Hevyn

Welcome Frugal. We're so glad you joined us.

I know how you feel - I had been drinking 30 yrs. when I came here. I had relied on it for comfort and to cope - but in the end it gave me nothing but misery. Your body and brain will be so much better off without it. Congratulations on making the decision to quit - we're with you and want to help.

Sungrl

I wouldn't necessarily put much stock in the cancer stats.

My Mom got and beat colon cancer and she rarely drank and never smoked.
MY Dad was just diagnosed with esophageal cancer and he was a moderate drinker.

They are both in their mid-sixties. As far as I'm concerned it's never too late to quit if you feel you have a problem.

sugarbear1

53+ with 3+ years of sobriety.

You can stay stopped, too!

YOU CAN do this!!!!!

Ultramarathoner

Perhaps this thought by Zig Ziglar will help your thought process-


The Power of Choices

The choice is yours. Question: Do you believe there is something you can do specifically in the next seven days that would make your personal, family, and business life worse?Chances are good you did a double take on that one and rhetorically responded, “What does he mean, ‘make it worse’?”

Okay, next question: Do you honestly believe there is something you can do in the next seven days that would make your personal, family, and business life better? Chances are astronomical that you answered “yes” to that one.

With that in mind, let me pause for a moment and ask you, Do you believe the choice is yours, and do you believe that every choice has an end result?

Now, let’s think it through as I make the observation that if you were serious with your answers, you just made a profound statement.

Here’s what you said: “I don’t care how good or bad my past has been; I don’t care how good or bad my circumstances are at this moment. There is something I can specifically do right now that will make my future either better or worse, and the choice is mine.”

That thought is truly profound. Think about it. You can do something about your future. To dramatically improve your odds of making it better, you must accept that responsibility. Two-time Pulitzer Prize–winning historian Barbara Tuchman said that America’s number one need is “people who accept responsibilities.”

alumni

There is medical research, which I posted about earlier, which has found that substance abusers who stop using at an older age can often have much better success rates maintaining sobriety compared to people in their teens and twenties. I have personally found this to be true.
Also, there actually is a point when it is too late to quit. The coroner will notify your family when that occurs. Other than that eventuality, it's never too late.
I've counseled a few folks who were well into their 70's who discontinued alcohol and benzos successfully without any eventual health conditions like cancer occurring as a result. I guess it might somehow be possible but it's an unlikely excuse to encourage you to continue killing yourself.

Frugal14

Oh my gosh. I'd love to speak to each of you individually, but in case time won't let me, I wish to send a heartfelt thank you for the amazing collective wisdom here. I feel as if I've been lifted up in a warm embrace. I appreciate your taking the time to respond and your different perspectives and thoughts have encouraged me so much. You are absolutely right, on all counts. I can do this and it will help if I stay in the present. One day at a time, one step at a time, away from the madness. I think I'll be relying on these forums much more frequently until I feel a bit more confident. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

BackToSquareOne

I'm 57, quit drinking over 6 years ago. I didn't have one of those peaches and cream, rainbows and sunshine recoveries many talk about but I have to tell you life is much better with the over 3 decades of drinking behind me. Throwing in the towel for good on alcohol is a decision you won't regret!

RecklessEric

If you are worried about your health, "should I stop" is really a rhetorical question.
Everything seems bleak in the first few days but when the booze is out of your system, you should see things clearer.
If you get drunk having done 3 or 4 days, you will be so angry with yourself.

Change4good

Personally, if I DID get a serious illness, I would be much better equipped to handle it if I was sober. Hell, I am much better equipped to handle ANYTHING when I am sober. Reason #285190 to stay quit.

zjw

Your better off then i was at 3 days sober! I constantly have to pound that point home and at 3 days it wasnt even a concept for me.

Hevyn

Hope it's going well today Frugal.

Dee74

Hope to see you around some more Frugal

D

PurpleKnight

Focus on the positives of the here and now, Sobriety can make a difference straight away to the productivity of the present, 15/20 years down the line no one can predict what's going to happen, but how about reap the benefits this year and next year of Sobriety!!

You can do this!!

Zebra1275

Don't worry about the cancer thing. I really doubt that you will catch it today.

You need to live your life "one day at a time." Worrying about what may or may not occur in the future is a waste of time.

Frugal14

I'm still here, hanging in. I can't say this is easy. Every day I try to talk myself out of sobriety. EVERY DAY. How long does this part last?? I mean, I know it can last forever, but when I'm thinking about it practically 24/7, how long does that part last? Sigh. No one every said life was easy and I think we got the crappy end of the stick somehow. I did read somewhere (here?) that alcoholics are a super sensitive bunch and we tend to feel the world more intensely(which is why so many of us are artists, musicians or writers), which somehow gives me some solace in all of this.

zjw

I dunno I guess for me it lasted about as long as it took me to accept that drinking was no longer a good option for me. which was only a week or 2 to be honest. after which I did still want a drink in the worst way many times but I new it just simply was not an option and that I had better figure something else out to do with my time or craving etc... 30 days in I felt rather ballsy ya know I had it under control and came pretty stinking close to picking up I mean I had earned it i thought and it just seemed so easy to say no too at that point why I could easily drink that evening and say no the next morning. My wife asked me if i was going to allow one bad day to ruin such a good streak of not drinking i felt bad and guilty so I didnt have a drink. In hindsite if i had that drink I woulda never said no the next day!

So I dunno in a week or 2 you might start feeling like "welp so i guess this is how it is now *sigh*" I felt a lot of grief like my best friend had just died or I lost a limb. IT was right there for me to take too I had like 18 in the fridge that i said not too for well over a year before I just gave them away. But I new it just was no longer an option for me. Me + Beer = HORROR. It just wasnt gonna work out any longer.

keep up the good work and stay occupied get through it one day at a time or one min at a time if you have too. It will be well worth it.