Alright, I'm back. I finished reading this thread, and I gotta say, I've never been in an establishment where they would serve you all those things y'all suggest. I'm not even sure you wouldn't get kicked out for suggesting they might...
LR, day 4? Congrats. So, you're feeling better yet? That's around the time, if I remember right. I don't have a lot of experience with long term (4 days +) sobriety, so I try to remember it all. Kind of motivating, just sometimes it doesn't work.
PL, one day, why not? Beats no days, or just sitting around thinking you're never gonna stop. And you can always renew it at the end of the day...
PS, 2 weeks. Wow. So you graduated that other thread. Congratulations. And showers work for me, too--I don't know why, but it changes my whole perspective some mornings.
DW--advice on how to moderate, I'm the very wrong one to know anything about that. On the other hand, for cravings, try candies. Lots and lots of candies, and remember to brush your teeth.
It actually worked for me a *lot* of days. Just remember, if you do eat lots and lots of candies, slow down gradual--you can get shakes from lack of candies, trust me on that one.
And I'm with Recycle on the efficacy of triggers after 1-2 drinks... you're already on that path... you probably won't stop. Funny thing, you actually know that at 1-2 drinks, just not before.
PC, yeah, the doc's been my co-conspirator since the beginning. Grr. Actually, unlike a lot of y'all, I didn't come up with the idea to sober up myself at all. I really figured I'd be like this for the rest of my life, and was resigned to it, or at least until I was finished college and got a job where I could afford the time/cost of rehab. Wasn't might happy with it, but couldn't see a way out no way. Then the doc wanted to take my cholestorol, blood sugar... all that good stuff. And I balked at the blood sugar test, because I figured I *was* mostly sugar. But I couldn't come up with a good reason why I shouldn't take the test, so I confessed that I was always drinking. Back then, I drank 1-2 fifths (750s for the metric people) a day of 80 proof, or one of 150 proof, and had for years. And woke up, cooked, cleaned, shopped, went to work, went to school, promotions, good grades, all sorts of functionality that allowed me to actually consider not quitting.
It was getting worse at the end, but I was laid off last October, and although I applied, nobody was hiring due to the economy. But that didn't have to be the alcohol's fault, or proof of my downfall--the whole country/world was going through something similar, so I never thought of it on personal terms and how it was affecting me. It was easier and easier to just do nothing and stay drunk more of the day, and my tolerance built up but I don't weigh near enough to tolerate all that. Eventually I didn't care about more and more, but with only school to focus on--I'm 1000s of miles from family & friends--life wasn't that hard, except for the money part, and that was so impossible to fix--and that's actually still true--that I couldn't care. It wasn't really worth thinking about, since there was no way I could pay those bills.
Nowadays that seems like another life.
The problem with the doc, though, is she gave me the sober up pills and told me how to do it, etc, and, here's the problem: once I was sober (first time made 11 days) I liked it better. And danged if sobriety isn't more addictive than whiskey...
So that's my story and my new dilemna, for all the newbies who haven't read all 3000 pages of this site.
So, yeah, the doc's worried about me, all the time. I feel bad that I can't stay quit.
But, I was thinking last night, along with a few other things I've mentioned in the last few days (and I'm leaving the bread crumbs for myself... each time I stumble I can reread and at least not make the *same* mistake again) I did one other thing this last sober time. I was sober for 20 days. And I really, really liked how I felt all the time. Waking up easy and such. Sleeping--not much, but without nightmares and hours of insomnia.
20 days, I did it once I can do it again. Everything's always easier the second time.
But right now, I oughtta be writing an essay I should have done a while ago--I had a week to do it... a page or so, not difficult for me. But I was back to drinking and didn't even think about it, so now I got 2 hours to write it instead of 144. This could have been so easy, and I wouldn't have had to play catch up.
-TB, playing catch up because she does have to