STLSinger

Hello everyone! I'm a 36 year old musician who needed to drink to get on stage. I've partied 3-4 nights a week for 11 years and tapered off to now where I'm going every other month. I was a social binge drinker. Still performing. But I'm ok not drinking at work now. I prefer being sober playing now. I just get the urge every couple months to go cut loose. Problem is i dont have the off switch. So im blacked every time. Well I'm wondering what to expect physically from not drinking. It's been almost two months. I'm craving sugar and chocolate. Like to the point of binge eating. Also I still have anxiety and I'm kinda moody. How long does it take to level out? What should I expect? Thanks for your time

Redviper

Everyone is different. I was a daily drunk and I'm now at 160 days sober. The sugar craving went away after about two months. Two weeks ago I stopped taking anxiety meds and I'm feeling very much in control. You should just concentrate on being sober. Let your body heal. Oh and my heartburn went away after about four months. I heard someone say it takes about a month for every year of abuse. It sounds about right. Life gets better and saying no gets easier.

STLSinger

Congrats on your sobriety! And thanks for replying! It's been a long time coming. I feel like I'm in a good place but still cautious. I turned down partying this weekend so that was good! Stayed home and ate junk. I've hear it could take over a year to mentally straighten out.

Miggie

Hi, I had similar cravings and decided to cut out caffeine as well. That was worse than stopping alcohol and took much longer. The cravings come back if I have any caffeine but from stopping alcohol they took about 6 weeks to go away. It was amazing and gratifying that then people would tell me I was looking healthier and brighter, hair got smooth and other nice things.But life is still life and there are lots of issues and personal growth to go through which were postponed by excesses. If you are unfamiliar with your sober self there will be moods and such. If they become antisocial or frightening it would be good to seek professional assistance.

STLSinger

I also quit caffeine. Man the detox from it was unbearable! Definitely worse than detoxing from alcohol for me. Bad headache and felt like I had the flu. Also I think I had a fatty liver. My skin would welt up If I scratched it. And I would retain water anytime I ate bad

mecanix

I'm 38 ,
I drank nearly every night to blackout for 10-15 years getting progressively worse . I felt a lot better after 3 months off it , 6 months was really diffierent , now at 18 months i'm getting a handle on my weight which has been an issue for me for more years than drinking .

For me, the furthur away i am from that last drink the more things in my life seem to fall into place , It's not a race just keep moving forwards doing the next right thing as it becomes apparent .

Bestwishes, M

Miggie

I think we were never aware of how many calories are in alcohol. Then when we quit our bodies still wanted those calories, the easy way if possible. And it probably takes a while for our appetites to trust us that we will fill it properly. I think my body is an even slower learner than my head is.