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Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2016
Posts: 3
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Hi, my name is Jason and I am from Australia. I am hoping to get some tips on here to stop drinking. I am currently drinking a bottle of vodka in about 4 hours before bed every night.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks.
Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 211,352
Hi and welcome Jason 
Posting here is a good start, If you've been knocking off a bottle of vodka nightly you might want to consider seeing the doctor - detox can sometimes be problematic, even if you've never had problems before.
You'll find a lot of support and good ideas here to help keep you sober - have you considered things like AA or some other recovery group, or is that not something you'd do?
D
Posting here is a good start, If you've been knocking off a bottle of vodka nightly you might want to consider seeing the doctor - detox can sometimes be problematic, even if you've never had problems before.
You'll find a lot of support and good ideas here to help keep you sober - have you considered things like AA or some other recovery group, or is that not something you'd do?
D
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2016
Posts: 3
Hi and thanks for the reply.
I live in a country town, so AA is not an option for me at this stage.
I live in a country town, so AA is not an option for me at this stage.
Originally Posted by Dee74 
Hi and welcome Jason
Posting here is a good start, If you've been knocking off a bottle of vodka nightly you might want to consider seeing the doctor - detox can sometimes be problematic, even if you've never had problems before.
You'll find a lot of support and good ideas here to help keep you sober - have you considered things like AA or some other recovery group, or is that not something you'd do?
D
Posting here is a good start, If you've been knocking off a bottle of vodka nightly you might want to consider seeing the doctor - detox can sometimes be problematic, even if you've never had problems before.
You'll find a lot of support and good ideas here to help keep you sober - have you considered things like AA or some other recovery group, or is that not something you'd do?
D
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2016
Posts: 3
Thanks for the reply . It sounds like you were once where I am now.
. It sounds like you were once where I am now.
Originally Posted by waterlogged
Hi Jason
You have come to the right place. I used to drink a litre of vodka a day, somtimes more. But i am now just over a year sober so there is light at the end of the tunnel. xx
You have come to the right place. I used to drink a litre of vodka a day, somtimes more. But i am now just over a year sober so there is light at the end of the tunnel. xx
Member
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: 45th Parallel, Michigan
Posts: 816
Welcome, Jason! I'm very glad you posted; I think you'll find a lot of sober folks here who have a history of many empty vodka bottles, and I'm certainly one of them...they sure did pile up fast.
Advice? As a newly sobered up vodka drunk, it would be: hang out here, a lot! Read (I'm pretty addicted to the Newcomers section) and post whenever you can...and please do watch for signs of physical withdrawal the first few days. They can be mild, or severe and dangerous.
Happy to have you here; it's an awesome place for kind support from hundreds of caring people who totally understand where you're at...wish you the best! Arp
Advice? As a newly sobered up vodka drunk, it would be: hang out here, a lot! Read (I'm pretty addicted to the Newcomers section) and post whenever you can...and please do watch for signs of physical withdrawal the first few days. They can be mild, or severe and dangerous.
Happy to have you here; it's an awesome place for kind support from hundreds of caring people who totally understand where you're at...wish you the best! Arp
Member
Join Date: May 2016
Location: West Wales
Posts: 1,630
Hi Jason, I joined yesterday and already feeling a lot stronger and safer because of this group. My danger time starts about 4pm and my AV tells me to give in. But I won't give in tonight. I will not drink tonight and I'm looking forward to waking up tomorrow feeling proud of myself. :-) Good luck with your quit Jason!
Recognizes the Beast
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: In the kitchen, cooking up a storm
Posts: 704
Hi Jason and welcome. If you're feeling scared, nervous and unsure, don't worry mate, every single person here has been in your shoes.
Lots of good advice on this thread already, heaps of great advice on this site in general. Read around, share your story if you're comfortable, and listen to the advice given.
The best thing I can think of to say to you is, you don't have to live like that anymore. You really don't. I drank for 18 years, was convinced I would live and die a drinker. Now, over 3.5 years sober, when I look in the mirror I see a very different person looking back.
Lots of good advice on this thread already, heaps of great advice on this site in general. Read around, share your story if you're comfortable, and listen to the advice given.
The best thing I can think of to say to you is, you don't have to live like that anymore. You really don't. I drank for 18 years, was convinced I would live and die a drinker. Now, over 3.5 years sober, when I look in the mirror I see a very different person looking back.
Member
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: California
Posts: 1,428
Can you see a doctor to help with detox? Withdrawal can be dangerous, be careful and aware of symptoms
Reading around the forums here is a good start. If you have a craving eat something instead.
Reading around the forums here is a good start. If you have a craving eat something instead.
Guest
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Atlanta
Posts: 8,674
Imma try to be succinct here but probably won't be as your post struck a big chord with me.
I, too, was a late-drinking-stage vodka drinker (LOTs of vodka, sigh) and will share my detox process. It was cold turkey quitting (Feb 22, 2016 so I just passed 90 days) and had (just) the supervision of my team of drs (liver, psych, GP) vs non-hosp, which I did once before. The process does vary by person and could necessitate hospitalization- please, please go to one if you have severe symptoms. I don't remember much of the first weeks of being sober: I had dr appts, shaking, sweating, nightmares, and extreme exhaustion. Shaky, very severe leg cramping and tremors, some puking. I only gradually found I could eat (I was underweight and had been basically eating a small meal, a few bites of food a day in the last couple months' worth of drinking) a bit, and tried to drink as much non-caffeinated bev as possible (lots of club soda with lemons so a little taste of something). I just had to go through the whole process.
That aside, the biggest thing you have to do is STOP DRINKING. Whatever support you can access, do. Is this a situation where an inpatient rehab is possible/necessary? What kind of help do you have - physical help from family or friends even if just to sit with you during the intro phase, a detox facility (perhaps starting with an ER- in the US this kind of place is a 4-ish day, week-ish stay to smooth the brutal-est part of stopping)? I finally conceded that AA was worth a shot and am thankful to have it even when I dislike/am negative about some meeting or another. If you try and can't find ANY group meeting, can you see an addiction counselor? Not sure how/if all this works with insurance or cost over there. My point being- find something besides yourself, and in addition to SR or another recovery site.
One other thing I started doing and still do is READ. You can find so many memoirs/books on recovery (check Amazon if you need delivery, and/or bookstores). As my psych said, it's like having my own private meeting when I read others' stories. Hazelden, a widely respected treatment facility here, publishes a lot of good books including Your First Year of Sobriety. A few specific ones I also rec are Christopher Kennedy Lawford's Moments of Clarity (a compilation of his and others' stories), Blackout by Sarah Hepola (a woman's story but probably relatable to a man), among others. This is something you can do regardless of in person options!
Also, I can't say enough (I hear my Dad's voice especially on this, along with my liver dr's - who kicked my ass into sobriety bc he gave me the greatest talking to of my life about do or die) that food, sleep, and gradually exercising are essential. If you aren't sleeping (you probably aren't, or are having nightmares, sweats etc if you are passing out thanks to vodka), can you get a dr's help with meds? I am on a now-maintenance routine that includes Campral (acomprosate) which is an anti-craving (I don't have physical cravings but my psych is keeping me on it as "protection" for awhile longer), Seroquel (for sleep as well as anti-anxiety) as needed (still do most nights, as prescribed), Lorazepam (also anti-anxiety, as needed, usually one a day) - anxiety, even panic, is a common symptom as you get sober - and Antabuse (a physical barrier to drinking as you can get mildly to violently ill or DEAD if you drink while taking it), as an initial buffer and still as a routine/psych barrier for a little longer as I just passed 90 days. That sounds like- IS- a lot but because I have financial support to do it and am willing to do ANYTHING - I put this in the category as "listen to the medical experts and take advantage of all available help."
This may all sound exhausting, because it is. I was and am so lucky to have parents who were just heroic in my final decision to get sober after many starts and stops, mostly because I didn't want to quite despite unbelievable reason to do so. For me, "whatever it takes," is expensive, physically taxing (I spent years damaging myself, the last ten hard core) so getting well is not an immediate or easy process. But- bottom line- you have to WANT to stop drinking and you have to STOP. There a lot of reasons it sucks at first, physical and other wise - but to echo others, it really, really, does get better.
You do sound isolated, which is one of the biggest barriers to getting sober. Please keep using SR (or other sites/online/etc sites)- I use it largely to read people's stories and to post largely to remind MYSELF what to do - because this helps me.
I wish you the best and hope you start and see what happens. Whatever mental talk you need to give yourself - try.
August
(So, I've reread my post several times and I know it is a lot, and probably overload for you to take in if you are still drinking heavily, but maybe flag it for later or look for others' long posts - just read them and see!)
I, too, was a late-drinking-stage vodka drinker (LOTs of vodka, sigh) and will share my detox process. It was cold turkey quitting (Feb 22, 2016 so I just passed 90 days) and had (just) the supervision of my team of drs (liver, psych, GP) vs non-hosp, which I did once before. The process does vary by person and could necessitate hospitalization- please, please go to one if you have severe symptoms. I don't remember much of the first weeks of being sober: I had dr appts, shaking, sweating, nightmares, and extreme exhaustion. Shaky, very severe leg cramping and tremors, some puking. I only gradually found I could eat (I was underweight and had been basically eating a small meal, a few bites of food a day in the last couple months' worth of drinking) a bit, and tried to drink as much non-caffeinated bev as possible (lots of club soda with lemons so a little taste of something). I just had to go through the whole process.
That aside, the biggest thing you have to do is STOP DRINKING. Whatever support you can access, do. Is this a situation where an inpatient rehab is possible/necessary? What kind of help do you have - physical help from family or friends even if just to sit with you during the intro phase, a detox facility (perhaps starting with an ER- in the US this kind of place is a 4-ish day, week-ish stay to smooth the brutal-est part of stopping)? I finally conceded that AA was worth a shot and am thankful to have it even when I dislike/am negative about some meeting or another. If you try and can't find ANY group meeting, can you see an addiction counselor? Not sure how/if all this works with insurance or cost over there. My point being- find something besides yourself, and in addition to SR or another recovery site.
One other thing I started doing and still do is READ. You can find so many memoirs/books on recovery (check Amazon if you need delivery, and/or bookstores). As my psych said, it's like having my own private meeting when I read others' stories. Hazelden, a widely respected treatment facility here, publishes a lot of good books including Your First Year of Sobriety. A few specific ones I also rec are Christopher Kennedy Lawford's Moments of Clarity (a compilation of his and others' stories), Blackout by Sarah Hepola (a woman's story but probably relatable to a man), among others. This is something you can do regardless of in person options!
Also, I can't say enough (I hear my Dad's voice especially on this, along with my liver dr's - who kicked my ass into sobriety bc he gave me the greatest talking to of my life about do or die) that food, sleep, and gradually exercising are essential. If you aren't sleeping (you probably aren't, or are having nightmares, sweats etc if you are passing out thanks to vodka), can you get a dr's help with meds? I am on a now-maintenance routine that includes Campral (acomprosate) which is an anti-craving (I don't have physical cravings but my psych is keeping me on it as "protection" for awhile longer), Seroquel (for sleep as well as anti-anxiety) as needed (still do most nights, as prescribed), Lorazepam (also anti-anxiety, as needed, usually one a day) - anxiety, even panic, is a common symptom as you get sober - and Antabuse (a physical barrier to drinking as you can get mildly to violently ill or DEAD if you drink while taking it), as an initial buffer and still as a routine/psych barrier for a little longer as I just passed 90 days. That sounds like- IS- a lot but because I have financial support to do it and am willing to do ANYTHING - I put this in the category as "listen to the medical experts and take advantage of all available help."
This may all sound exhausting, because it is. I was and am so lucky to have parents who were just heroic in my final decision to get sober after many starts and stops, mostly because I didn't want to quite despite unbelievable reason to do so. For me, "whatever it takes," is expensive, physically taxing (I spent years damaging myself, the last ten hard core) so getting well is not an immediate or easy process. But- bottom line- you have to WANT to stop drinking and you have to STOP. There a lot of reasons it sucks at first, physical and other wise - but to echo others, it really, really, does get better.
You do sound isolated, which is one of the biggest barriers to getting sober. Please keep using SR (or other sites/online/etc sites)- I use it largely to read people's stories and to post largely to remind MYSELF what to do - because this helps me.
I wish you the best and hope you start and see what happens. Whatever mental talk you need to give yourself - try.
August
(So, I've reread my post several times and I know it is a lot, and probably overload for you to take in if you are still drinking heavily, but maybe flag it for later or look for others' long posts - just read them and see!)
Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 211,352
Originally Posted by Jasonaus
Hi, my name is Jason and I am from Australia. I am hoping to get some tips on here to stop drinking. I am currently drinking a bottle of vodka in about 4 hours before bed every night.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks.
What's your plan then, Jason?
D
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