Tumble

Hi all,

Just want experiences.... When you gave up drinking how much? All day or evening drinker? And what withdrawals did you experience?

Thanks in advance

Soberwolf

My alcoholism was gradual & by the end i was a all day everyday drinker

The amount didnt matter well it did but it was more important recognising i was dependent on it and making the changes to stay sober starting with accepting i cant drink safely or responsibly

I got sober in a burnt out bedroom on my own no internet just normal tv, The worst of my wd were during days 3-5 by the end of the week i sought a Dr's advice and got help for the following week i always suggest speaking to a dr vs cold turkey as it is safer and easier

You have SR at your disposal 24h a day Tumble you can do this

Oh and since you asked by the end i was drinking 1 Litre + of vodka a day

NestWasEmpty

I'm with soberwolf on this one . It can be hard either way heavy or mild drinking . It's very hard , plus some people have worse with drawls than others . Be up front with your Dr first . He/she may tell how to go about it , as long as your upfront with how much !
I was a 10+ year - heavy drinker 15 beers ,plus a pint or more rum a day . I ended up going into the hosp. No way I could handle it alone

thomas11

I did not have a problem with alcohol until 10 years ago (I'm 47), I drank nightly, then switched to weekends only. Regarding the amount, suffice it to say I drank until I was drunk. However much that was. The nail in the coffin was an extended binge one winter. The withdrawals were horrible, although probably considered moderate since I had no seizures or DT's. After the horrible binge I didn't quit altogether, but did pay attention to how much I drank. Of course I would still occasionally get out of control. I'm currently at 60 some days sober and it has been very rewarding.

BBQBOY

Hi Tumble,
I was a 24/7 drinker for 10 years or longer...1+ liters of vodka daily. My life was a mess!! Went to inpatient rehab and was medically detoxed for 5 days and then 28 days of intensive therapy. I was sober for 4 years after...but then started back and before long I was back up to 1+liters of sauce a day. I'm back at an IOP (intensive out patient), and have been sober for 3 months now. I never want to go back out! I am willing to do anything to achieve long lasting sobriety. To bad it took me so long. Oh, and I have gone cold turkey w/out meds a couple times...it was not pretty...wouldn't wish it on anyone. If you're thinking about stopping, talk to a Dr. first..they have heard it all before. Don't go CT!

MelindaFlowers

I began drinking at 21 and stopped at 32. From 21 to 25 I was a heavy drinker and probably drank probably 350 days a year. With no children, spouse, and my family in a different state, why wouldn't I drink every night?

From 21 to 25 I felt satisfied with 1/2 a fifth (375 mL) of vodka mixed with soda. I don't believe there was a day between ages 25-30 that I did not drink.

From 25 to 30 my tolerance went up so it took a half liter (500 mL) of vodka to most of a fifth (600-700 mL) to last me from 5 pm until I passed out. I have finished a fifth maybe a few times with only condensation on the bottom.

I drank the exact same amount whether it was a work night, weekend, or New Years Eve. I have never had a drink before 5 pm. Blackouts were a weekly occurrence for a five year period. I have never driven drunk. 99 percent of my drinking was at home, alone.

Around 29 is when you would have passed me at the mall and said Oh yeah, THAT's an alcoholic.

Age 30-32 something changed and quite drastically. Some nights I would drink and achieve my goal of getting drunk. Other nights I would drink the same amount and not get drunk at all. This was when my body began shutting down.

My last year I switched to beer and never drank vodka again. I thought this was a huge positive change at the time.

I was in daily withdrawals with extremely high blood pressure, daily diarrhea, unimaginable headaches, slight hand tremble, profuse sweating, and feelings of paranoia and impending doom.

My tolerance began decreasing and I switched to beer in hopes that the hangovers would be more tolerable. Wrong.

My last calendar year was 12 beers a night and hangovers/withdrawal worse than ever. I only drank about five nights a week because I was too sick and hungover to drink everyday. I did not actually enjoy a single one of those beers. I was trying to recapture the old feeling but could not.

I gained 70 pounds from drinking and I was started to look like a caricature of an alcoholic with a red, sweaty face, slits for eyes. furrowed brow, grey/red eyeballs, and I hate to even admit this, but my hair was less kempt and clothes more wrinkly than they should have been. I was starting to show up late for work.

I stopped because I could no longer handle the hangovers.

mystified

I was a wine drinker.

I drank 3 wine boxes (plus a couple of extra bottles and occasionally spirits) a week but that got expensive so I started brewing my own. I have no idea how much of that I was drinking as I made gallons at a time.

It was not pretty.

It took a few tries to make sobriety stick but I can say with complete honesty that it was the absolute best thing I ever did.

doggonecarl

What about you, Tumble, when you giving up the bottle?

Tumble

Finding it really hard. I wake up everyday with good intentions but i always give in and open that bottle.

I drinking between one and two bottles in the evening. I know I have to stop but I always find an excuse.

Retread1959

There's always an excuse, I know because I've made them all. This time for me I'm calling myself on my own BS. All that stuff about the stressful day, this is how I relax, I'll just drink when I'm out (then go out every night), yada yada yada. I can do that for the rest of my life or I can decide to get serious and cut that stuff off at the knees. It's hard but I have resolve this time. I hope you can find your way.

doggonecarl

Hard will be going through chronic, late-stage alcoholism. Do yourself a favor, quit now while it is still doable.

ScottFromWI

Most of us found it hard to quit, I know I did. Good intentions aren't usually enough to get it done either. Why not take some action that will actually get you closer to the goal?

You have been coming here for several months asking lots of questions about what happens when you quit, how others quit, and sharing lots of physical problems you have been having potentially because of your drinking. I would hope that by now you have realized that all of these problems are most likely a direct result of your drinking. And the only solution is to quit drinking,

Here's some definitive steps you could take - today - that would get you moving in the right direction.

1. Go to an AA meeting/call your local AA hotline
2. Make an appointment to see your doctor.
3. Check into local detox/rehab options - many offer services on a sliding fee , some even have no-cost optoins
4. Read the big book.
5. Read about secular recovery methods.
6. Don't buy any alcohol.

Bostonsportsfan

I was drinking daily, around the clock. The withdrawals were horrible and scary. I'd recommend seeing a DR before you quit and check out your detox options. Cold turkey wasn't an option for me and for a lot of alcoholics...it isn't.

I wish you the best of luck!

ItWillBeWorthIt

Medical detox would be best, talk to your doctor and tell him/her the truth about your drinking because withdrawals can be very difficult and dangerous.

Hope you make the decision to quit for good, because there is a way better life without it.

lssnheer

I have never had a withdrawal issue, at least not that I know of, or not one that was so serious it made me ill. When I was at my worst, I would drink about 750ml of Jim Beam a day, which was for about 6 months. Depending on the circumstances I could drink all day, and I did while I was in college, and also while I was unemployed living with my parents. Having a job makes me a night time drinker. I've quit a handful of times, during various levels severity, sometimes for a few months, and one time for a little more than 1 year. I first developed a drinking problem when I was a teenager, not yet old enough to drive.

bigsombrero

I drank a ton of vodka every day. I had withdrawal seizures more than once and ended up in the hospital. Do you want to walk into detox yourself, or do you want to be wheeled in on a gurney like me? I'm sure you think it will never happen to you, but I thought the same thing. I was 36, 6-foot-1, former high school basketball captain, state championship rugby player, could handle my booze, and had a high paying job on Michigan Ave. And I was an alcoholic who collapsed into seizures and had to be rushed to the ER. With my pants crapped to boot.

You can play footsie with alcoholism all you want, Tumble, but at some point you've got to get the courage together to quit. There's never a time that will fit your drinking schedule, so I suggest you find a detox unit and rip off the bandaid with medical professionals nearby. Good luck.