lucylestrange

Hi guys! I'm back! I gave it a go back in April, it didn't stick so I drank until last week. 10-12 beers a night every other night, sometimes more. 1 cigarette per beer, though I didn't smoke outside of the drinking time. At any rate, last week I had the flu...woke up one morning after a night of 12 or so and knew I had way more than a mild hangover. Super bad flu for 2 days, a few days of weakness and coughing and stuffiness. Most of the time when I get sick I allow a couple days tops before I grab a 12 and a pack of smokes and power through til I feel "better" (which usually extends the illness, of course). This time was different.....just decided I didn't want to hurt anymore, to ache, to worry about cancer and liver damage and my kidneys and my pancreas....that I wanted to be better. And I had a jump on sobering up with a few days of being too sick to drink.

So it's been a full week. I'm better, flu-wise, I think. It's been hard to know what's been flu recovery or withdrawal. Sweats, thirst, dizziness, anxiety, anger. My mind is clearer, which is an *amazing* feeling. I have more energy. I am happier (literally, smiling and laughing more), though the flip side to that is that I cry with little reason....

Ok, the weird question. I am sleeping SUPER hard, way better than usual. Waking with a weird taste in my mouth, almost like a hangover but not quite. I am taking supplements, so maybe thats it? Just finding it odd. Any thoughts, help, friends to make...I'm off to an appt for my cat at the vet and back soon!! Thanks for being here!

SoberForMySon

Hey, glad you're here!!!! I too used being sick to massively cut back... Tried to quit this week, did slip, but only minor, the sickness is a great help there! I know we can do it, and we will be so much better for it. As for your question, it could be the vitamins. Or even just the heavy sleep.

Sapling

Glad you are back lucylestrange....I'd look into a plan that you can committ yourself to getting sober...It's a lot easier when you have some kind of direction you are going.

As far as the taste...I have no idea....I was out of it at one week.

doggonecarl

Welcome back.

I have no idea about the taste in your mouth. However, if you are sleeping good in early recovery, count your blessings.

sugarbear1

maybe your taste buds are waking up out of their stupor... LOL

Relax and stay stopped, see a doctor for those concerns!

MrsKing

Welcome back glad you're sober now.

Not sure about the taste - I actually saw someone here once (can't remember who, sorry guys!) who said they woke with the taste of whiskey in their mouth. I'm sure after a while this will go away, if not then perhaps it is the vitamins. If I sleep during the day I ALWAYS wake up with a disgusting taste in my mouth - no idea why! I wouldn't worry about it too much, but if you are concerned see a Dr.

fallingtogether

Welcome back! Are you a mouth sleeper? Like sleeping with your mouth open? My daughter is and her breath is awful in the mornings. Just a thought! Either way the wierd taste beats the hangover and the taste of the beer anyday! Congrats and keep coming back!

lucylestrange

Thanks for all the replies and support!!! As for a plan, my plan is to not drink today. I'm not even going to say tonight, because I know from my past that the minute I start thinking ahead I get anxious. I'm happy right now, in this minute. Tonight I may be happy, I may be tired, I may be sad, I may be frustrated..I have no idea. But today I'm a) not drunk or drinking and b) not going to buy beer or smokes.

Bigger parts of the plan are yoga (which is fantastic for anxiety, I had no idea! And those muscles all cramped and clenched up from passed-out-sleeping, tension, anxiety feel so much better being stretched out!)....light cardio (doing as much as I can on a bum leg from a bad break last year I'm still recovering from)...lots of music rather than TV, and reading. And cooking, which goes with the eating better. More gardening. More working. More house cleaning. More happy time with my daughter. Oh, and my main drinking buddy happened to get sick as well (much worse stuff, sadly) and is quitting too...so less pressure there to drink when I want to hang out with her!

I won't pretend there aren't moments where I feel a trigger and my heart speeds up a bit while I walk myself back from the idea of grabbing a 12 and vanishing into a bottle for 10 hours or so (including the pass-out-sleep). I also won't pretend to know exactly what it is I'm trying to numb myself from feeling....but I have support in my fiancee (who has been through treatment and has ongoing therapy for mental health issues), and if I reach a point where I feel like I need to see someone to sort out some things I will. My drinking, while starting in highschool, really went off the deep end after my Dad died of pancreatic cancer. I have little doubt that I have been steadily numbing myself since then......it was a horrific experience, painful as a loss but pretty brutal and difficult for many reasons (end stage dementia, my sister showing up high on pain killers passing out across the bed my Dad was dying in at hospice...then insisting my Mom take her home because she was "tired", leaving me all alone with Dad as he drew his last breath....afterwards being the one legally dealing with all of the plans and estate).

So my plan is pretty much to quit hiding in a bottle. Face the pain, the anger at my sister (who is in a dual treatment facility right now), face the anger at myself for failures over the last several years...and find my real self again. I have no delusion that it will be easy. But I will say, this feeling today.....feeling my thoughts, seeing clearly, making eye contact with people, feeling hopeful.....SO worth the battle.

That said, I think the weird taste may be from mouth breathing! I've been stuffy from that flu, and sleeping as hard as I have been may be contributing. I tend to freak over everything and I think I read once that liver problems can make you have a metallic taste in your mouth. But it's not metallic. So I assumed withdrawal...overthinking it, as usual. But yes, I am glad to sleep so well....no idea how that's happening, but I'm glad!! Maybe partly making up for all the real sleep I missed when I was passed out rather than getting real sleep?

Thanks for the kinds words. I plan to hang out a lot and get involved and try to make some friends. Thank you thank you!!

SoberForMySon

One hour at a time my friend!! If you haven't, try our September thread. Great group!!!

lucylestrange

Thanks, will do!!!

hypochondriac

Welcome back Lucy x

awuh1

I think you are probably right about the taste in your mouth being from the supplements (specifically the minerals in the supplements). The emotional ups and downs are going to last for a while and that’s normal. Congrats on the first week. Good start.

lucylestrange

Thanks! In a way I'm embracing the ups and downs (those wicked full body adrenaline rushes that always signaled cocktail time are intense, though)...but the feeling of FEELING again is pretty welcome.

DisplacedGRITS

i had a bad taste and bad breath for about the first week or so when i stopped drinking almost every time. it was all that alcohol clearing out of my system. one time, when i detoxed with my mom, she got highly distressed at how bad my breath was. she said it smelled like death. of course, she's my mom and prone to overreaction. but i know it didn't smell like peppermint!

lucylestrange

Haha! Well, that's good to hear (sort of, though it probably sucked to taste AND for your Mom to smell). It's almost like when you take antibiotics and have a funky taste in your mouth all day. Not to complain, as clearly many here have had FAR worse issues while detoxing!! I just thought it was strange and wondered. It's always nice to not feel alone dealing with something odd or new. Thanks!

DisplacedGRITS

keep drinking lots of water. watered down blue Gatorade got me through my first couple of weeks. low sodium V8 is excellent at replenishing potassium (as long as it doesn't trigger you to want Bloody Marys).

Dee74

Welcome back Lucy

D

lucylestrange

I've been all about the water! Not even having to force myself, it just has appeal. With a little lemon!

jessd

welcome back. glad your here