geno198

Fake beer. It helped to get over the crazy cravings. The E cig was great too. I don't consider it a lapse of sobriety, just a tool to help you. Just wondering what you guys think. Please be gentle.

ScottFromWI

NA beer led back to the real thing for me. My personal opinion is that there are much healtier ways to deal with cravings.

Not sure what to say on the ecigs. If you didn't use them before and we're doing simply for the nicotine buzz that is not a good sign either.

Whether it considered a lapse of sobriety is purely a decision you need to make for yourself.

SoberD

Glad you didn't drink Geno and the "relapse" question on the cigs is up to you - I personally found nicotine substitutes to be helpful to quit smoking many years ago. As for the fake beer, IMHO, if I found myself drinking it, I would question whether I have really "let go" of the idea of ever drinking the real stuff again....

geno198

I won't ever want to let it go. I'm an addict. It will never go away. This just for me and how I feel. It will get easier but never go away. It's my loin.

Lance40

Hi Geno - I find the nature of sobriety to be quite a personal matter. From one Christian to another: I would encourage you to use a lot of prayerful discernment and to exercise caution until you feel that you have received wisdom on how to proceed. Only you can know the purity of your intentions and the internal effect that your choices have on you. In that sense it is possible that your sobriety may include things that others would not allow, and it may also not allow you things that others would allow.

Anna

Personally, I don't use non-alcoholic wine. I tried it once and I hated the 'muscle memory' part of it - holding the bottle, using the corkscrew, pouring it into wine glasses. After that, I got rid of all of that stuff. I don't like those memories.

geno198

I like that and will take that advice. This is how I stayed sober last time for my 90 days. I think it will be OK. Thanks SR

Thepatman

Hey, if it works for you then awesome.

I don't think I could have one of those beers. The taste would trigger me into getting a barrel of the real stuff. LOL!

Buggirl

Personally i like my ecigs and Alcohol free beer! I love the taste of hoppy beer and German beer and don't even think about real beer when drinking it! It's all about personal choice. Just do whatever makes you happy and stops you from drinking the real thing!

dwtbd

I've never tried na beer, but I definitely choose not to drink beverages that contain alcohol. And I thoroughly enjoy vaping, even tried one of my favorite cigars after regular vaping and didn't enjoy the analog one bit, didn't even finish it. So I suppose it's different strokes for different folks, just stay sober, keep choosing sobriety its a great habit

trachemys

Ain't that weird? I can't smoke a regular cigar now, either.

Hey geno, whatever you did to stay sober is fine with me. I like NA beers. I use an e-cig. Whatever it takes.

erin8

I can't imagine na beer. I only ever drank beer to get drunk. I hate the taste. I satisfy my taste for margaritas just by eating something with lime. Nothing replicates the tequila though...I think I'd just find it aggravating.

Frixion

I quite enjoy non-alcoholic (NA) alternatives, although to be honest my first time quitting I lasted 40 days, then 11 days, and now on my third go around I am on day 5 so it's obvious I have not figured out what works for me and what doesn't. I have to say the craving for a beer or wine was crazy, and drinking the NA stuff has saved me from relapsing sooner IMO. For me the NA wine did not satisfy my craving so instead I have been drinking POM (Brand of pomegranate juice) in a wine glass, which by the way is AMAZING while having a sensual bath. The NA beer works for me because even in my past I didn't drink beer for the buzz - it's always been about the flavor.

jryan19982

The E cig really helps doesnt it? Plus they come in cool flavors too... I like coffee the best, and menthol which is funny because I hated menthol cigs lol.

gippy1968

I like beer, nay - I LOVE beer! I love the taste, the smell, the burps. I love everything about beer, especially the buzz. NA beer for me is kinda gross tasting compared to the real thing. Add the fact that I won't get drunk from Near Beer and I stay away. That missing buzz is too tempting for me as it makes me want to chase after the buzz with real beers.

Whatever helps you stay sober, but be mindful of your brain seeking the buzz it's used to getting from real beer.

Changel

I've dabbled with alcohol free beers in the past. I even started a few threads on here recently about them.

One day I found myself drinking a whole heap of them at home - like I was binging on them. That got me thinking.

I still drink them from time to time, like when having dinner at a friends home, but I will only ever buy one or two of them at a time.

A whole box of them sitting at my house is just plain confusing to me.

Soberwolf

The thought of drinking NA drinks does not appeal to me its hard for me to accept that someone who has/had a alcohol problem can enjoy NA drinks and i mean beers wines that have no alcohol i know ppl do and that is thier business if your sober your sober but (theres always a but)

In my eyes its holding on to the past

if anyone who knew me properly seen me drinking a NA beer wine etc they would **** themselves no one in my world would accept it take from that what you will but for me personally its a massive no no

It took me 3 months to get sober & this is my first time sober over 18 days i am officially 17 months 1 week sober today

i got sober at 31 years of age on july 14th 2013 im now entering my 2nd sober christmas

be well everyone