Thanks for the encouragement and tips. I made it another day (6 now) and the good news is I slept a few hours last night. The insomnia has always been the hardest WD symptom for me to deal with since it seems to make everything worse and makes me incredibly anxious. I see the importance of making a recovery plan. So much of my past has been drifting without a direction, or setting short term goals and failing many of them. I need to take one bite of the elephant at a time, and reading threads and stories here helps put things in perspective. For me it will be all about baby steps. Set small goals and achieve each one rather than just making a vague general statement like "I won't drink anymore". Obviously that hasn't worked for me.
My health and my family are the most important reasons for me to quit. There's so much about life I used to enjoy and took for granted, and I feel guilty about losing time drinking rather than doing more important things. I refuse to let any substance influence me any longer. I hate that it took this long and I had to face some frightening things for me to finally see that I can't do this any more. Reading up on Kindling is enough to scare anyone. I can't imagine going through a binge/WD cycle that gets worse every time.
That being said has anyone experienced WD's that mimic a viral infection? The first time I stopped cold turkey I had classic symptoms of a viral infection, went to doc, they agreed that's what it was. I figured I was actually sick since these symptoms came 2 weeks after I stopped drinking. I dealt with symptoms for months thinking I was sick with a vius but dureing this time I would also drink, stop for several days and drink again. My mind was blown when I realized it could have been WD's the whole time masquerading as an actual illness. Has anyone else gone through the same thing?
A big part of my recovery plan involves excercise. But I'm worried about doing this now with my BP still high. Wondering if I should wait until it comes down. Does anyone know how long this should take? Doc prescribed 25 mg HCTZ for BP, I have been on it for years, all through the drinking and WD's.