gotmybrainback

short history: my wife and i both drank heavily for 4 years. between the two of us, we went through a handle of vodka every 3 days or so. well, about 2 months ago, we found out that she's pregnant. we both quit drinking instantly. we had tried to quit, unsuccessfully, many times before, but the baby just did it instantly for us. i simply refuse to be a drunk with a baby, as does she.

i only now see what it did to my life. it never affected my job or profession, thankfully, however it killed ALL desire i had to do anything outside of work other than drink. i used to be a voracious reader -- alcohol killed that. i used to enjoy various sports -- alcohol killed that. i used to spend hours outside of work reading up on the latest developments in my profession (let's just say that I have a doctorate degree) -- alcohol killed that.

now that i've been sober for 2 months, that has all changed. instead of waking up with hangovers every morning, i wake up and go for a brisk walk with my dog. i spend hours every day reading the latest journals and articles for my job. i'm back to reading many books on a large variety of topics. i'm playing racquetball and tennis again.

i always knew i had a problem, but i never realized exactly what it was doing to my life until i quit.

this child is a blessing in so many ways.

Peter

Welcome to the forums and thank you for that post. Remember this is just the beginning.Congrats on the baby. I hope you will keep us up to date in the months ahead.

gotmybrainback

i'll stick around. i would not want to slip into old habits again, although now that i know what it did to me, i can't possibly see myself doing so.

Taking5

Congrats on the baby and the sobriety.

How did you get sober? Are you using AA or doing it alone or what?

gotmybrainback

we just poured out our bottles and haven't had a sip since. we have each other and planning for the baby to keep us sober.

stone

Thanks for that post gotmy. That is really good to hear!

gotmybrainback

i will admit that the first week was very difficult. i kept thinking about drinking, i kept having dreams about drinking, and i went so far as to drive to a liquor store... then realized what i was doing and drove away before going inside.

Peter

Remember that there may be days when circumstances may have you screaming for a drink. Mentally prepare yourself for those days and plan in advance what you will do.Call a friend or go for a walk in the park but under no circumstance pick up a drink no matter how powerful the urge. The feeling will pass and everytime you overcome an attack like that you become more hardened.

gotmybrainback

i had one of those.. then i just thought about my kid and got ahold of myself. :

(btw, you guys have some smileys on here i've never seen before)

CarolD

Here is a link you might find interesting...

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...influence.html

Welcome to SR!

BigSis

Your post was interesting to me as it was getting married and planning a family that was the catalyst for both Mr. Big and me to quit drinking back in 1983.

Congrats on the new baby! ((hugs))

chip

Congrats Gotmy, and welcome to the SR forums.

It's good prepare oneself for the difficult parts. There may be times when the addiction to alcohol will tell you that things will be different if you drink again. Many of us find that when we get sober, although we gain strength in sobriety, our addiction lies in wait for the times when we're vulurnable. It's best to make plans for how to deal with the vulurnable times.

I tell myself that I won't drink today only, each day. When I have a temptation, I may tell myself I'll consider drinking tommorow. Each day I make a contract with myself not to drink for one day. I renew my contract every morning. It's worked for almost 20 months.

Anyway, I wish you all the best with your new sober life. It's a joy and a blessing to have a new family.
chip

GlassPrisoner

"More will be revealed......."

Missymae737

Hi Gotmy,

Congrats on your sober time and the upcoming new family member...

Yes, when the party stops, it is only then that you realize just how far you sank into the mud of addiction... For some of us, what is left is the wreckage, the wreckage of lost family members, legal issues, material loss such as home, car, and most of all, loss of self respect...

Sobriety is so much better....

gypsytears

Hi gotmybrainback . I'm happy for you and your wife... congrats on the pregnancy. I hope you and your wife stay sober for the baby... the baby won't make you sober but it's a great reason to stay that way! Sending good wishes for your future.

confound

Welcome and grats gotmy!! Thanks for sharing your experience. Mine has been somewhat similar - it feels like my brain and body is slowly being dusted off. Keep posting!

leviathon

Alcohol destroyed my life... it took away everything beautiful and wonderful and made everything dismal and grey. I never want to live there again.

Peace, Levi

Tazman53

gotmybrainback I have a feeling I know your profession, not that it really matters, but I would suggest doing some in depth research on alcoholism, the progressive part of it in particular. Glad to hear you and the wife are doing well and congrats on the new comming addition!

Keep in mind that if you are an alcoholic that stopping drinking is very easy, the staying stopped is the hard part.

parentrecovers

nice to meet you, gotmybrainback. blessings, k

meteorite

what a great message that was igotmybrainback