First time - plans to taper

[timeisup]

Hello everyone,

First post here please be gental.

I am a 28 years old man, Ive been out of work but not out of money for almost a year now and my drinking habbits have gottern more frequent and heavyer, slowly but surely with less and less days of not drinking inbetween.

The last few months have seen my intake go up from 4 ish beers a day randomly through the week, maybe 3 days out of 7, upto 8+ everyday. I rarly get any hangovers and this is basicly why its taken me so long to notice/realise that it means nothing in terms of damage to my body. Alcoholic or not, i dont want to be hurting myself and i have the determination to see it through to a safe result.

Im worried about my body if i just stop, im not a drinker that drinks every day to get smashed and who has to start again the next day in true alcoholic spirit. According to the web, drinking daily for a long period will give you a hell of a detox, to my current understanding, somthing like a few days to a week of a super bad hangover - this scares me alot.

So my plan is to just reduce the amount every few days (taper) till im down to just one beer, at which piont i will just stop for a month. I think i have the will power to make this work, but am i already kidding myself?

Kind regards,

T

EDIT *p.s. ive not drank yet today, spelling and grammer might be off because im dyslexic not cos im drunk!*

[doggonecarl]

Welcome to SR. If you have any concerns about detox, you should see a doctor.

I didn't try tapering. I quit cold turkey having not read a single thing about the dangers of withdrawals. And I was a daily drinker for over 30 years. That's not a recommendation.

Tapering, from everything I read here, doesn't work for an alcoholic, since we have no control after that first drink. You never said you were an alcoholic, so perhaps tapering will work for you. Stay strong. Thirty days off the beer will tell you alot about your problem.

[Bikeguy]

Tapering never worked for me and believe me I tried more than once, sooner than later I would find myself right back to my old levels of drinking. If your worried about withdrawal please go see a doctor and get some medical assistance.

Welcome to Sober Recovery!

[timeisup]

I got the feeling i should check my health out after putting more and more cans/bottles into the recycler each week.

Thanks guys, i will see how this goes.

I hardly see myself as a major case, or even as a full on alcoholic, but i will admit theres a lot i dont know or cant see.

Best to ask those in the know! even if they arnt Doctors

[MsJax]

Hi timeisup. I never could taper. I'm just an extremist so it's all or nothing for me, that's a common bond here. Best wishes on getting sober! It's so worth whatever it takes

[RobbyRobot]

Originally Posted by timeisup

The last few months have seen my intake go up from 4 ish beers a day randomly through the week, maybe 3 days out of 7, upto 8+ everyday.

Im worried about my body if i just stop, im not a drinker that drinks every day to get smashed and who has to start again the next day in true alcoholic spirit.

So my plan is to just reduce the amount every few days (taper) till im down to just one beer, at which piont i will just stop for a month. I think i have the will power to make this work, but am i already kidding myself?

Kind regards,

T

Its really about the levels of *tolerance* you have for alcohol. Tapering will be of some assistance in your physical withdrawal ie your physical dependence of course, but it wont do much for your emotional and mental dependencies. The mental and emotional needs operate differently then the physical needs for alcohol. Tapering has little effect. Zero alcohol is what really causes the mental and emotional needs to arise to the surface in all its ugliness...

You're not sure of your status as an alcoholic, so I gather you have not attempted a serious detox before. You really should consult a doctor and from there work out a proper detox. A bad detox is no small matter.

Research "alcohol tolerance"

Best.

[timeisup]

Well im one of many who didnt know that drinking daily in any amount stacks up, not just a one off hangover.

thought that no hangover meant, no problem.

I dont think i drink enough for the wrong reasons to be considered an alcoholic however this little test ive set for myself to avoid a nasty week of detox, also will highlight my mental ability to stick to it, will make things unavoidably obvious.

If i find myself struggling to control my thrist for a drink ive not previously allowed myself, im just going to go straight down to the doc without another thought.