curliQ

Hi mizxgirl. I am on my 3rd night and I feel that way every night. I have some good support and that helps. I know there are 24-hour hotline numbers if you really need to talk to someone. Go and have a great big glass of water. Somehow when I am totally bloated all I can think about is how uncomfortable my belly is.... Then how uncomfortable my bladder is:

awake121207

I am still new to all of this, but I am looking for these myself. I can't find where the schedule is for the chats on this site.

Can anyone point us in the right direction?

mizxgirl

Hahah in that case i will start drinking by the gallon!

nandm

Not trying to butt into your thread but wanted to provide an answer to your question as you are new to the site. The majority of the people on this site utilize this area as the chat area. For several reasons; the chat forum can be unrealiable, there are people from other countries here in many different time zones, a larger variety of people can participate utilizing a posting board forum, I am sure there are more but those are the ones I can think of right now. One can usually expect to recieve a fairly quick response to their post here as there is almost always someone here. There is also a pm buttom where you can carry on a private message type converstation with someone. Hope this helps answere some of your questions. Good to see you here and welcome to SR

Wine-not!

Hey everyone~i'm on day 8 and glad to have found this thread. sometimes i get intimidated chatting with the overachievers who have quite a few days of sobriety under their belts! ha,ha...just kidding. things have been hard....withdrawals i think lasted about 3 days...but the psychological part is the worst. i really find myself trying to figure out ways to recognize that sick alcoholic voice that tells me it's ok to drink...when i know it truly is not. my biggest hurdle is overcoming the fear of...what if i give in...what if i fail? it's scary to me. the holidays have not made it any easier. i didn't plan on doing this right now, but have contemplated it for a very long time. after my last drunken episode and blackout, i decided that there is no time to waste. i need to do this now. i haven't had this determination in a long time, and today i realized that i have not been sober for this long in over 3 years. thanks for this thread, and i hope we all graduate and join the dinosaurs!

awake121207

Wine-not

Welcome to the thread. I really identify with what you said about the idiot voice we have that tries to drag us off track.

As for the holidays, I can't believe I'm doing this now myself! But the reality is there is no better time than right now.

Here's to being one of the dinosaurs

rooster

Im on my third day sober i've never been a everyday drinker but pretty much a binge drinker and i always have a hard time around the weekend to not drink but im finally fed up with drinking to were i blackout and do stupid things like fighting and acting stupid i lost my girlfriend who i loved very much because of my drinking and have had two d.u.i's my first was when i was 19, but i thought i would give this a try because i really want to stay sober these last couple of month's ive started getting down and drinking alot,reading some of your storys has already helped me want to stay sober and i hope i can make some friends on here to give me some support thanks and everyone stay strong

Omega Man

Geeze -I run out to an AA meeting and look how much I missed. Welcome Wine-Not and Mizxgirl!

The lack of a chat room, given the challenges of time zones, for us new-newbies is why I started this thread. Make it to 15 days and you have move on - that's my goal.

I just completed my 3rd AA meeting and tomorrow when I wake up it will Day 8. I also planning on it being my first Christmas Eve sober in I don't know how long.

Picking up on earlier thoughts by Gravity and Awake, I too will need to fiqure out my new sober life. I love fishing but I don't think I've ever gone fishing without a beer in my hand. That one is going to be a tough association to break. I might have to give up fishing. Just kidding! LOL :rof

Anyway - those are minor issues to work on later. Right now I'm enjoying being sober. Man, I always come home in a good mood after a meeting.

Omega Man

Welcome Rooster. I'm Omega - your alcoholic greeter!
You found the right place, stick with us, where heading toward a place called Sobriety. We hear it's great!

On a serious note, yes - blackouts, I sure don't miss those little fun events. Wake up the next morning, get filled in on the blanks by someone else and start calling everyone to apologize. So much fun! NOT!

Again - Welcome!

awake121207

Ah yes, the black outs will not be missed. Neither my wife (who normally doesn't drink) nor I have a clue what happened at the end of our company Christmas party a couple of weeks ago.

I've been told there is video of me at a wedding I went to this past summer, and I just pray I never have to see it--especially on YouTube

I am slowly learning to draw strength from my sober thoughts, and a big one is that I do not want the world slipping out of my control any more.

nodrinkingzone

Hey fellow noob drunx... hehe

Spent the afternoon with old, old friends - sitting on the back deck, watchin the afternoon pass, while I drank a lot of water and they drank a lot of bourbon... It was easier than I thought, I just don't want to get drunk, I feel too good sober!

I hope you all have a great Xmas and enjoy feeling good, deep breaths and all that jazz, and good presents for everybody!

awake - I've been a musician for ~13 years, I know what you mean! But I also know I sing better sober, and I'm looking forward to playing like I do before I get too hammered to continue lololol

All the best guys, I got dinner on the table, 27 deg. Celcius, sun going down - summer rocks! Have a tops night/day!

Omega Man

What is it with Aussies and bourbon? Nasty stuff!

Glad you kept on the straight and narrow but I know what you mean about feeling too good sober. I did the same thing last week, sitting with some friends, but let's not tempt fate too often at this point.

Thanks for the reminder that it's your summer down there. It's cold here in the States - even here in Cali.

Take care Mate.

nodrinkingzone

Oh I agree mate, it was a test, but the urge passed, and I had my water, juice, fruit and a couple of cups of coffee. I didn't set out to test myself, I just told them (and myself) that it wasn't a big deal, but I'm not drinking. Non-event, they're happy, I'm happy, I wasn't offered a drink and we had a great afternoon.

What made it easier was everyone telling me how healthy I looked, how they'd never seen me without a drink, how it was great to talk to me and find out what I'd been up to. It was one of those perfect afternoons, one that I haven't had for a long long time (if ever). It's a memory that I'll treasure for years to come.

It was nice to leave after a whole afternoon, and to have people say that I'm always welcome, that if I don't stop in next time I'm in town they'll be offended, that it was fantastic to chat etc... man, life is sweet. THAT'S why I'm staying sober!

happy dance!

Omega Man

Perfect - the happy dance, now I know your loosing it!
Glad everything went so well for you, those are true friends.

I have a few friends, we'll ex-drinking buddies, that would have been laying the peer pressure on thick, "don't be a whimp", blah-blah.
Needless to say, I won't be seeing them again, I have better things to do with my life.

nodrinkingzone

I got a few of them myself, not friends - just fellow drunks that can't see their own issues (or are too insecure to admit them). You're right though, these guys I've known since I was about 4 yrs old, and they've always been honest decent people.

I'm a lucky dude at the moment, that's for sure. Now I have to get through the next couple of weeks, and it'll be back to my new 'normal' life - single, working, and creating a sober reality for myself and the people I know back home. Looking forward to getting to know some of the people at my local meeting, I've been to four different meetings in four very different areas, so I've met different folks all over the place.

Good luck Omega and n00bs!

Nohangovers4me

Hey guys! Today is day 13 for me. As you can see I have been a member for a long time but I went back to my old ways.
I would never drink before 5 p.m. and usually not until 7-8p.m. then I would just watch t.v., take care of my kids, cook. I didn't drive or do stupid things......I just did it to relieve stress but I know it was ruining my health and making me FAT.
Something clicked this time for me....I am not thinking I can control it anymore, I just know I can't drink. I also realized I can do all the things I did when drinking and enjoy them. I need to reprogram myself.
I am excited!

Wine-not!

Hey Nomorehangovr: Welcome....your story sounds much like mine. i too realized finally that i can't just have one...i have a problem with that stop button that others...i.e my friends and husband do not. i too am a mom, and i am alone with my kids right now (husband is deployed). The drink became my nightly companion as a destressor and social tool too,...as i would smoke and drink with my neighbors at least every other nite on my porch....the only difference was....they stopped after a couple, and i just kept going. i have had many blackouts this year, and i had never had this experience before. it has been very scary....i don't like not knowing what happened, and in addition to that i am solely responsible for my 2 kids, and would be distraught and beyond psychological help if something were to happen to them while i was sloppy drunk! it was time, and i am truly disgusted at the mere thought of going back! i am also filled with anxiety about falling off the wagon, but i am trying to live it minute by minute, and day by day. Here's to us succeeding!! It's good to have you here! Sorry to have rambled on so much...it's good to find someone in a similar situation!

Omega Man

Welcome! Your now officially the senior member of this thread. Your going to make 14 days on Christmas, how perfect! What a gift you are giving to yourself and your family. 2 weeks is a big step, great job!

We'll miss you after tomorrow.

lambda

Hi - I guess you could call me the junior member here. I'm on day one - hour 14 to be exact and I haven't had my first craving yet since it's only 10am. Still by lunchtime, I know I'll be hurting. I have two young kids and my husband is working today so I could use all the support you can throw at me to get me through to day 14. It's insane that I'm an alcoholic stay at home mom. I'm so determined to stay clean and sober.
All your posts have been so inspirational to me already this morning. Thank you all

Omega Man

Wine-Not, Nomorehangovers, lambda and all those with kids - confession time for me.

I'm a lucky guy, I have a nice house, great job, loving wife and son. I've never been in trouble with the law, so why did I pick now to stop drinking? I mean, I'm very far from what my bottom could have been.

Here's why, last Monday morning, the 17th, I was hungover, very hungover. Wife had an early morning meeting, so it was up to me to get my son ready for school. As I was throwing up in the kitchen sink, for the 4th time, while trying to pack his lunch for school, my son sat on couch watching cartoons and then came and asked me if I was OK.

The answer to that question was an obvious no, but I just said, "Yeah - daddys ok." Once he was on the bus, I just sat and thought how freakin' pathetic my life had become and that was it - my bottom, my moment of clarity.

So, that's it. My last drink was the 16th and I'll never touch another. I feel so lucky that that was my bottom; it could have been so much worse.