Aussiealex

Hi
Im in my third week of abstinence after 20 odd years of serious binge drinking. I had my 'revelation' on being an alcoholic 2 years ago. Been to aa a few times.
My drinking has gotten progressively worse over time. Even tho im in a good career i got to the point of drinking as soon as i wake on Saturday. Maybe drink all Sunday if i could handle monday. Sober Monday to wed. Then game on. If i hada resentment I'd knock off a six pack on my 'days off' (monday to wed ).
Im taking time off between jobs to move back home with my family after ten years. And stop drinking for good.
I know im physically detoxed. But im wondering what should i expect mentally and physically now? For the first time in my life im meeting the real me. My energy levels have been fluctuating a lot. Ive read on here about brain fog. Ive gotten that. I havent had the anger that grows after days of sobriety when i need my 'fix' of calming booze. Ive put this down to not having work stress.
Does anyone have advice on what to expect during this period of 'transformation' for want of a better word. Thank you and God bless.

Soberwolf

Meeting the real me is a beautiful learning experience that I encourage yourself to do think about all the things the real you done before alcohol was involved & try to reconnect with that

In the meantime if be lying if I said its going to be easy so with that il leave you some links to read through

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...ful-links.html

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...ery-plans.html

Aussiealex

Thanks

Dee74

Hi and welcome Alex

I don't think there's any other way but through it - things can, do and will get better - but most of us have decades of self abuse behind us - it takes a while for minds and bodies to recuperate

D

Gottalife

Alex, for me the transformation didn't happen by just stopping drinking. There was quite a bit of work involved to get to a point where I was OK inside regardless of what was going on outside. Some folks can just stop and there problems go away. When I stopped, sure my financial/employment problems got better at least superficially, but my internal struggles had just begun.

ohwell321

well if its anything like mine

youll get headaches then when you haven't got a headache youll have cold flu symptoms

your nervous system will be all over the place so youll get shooting pains all over at random times and think WTF

youll feel like your on a ship at times youll feel like your buzzing inside like a v8 engine ticking over inside you

nothing I add serious however it feels serious lol

3 weeks in... sleep better
plenty of energy
calmer can deal with problems that I couldn't deal with before
skin dry but looks better
eyes look shiny and white
I look younger
weights dropping off regardless of my diet
im a nicer person not snappy

somedays I feel like anxiety was just a dream somedays anxiety hits me with a bang

and lastly theres a big chance your stomach will be in tatters so youll bloat etc rumble pop bang for no reason

stay with it

Ariesagain

Good for you on three weeks!

I've still pre-caffeine at the moment and not finding a link here, but if you google "post acute withdrawal syndrome" you'll find this is pretty common.

For me, day four was the worst by far...I couldn't do anything but curl up on the couch...and I was not a quantity drinker, but a very very consistent one for many years. It adds up.

Stick with this...I'm on day 41 and while I still have days of feeling way off, they are fewer and farther between.

ScottFromWI

Welcome alex and congrats on 3 weeks.

What I think you are finding is that "quitting drinking" and "sobriety" are 2 completely different things. Don't worry though, it happens to just about everyone who quits. Soberwolf posted a couple of very good links to review, for most of us we need to find a new way to live our life. A "plan" so to speak. There are lots of different ways to make a plan, some very structured like outpatient rehab and AA/meeting based recovery. Others are more self paced or therapy/self help based. But the crux of the issue is that our addictive personalities reach far beyond the actual drinking of alcohol. We need to find new ways to cope with stress, face everyday situations and learn to take care of ourselves - both mentally and physically.

advbike

For me it took several months before my sleep and energy levels returned even close to normal. There also was some mental fog, memory difficulties (forgot names, etc) that went on for awhile. That's all the physical stuff.

The part that is more difficult, but reaps the greatest rewards is learning more about ourselves, and how to live in sobriety. Most of us drank for a reason, lol. For me this has been a long process, others get right with it and use AA or some other 12 step type of program to clear away all the mental and emotional baggage and move on with their lives. Things like resentments, regrets, guilt and shame over things we did, etc. Those things are strong drinking triggers. In doing this we also learn new ways of living that lead to a better life.