31 No more night sweats

32 no more fantasies about dying

Having time and motivation to do normal everyday things such as take a shower everyday, clean the house, keep pets and litter clean. (BASIC living skills). Also, having time to be productive such as going back to school.

42. Compulsion to palpate own liver daily to check for tenderness or swelling- gone! lol

43. Spending the morning in town with my 8 year old son and enjoying it cos i don't have a hangover or am waiting till I 'can' drink again today!!

Lotsa carrots...here's a stick :)
 

This doesn't seem to be mentioned much.

My addiction developed over the years...err...decade(s). A few years back I bought one of those wrist-wrap blood pressure gadgets and began to regularly check my BP.

The results were quite alarming to say the least. My BP was consistently in the range of 140-165/95-110. Of course in my (somewhat disabled) wisdom I went to the doctor and got a prescription for BP medicine, ignoring the obvious.

Years went by with minimal results while other effects of alcohol poisoning began to peek out of their hiding places. I would notice that when I would wean back a bit the symptoms would subside some but I'm not a good...err weaner. The doctors always said the same thing..."just stop drinking".

So, finally I stopped (17 days now). Been checking daily BP and results are empirically dramatic. BP has now pegged in the range 117-120/76-81 (normal) without any medication.

Point is ( and I always knew this really): you can fool your mind ad nauseum (literally even) but you can't fool your body, it knows how much you're drinking. :stop

That's a good post Skyburst, I too monitor my blood pressure (courtesies of Wal Mart, so I'm not sure how reliable it is) but I do notice that when I go without drinking my BP lowers dramatically. But if I relapse it shoots right back up there to the "pre-hyptertensive" range. Just another very good reason to quit for good.

44. Not to worry about what son says in school to teacher or whomever about home life.

Just a side note. I take my gadget to the doctor with me when I go to make sure it's reasonably accurate, which it is.

45. IBS symptoms decreased
46. Capable of actually focusing on my business plans

No more laziness and apathy.

I'm still looking forward to those but it's early yet! :)

Aman to that one!

I'm only on day one but My list would have to include everything everyone else said plus, not feeling ashamed and embarassed all the time, not worrying about who I fell down in front of, not sweating profusely all the time and regaining a sense of pride in myself. Thanks to all for giving me a list of things to think about. All those things certainly are more beneficial than drinking, even though I might not think so all the time.

Reduced risk of breaking out in severe case of assholes and jail cells.

Finally feeling like I'm on equal footing when I socialize with sober people, (sharing the same reality so to speak.....)

Having REAL self-confidence (and not faking it because I actually feel worthless...)

Eating and enjoying food again, (not going entire days without eating and dry heaving at the sight of food....)

...the list is long!

53. Being able to keep my word. (And even wanting to.)

no feelings of guilt or shame when i wake up in the morning.

54. Love unconditionally