SASA

I am over 40 days now and had only minor cravings for a drink, and than all of a sudden today they occur. I cannot figure out any trigger, I am eating healthy, exercise, I lost since I started in June about 26 pounds. All is well and still there are the cravings coming today.
How long in your recovery did you have cravings?
What did you do to counteract them?
Did you ever get cravings without a trigger?
How do you know it is PAWs?
I started my journey 113 days ago relapsed in between, shouldn't I be over the hill? When will I be over the hill?

DayWalker

There's no "time limit" on cravings. For the first probably 3 months for me I had pretty strong ones, then after 4,5,6 months I still had what I would call "thoughts" but not real strong cravings.

Are you doing anything to help your sobriety? such as AA, or some sort of program, or are you just doing it on your own? Not that you have to have something like AA, but having some sort of outlet/guidance does help.

But no matter what your doing, when you feel a craving come on just do something (anything) to keep your mind busy because normally they will pass within a few minutes and you will get past it.

Steve

Dee74

I think the cravings thing is different for many people - in fact we may not even be speaking of the same thing.

Physical cravings left me pretty quickly in recovery. Mental obsession took longer.

I had thoughts of drinking for a long time - sometimes those thoughts were pretty strong.

I think it's normal in a way for us to think that way, having drank for so long. The important thing now is what we do with the thoughts

I don't know if you have PAWs? but here's a link on PAWs I think explains it pretty well.

Post-Acute Withdrawal Syndrome (PAWS) — Why we don’t get better immediately) « Digital Dharma

D

LaFemme

Hi SASA! From what I gather everyone is different. I've heard 3 months to break a habit...so maybe the cravings are bad habit thoughts? At least that is how it is for me.

artsoul

Hi SASA - my experience is that it's very similar to quitting smoking. It takes time before the obsession goes away. I've had urges to drink hit me out of the blue at different times during the past 5 months and some have been pretty uncomfortable. I usually get on SR like you're doing, and read/post like crazy. It's worked so far.

The only thing I know is that the longer I'm sober, the less the urges come and the less they affect me. Hang in there!!!:ghug3

Juneof44

I'm just prepared for them to keep showing up for the rest of my life...

SoberArtistGirl

My own experience has been that the cravings lessen in severity the longer I'm sober. I still get them but only very occasionally now and they're definitely not the norm anymore. The good news is that if you wait them out, they will pass.

SASA

thank you for everybody, I survived yesterday, I took a hot bath and relaxed and thank god it passed. Back on track, but this really scared me. If I would have had booze in the house or went out with a friend who knows.
I usually go for mexican on saturdays..... I hope I will make it this time. No more relapses. I am determined and focused...

loveon2legs

Hi Sasa... don't be too hard on yourself....cravings come and they go, sometimes stronger than others...Iam going on 9 months and really don't have any cravings anymore, doesn't mean I won't....I think the dragon is still sleeping LOL....I take long baths when I can...go for walks at the beach...read.....get a pedicure....walk around the shops....it all helps..find something you really enjoy and just immerse yourself in it!!

SASA

well the urge and craving is gone. Thank god, back to work tomorrow. Another week of victory to start. I really want to thank you all. This was really helpful/

Mark75

Cravings seemingly came for me out of nowhere... but when I looked at when I had them, it was usually time of day, but they also came for no identifiable reasons... I felt them physically as much as anything.

They went away after 3 -4 months.

As far as PAWS goes... hmm, look at the medically accepted criteria for PAWS... Mine never fit the profile enough for me to say it was PAWS. I really didn't think it was relevant anyway, for me.

Toronto68

SASA, I had some thoughts enter my mind recently and I have been off the drinking for just under 11 months. I think it was just basic worrying and then my mind wandering. Then it went away.

I don't remember any major feelings of enticement at the thought of drinking at around 40 days. These aren't cravings of the body, the way I see it, these are more like remnants of the obsession to drink. There were a few times during my first 6 months or so that I felt like I wanted to add something to a good experience. A good day needed to have icing on the cake. That showed me the way my mind had been working for so long, that I had been accustomed to using alcohol as a way to contend with any type of emotion (good, bad or indifferent). These "triggers" weren't the kind of thing that would prompt me to put my shoes on and go buy some (nor were they in the recent examples I mentioned above), but I recognized they were happening, and just took solace in the fact that I didn't need to drink and that I was learning about myself all the time. And we stick with the power of one day at a time. Somehow it works. I can't explain very well how it does though!

SASA

I think I know, and I am usually very afraid of getting to excited to sad etc because I know that are big triggers. If I am happy I want to reward myself, If I am sad I want to drink that I forget, but this time there was nothing around me making me feel indifferent and that what scared me. I was not even bored, it was a day ike any other day......... There was only one small thing I got an email from my ex, but I deleted it as usaul for the alst 4 weeks and did not even read it. So really nothing out of the ordinary and here they came. The PAWS symptoms do not fit me. I was wondering if it had to do with my blood sugar. I am taking l glutamine and di only take 2 pills instead of 3.......