Hi Cherry
the only experience i have of seeing someone that has stopped drinking for a period and gone back to drinking with the ability to control it is my Dad. He drank a lot when we were growing up and then he stopped for a bit (less than a year) and now goes out (i think hes 62 now) twice a week max. he goes out at 9.30pm as the pub he goes to shuts at 11.30pm (UK) and has a limit of 5 pints.
You can see his mood change a bit when he gets to the 5th pint as he knows it is his last drink and you can almost hear the inner battle. He goes quiet and then its offski home.
So this is a level of control, he has to be vigilant that he does not exceed the 5 pints and also that he goes out on just the 2 designated nights and feels proud of himself if he only goes out on one of them instead of the two in a week...'i only went out once last week'. How the hell is that different? Alcohol is still controlling his life completely, on the nights he doesnt go out he stays in so he doesnt drink like a prisoner in his own home.
Works for him, IMO he is still a slave to booze and it's not for me! I can't see any difference between this and doing a fix twice a week! And he's totally miserable by the way and is still spouting the same old **** of how he could have done this and could of done that, it amazes me that someone can live 60 years and learn so little but there you go!
So no you can't go back but you can let alcohol control your life in a different way IMO.