biminiblue

I think the consensus here is that tapering is a crap shoot so don't try it.

The majority of people here are going to say, see a doctor on Monday and quit immediately, and that withdrawal from a handle of vodka every 3-4 days is dangerous/life threatening.

I mentioned tapering because it worked for me and you had said you wanted to quit on a certain date, but most of the posts I see here say people cannot taper once they've become addicted, so do your research and be careful either way. It is always better to quit now, not in ten days. You may have serious consequences from your drinking in the next ten days. We just don't have any guarantees.

Dee74

Hi santideva

there's no one way to do this - you'll find many success stories using many methods.

The first step tho is stopping drinking. If you're worried about withdrawal, get yourself checked out by a Dr, get the green light to quit, and then go for it.

AA's a good thing to try simply because it's everywhere and chances are you're never that far from a meeting, but there are other meeting based methods too.

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...formation.html

glad to have you join us

D

least

It's always a good idea to get your doctor's help. Those first few days can be really rough.

darkling

What I see is a glaring lack of conviction/commitment and a "plan" that is full of loopholes. If the first half-hearted attempt doesn't work, that's ok, there's a Plan B, C, D, E . . . .

Why not admit that you don't plan on stopping for a month after Feb 20? That's pretty much what your "plan" says.

I would suggest a doctor first and foremost. Someone who knows about alcoholism and detoxing. Stay safe while withdrawing.

Go to AA now. Why wait?
That's your bottom line plan anyway. That's where you're going to get the tools and support needed to quit.

As far as acamprosate? There is no magic pill that's going to fix you. It is actually going to require some hard work on your part.

This is not a game.
This is not something to just sorta kinda try a little bit.

Done4today

I read that you're an atheist. I go to a meeting where at least one atheist attends and she has 36 years sober. She likes to say:

AA works if you believe in God.
AA works if you don't believe in God.
But AA won't work if you think you're God.

Sober369

It's great that you're making a plan and getting input from others on how to get sober.
The problem I had with setting a future date is that by the time that day got here I had forgotten about it or changed my mind. Not that you're necessarily like me, but that's just what happened with me.
Best wishes, and welcome to SR.

MissPerfumado

Hi Santideva, welcome.

I also think you should see a doctor. As you are goal-oriented and sound like an organised type of person, you should see it as an important element of your plan to quit. I saw a doctor on my first day of quitting. It solidified for me that I was quitting for real - opening up to a professional about my problem could not get more real for me. Crucially, she made an assessment about whether I needed medical help to quit. She also referred me to a psychologist and that formed part of my plan.

I also wonder if you need to wait for the 20th of Feb to stop. For me it was the middle of December when I decided I was going to stop on New Year's Day. But after speaking to a trusted friend who said - if you're going to quit forever, what in heaven's name are you waiting for? - I decided to quit the very next day. Just a thought ....

I also do think if you are really ready to stop, then you don't need the Plan B or C. I had AA as a back-up in case I found it tough going and I researched the meetings close to me and the dates and times.

But fortunately I found that SR was enough. I read the heck out of everything I could on this site, particularly the stickies, and I joined a class thread and posted everyday.

I also made a plan. This is very important. If you have a sobriety plan, then you are fore-armed. You put in your plan all your strategies to deal with your triggers, your weaknesses, the times of day when you usually would drink ... everything. This site will give you lots of good ideas of what strategies to employ.

You said you are the sort of person who decides, then goes ahead and does it. I have absolutely no reason to doubt it. But do give yourself the best chance of succeeding by considering the great advice you're receiving and also making the best use of the information here on SR.

Doug39

I felt like this and told myself I was going to quit drinking hundreds of times during my 27 years of daily drinking.

Thinking it and doing it are two different things. I always found a reason to keep drinking.

111 days ago the booze wasn't working for me anymore and I knew in my heart and soul it was going to kill me soon if I didn't stop.

We can make all the plans we want to quit - we will know in our hearts and souls when we are finally ready.

August252015

I'm just sharing my experience here, and will note that it is different than what many on here (esp our friends in the UK) will have done or suggest:

Yes, what you are drinking is a lot compared to many. To me, no- by the end I was drinking a handle every two days, or less. I am 5'7" and about 115 at the time and pretty much lived on vodka.

I quit cold turkey on Feb 2, 2016. I suffered all kinds of withdrawal- immediate then prolonged PAWS. I chose the unknown amount of that over certain death by drinking- my liver dr gave me a yr, 18 mo to live (at age 39) if I kept going as I was. I had my psych, GP and liver dr as a team and I took Antabuse the first 90 days and began taking Campral which I still take. I have had ZERO physical cravings. That said, no medicine out there cures you of alcoholism, and all should be used properly and under the care of a good dr with whom you are honest. THey are meant to be tools, not crutches or toys or immediate panaceas.

I was- am- entirely devoted to quitting. Being that sick at the end of my drinking and going through what I did for the first months I quit is something I am grateful for. It took me that time to come back to life and I have kept getting healthier and better and better (in all ways) now closing in on a year.

My current program is a sweet spot of 4-6 meetings a week; daily, I do a lot of work starting with my first thing in the AM list of to-dos: I read pp 85-88/417-418 of the Big Book, I do a daily (Christian) devotional, I study the Richard Rohr daily email, ask myself HALT as a self-check, come on SR (multiple times throughout the day to read and check in with my Class of Feb 2016 buddies). I also have an awesome sponsor, a bf (soon to be fiance, yay!) who is also in recovery and one of my rocks, and a select group of family and friends who are 100% supportive and proud of my sobriety. I also go and do, wherever and whenever I choose, I work in a restaurant (no problem) and I live a super life.

My plan was one of immediate action once I decided I was done- cold turkey, AA (I did about 82 mtgs in 90 days) and devotion to building a completely different life.

Best thing I ever did for myself.

No matter how we do it, I think that this is the commitment that we have to make to truly live a sober life that is full, healthy, and has potential for what we can possibly have in our one chance.

Good luck.

Berrybean

I am an AAer. I am also a Christian. In my home group there are usually about 30 people, and I'd hazard a guess incuding me there are between 3 and 5 Christians at that meeting at the most on an average evening. I know plenty of atheists in AA, many of them who have used the program to make their sobriety bearable, sustainable and, nowadays, preferable to drinking, and they have years (even multiple decades of comfortable sobriety behind them, which they attribute to the program).

Just interested, what made you choose that particular date? What makes you think it will be easier or more manageable then than today or tomorrow?

tomsteve

glad youre here,santideva.
"I am a very high functioning alcoholic."
if you reread your op a couple times,you might see that high functioning is astage of alcoholism.
imo, youve passed that stage.

this:
"My plan is to attempt to quit drinking completely starting on Monday, February 20th. My second attempt will be the following day. If I find that I can not quit that day or any of the next seven days, I will start attending AA meetings. If within two weeks I am unable to quit drinking after starting AA meetings, I will request acamprosate from my psychiatrist and continue to attend AA meetings. "

reads like a lot of rationalizing insanity.

August252015

Correction to my above post- I quit on Feb 22.

Also....you have a lot of comments about "consensus" and what "we think is best." That puts the onus for your decision everywhere and anywhere except where it must lie: with you. We - anyone- can tell you ad nauseum that you need to quit, suggest ways to do it, drs, all that - but ONLY YOU can decide to do it. And you are the one who must, if you want to be sober more than you want anything else.

NYCDoglvr

I applaud your intention to stop drinking. Remember, it's only today we don't drink, the only way I was able to stop. The fellowship of AA saved my life.

Algorithm

Get rid of the alcohol supply, and consider quitting today, especially if you are not at work and can sleep sober, and start the work week sober. You may be irritable for a while, which you will probably notice at work, but this is normal.

I can guarantee you that your addiction will be the very first applicant for the job of "Higher Power", because it has been your higher power for a long time, and you have already turned your self over to it. It won't like being de-throned, but it's not wise to let it remain your higher power.

You'll get a variety of opinions on how to "do" AA, even within AA, which appears to have split into two main camps:

"Don't drink and go to meetings."

vs.

"It's not the meetings we make, but the steps we take."

Personally, I would simply read the AA doctrinal literature to decide, but there are other options as well, and if you are atheist, and have trouble with the HP idea, you may also want to look into the secular connections forum.

waynetheking

There is no "easier and softer way" for beating alcoholism. Either you stop drinking and go on with life or you continue drinking and die. It's a deadly disease.
Glad you're here. Give sobriety a chance. You won't regret it.

Jamie1

Hi Santideva, you are in the right place. You will get the best and perfect response from here. I just want to say you to start right now. Don't be lazy. Hope you will overcome.

Jamie1

Hi Santideva, you are in the right place. You will get the best and perfect response from here. I just want to say you to start right now. Don't be lazy. Hope you will overcome.