sherman23

I am only sober a few days, and always want to sleep, and forgetting passwords that are very familiar to me, or were....how long can I expect this to last????? I have been a heavy drinker for two decades! Loving that I feel good in the mornings. No hangovers.

Dee74

It's very common. The length of it varies - for some people it's a few days, for others a few weeks or even longer.

Give it a little time - you can't expect two decades of self abuse to right itself in a few days

D

chip

Hi Sheman, Congrats on your sober time! It gets better...just stick out the hard times. Finding others in recovery to talk to helps. It took some time before the fog lifted for me....then I realized how sharp the edges of life can be. It was hard for me to face the challenges of everyday life sober..but day after day I stuck it out. It's been almost 8 years & if I can do it anyone can...keep up the good work & enjoy those mornings.

Bruce292

Welcome. Give yourself some time to bounce back. It's not uncommon to be disoriented for a while when you remove a powerful chemical like alcohol from your system. You've been sober for a few day. Please take the time to look in the mirror and tell yourself that you're AWESOME for doing that!

Hang in there. Be strong.

zombiebre

Sounds like you wanted a first hand experience for an answer.... I'm five months sober right now and the first month was ridiculous! Foggy head, sleepy then really energetic. I was a candy monster too! Candy was a must have in my pocket. (My doctor warned me my body would miss all the sugar the alcohol had in it) My advice is to seriously listen to your body right now I had a doctors help with getting sober he had me eat as healthy as possible plus take vitamins. it really helped because I'd forget to eat when I was drunk which was about 20 hours outta the day. Lol... Vitamin Bs, milk thistle, and a good ol multi vitamin to start would make a big difference. Hang in there it does get easier.

sherman23

Thanks to all!

BalinChane

I'm feeling the same way myself, it's been nine days (after a false start that I'm still kicking myself for). I alternate between feeling good with energy and feeling dog tired and just wanting to sleep. Guess we'll just have to be good to our bodies and let them heal up in their own time. Hell, it took years to do the damage so I guess we can't expect to heal in a day!

BalinChane

Not sure if this is true or not but I read somewhere that when your body is healing (or detoxing) it waits until you gain some strength and energy and then it starts hitting the accelerator again on detoxing while you're strong. So you feel good, feel bad, feel good, feel bad, feel good, etc. And little by little your body cleans house, the bad times lessen and the good times get longer. Anybody else experience this?

Croissant

Welcome Sherman. Dee is right, it can take time and we are all different. Sometimes, I think just staying sober feels so huge, that we expect all the rewards all at once.

Your brain and body are going through so many changes....relearning how to regulate itself without the interference of alcohol. I'd say fogginess and clumsiness came and went and I still can't be sure if its completely gone at day 35. I am sober and anything else on top of that is a bonus.

Mending takes time. Be patient.

firstymer

Welcome to SR, Sherm. Although I am only 4 days sober (my first attempt at sobriety after 20 years of heavy drinking myself), I am already finding that my memory is improving. It is certainly easier to remember what happened last night when I was sober, than if I had been drunk. One of the many embarassments of being an alcoholic is being reminded of things that were said, or that happened, when you were drunk and that you have no memory of. Good luck.

Mentium

5 days here and feeling exactly as you describe. Great first thing in the morning, full of energy and a blessing to be hangover free. As the day goes on though it is another matter!

I have taken to having a short nap in the afternoon (I have the time). It helps a bit. I am assuming though it is about how the body processes carbohydrates and sugars generally and the 'false' energy alcohol has given me in the past (decades in my case too). Patience is not something a lot of heavy drinkers have - me anyway - but I'm just going to sit it out! There are plenty of people saying this too shall pass!

Edit: An afterthought. It is tempting to eat lots of sugary food at this stage. I did the last time I tried seriously to quit over a year ago now and it only made it worse. The sugar seemed to set up cravings. Cereal, pasta and the like which release energy slowly (one reads) are better and less prone to creating the high/low of too much sugar and the potential cravings. Not expert here, just from reading.

james872

I recognize this. A few days ago I noticed my clarity coming back. I'm on day 16 now btw.

I'm still not back to my original cognitive level, but it's starting to restore.

How long it takes depends on the person I guess. And how long you've been drinking. It was a couple of years of heavy, daily drinking for me. Not decades.

But eventually it'll get better.

james872

Sounds very familiar.