Bilr44

Day 49, and the end of week 7 for me. Still going strong and looking forward to the future while sober. Has anyone else lamented going on vacation with the family because you'd have to figure out how to get you daily quota of alcohol. Looking forward to my next vacation just to enjoy.

Driver, glad to hear from you. Wow, you will have your hands full when the new year rolls around. It will be a good thing though. I think you picked a good time to be sober ; )

countingdays

Made it through the night. The drinking dreams have begun, but at least it was a dream. Looking forward to a hangover free day 7.

sicknote

Hello everyone. So many posts on here, so many people! Just a quick hello from the UK. I'm on day 8. Went out last night to a birthday party, LOADS of drink everywhere. It was horrible. I was so jealous of everyone. I just kept telling myself, "fake it, to make it, just pretend to be happy", and "you don't drink like these people, don't have the first one".

Someone slap a gold star on my chest, cause I only blimming did it! It worked. I got thought the night. I pretended to be my normal self, made my excuses and left early.

Super happy that I'd made it though the day and arrived safely back to bed without a drink in hand, and waking up without a hangover is a massive relief.

Good luck to everyone!

Goose1

Morning everyone - starting day 2 here. Managed some sleep last night, but feeling anxious with some anxiety this morning. I'll never figure out how something like booze can make me feel so bad, and I hate what it does too me. Yet I go back to "IT." I was reading a saying on Sober Nation that says, "the greatest prison people live in, is the fear of what people think." I go through this fear every time I drink. Especially going back to work on Mondays. The most baffling thing about this feeling is none of the people I work around seen me drinking. Just want to get through today Sober with out fighting "IT" We can do this, Stay Sober my friends.

HDrosebud

Morning all, start of day 7 for me...remember last Sunday started drinking at 10 in the morning passed out at 7:30 don't remember anything past 3..
DD thanks for saying something about kick the drink book, download to my kindle wow what sense it makes.

Driver1

The one and only down side to sobriety for me has been a lack of sleep. Still struggling with this big time. Anyway, sleep woes = great opportunity to catch up with everybody.

Holy cow, so much activity; seems like I've missed a lot.

Glad to see you all still going strong Toberiginals bilr44, Hawkeye, Fishy, InSane (way to hang in there Friday), SoberM (cheers for a great week with your kiddos), DoubleDragons, Myth (1 year plus!), ctrl (hope marathon went well; what was your time?)

RiverFriend, how was music festival? And resolve in that atmosphere if you don’t mind me asking?.

bilr44, sorry to hear news on job brother. Hang in there; something good is bound to come along and with your renewed self you are pretty much ensuring that. BTW, major props for weathering both that and the party with strong resolve. That's a really huge accomplishment huge bud.

DoubleDragons, your posts are so thoughtful and motivating. Your Sober IQ seems to be climbing as you notch more days!…thanks DD! (and thanks for tip on Vale's book; I'm gonna pick up tomorrow/this morning).

WhitePawn, congrats bud on continued sobriety. You too seem to be getting stronger and stronger.

Siesta, wow! Really, really nice to see you're back! All the best for day 4.

Seems like it's been awhile since we heard from ItsViolet or Victoria74.

PoppiesinJuly, ZombieBBQ, hope you are doing well. Same for you PumpkinPie (er, uh, Mrs. Pumpkin Pie that is!).

FirstSteps, free2Bsober13, amandaw, been thinking a lot about you all over the past few days. I know the feelings (and questions) first hand re: is this struggle worth it? It is. Really. Hang in there. You will be amazed. (amandaw, if you are still out there, PM me, I have a suggestion for you if you are interested).

HDrosebud, countingdays, allihk!! Gone 3 days and - poof! - you all are almost a week in! CONGRATULATIONS!! As you all well know, this days some work, especially at the beginning…nicely played.

NewLifeGirl. Thanks for checking; glad you are doing well....hope they are still getting easier!

SarahLanter?? Come back please. We need you.

LifePlant , Erratic, bblackbirdflyy...how is it going? I hope each of you are well today and resolved to keep trying.

Welcome fitness1234, forabetterlife, criticalmass, sicknote, citrus, clone2, minnieminx, Goose1 (sorry to hear about your recent fall; your quick turn-around is pretty impressive in any event), TempeBrenn (wish you the best; I'm guessing your fantastic insight is going to carry you a long way).

ejackson, way to go! 11 days is fantastic.

Way to go too LittleSparrow; sounds like a great weekend. I can’t wait for a TV marathon sometime in the near future. At some point wife is gonna have to slow it down. I’ve purchased the Buffy Vampire Slayer series for that occasion. Apparently, this Sarah Michelle Keller vehicle is rated as one (if not top) of the best rated Sci-Fi series of all time. Very interesting; who knew? Not me anyway. But looking forward to SMK; she’s kinda hot. LOL!

Marcellina, glad you are still with us. Seems like common sense but I came across a recent study showing exercise to be an effective alternative for reducing alcohol intake. I love scientific proof. Anyway, good luck with your work-out routine; seems like a great plan!

MissAprilJ, glad to see you back with us whether it’s day 2 or day 20; hope you got that shark!

Oh, BTW, last post I said day 21. I’ve been losing track. Got ahead of myself by a day. Apparently today is day 21 for me. Frankly, I’m beginning to care less about numbering the days…they are either sober or not…that’s all I really care about – but sometimes it’s still nice to quantify new beginnings. Getting loopy now.

Strong day to everyone!

Bilr44

Driver, I had to think back on what type of sleeper I was prior to drinking every day. I was always very sensitive to noise when falling asleep, could sleep through a tornado in the middle of the night, and always an early riser. I think I am back to that again. When drinking, I was pass out by 9:30, wake up at 3:00 am wide awake with anxiety, and back to sleep and awake at 6:00 am. The amount of sleep is overrated, the quality is what counts.

DoubleDragons

Bil, I hated those panic wake-up times at 3 am, after a night of drinking. My poor husband, I would try to wake him up, so he could calm me down, all because of my drinking. Ugh. As far as vacations went, I was always a big fan of the all-inclusive deals. I always was looking for me next "free" drink.

Driver, my eldest son was so in love with Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, when he was a little boy. He is now 17 and has a very "high charging" blonde girlfriend and all of his girlfriends have been that way. To think, it all started with Buffy . . . . Thanks for bringing a smile to my face!

Guys, this is Day 22 for me and I can honestly say, just like Driver, I LOVE Sobriety!!! I love feeling physically good and mentally clear. I love not wasting our money on alcohol. I love not having worry, anxiety, guilt and shame related to drinking alcohol. I love not having extra alcohol weight/flab on my body. I love not having to worry about if I am going to have to drive on a weekend night. I am so thankful for these sober days in my life and I can't wait to add more sober days to my life. I hope some day, the sober days will outweigh the drunken days, but that is going to take some time . . . .

Enjoy a beautiful, blessed Sunday!!

free2Bsober13

Well, friends, this is day 3 AGAIN! Oh well. I'm trying to get back on track. This is so difficult starting over. I feel like I think about drinking constantly...whether it's to drink or not...I never think of anything else. I even dream about it all night, and can barely sleep.

I often try to tell myself I can drink again. The last few times were just a few beers. But I know that if I start again, then I'll be hiding, sneaking, and drinking while out shopping. I can't do that again.

Tonight I'm going to my 2nd AA meeting. Hopefully I can be brave enough to get a sponsor and do the steps. Just being able to introduce myself and admit my problem would be a huge step. I haven't been able to say those words out loud to anyone.

EternalQ

Freetobe: Keep trying. Only the ones who stop trying don't get sober.

And when you go the meeting, I hope you feel all the people on this thread are walking with you and standing right next to you, telling you encouraging words. Because we are.

You are courageous. Keep being brave. We are right here.

free2Bsober13

Thank you so much for that, EternalQ! I have spent way more time on this site than talking to people in person. I'm amazed at the support snd encouragement everyone gives and receives on here. I love it! I think I would have messed up worse had it not been for SR.

WhitePawn

Good Morning World, I hope all is going well today, as it is a beautiful crisp autumn morning here in my parts.
I woke up too early and couldn't get back to sleep--thinking of all the other Tobies and the struggles I know so many are still going through. It would be nice to be able to sleep well every night but I still seem to be having a good one only every other night.
I felt like I had a bad hangover when I woke this morning, but then remembered the overly long bike ride I did yesterday--so while I'm big advocate for exercise, I will caution not to get too carried away early in sobriety just because we feel good.
I also know everyone has heard this a few times--but make it thru today and tomorrow will be better!

DoubleDragons

Free2B, you poor thing! You keep putting yourself through the worst parts of quitting. Honesty, the first 10 days of sobriety were infinitely worse for me than the second 10 days. Tell yourself you are going to give 10 days a try, that is it. If you give yourself 10 days, I think you'll be amazed at how much less agonizing the cravings are after that - I promise you and I have been a regular drinker for 27 years!

DoubleDragons

Tobers, for sleeping issues I tried a tip from Sarah. (Dear Sarah, hope you are okay and able to stay away from vodka. You are in my prayers!) I actually took Dramamine a couple of times because we had some in the medicine cabinet. Its main ingredient is dimenhydrinate, which I think some other OTC sleeping aids have it as well. It really helped with getting a good solid 8 hours and stopped my cycle of crazy dreams and anxiety. Melantonin was good for sleeping but it messed with my digestion.

free2Bsober13

The sad thing is that I relapsed the first time after 53 days, and I had finally gotten past that really hard part. I've had alcohol on and off this whole month. I could kick myself for drinking again that first time. The reason I did was that I had convinced myself I didn't need recovery.

EternalQ

Hi Everyone, for those struggling or for anyone new to this, you might find the thread below helpful. Give it a go and see!

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...w-members.html

InsaneHeart

I think this head cold that I've had for like two weeks now is really making me irritable. I don't want to drink and won't. I just wish this godforsaken thing would go away.

DoubleDragons

Insane Heart, I finally got over my week and a half of bad digestive issues. Being sick is so draining and annoying, especially when we are finally taking care of our bodies. It just doesn't seem fair! However, I remind myself how I would probably be doubly worse if I were still drinking on top of it all. When I was in college, I was always sick (and that is unusual for me), but of course, I was always drunk in college, too. I am now intrigued by people who drink heavily; have to quit because they are really sick or are in the hospital, and then go right back to drinking once they are better. I guess I was like that for most of my life. I had four babies and I didn't drink at all when I was pregnant, but I sure couldn't wait to get back started after they were born.

EternalQ, thank you, thank you for that thread. It is wonderful. I read it all. I said to my husband that I realize I have been spending a lot of time on this forum lately but for me, it is my "rehab." Hey, he gets off cheap . . . .

Bilr44

InsaneHeart, try probiotics either in yogurt or pill. They sell the yogurt that is extra concentrated and it works well for me. Great for the immune system.

LittleSparrow

I hope everyone is having a good day. I'm happy to be winding down on my first week sober. Today was interesting...my husband and I were out running errands and ran into a friend. He mentioned that we get something with bacon in it and I told him that I was vegetarian. He asked, "Do you think it would be harder to give up meat or alcohol?" and I told him, "Well, I just gave up alcohol this week, too." He was thinking about inviting us over for drinks tonight and *gasp* didn't make a big deal about me not drinking. He just said, "Oh, well, you could just make yours separately without the alcohol." That was it, no judging or anything. My husband and I are staying home instead, but it was kind of nice to tell someone and not have any weirdness about it. The big deal is in my own head.

Have a good, sober night!