dwtbd

Hangovers weren't too bad for me for years, especially when also smoking pot, which did take the place of the hair. It was when toward the end of my drinking when the mornings brought terrific anxiety, that I started am drinking at first occasionally when I realized it was going to be daily,I realized I turned a corner .
Then I found SR and RR/AVRT, end of bad times. Good on me, and thank heavens for SR

TomSawyer

yep, i've always thought that reaching for the hair of the dog was the beginning of the end. Drinking in the dark in my room at 6 am just to stave off withdrawals was a glimpse of Hell itself.

LadyBlue0527

Did it once, I never wanted alcohol when I was hung over. Then I got talked into it when I went out to lunch and didn't think I was even going to be able to stay there. Was told to order one beer and sip. I almost gagged the first few sips. Then, about halfway through the beer I was amazed at how I felt. It was like I hadn't even drank the night before.

I never allowed myself to ever do that again. As relieving as it was to feel better I knew full well that I was at a fork in the path and I best not head in that direction. From that point on I made myself feel every single bit of pain that I created. Like everyone else I knew that using the hair of the dog would be the beginning of the end.

There had to be angels hovering around me when I made that decision.

Scott6433

I remember when and how that all started. I was at work one day and I started to shake a bit. For my lunch break that day I had to run to a nearby sports bar for a 24oz beer. Problem solved. Within a month I would say I was drinking 24 hours a day. If I wasn't passed out rest assured I was drinking at work or not. It happened so quick from that 1 at lunch that first time.

bigsombrero

Same exact thing here. Close to the end it was hard alcohol by 7am. Then came the dangerous seizures, ambulance rides and hospitalization.

TimesareChanging

Been there man. Used to do it many times. Wake up looking for that leftover bottle to take the edge off. Hair of the dog and sometimes the whole dog. Problem was i never wanted to stop after starting again. dranks myself sick till I was on my deathbed time and time again. God i hope i dont do that anymore. sick for days. If i could just remember that feeling next time im feeling the urge.

Dee74

It got so I needed a morning 'heartstarter' just to get out of bed.

They were bad days - my soul was 9/10ths dead and my body was catching up fast.
While I hope I never forget them, I never want to revisit them in any detail again.

I'm looking at my 7th Xmas sober this year....at the risk of a bad pun, it's really great to be present this Christmas

Feliz Navidad y'all

D

jade2112

Upon opening my eyes each morning I made a beeline to the kitchen counter to have my first three drinks before I could stop shaking and feeling like crap.

Did this even before a morning pee or cup of coffee. I was living a sad pathetic life at the time.

Brian316

Thank you for this thread and the posts everyone. I did this a lot and eventually got really bad. For me it lead to multiple hospitalizations also. Often I would first finish the half beer I'd passed out in the middle of the night before, then continue until I passed out again. Wake up and repeat. Like many of you, my entire weekends would go like that. If I was unemployed, I would go for weeks at a time. No or little food just living off beer until it or the money ran out. When I would sit and drink in the dark at like 5 am and watch everyone else go to work while I was drunk and hating life to me, felt pretty close to hell. Drinking in my basement or trashed room staring at empty bottles and cans..

beatle

For me, morning drinking was the action that got me in trouble. I loved morning drinking and I miss it now sometimes. I would wake up with intense anxiety and try to fight it off for a while, then reach for the wine bottle..take a couple pulls..presto, no more anxiety! I actually felt good. This however, was the end for me as those actions turned me into a non-functional alcoholic. In fact, I would often wake up in the middle of the night and practically sleepwalk to the wine bottle, sit up and have a glass or two of wine while scanning the internet. Oh, would the mornings be rough when i did that. Sheesh..that was a horrible time.

Brian316

This also was signaling the end for me as well. I also had become nonfunctional at that point. Messed up as it is I sometimes relate to missing it. And it almost killed me.

EndGameNYC

Yeah, that pun is bad enough to be good. It's also better to be seen this Christmas than viewed.

Pipping

I started drinking in the mornings to stop the anxiety, I could not believe how well it worked. I would drink a bottle of wine while chain smoking, sleep for a couple of hours in the afternoon then start again. I felt like absolut sh&t and looked it too. I had a permanent ring of dark red stain on the inside of my lips and my hair started falling out in patches. I have gained a lot of weight since quitting and i was overweight already. Today i have felt really down about my weight.This thread has put that in perspective for me. Thanks guys.

flutter

Yep.. for many years I told myself "well at least I don't have to drink first thing in the morning!", until I did. Yucko!

jdooner

I only had a few dozen occasions, usually when I was going straight through. However, a few lines to snap out of fog I always found to be more useful than the booze. I would feel jittery but would give me my edge back vs the booze.

jkb

This was my reason for deciding to get sober. It was the day after the Superbowl and I somehow managed to drive to work. I was sitting at my desk shaking and since I work in a place that has alcohol in the fridge I thought.... "I feel really bad. No-one will notice if I drink that one beer in there with some OJ". Yep, I mixed the two together and drank it quickly trying to kill the hangover.

It worked some but, that is when I realized that drinking had taken on a life of its own. I have drank twice since that day in Feb.9so cant say I have stayed 100% sober) but I am so glad that I had that experience. If not I have no doubt I would have lost everything this past year...

MarvinGardens

Towards the end of my drinking days I was known to reach for the hair of the dog. One cold beer to snap out of it. Unfortunately that lead to 3-4 at lunch and there I went. So happy those days are behind me.

feeling-good

What I used to hate was the fact that I felt sooo much better with a large slug of hard spirits first thing in the morning .... that's when you *know* things are bad

I don't miss those days, not one bit.

MattyBoy

Having a hair do the dog is really the start of the slippery slope.. It starts off being a drink to ease the hangover but eventually becomes a drink in the morning to ease the shakes... As soon as that happened I knew me and alcohol were finished..

Turninganewleaf

I would go on awful 24/7 benders for a few days at a time. The morning drinking I liked and I disliked. The local shop would open at 7AM and I would be standing outside waiting for the owner to open. Sometimes he would be 10-15 minutes late and I would be very angry.