ready to quit but scared
 

Hi I am new to this fourm. I have never drank up until 6 months ago. when i was having trouble sleeping so I would have a glass of wine before bed to clam me and go to sleep, however I suffer from anxiety all my life so this sudden sleeplness worried me and because I dont like taking pills the one drink slowly evolved, now I drink about 3/4 to a bottle of red wine a night before bed. and the last 2 or 3 days for about half the day I feel twitchy (dont know if thats a word or not) and very anxious jittery and hard to concentrate. I was going to try to just quit but was scared of the withdrawl symptoms I've been reading about. so tonight I start my cutting down and hope to cut back all the way to nothing. could use some advice ?

Hi AMDDE
Welcome to SR :)

It's always best to consult with your doctor before starting any kind of withdrawal - even tapering.

They should also be able to advise you on the anxiety and the jitters.

Personally tapering never worked for me - I never got the hang of the 'back to nothing' bit LOL

See what your doctor says.
I wish you well :)

Hope you post some more.
D

Dee has already given what I would have said so... welcome to SR from another west coaster. Keep posting & sharing with us :c009:

Welcome AMDDE!

I was too embarrassed to talk to my doctor about my drinking problem for years and looking back it would have been so much easier if I had just asked for help.

Please keep in touch and let us know how you are doing.

As you are already dealing with anxiety problems
I too suggest a medical assestment is wise.

Good to know you are exploring a way to return to sobriety
:yup:
Welcome to SR!

Hi Thankyou for all the kind comments.
yesterday I made the decsion to curtail my drinking problem which started from not being able to sleep.I intend on slowly cutting back to an acceptable level and then quit. last night was day 1. I drank a bottle of red wine last night and I added water to the glass to make it seem like I drank more and it also would take longer to finish. I marked the bottle with tape to track how much I drank and today I will drink a fraction less and less slowly. I only got 5hrs of sleep and probaly poor alchol induced sleep I have a bad headache but still feel better than yesterday. I have also started to excersise, and meditation for the poor sleep part.

anyone have any tips on cutting back that worked for them.

Hi and Welcome,

I'm glad you recognized that you have a problem and need to stop drinking.

Tapering didn't work for me either, I couldn't manage it. And, like you are now, I was obsessing about alcohol - how much, when, what kind, etc. My mind was consumed with thinking about drinking. Stopping was a relief.

Talking to your dr is very important, and as Carol suggested, you will likely need to deal with the underlying anxiety.

Hello and welcome to the SR community.

Best advice i can give is to keep coming back.

I tried too many times to 'cut down' gradually but couldn't do it. I ended up drinking too much. Best way for me was to stop altogether. Please do talk with your doctor about quitting drinking. Best to detox safely.

:ghug3

party line
 

Only you can say if you are an alcoholic or not and controlled drinking is a great way to figure that out personally. If you can my baseball hat goes off to you. However, I am a wino and drank to get drunk daily.

Hey there. I have suffered from panic attacks and anxiety all my life. It can be crippling and alcohol does seem like a great relief for it. I used it a lot for the stress in my life until it became a full on disease with consequences that brought me to a real low in my life.

I agree and concur on your going to your doctor and talking to him/her. The anxiety can be worked on. I would hate to see alcohol become a crutch where you become completely dependent/addicted to it.

Tons of hugs!!! Welcome to SR. :ghug3

Welcome to SR :) Look forward to seeing you around here.

Kevin

is she supposed to drink herself sick every night till she sees a dr?


Why is it ok to start bad things on your own but not good things ie exercise, stop smoking etc

Well... I would strongly suggest that everyone should see a Doctor before they start alcoholic drinking too. But I'm afraid that ship has sailed for those of us on this site... ;)

I don't follow what you could be responding to. Which post inspired this response?

A bunch that I see on here. It good advice to see a dr to stop. But has anyone ever talked to a dr before starting a smoking or drinkig routine? I'd love to hear if they did.

.... I must admit I can't grasp what point you might be making here. I agree that it is good advice to speak with a doctor before you start a strong detoxifying process - that's a given. The other two things you've pointed out, drinking herself sick, and the nonsensical "talking to a doctor before starting a smoking or drinking routine", seem out of left-field and don't really add support to, or argue against seeking out a doctor for advice. What connection am I missing here?