Wakeywakey

.... On to this site by accident having Googled "night sweats sober" after another awful nights sleep last night having not had any beer last night for the first time in a few weeks. A recurring theme over the past 12-18 months whenever I have a "dry Monday" following daily drinking binge of consecutive nights over anything from 2 weeks to a month.

So many things I've read from various posters have set alarm bells ringing.

So in brief, I stick to lager and have generally drank 4-6 cans per weeknight and anything up from 6-15 cans on a Saturday/Sunday for a good two years now. I leave spirits alone, but favour premium strength lager so 4.8-5.6%. I justify it as I am holding down a good job at which I have the respect of my peers with an impeccable sickness record. I am a great father to two young daughters on the weekend (separated from their mum) and on the basis that my immediate family and friends are all similarly "hard" drinkers so it's pretty much the norm. I drink alone regularly. I have in the past done a number of things I massively regret whilst pissed, some affecting my relationships, and getting arrested (but never charged!) whilst drunk. These events however were quite far in the past and I guess I think I have found a happy medium with sticking to lager, I tend not to get to the point whereby I lose complete control of my behaviour these past few years as I would of in the past when the shots and spirits come out on a night partying.

I totted up my alcohol unit intake on an NHS app over the past month and the results were frightening to be honest, off the scale. Yet it doesn't seem out of the ordinary where I live to drink a few cans each night.

I do have to admit that this past year or so the idea of not sinking 4 or 5 cans after work before bed has worried me and I have quite weakly given in to temptation. After reading these forums I'm beginning to think it may well be a much deeper problem than just enjoying a few beers after work, I must concede that lately anything less than 4 on a weeknight leaves me feeling frustrated and unfulfilled and with beer on the mind, I'm not naive enough to think that's normal. It's a rare event I have "just the one" in recent years, in fact I couldn't name a day in recent memory where I had one, it almost always ends up at 4-6 when I have work the next day.

Seems I have some thinking to do!

lynx914

For me that was how my heavy drinking started. I worked in a bar and was studying at the time too. So it seemed really normal that of course you would have a few beers at the end of the night. For me that 1-2 beers often ended up in 4-6 or more. Then it started to get even worse and I began hitting spirits when I didn't feel the beer was enough. Everyone is different and I'm not saying that you would necessarily end up going down the road I did by hitting the harder stuff. But all I know is that life really is better when it doesn't take a few beers to help you sleep and when you can go to bed sober. I find my mind is far more refreshed and it's so liberating to not have to think about if there's enough beer in the fridge for that night. It took for me to become seriously ill on one occasion the impact those few beers were having on my body. The doctor told me that my consistent drinking meant that my liver function tests were abnormal and wouldn't get better unless I stopped. Since then I've been in recovery. It's just so much better in my experience to not rely on alcohol. I hope this helps

ESD907

wakey, you sound frantic....so firstly calm down. NOW, how are you feeling, really? if you think you require medical attention, then GO GET IT NOW. if not, how about, you sit here and talk to us a bit. I have to go out for a half hour, in about a half hour, but I will be here for a long time tonight. Lets talk

ScottFromWI

Welcome wakey. I was in your same spot for a long time - drinking a few beers after work was the norm, and it was just a few for many years. Pretty soon a few turned into a 6 pack on weeknights and a 12 pack a day on weekends. And before I knew it I NEEDED to drink just to keep my heart rate down under 100bpm. It snuck up on me just like that after a decade and a half of "regular" drinking ( although looking back none of it was regular )

You are the best judge....read lots and make informed decisions. I can tell you with absolute certainty though that things are much better without alchohol for me. Wishing you the best.

PurpleKnight

Welcome to the Forum Wakey!!

I used to count the units too, and what I thought was fine didn't look fine when highlighted in red on the online unit calculator!!

You'll find loads of support here, great to have you onboard!!

Sudz No More

Welcome to the forum Wakey, there is no better time than now. All it takes is the courage and conviction to realize you have a mental obssession with alcohol and drink far more than you should. Quitting is the easy part once you get past the physical cravings, the mental battle you will face in the coming months is the war you want to win. It's a war so many of us fail at a few times before we get the gumption to stick with it long enough for the impulses to disappear.

You'll know when you are truly ready, we'll be here when you are.

Hevyn

Hi Wakey!

You found a great place that will help you sort it all out. We're here to help.

afloatsober

Well done for posting.
Towards the end of my drinking i drank a lot. But it wasn't so much the quantity that worried me but the way it changed me and my thinking that began to concern me.
I would act against my better judgement, do stupid and reckless things and eventually realized that it had become too important in my life to drink.
Heavy drinking mates didn't seem to have the same consequences and the same head trips that i had!
I think that if you felt it necessary to open up on here, and IMO i think you did the right thing, then in all probability you have that difference that most of us here have.
To a greater or lesser degree our drinking wen't from being a solution to being a problem.
I wish you well, and hope that you stick around.
G

Dee74

Welcome wakeywakey

This is great group - you'll find a lot of understanding, support and encouragement here.

If you are worried about your health in any way the best thing to do is see your Dr

D

dox

Wakeywakey,

Welcome!

Your drinking is very similar to what mine was.
My craziness, arrests and general mayhem occurred before I met my wife.
Then I settled down and became a daily beer drinker, leaving the whiskey, for the most part, behind.
I used to drink 4-6 cans of Stella per night, whilst hiding the actual quantity from the missus.
The quantity or strength is not the issue.
When it came time for me to stop, I couldn't or wouldn't.
I needed help.
You can find some great help and support here on SR.
But, have you considered any of the help on offer out there in the real, non-cyber, world?
You know -- some sort of recovery group or, even, rehab?
Your GP can help as well.

Wakey! Wakey!

Seems like you have already done quite a lot of thinking, mate.
Mightn't it now be a time for doing?

I know that I couldn't think my way out of drinking.
If you are like me, You'll find it easier with some help.