.
I think I'm just going to make myself scarce and just keep out of the way for a couple weeks.
Thanks again.
-
That's sufficient justification for the Post then, mate.
Take it easy and, yes, one hour at a time.
Best, dave j
-
It's fast approaching the dry drunk's worse time of the year ("I KNOW the pubs are full and I'm not in there...") so for anyone like me, just a "good luck and keep clean". Assuming I make it (and assumptions are not to be confused with complacency), this will be my ninth consecutive dry Xmas (and every day in between!).
Well done.
This year is my 14th sober year. I am sure now that I do not miss a drink :)
-
A good and timely message of support, oncemore.
-
I intended to have a dry Jan last year and it wasn't as difficult as I thought it might be. In fact I got to the end of March before I touched a drop. But I started drinking again because I was bored - not a lot in the big scheme of things - maybe building up to a couple of bottles of wine a week. But I found that the 'pull' to drink wasn't as great as before. So this year I intend to be dry for the first three months and then see what happens thereafter. Deep down I'd like to slowly wean myself off booze. Perhaps not totally (I find it's the days lost to hangovers that are the problem, and not necessarily the booze itself), but am hoping I can last longer each year before I get back on the wagon.
But to you guys who have abstained, and fought temptation for so long - 'Chapeau!!!!'
-
First sober xmas for me this year. Not worried about it at all :)
-
Well done everyone.
3rd dry Christmas coming up. 3yrs total on New Years Day.
Rob
-
Haha! thought I'd did up an old un!
today it is has 7 days without any ALHOCOL...there I've said it. Not an intentional thing really, but having a boozy easter weekend away in the VW camper, Monday I just thought no!.. Then Tuesday, didn't feel like it, and so on. Went to pub Fri night with friends, and just had lime and soda. Not sure how long this will go on for, not even sure if there is a plan, but I had to ease off a tad. Typical eve after work, 2-3 tins whilst waiting for dinner to cook, plus prob something with dinner, (1/2 another beer - 1/2 bottle wine), then a couple of whiskey or brandy and gingers as a night cap,or a couple of port. Not addictive, coz some nights , just had none, but a very bad habit, that was getting worse. Trouble is I'm a bit anal, in that now I've started counting, I won't want to drink to break the cycle. hmmm!
Perhaps it needs a new thread #Battling the Brain#
PS Must just add that the weight has just fallen off this week, and my stomach is flat once more.
-
Well done everyone.
3rd dry Christmas coming up. 3yrs total on New Years Day.
Rob
Wow that is an old post. 10 years plus now.
-
I became mindful of the amount I drink in my mid-20's after a member of my family drunk her way to an early grave.
I drank alot at university and carried on into my working life. I had a moment of realisation one evening when I was putting my recycling bin out. I was truly ashamed by the number of bottles I had accumulated in 2 weeks. I wasn't by any means a 'drunk' but I was well in the habit of having a bottle or 2 of beer every evening. I appreciate that to some people battling the bottle this may seem utterly trivial.
I've almost completely stopped drinking at home nowadays- the trick is not to have any grog in the house in the first place. What I do stock is low-abv beers. There are some really quite palatable options now. Brewdog's 'Nanny State' is quite easily available, but I really like Big Drop Brewery's 0.5% 4 Citra Pale. A really nice drink! Very good for the odd time you just really fancy a beer and are an effective placebo.
I allow myself to wander down to my excellent local once or twice a week. The beer is fantastic but I rarely have more than 1 or 2 pints per visit. I really enjoy being a 'regular' and all that entails but I'd never want to be one of those who seemingly have no other hobbies and never leaves.
Truth be told, my biggest battle is with Sugar. I'm fairly confident I have booze under control now, but I regularly slip up with sugar and have ridiculous junk-food binges without even thinking about it. And it's that which gives me some empathy over alcoholism. I actually feel a sense of accomplishment if I can navigate around a supermarket without peppering my basket with biscuits and chocolate. I sometimes feel utterly powerless over it.
-
Sugar is certainly my weakness!
It's very difficult to avoid...
Well done Peat for controlling the C2H5OH!