i have my afternoon planned for sure. AA meeting at noon, followed by the Christmas market with my sponsor and another girl from AA. this evening, not sure, but i know i, too will be sober.

Excellent plan....sounds super!
:funjump:

lord, i got home from five and a half hours of this, and i'm so exhausted that sushi and bad movies wrapped up warm on the couch with the company of me myself and i is MORE than enough, it's quite lovely. how awesome that is.

eeb glad to see you made it, get some more numbers and call them, you are helping others stay sober when you call them, not just your self, your phone call may be the one that stops some one else from a relapse.

I'd encourage you to read more on the physical issues/possible treatments of alcoholism. Joseph D. Beasley, MD has several books. Joan Mathews Larson has a website and the book "Seven Weeks to Sobriety" goes into great detail about the biochemical issues and recommended daily supplements/dietary changes.

The sugar (ice cream) cravings could be due to hypoglycemia. Some studies show about 90% of us suffer from it when quitting. Dealing with it by gorging on sweets will make sobriety much tougher - the sugar cravings can seem like alcohol cravings. Your body NEEDS the carb fix, and got used to alcohol as the preferred vehicle. Depression, anxiety, fatigue, insomnia - all common for hypoglycemia and alcohol withdrawal.

What worked for me, and I drank all day every day, was totally cleaning up my diet, taking a handful of supplements every day, and exercise. No sugar or simple carbs like white flour, little caffeine, lots of protein and vegetables some fruit. B-50 supplements, Niacin, EPO, fish oil, vitamin C, vitamin D, calcium/mag, and others in the beginning.

The sometimes crushing depression went away and hasn't returned. Haven't felt better for a decade or more and it's been 2+ years. Lost 40 pounds, and am a new person, physically and mentally. With AA, life couldn't be better.

Do the reading. If you don't buy it, that's fine, but it DOES work for some of us and when it works it's a miracle.

Having an honest talk with your doctor is a wise idea
before starting on any supplements and or eating plan
for hypoglycemia.

A simple blood test is the way you discover hypoglycemia
and then you can take measures your doctor suggests.

:)...Be both safe and sober.

If abstinence gets harder for you each day it is because you need to treat your root causes. Specifically anxiety, frustration, guilt and despair.

The best way to treat this is with spiritual principles such as; humility, serenity and benevolence.

i was getting my master's for alternative nutrition, so i'm already well into that type of living and know my way around the herbs. i always think that's great advice, but something i already do.

and it isn't getting harder every day. some days are hard, some aren't. i think and hope that's just part of the process. i'm certainly treating the root causes... have an excellent therapist whom i work with, am making amends courtesy of my ninth step, working on what spirituality means to me specifically, as a christian god doesn't. i take god to mean group of drunks, and i regard the group of AA as my higher power. i really think i'm putting in the work here, i just think that it isn't always easy in the beginning. starting anything new can be trying, especially when you are dealing with a new way of living.

i am sure i'm right where i am supposed to be. some days are just more of a challenge than others, and that's okay. sobriety is still what i need, but moreso what i want. i want this way of life.