Jersey Nonny

Hmmmmmn...only you can declare yourself an alcoholic; but, if you aren't (with all the symptoms you've listed above), you'll do until one comes along.

Quote:

I am really considering AA, but before I try that I thought I would join a board and see if I can attempt to break this disease. I have never done drugs or anything of that nature in my life, but to me I now consider alcohol a drug with its addiction.

Alcohol is, indeed, a drug...and, it happens to be your drug of choice. The disease will break you, slowly but surely...for it is progressive.

Alcoholism is a disease...if you were a diabetic, or had some other chronic disease, would you feel you owed it to your fiance to be totally honest with her? How about, "I believe I've been drinking more than I should, which could cause a problem in the future. I'm not sure if I've become addicted to alcohol; but, I've decided to go to some open AA meetings to learn more about it. I would really love for you to go with me."

Better to be up-front with her now than regret not having talked to her later on. Just my humble opinion.

InstantNoodles

So I have set a load of plans tonight to keep myself busy. The first few days are going to be tough. I have decided that I will tell my fiance tonight, and I know she will support me.

In the mean time, I need to do this for myself. I am taking your alls advice and doing this for me, not others.

I have to ask, how do you guys control urges? What do you do when you crave a drink?
I've been sober for 15 hours, and I am already having cravings...

mike_mass

Try meetings

InstantNoodles

Where do you get a sponsor at? Are they free?

Selah

First step - go to a meeting, they will explain everything, hook you up w/ a sponsor - yes they are free. They will give great advice on how to control those urges.

InstantNoodles

BTW, a stickie / sticky is a post that when it is "stickied" will stay on the top of the board.

EX when you make a post, your thread goes to the top of the page, as new posts come along, yours will move down. When a thread is stickied- it will always remain on top. (hope I explained that alright)

As for the AA meeting...

Octoman

Hi InstantNoodles,
Missed your post earlier and just wanted to say hi and welcome to SR. i can see that youhave been getting some good advice and support already.

The cravings can be pretty intense. But then thats what makes an alcoholic I guess. No cravings no alcoholic. Everything we do and learn in our journey to recovery is to help us develop as individuals, learn what drove our desire to drink and then find ways to manage it. With this you will find the cravings will subside.

I am no expert on this yet - I only have 42 days clean myself - but what I can tell you is that as time has passed the incredible intensity of the early cravings has begun to dull a little. I dont know if that is my body accepting that it is no longer going to get what it wants any more of if it is me learning how to handle them better. A bit of both I think.

What I'm saying is that it does get better. Just tough it out and with each passing day you will find it a little easier. You have caught this very early so you have a great chance of getting off before it goes too far. Just keep in your mind that as an alcoholic if you drink again your problem will get worse. The more you drink, the more you will want to drink and the greater the cravings will become when you try to stop again. There is no cure for alcoholism. You are a fire and alcohol is petrol. I'm sorry if this sounds a bit final but it is the thought that I can somehow manage my drinking which has taken me back to it again and again over the years. And without exeption I fail. Hopefully you can make it fist time

Good luck. Keep posting and let us know how you get on.

Oct

CarolD

Cravings

I timed my cravings. They were 5-7 minutes in duration.
Not too long too endure discomfort.
Soooo....I took action.
Walk around ... brush teeth...drink cold water...a Lifesaver

Within 2 weeks...the lessened in both time and intensity.
By 2 or so months .... they vanished.

Now...were they mental or physical?
Darn if I know. Nor do I care.

Anna

Hi InstantNoodles,

Welcome!

Here is a list of recovery programs you might want to check out. Many people here use AA and it works well, but there are other recovery methods as well:


http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...-programs.html

InstantNoodles

Mine right now are about 5-10 minutes

Viki

Tazman....I see that you have a 1 year cleean and sober day coming up!!!! That is terrific. I treasure my 1 year chip so very much. Will you be getting a cake. i really hope so. Thsi day needs to be celebrated!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hang in there . i am very proud of you and I know that I am not the only one....Best of luck to ya Taz............Viki

InstantNoodles

Its almost been 24 hours now, and even though that may not seem like a lot- its a huge break through for me

I'm not going to lie, I am fighting the craving so hard right now. I am drinking water and chewing on my fingers like mad. I figure I will sit back, play some NHL 08 for the 360 and take my mind off drinking.

It was a good night tonight, the girl and I went out for dinner, went out to the mall, went for a movie, went to walmart and looked at some stuff, went back to her place and played with the dog for a while- and all this time, I did not think about drinking once.

I get home, and immediately my stomach is in knots, and I have the urge to drink. So here I am posting, wondering what the hell is it about this place & work that makes me want to drink?

InstantNoodles

I cant sleep, ive been tossing and turning for a while, which is not common. Usually I can close my eyes and be asleep in 2 or 3 minutes. Its like my body wont sleep until it gets what it wants

CarolD

Relax....
you are De toxing from alcohol.

Go over to Alcoholism and read the top sticky.
It's full of our personal experiences.

InstantNoodles

Octoman

Hang in there. You have made it through a day which is fantastic. If you can do one day you can do one more. Just don't drink today okay?

You can do this.

Tazman53

Noodles hang in there, it does get better with time even if all you do is not drink, the craving lessen, my problem early on every time I quit was all I did was quit drinking, I did absolutely nothing to change the person I was. As a result I always wound up drinking again because even though the physical cravings did lessen it seemed as though the mental obsession would kick in big time.

I would think "Oh yea I got this licked, I have gone a week without a beer, I deserve a 6 pack!" Now looking back on it I see the insanity of that, I celebrated not drinking by drinking!!!!

Stopping drinking is really easy until you reach a point where you physically have to drink or the shakes set in after a while.

The hardest part for me was staying stopped!!!

After 10 years of trying to stop my way I admitted defeat, I could not do it alone, hell I had gotten to the point where I had no choice but to drink, I physically had to drink every day.

The first thing I had to do was stop drinking, I was at the point where I had to go through medical detox, in detox they told me if I wanted a chance to stay sober when I left there to go to at least 90 AA meetings in 90 days and get a sponsor.

What they did not tell me was that AA would help me becone a much better and happier person, I thought all AA was about was not drinking, it turns out that the secret is not only all of the support, fellowship, & understanding one gets in the rooms of AA, but working the steps with a sponsor lead me to become a much better person then I was before.

Part of becoming a better person via the steps actually resulted in my urge/need to drink to be lifted from me.

I stayed stopped because I changed, I was a much better me then I had ever been, the old me drank, the new me does not.

Thanks Viki for the congrats, I still am amazed at how different I am today compared to how I was a year ago. It is funny, I am still Martin, that has not changed, today I am Martin without all the baggage of the past, I am at peace with the world and with myself. AA & the steps were the path I followed.

InstantNoodles

I finally got to bed, sleep wasn't so great, and this morning I feel tired, and really really sick to my stomach. I took some pepto, not sure if thats really going to help at all...

Im shaking, sweating, but yet im not cranky. I will concentrate on staying sober today, and that will set a new record for me for the past year...

Cekiya

Hi Zack,

I read your list describing why you think you should get help, and thought back 30-some years to when I was in my early twenties. That could have been my list too!!

I was not as smart as you are, and I have been doing the same thing over and over expecting something different to happen. That is proof of my insanity. Listen to your heart, and change your life now before you waste much of it as I have done.

Alcoholism will steal your soul. You have to decide in your heart (not just in your head) that you want to live your life in a way that feels right. Even while drunk, I think every alcoholic knows way down deep that what they are doing is wrong.

Look at it as a means to an end. For many of us, the problems and heartaches caused by drinking opened the door to a new and better life. For many other people, alcoholism is the means to a life of destruction, heartache, and a slow and painful early death. Which end do you want?

As far as relationships, the most important relationship you will ever have is the one with yourself. If that one isn't right, no other one will ever be right either. You have to work on that one first. When you are honest with yourself, you will be honest with others--especially those closest to you. It takes a lot of soul-searching and energy to recover from addiction. You can't do it by yourself. You have made a wonderful decision to log on to this website, now you need to take action to move in the direction that you need to go. Only you have the answers for yourself. You need to muster up the courage to follow through on what you know you have to do.

I've been battling addiction for my entire life. I have finally found the courage and the humility to give up and look to something greater than myself for help. That help comes in many forms, including websites like this as well as the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous. There are online AA meetings if you aren't yet ready for a face to face one.

You sound like a young man with a lot of potential for a good and fulfilling life. Do whatever it takes to get the life that you deserve. Don't throw it away. There is no drink in the world that is worth the price you are paying.

Peace to you,
Cekiya

InstantNoodles

Cekiya, thank you for your words of wisdom. Could you tell me where this AA online is at? (cant find it on google)

Is there anything that can be done for my naseua, headache, shaking or sweating? I dont know how much more of this I can take, I have never felt so miserable in my life. I have been drinking a lot of coffee today....