SASA

Well today is day 28 for me and I am suddenly have all the cravings, my mind tries to convince me to go nd grab a glass of wine and I hear the isper just one, you are doing good, one will not hurt. Is this normal? Or is this one of the PAWS moments I read about in the forum. It is hard to resist, it is completly surprising and I cannot find any triggr, I was at work, I had a good day, usual as the ohers, no stress, everyhting seemed fine until I left and my mind started to tell me to go and pick up the bottle. 3h after this I am still thinking about it and craving. It is not one of the normal 7 minute cravings it is more like an evening craving, anybody had these after 4 weeks? Any advice or eperience shared would be appreciated.

least

Normal? Yep. I used to struggle thru such cravings. I think it was force of longstanding habit. I stayed strong and would remind myself of how badly I wanted to stay sober and how awful I felt last time I drank. I didn't give in and the cravings (at seven months now) hardly ever bother me. Give it time. Keep yourself busy with something other than your usual routine, if you can. If you're into AA that would be a good time to go to a meeting. Or even if you're not into AA it might be a good thing to check out some meetings to change your routine and also be around lots of happily sober people. Give it a try.

Supercrew

I hear you SASA, I'm on a vacation right now, dropped my son off at grandmas, had some stuff to do back at my house, and a little voice said, you are home alone for the afternoon, whats a couple of beers going to hurt? I had to revert back to 18 days ago and remember how bad I felt....and thankfully it worked. It's kind of weird that I am getting peer pressure from my brain. But this too shall pass!

Murray4x5

Weird. Thanks for the heads up!!!!!!

Murray

artsoul

Hi SASA - I felt really funky around 30 days. It's really uncomfortable to have to wait out those feelings, I know. I had the same thing happen just this past week and felt like it would never end. It lasted a couple days and all I could do was come on this forum and read like crazy to remind myself of the positives of sobriety and the negative of drinking. I'm SO glad I hung in there, though, and you will be too.

When I'm in that frame of mind, nothing sounds good except a drink. But remember, it's just the IDEA of the drink and what it will do for us. The REALITY is far different, at least for me. I know what kind of day I'd have the next day after getting that very small amount of relief, and it's not worth it. Not to mention that it would make it easier to pick it up the next day and the next..... yikes.

Sending positive thoughts your way.

CarolD

For info about PAWS....please check out

Post Acute Withdrawl - Relapse Prevention Specialists - TLC The Living Center

Sorry...I don't recall if it discusses mental obcessions or not.
It's difficult to be in early sobriety....anyway you cut it.

TimeDrain

At about day 40 myself and the last few days have been rough. Been having thoughts of drinking several times and very down lately. I know that drinking is not what I want . Hang in there.

Impurrfect

(((SASA))) - another thing I found out is that we tend to have increased cravings or "using thoughts" around the times of important sobriety anniversaries...30 days, 60 days, 6 months, etc.

I was clued into this, early on (thanks to reading here) and any time I have an "anniversary", I start preparing myself early on..telling myself that I don't have to ACT on the idea if I get it. The best thing that helped me, early on, was to distract myself...do something that made my mind think of something ELSE besides using.

Congratulations on your 28 days!!!

Hugs and prayers!

Amy

Dee74

There may be some food for thought in this too SASA

Post-Acute Withdrawal Syndrome (PAWS) — Why we don’t get better immediately) Digital Dharma

D

keithj

My question is, has anyone ever been clinically or otherwise diagnosed with PAWS? Anyone ever been treated specifically (following Gorski's protocol) for PAWS?

The idea gets thrown around a lot on this site. To me, PAWS symptoms sound exactly like untreated alcoholism. Take the drink away and do little else, and soon most real alcoholics are going to get feeling pretty uncomfortable, anxious, and thirsty.

I think we sometimes do a dis-service by suggesting that a newly sober person is suffering from PAWS. In suggesting that, we also suggest that it will just pass in time. That we will start feeling better simply by waiting. That is not Gorski's recommendation, nor does it jive with my experience.

Yes, I have felt better after periods of sobriety, but it was always short-lived. Came a day when a drink made sense, and all of the 'relapse prevention' tools were no use to me.

To suggest that the cure for alcoholism is just wait and you will feel better is a lie for most people. It's proven over and over by people who get sober, get their lives back together, things going great, feel better, look better, and start drinking again.

A more fundamental change in our reaction to life is required for most people. And waiting for the PAWS symptoms to subside rarely accomplishes this.

Dinamic

I haven't had these after four weeks, cause I haven't made it there. BUT I have had that argument with myself in my head. You sit there and literally say YES - NO - YES - NO.. This went on for HOURS, I mean HOURS. Just a casual coversation of YES - NO...You convince yourself it's okay, and your pretty convincing, and then you fight yourself, saying NO it's not okay. Maybe this doesn't make sense to you, but it's what I've been through. I gave in, but I would've given anything to take it all back. If the NO in you can win this battle, you'll always feel awesome in the morning, as opposed to feeling down and out.

Good luck and congrats on the 4 weeks!!!

luckedog

Dee, Great article. Lots of good info-Thanks

Dee74

I was a PAWs doubter too...but my symptoms were real - and not the result of 'untreated alcoholism'.

Have you read the article Keith?

The tips in dealing with PAWs are damn good advice IMO. I offer them in that spirit.

We're not Drs - it's not our job to diagnose people one way or the other.

I offer the information I have as one possibility - either it helps...or I hope people will continue looking for another solution.

I wouldn't post the article as much as I do, if it was not directly borne out by my experience.

D

keithj

It wasn't a dig at you, Dee. And yes I've read that article and many others about PAWS.

Dee74

I realise it wasn't a dig at me Keith. I would have PMed otherwise

I do appreciate your point that many of us will soon feel pretty uncomfortable, anxious, and thirsty if all we're doing is abstinence.

But my experience - when I was doing much more than simply not drinking -
leaves me quite comfortable with posting the PAWs stuff as a possibility for some

D

keithj

Oh, I don't doubt that all those symptoms aren't real. I just think the idea of 'wait around and it will get better' is harmful. Oh it's just PAWS, it's normal, it will pass. If this discomfort I'm feeling will just get better on it's own, why would I do anything other than grit my teeth and hope I don't drink? The success of that plan is disproved on a daily basis right here on this forum.

Both Dee and I know well that for most alkies, sitting around waiting for the symptoms to pass will lead right back to a drink. Fundamental change from the inside out seems to work wonders for most of us.

Dee74

Nowhere in that article does it say 'Oh it's just PAWS, it's normal, it will pass...this discomfort I'm feeling will just get better on it's own'.

I post the article because it's mostly about what we can do ourselves - what action/s we can take. If you didn't pick that up you need to read it again.

OK, I think we could go all day Keith LOL...but I don't think either of us can disagree with action is the key....can we?

We now return you to your regularly scheduled thread...

D

Lithobid

SASA, I think what you are feeling is completely normal, I'm having a terrible craving right now, my brain is telling me that there is no need for me to continue with this AA program, and that I am fine and normal, and should go and buy a bottle of wine and enjoy it like any other normal adult human being would. HA!

I think your doing just fine SASA we have a disease of the mind, and that is what is so cunning baffling and powerful about the obsession we have. What I love, and am in the game for is what posters such as Least has shared that after a few months, this passes, and we are able to move on. Just hang in there, this is the hard, and tough part. I'm right along with you.

-Lith

luckedog

Keith-Dee, I think you guys are going to the same destination--just on different roads. Good stuff from both!

The article Carol sites is good too. Any info I can get to keep me on the right track every day helps. Thanks