Macphisto

Hello all, I discovered this board about 5 days ago when I decided to stop drinking for good and it has tuely been a great help. I'm on 4 days sober but don't know if I can really call it that since on the second day I drank 2 beers and ate food, on the 3rd day I drank 2 beers and ate food. The reason I did this was not so much that I was "Needing" the drinks but because I'm scared to get seizures or DT's. Before I stopped drinking I wouldn't consider myseld a "heavy" drinker even though some weekends I would drink pretty heavy. My routine was about 3 to 4 beers some nights but others I would drink 8 beers. I guess my first question is whether I'm still in danger of getting seizures or DT's without warning? I haven't felt too bad at all, just a little nervous and anxious but nothing too bad. My hands are stready as can be and I'm not craving alcohol at all. I have no trouble eating or falling asleep. Should I continue to drink 2 beers for a couple of days to ween myself off or if I'm in the clear I can go without drinking at all. I know seeing a doctor is the best option but I couldn't get an appointment for 2 weeks. I'm truely commited to not drink "at all" so if you think I could be safe at this point I will just not drink at all. I love comming to this board and hope to keep getting great help from all of you. Oh, by the way I'm 32 in case that's another factor...

Carlos

Cathy31

Hi there Carlos
Welcome! I'm no expert, but your best bet is to check in with your doctor? Maybe check out the condition of your liver (this can be done quite easily it seems) and get some professional advice. Don't be embarrassed...doctors actually like being asked for help before it's too late!!
Delighted you found SR, it's a great place with awesomely kind and inspiring and very real people.
Keep us posted,
Cathy

Macphisto

Hi Cathy, thanks for the quick response. I do definately plan on seeing my doctor when I have my appointment in 2 weeks but what do I do in the meantime? From what I gather the real danger is in the first 5 days and even though I drank 2 beers for 2 days I would still consider myself on day 4 of my actual "sobering". I guess I'm just a little paranoid, I mean I feel good right now and I guess if I start feeling any symptoms I can get to urgent care but maybe if these severe symptoms come on without warning I should call my doctor again and try to get an appointment?

thanks
Carlos

Cathy31

Hey Carlos
As I said I am no expert...hopefully someone else can help out...but if I were you I would not be concerned about stopping cold turkey because the amount you drank does not to me like it would be death inducing if you stopped?I think the sooner you get off the stuff the better...and you have weaned yourself off slightly...I think go for it but can you just call your doctor and run this by him. I don't think you need to worry - I wouldn't if I were you but I could be wrong...but 8 beers max a night does not sound like the trigger for death.
Good luck!
Cathy
x

1Marty

Hello and welcome Carlos. I agree with Cathy. If your feeling OK, you will probably be OK. But it is a good idea to see a Doc, especally if you have not been there in a while. Congrats on your decision to quit drinking! Glad to have you here!

jkw

MacPhisto,
I'm having a hard time with why you would be worrying about DT's or seisures, if you do not think that you are a heavy drinker. I am here to support you, but it sounds like you have some denial issues. If you are going to stop drinking for good then you probably need help from an outpatient or inpatient treatment center.

Chy

Hi Carlos and welcome!
As mentioned it's good to check with a doctor first. But if your on two beers a day, I think your fairly safe to quit all together, or tomorrow just have one, the next day one, and then try complete abstinence. Good luck, we're glad your here!

CAPPA

One day at a time attend AA meetings try to get a sponser, but that is not a requirment to stay sober onlya suggestion. I took me hitting rock bottom to realize i am powerless over alcohol,and no matter how many times I experiment with the stuff the result is always the same I got drunk and stupid. Get Sober for yourself

God bless you

Peter

See a doctor.Be 100% honest about your drinking history.

Go to AA meetings.There is a vast amount of experience there about the nature of alcoholism and ways to get and stay sober.It's all free and you don't need an appointment.

Keep coming back.

jsh3180

Good afternoon. This is probably the third time in a year or two I have felt the need tocome to this website. I am 51 and have been a heavy drinker for years and years. I do the binge thing, usualyy lasting about three days and then dry out for a while, sometimes a couple of weeks, sometimes longer, sometimes shorter. I,ve just come of a 2 and a half day binge and of course am miserable. I wish I could figure ot why I go off on these episodes ahting myself all the while but eventually returning to binge again.
In the past when I have binged, I always have just gone through the detox cold turkey and been miserable for 3-7 days.
Again today I am resigned to clean up my mess and try sobriety again. After a week or so off the booze I generally start feeeling quite well and productive and happy. Why the heck to I return to this horror over and over again.
I am allowing myself 2 beers today to ease the agony, perhaps one tomorrow and then will go the sraight and narrow.
I know I am rambling here and speaking to myself, but it feels therapeutic anyway.

Take care..........Scott

Macphisto

Hi all, thanks alot for your encouragement and advice. I would still consider myself to be 8 days sober today even though I have been allowing myself a maximum of 2 beers a day. I got through the weekend pretty good and I'm feeling really good about being able to quit. I'm starting to feel much better and it's truely wonderfull not waking up with that sick feeling from having drank the night before. For some reason I'm not up to going to AA meeting just yet, I feel like I'm doing pretty good on my own and feel in control of my urges. Last night I went to grab a beer out of the fridge (yes I still keep beer arround) and let it sit on the table a while before putting it back... god that felt good. I know I have a long way to go and maybe I am in denial of my problem but honestly up till this point it hasn't been too hard.. sure I get the cravings but I try to keep bussy. All I know is that I never want to feel hung over again and I also want to be healthy. I'll be sure to keep comming here because it gives me so much inspiration. I wish everyone her all the luck in the world because I'm just starting to realize what a battle alcohol addiction is.


Oh, one more thing.. Can I really consider myself 8 days sober if I've allowed myself 1 or 2 beers a day??

thanks... Carlos

Music

So far so good.


Of course you're not sober if you're drinking....or maybe my idea of being sober is a little off.


Well, I guess that excuse is as good as any. I used to drink if the dog died, or the weather was bad. I never thought about the DT's or seizures. I always fixed that problem with another bit of hair off the dog that bit me.

Help me out here....??

Anna

Not to rain on your parade Carlos but you can't consider yourself 8 days sober if you're still drinking anything. Sober is sober. Sober is not drinking anything, not a drop, ever!

Congratulations on your decision to look for help. Try stopping drinking and let us know how you make out. You can stop if you want and we're here to help.


Love, Anna

Macphisto

Well, I guess I'm not sober then. I just don't drink as much as I use to. Would you all really suggest I just not drink AT ALL?? I mean, last night I had 1 beer and was able to keep it at that even though there is a bunch of beer in the fridge?? I just don't know, I don't see why 1 beer would be considered "still drinking". Or maybe this is how it will go for a while and gradually I'll drink more and more... I'll give it a go at stopping completely but right now I feel so much control of how much I drink that it's not much of an issue. maybe I'm just trying to justify drinking and then somehow I'll justify drinking more... Thanks for all the advice, you all seem to really know alot about the nature of this sickness. I think I'll start today and call it "DAY 1". I'm not afraid of DT's or seizures anymore since it's been 9 days of just 1 or 2 beers or even none some days so I'll go at it "cold turkey". I'll keep reading the board for help and post my progress..

thanks
Carlos

Cathy31

Hi Carlos

Welcome again...I don't want to put you off, but I'd like to suggest to to go back in time on this board or the AA one and check out where some of the people are who were convinced they could try drinking in moderation...some are probably (literally) dead by now and other people have come back eventually and said, "Now...now I have lost everything."

I'm not knocking them...as an alcoholic, I LOVED the whole idea of drinking in moderation.

It's just not possible. End of story.

Don't wait til you lose everything/are in jail/have hurt someone badly before you realise that, IF you are an alcoholic, (only you can decide) all you can do is abstain.

I know it sounds impossible but that's why one has AA.

I went to a meeting this morning and having a drink is the furthest thing possible from my mind. I know it won't last indefinitely...that's why I have a list of meetings for every day.

It's helped me and it's helped millions. But you must be able to identify with being an alcoholic...or not. Otherwise it's pointless.

Good luck Carlos, and keep us posted!

Cathy
x

BubbaBob

Carlos, the Third Tradition of AA states, "The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking."

From your posts I'm not sure you qualify.

BubbaBob

birdonawire

Dear Macphisto, I suggest you may be in the wrong place...you may want to try www.moderation.org If that doesn't work for you, then come back here and listen to all the advice of those of us who have tried moderation and found it doesn't work for us. Good luck! Bird

Alice Wonder

Hi Carlos and welcome. i think it is great that you are cutting back. it sounds like you are trying to get your mind around the fact that you may have to completely stop. the hardest thing about sobriety is the not drinking part! LOL
When i first decided to go sober i thought i could be a social drinker or drink in moderation. talk about a blueprint for self sabotage! after many stops and starts and a lot of beating myself up, i had to accept and accomodate the concept of never touching drugs or alcohol again. period. this is the hardest part-- it is the addiction to the addiction. change is hard on us but so necessary if you are trying to find your true happiness. your post got to me because i just buried one of my most favorite people in the world Sunday who tried to drink in moderation after being completely sober. keep posting and reading there is a lot of support here. love-alice

Don S

I don't know--I thought the opposite of sober was drunk.
Unless you weigh less than 100 lbs., you aren't drunk on one or two beers. You aren't abstinent and evidently you might not qualify for AA. Moderation works for some people and not for others. Nothing about your future drinking behavior is inevitable.

But -- and this is important -- you know that the amount of alcohol you like in your system is more than is healthy. You're at an age when we tend to establish drinking patterns that stay with us for years, and the longer you drink more than a drink a day, the more damage you're doing to your body. For many people, the drinking steadily increases.

And not drinking is a lot easier to manage than trying to drink moderately after you've been a heavier drinker. For most people on this forum, abstinence is what we've chosen--it's the easiest and healthiest approach to alcohol in our lives.

I don't think you're in denial; you are being very open about your drinking pattern. If you choose to drink moderately, the key will be carefully noting whether your quantities are creeping back up to your previous level.

Again--abstinence makes all that unnecessary. I was surprised what a relief it was to just not have to worry about how much, whether, when to start, when to stop, what if someone comes over, should I buy an extra bottle because it's on sale, and -- what if the dog dies on a rainy day?! Will I have enough on hand?

I don't think you're in the wrong place. I just think you're ambivalent about abstinence.
Take care, and keep in touch,
Don S

Peter

One doe's not need to "qualify" fo AA.

When I went to my first meeting I knew nothing of Traditions or about meeting any "requirements for membership" and I certainly did not have any "desire to stop drinking"............all I knew was that I was hurting and hurting bad and I wanted the pain to stop......if I could have lost the pain without giving up my precious alcohol I would have done so......

Time in AA was what resulted in renewed knowledge and brought about the "desire to stop".

Birdonawire has offered a valid point.This forum is more about quitting and abstainance and not about moderation.

If you think you can moderate then best of luck to you my friend.Go for it.

If your attempts fail remember you can always find a seat at an AA meeting.