Day One - advice needed
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 4
Day One - advice needed
It's 6:20 in the morning as I'm typing this out. I've never considered myself an alcoholic. Although, I've realised over the past 3 months or so that I do have an alcohol abuse issue. (Once I started drinking, I would find it hard to stop...although the most I would ever have was about 6 large drinks of rum...or a bottle and a half of wine.)
So about ten days back I decided that I would quit and randomly picked July 23rd as the day. Yesterday, at lunch I had 3 craft beers and one drink of vodka with orange juice...and that was it. Went to bed sober and awoke clear-headed and focussed.
I'm pretty bull-headed and once I set my mind to do something I usually end up doing it. For instance, I was a very heavy smoker – two packs a day and then I picked World No Tobacco Day (31st May) to quit smoking...and voila...It's been 21 years and I haven't had a single drag.
I'm hoping to duplicate this feat with alcohol and will post here over the next few weeks about how it's going.
Wish me luck and thanks for reading this.
PS: Quick question...How do I deal with replacing all that liquid (beer., wine etc) I was drinking? I'm not a big fan of water; love the taste of Coke Zero, though. But I can't see myself drinking two litres of that stuff every day. Any advice?
So about ten days back I decided that I would quit and randomly picked July 23rd as the day. Yesterday, at lunch I had 3 craft beers and one drink of vodka with orange juice...and that was it. Went to bed sober and awoke clear-headed and focussed.
I'm pretty bull-headed and once I set my mind to do something I usually end up doing it. For instance, I was a very heavy smoker – two packs a day and then I picked World No Tobacco Day (31st May) to quit smoking...and voila...It's been 21 years and I haven't had a single drag.
I'm hoping to duplicate this feat with alcohol and will post here over the next few weeks about how it's going.
Wish me luck and thanks for reading this.
PS: Quick question...How do I deal with replacing all that liquid (beer., wine etc) I was drinking? I'm not a big fan of water; love the taste of Coke Zero, though. But I can't see myself drinking two litres of that stuff every day. Any advice?
Member
Join Date: Aug 2016
Location: Derbyshire Dales, UK.
Posts: 2,618
Hi 
Beer and wine dehydrate you as you know, so you probably won't need as much liquid now that you've stopped. I tend to switch between tea, coffee and hot chocolate, although with the current heatwave here in the UK, water is my best friend too recently.
I wouldn't worry - you're doing the right thing and I love how positive you sound
Welcome to SR!
Beer and wine dehydrate you as you know, so you probably won't need as much liquid now that you've stopped. I tend to switch between tea, coffee and hot chocolate, although with the current heatwave here in the UK, water is my best friend too recently.I wouldn't worry - you're doing the right thing and I love how positive you sound
Welcome to SR!
Member
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: UK
Posts: 6,902
I tend to have sparkling water with some sugar free squash. Although you may need to keep the sugar levels up in the first few weeks anyway, so normal sugar as variety would be fine.
I would say, re the next month or so, keep your expectations low. Sometimes folk expect to feel better immediately, and we can have the odd day where this seems to be the case, but generally it can be pretty tough. If you are expecting this and resolved to work through it then you're more likely to manage it. Don't worry, if does get better over time though. The first months are no indicator of what long term sobriety is like.
Have you investigated the support available locally to you? Even if you don't think you are interested in AA or Smart or whatever at this stage, it pays not to be dismissive too quickly. I'd suggest looking up the places and times and contact details for all your local support and noting them down. By the end if the first month I thought I was going mad, and it was a massive relief to get to my first AA meeting and get some experience, strength, and hope from people who'd walked this path ahead of me.
Stay close. Keep reading and posting (esp re making a recovery plan).
BB
I would say, re the next month or so, keep your expectations low. Sometimes folk expect to feel better immediately, and we can have the odd day where this seems to be the case, but generally it can be pretty tough. If you are expecting this and resolved to work through it then you're more likely to manage it. Don't worry, if does get better over time though. The first months are no indicator of what long term sobriety is like.
Have you investigated the support available locally to you? Even if you don't think you are interested in AA or Smart or whatever at this stage, it pays not to be dismissive too quickly. I'd suggest looking up the places and times and contact details for all your local support and noting them down. By the end if the first month I thought I was going mad, and it was a massive relief to get to my first AA meeting and get some experience, strength, and hope from people who'd walked this path ahead of me.
Stay close. Keep reading and posting (esp re making a recovery plan).
BB
Member
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: St.Petersburg, FL.
Posts: 1,077
Welcome, Alex. I like fizzy drinks so I drink a lot of LaCroix sparkling water. They have many different flavors--mango is my current fave. I like Perrier or any sparkling mineral water. I enjoy lime/cucumber Gatorade and am fond of Coke Zero too. The kombucha brewers in my home town have started making switchel, a sparkling ginger beverage made with apple cider vinegar and local honey. It's really refreshing, and has no alcohol. Kombucha itself has a trace (less than an NA beer) of alcohol so it's a little controversial. I do have one occasionally--I perform at a brewery where kombucha is on tap.
Member
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Florida., USA
Posts: 3,252
Former beer drinker here. I know what you mean and wanted something to replace all that liquid. .I'm a fan of sparkling water too and I drink one after the other. I've discovered (diet) ginger beer. It's rather pricey to drink one after the other, so I only drink a couple a day. I drink more sparkling water and ginger beer than I did alcohol.
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Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Atlanta
Posts: 8,674
Glad you are here.
As I often do, completely agree with Berrybean. I would also add that while now I drink so much water and sparkling water that my dr has told me to cut way back because my sodium levels are too low (yes apparently you can drink too much of anything!!!) .... that habit became a "problem" once I was well on the road to recovery- my alcoholism had to be the first thing to worry about.
As I often do, completely agree with Berrybean. I would also add that while now I drink so much water and sparkling water that my dr has told me to cut way back because my sodium levels are too low (yes apparently you can drink too much of anything!!!) .... that habit became a "problem" once I was well on the road to recovery- my alcoholism had to be the first thing to worry about.
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Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 151
I’ve been drinking a lot of La Croix. Literally never bought a can of it in my life, and now I’m at about a 12-pack a week. Or any other brand of flavored sparkling water that’s available. Not only is it delicious, but something about the bubbly taste helps me a LOT mentally with the fact that it’s not wine or vodka
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 4
Hi everyone, just a quick update. First off, a big shout out to all those responded. Your tips meant a lot.
The last 24 hours were a breeze barring a couple of minor hiccups.
Around noonish, I got the cravings for a beer. Countered that by having an early big lunch. Then went out and bought a few bottles of flavoured sparkling water. (We get a brand called Ramlosa in Sweden that has a big range of flavours - citrus, watermelon, passionfruit, etc.) Must also confess that I got the urge to eat chocolates and candy, so bought a bunch of that as well. Then again, in the evenings around 7ish, I got the urge for wine. Again, countered that by having dinner, which I normally don't do. Watched some Netflix, pottered around the apartment and went to bed around 10 with a book. Slept fitfully throughout the night, awoke at 7 and all's well. First day, done and dusted. Now to go through today.
The last 24 hours were a breeze barring a couple of minor hiccups.
Around noonish, I got the cravings for a beer. Countered that by having an early big lunch. Then went out and bought a few bottles of flavoured sparkling water. (We get a brand called Ramlosa in Sweden that has a big range of flavours - citrus, watermelon, passionfruit, etc.) Must also confess that I got the urge to eat chocolates and candy, so bought a bunch of that as well. Then again, in the evenings around 7ish, I got the urge for wine. Again, countered that by having dinner, which I normally don't do. Watched some Netflix, pottered around the apartment and went to bed around 10 with a book. Slept fitfully throughout the night, awoke at 7 and all's well. First day, done and dusted. Now to go through today.
. I also find that eating helps that restless, craving feeling. Hang in there.
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Join Date: Mar 2015
Posts: 112
Originally Posted by August252015 
Glad you are here.
As I often do, completely agree with Berrybean. I would also add that while now I drink so much water and sparkling water that my dr has told me to cut way back because my sodium levels are too low (yes apparently you can drink too much of anything!!!) .... that habit became a "problem" once I was well on the road to recovery- my alcoholism had to be the first thing to worry about.
As I often do, completely agree with Berrybean. I would also add that while now I drink so much water and sparkling water that my dr has told me to cut way back because my sodium levels are too low (yes apparently you can drink too much of anything!!!) .... that habit became a "problem" once I was well on the road to recovery- my alcoholism had to be the first thing to worry about.
As far as sparkling drinks go, I’ve heard Waterloo is great, better than La Croix, and if you’ve never tried Spindrift, it’s delicious! It’s sparkling water with just a little real juice in it. I’ve tried only the lemon and grapefruit and both were amazing. I know you can get both Waterloo and Spindrift at Whole Foods. Bubbly brand is good too, I like the Cherry. My go to drink lately though is the little packets of True Lemon, it’s made with Stevia and maybe 1 gram of sugar. I use like half a packet over ice and water. I’m addicted I swear.
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Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 14,934
I'm not a big fan of water; love the taste of Coke Zero, though. But I can't see myself drinking two litres of that stuff every day. Any advice?
Here's my thoughts.
Drink all the Coke Zero you want.
You won't drink two liters per day, you are not that thirsty.
You were drinking that much booze per day, not because you were thirsty, but because you liked the buzz.
Since Coke Zero won't give you a buzz, you won't drink as much.
Here's my thoughts.
Drink all the Coke Zero you want.
You won't drink two liters per day, you are not that thirsty.
You were drinking that much booze per day, not because you were thirsty, but because you liked the buzz.
Since Coke Zero won't give you a buzz, you won't drink as much.
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Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Upstate New York
Posts: 51,569
Great to have you with us, Alex. You're wise to stay busy & distract yourself with entertainment. Posting & reading here really helped me.
I agree about the sparkling, flavored water. It's a winner, & there's a great variety.
I craved sweets in the early days of recovery - I indulged myself because it seemed to help. Gradually it lessened. I still abuse ice cream though.
I agree about the sparkling, flavored water. It's a winner, & there's a great variety.
I craved sweets in the early days of recovery - I indulged myself because it seemed to help.
Gradually it lessened. I still abuse ice cream though. saoutchik
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: London
Posts: 16,203
Well done Alex! As tekink said, sugar cravings are normal and will fade. I have a soda maker at home for sparkling water, on occasion I will add a splash of cordial.
I quit smoking 29 years ago and had a similar experience as you. Unfortunately alcohol was not so easy but it does get easier. Good lick.
I quit smoking 29 years ago and had a similar experience as you. Unfortunately alcohol was not so easy but it does get easier. Good lick.
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