Midton

Today is day 14. It is also a Saturday, a day when my mind says it is a drinking day. After I stopped I felt elation when I woke up in the mornings for the first week or so. The nights were hard and stressful but so far I've made it.

Now though I actually feel kind of groggy in the mornings and unsatisfied. I feel like I am waiting for something to start or end. It's as if I am running a marathon, it's tough but there is an end in sight and at this end I will have an sense of achievement and a reward. Sobriety isn't a race though and there is no end. It is hopefully now my lifestyle.

With this in mind can someone tell me about how and after how long they began to get physical and/or mental improvements. Personally, even after such a short time, I do feel as if my self-esteem has gotten better and I'm more confident in myself.

Tel me about the positive things you've encountered since stopping.

penny74

Positive is that you start looking better. not so puffed up and an alcy face anymore. Sleep gets better. You don't have to worry about booze on your breath at 8 am.
You are a more pleasant person to be around.
You are not surviving from drink to drink.
You save money.
Your nervous system gets a rest.
And a thousand other things.
This takes time.
For some it can take a year.
l fully understand how you are feeling. The "waiting for something to start or end"
l know the feeling.
You are missing your drink after a long hard day.
That takes time to go away.
Wish you luck.


It ain't what they call you, it's what you answer to.
W. C. Fields

robbo78

what i have learned from listening and reading is everbody has a different recovery this is down to the amount you have drank, time you were drinking (daily/weekly etc) and the fact everybody has a different mind and body.

I am on day 38 and still have certain symptoms and fears that are bothering me and just hope they pass in time. i have been to doctors on several occasions and they (seen a few differnt docs) put it down to the amount and time i drank so i have withdrawals and anxiety (minimum 10 pints everynight for 10 years or more). Also i think the best way is to be honest with yourself about your problem.

Anyways good luck for the future.

Robbo

killingmesmalls

I am on day 12 myself. Sleeping sucks, my mind is on over drive (someone called it binge thinking in another post - which I found really kind of humorous), and yes like you I am waiting; but it has only been 12 days verses 15 years of heavy drinking. Maybe it is like the break up rule, for however many years you were together it will take this that many months to get over it. It would be nice if it worked this way - god it'd be awesome. But love and loss really don't work by some mathematical equation - it takes time. At first everywhere you look you are reminded of what is gone, a song will come on bringing back the good or bad times, two people will make out in front of you and it is hard to handle because you are alone. But eventually it gets better, hopefully.
I am new to the AA concept. I'm doing it, and I am trying to focus on the now. Which sometimes can be hard because I am right in it - the thick of it, but I think the more I am willing to face it and deal with it the sooner I will be able to get past the hard times, and be able to help someone down the line on their first day, week, month and so on. That's what I hope anyway - for myself and anyone else on here that is struggling.

WLDKATZ

hang on guys......I promise it does get better....................have a copy of years in just cant tell ya when it does right now..........but it does cuse life is about good days and bad days......its just what YOU make of em!

glad1242

im on a few weeks of being alcohol free and some days are better then others i still have alot of anxiety and i dont know if that will ever leave physically i feel alot better and i tend to enjoy things ALOT more things i would have never done without being totally sloshed everyday is a differnt struggle its all about your mindset tho

some days will be hard others will be amazing welcome to the world of sobriety that youve been avoiding for so long

CarolD

Midton....hello again....

By the end of 2 months ...I was back in balance
physically and mentally. I also consider that happened
because
I was attending AA daily at a minimum.
I was eating healthy food bacically following an eating plan
for hypoglycemia. Google for i info if you are interested.
I took a daily multi-vitamin + a B comples
I walked daily too.

I also stopped hanging out with drinkers declared my apartment
to be a non drinking zone...made new AA friends.

Recovery Really Rocks......

Shakespeare

I am one day behind you on day 13. I have mentioned how I am getting along in other posts. One thing I found interesting was a link from this site to another site. A medical scientific one that said if you can get to 90 days the brain has a re-set button.

I found that helpful because I caved in after two months last time out. I am feeling really really fatiqued from 5 onwards in the evening. Other than that, if I keep myself occupied usefully during the day, I am feeling energetic and optimistic.

The thing that is keeping me going presently is that I feel like I have been given my life back. The life I had as a healthy optimistic life-loving teenager. I dont want to have my dirty rags back. One drink and I will be exchanging my clean clothes.

FBL

I totally understand your difficulty, especially on the weekends. Today is Day 62 for me and I actually woke up this morning thinking how great it would be to get a case (or two) of beer and drink the day away, just like I used to for years. But, guess what, that feeling quickly passed and I'm now looking forward to one more day without my old crutch.

robbo78

i have had those days over the weekend, by 1pm after footy i would crack a beer open and sip and smoke all day and night before crashing to my bed, i would proberbly consume 12 pints and i actually enjoyed if i was honest. This is why i think i personally find the mental part so hard as that was my life (everyday) for so long not thinking i had a problem. Often i have thought how much i would of drank over the last 38 days at its scary a MINIMUM OF 304 beers (30000 over 10 years) slowly i have come
to realise why its a long recovery as to put your body through what have done must take some getting over. headaches, twitching , anxiety , fears and so on.

Good Luck All


Robbo

Bamboozle

The biggest thing for me was improvement in my bowels. Much better consistency and color came about after maybe 3 months of sobriety.

It used to be yellow and loose. Now it's brown and usually firm (...but not too firm)…and emergency runs to the facilities are less frequent.


You really can get a loose idea of your general state of health* by looking in the toilet.





*I'm not a doctor...so if something is up with your habits do not hesitate to describe in detail your movements to an actual medical professional. Seriously. If things hadn't improved for me I'd be extremely worried. Alcohol tore up my insides and it took a little while for the damage to heal.

DrunkBull

Yes

Welcome the the world as it is not what we would like it to be.

matt88

I'm right on the cusp of 5 weeks sober. I'm still seeing improvements. I have a regular sleep schedule. I wake up feeling refreshed and rested. No more regularly waking up in the middle of the night heart racing with the pillow damp. I have a healthy and enjoyable diet. I don't constantly have these little internal pains and a general feeling of rawness to my stomach because I'm not damaging my stomach lining with alcohol. My face is fuller. I never got puffy. I was the opposite, looking drained due to dehydration.

Mentally I feel much better. Probably the best benefits so far are psychological in nature. Anxiety is at a minimum. Sometimes I feel like I'm walking around on sedatives just being sober, I guess that's what "normal" feels like. Where as before I thought maybe I needed prescription drugs. I feel very stable mentally and even headed.

The world while hungover and drinking seemed a scary frightening place. Now it seems to be a place of endless wonder, beauty, fascination, and opportunity.

Before, I dreaded responsibilities, work, school, and the like. Now I'm looking forward to such things, and see them as challenges and opportunity rather than things interfering with my drinking.

It's not all sunshine all the time, but overall I'm in much better condition, and even the worst paws symptoms have been 10x better than the mildest hangover - knock on wood.

How long I will go - I don't know - just not today. .

sfgirl

Physical Improvements—All Pretty Immediate (2 wks+):

Less bloat in face
lost weight even though gained daily ice cream habit (some people gain)
better skin
better quality sleep, better routine
finally had self-care routine at night like face washing, etc, never had that before, this makes for a better looking skin— I get tons of compliments on how I look now, it is almost embarrassing, I feel like being healthy actually shows on the outside
I can drive places

Mental Improvements—Steadily Improves:

This is actually my favorite, cognitive functions vastly improve even if you think they weren't impaired (my experience— really noticed in therapy, therapy while using vs. therapy while sober two very different things)
Severely decreased anxiety

Some other things that I experienced that might not be described as positive:
lots of fatigue for first six months— I don't know maybe it was all the emotional change and work that took it out of me, I napped a lot, I just was not a ball of energy

Also, I wasn't full of positive emotion for awhile. I had a lot of painful emotions that I had buried that came bubbling up. I had to learn how to sit with them after years of drinking it all away. After some months I got to a point of more serenity. However, for me sobriety was definitely not a pink cloud and I think that if you go into sobriety waiting for a feeling of ecstasy or something of the like to come, you are setting yourself up for relapse. Sobriety is about learning how to deal with real life, which is about learning to sit with the full range of emotions, good and bad, it isn't about trying to find your next fix— "sober happiness."

matt88

Yea, in the first week or so, I didn't let myself be overtly enthusiastic about being sober. It was sort of a defense mechanism. Now I'm realizing that it's OK to feel great about sobriety, call it pink cloud or whatever. I mean, when you're pretty much relegated to death, despair, a life full of anxiety, jail, institutions, etc, and suddenly you start a new life free of all those things - there would have to be something fundamentally wrong with someone not to feel optimistic about getting a new lease on life.

soidog

It was like that for me too, and I think its fairly normal. After quitting drinking the next few weeks of trying to sleep is real tough because your mind and body have been conditioned to sleep while you are drunk. I would toss and turn for hours. Hang in there, after a while you will be sleeping the best you have in years.

Gypsy Feet

when I first came to SR, I read so many posts by long time sober people talking about the amazing life they had found. I thought it was pretty much bs, and told myself I would just be happy with myself for being able to quit.

I took some reading suggestions from these forums on self help/spiritual guidance type of books and read a few.

I stayed sober.

I eat well and work out regularily,

and guess what? Somewhere into this, maybe 3 or 4 months along, I did start finding a better life than I had thought possible. They weren't lying or blowing sunshine up my butt=) Stcik with it

bjork

I like Bamboozle's "What your poo is telling you" method!

Today is 65 days sober for me. 47 days no cigarettes

I have had emotional ups and downs that happened without any sort of provocation.

I had a short bout of insomnia which is better now.

My sweat doesn't smell as rancid.

My gums bleed more when I brush my teeth. Nothing major, but I have noticed.

I had no desire to be around my drinking buddies. They annoyed the heck out of me when they invited me out (to a bar of course).

I still have body aches. Not every day, but off and on. I just make sure I rest when I have them.

Better skin and hair

tommyk

"can someone tell me about how and after how long they began to get physical and/or mental improvements."

As soon as you reach out and do something to cause physical and mental improvements.

What did you do today for physical and mental improvement?

It doesn't occur automatically.

Keep coming back.

Shakespeare

I must be doing something wrong then. I have had mental and physical improvements and I have done nothing apart from not drink.