Lonsdale84

Hi, I'm Gary, 30 years old from the UK. I've been a daily drinker for nearly a year now. I was in a dysfunctional relationship which made me very anxious - wine worked at the start. I have tried AA, but all the drink stories made me want to drink more. I tried two days sober but have had terrible cold sweats at night. I read some articles on tapering down consumption - that's what I'm trying now, with beer. I was always a red wine drinker - max 2 normal sized bottles a day and never drank in the morning.

If you've any tips please get in touch.

huntingtontx

I would say, I have never seen tapering down work. To be safe go see your doctor and ask for help. He can give you something to help. Throwing out the booze and drinking lots of water, juice, etc helps. I drank tons of gator aid. When I wanted a drink I ate ice cream. No one eating icecream wants a drink. lol. Welcome to SR Gary. You will find lots of support here. Glad you joined us on our journey. Post often, read a lot, hang out in the chat room, but don't drink. It is not easy, but it can be done. The rewards are great. I am loving the sober life and it is obtainable. Again, welcome.

ultradad

My experience was that I tried EVERYTHING and changed alcohol types, went to AA, NA and treatment along with everything else. NOTHING worked for me! It took me hitting rock bottom and then humbling myself and asking God to help me. I got my butt into AA at the suggestion of a dear friend and didn't just 'listen' to the stories, but actually started working the program (got a sponsor, started doing the steps) Today I'm celebrating 62 days of recovery and I owe it all to my higher power and AA!

Pulling for you!

bookmaven

I've never met anyone who was able to taper down on alcohol. Eventually they all, including myself, went back to drinking worse than before. If you are concerned about medical issues that could develop from going cold turkey there are much healthier ways to do it than switching type of alcohol you consume. Ultimately it's ALL the same poison. Seek medical attention from trained health care professionals if you need to. If sobriety is what you want the first step in recovery is DONT DRINK.

GotGrace

Welcome to SR, Gary! There is so much support and understanding here. Please read around a bunch and keep posting, especially when the going gets tough.

Best of luck to you!

Mentium

Hi and welcome Gary. Sorry to hear AA put you off. As a so called 'high bottom' (i.e. I functioned OK for years and slowly deteriorated and fell to bits..!) I was alarmed by some of the life car crashes and disasters I heard at AA to begin with. Then I reckoned if those guys on their two and three bottles of scotch a day can do it them surely I can!

And I did!...or I am 'doing' I should say. All the best and stick around.

..and frankly - forget tapering off. When you have a problem with alcohol taking a little is not that much different to a heroin addict just having a tiny injection.

Nonsensical

Welcome to SR.

If you successfully taper the compulsion to drink will likely still remain. What are you planning to do then?

I had a similar reaction with my first experiences at AA. The stories made me think, "I'm not that bad" and I went out and drank more. AA doesn't click for everyone. There are other methods/programs/techniques to live a happy sober life. You can read about them if you explore the forums here.

Best of Luck on Your Journey!

ScottFromWI

Welcome Gary. As many have mentioned, tapering rarely works. The sweats and other symptoms you feel are withdrawals. Tapering down is nearly inpossoble for an alcoholic as it involves controlling how much you drink, which by definion alcoholics cannot do. And even if you somehow cut back, you are still merely postponing the withdrawals.

My suggestion would be to see your doctor. If they feel you may experience severe withdrawals, they can prescribe things that can help you safely detox. Or perhaps a supervised detox if it is warranted.

Kevin78

Welcome Gary. You have come to the right place.
Tapering down worked for me..... For at least until my next drink. Best to see your doctor first. My Doc referred me to our local alcohol services for councilling. If AA does not suit you, This may benefit. It helped me.

Stick around, and well done for taking the 1st steps.

July1

Did you have two bottles yesterday, and nothing today? If so, how are you feeling now?

Theoretically, tapering off COULD help. The problem everyone here is pointing out-- if you throw in the human alcoholic decision making process, it's unlikely to happen.

If you're a two hundred pound male, It seems unlikely you would have a medical emergency going from two bottles of wine to zero. A 105 lb female could be a different story. If you really needed to "taper" for medical reasons, you'd be better off with a doctor's help and a prescription. Otherwise just stop.

Lonsdale84

Thanks for all your replies and encouragement.
I've had two tins of beer and a melatonin.
Tapering isn't going to work for me, I caught myself hiding more beer for later - I stopped.
I'll get some librium on Monday and do a proper detox. I'll give AA another go.

PurpleKnight

Welcome to SR Gary!! Great to have you onboard!!

bookmaven

It took me over a year to finally feel comfortable in AA. I didn't "get it" until I read two books that really helped show me what I was missing.

Get Up: A 12-Step Guide to Recovery for Misfits, Freaks, and Weirdos
Bucky Sinister (Author)

Sane: Mental Illness, Addiction, and the 12 Steps
Marya Hornbacher (Author)

Alex41

Welcome Gary, good luck on your journey!!

Erratic

There is meds out there to help come off drink. u got campral, anti abuse and one other I cant remember. This helps with craving and with anti abuse it makes u sick. talk to ur doctor and see what help is out there.