betterlate

At 90 days without a drink I have been enjoying some physical improvements I wanted to share with others and you lurkers especially. I lurked on this board for some time before joining...positive stories helped me decide to quit myself.

-Improved vision. I thought my vision was just naturally blurry. About 3-4 weeks in I noticed I could focus much better, and deal with bright light more readily.

-Liver area in lower abdomen has lost the achey "rug-burn" feeling. That really had me worried and I'm very relieved.

-Far less need for antacids. I had to take 300 mg of ranitidine and several Tums a day to quell the acid stomach while drinking. Now I can go up to a week without worrying about antacids.

-Much less need to urinate. While drinking I had to urinate at least once an hour...around the clock. Really messed up my sleep patterns.

-Fewer muscular aches and pains. Less poison going around the system, I suppose.

-More stamina when biking. I don't get exhausted as easily when riding a bicycle up a mountain.

-Weight loss. I've lost a little weight...not much since I seem to have replaced some of the alcohol with sweets. I'm not too happy about the sweets, but other recovering alkies have told me that it's a typical phase in early sobriety, not to worry about it too much.

The first couple weeks were really pretty bad for me. Felt shaky and subdued much of the time...if you're in that part, keep going it gets better!

Anna

Thanks for the great, post!

I was shakey and subdued the first couple of weeks too, very tentative with everything in my life. But, it is so worth the effort you need to put in to get through the early days.

TexasNative

Cool, sounds like you're in a good place. I'm at 19 days and definately feel better than the first 14 or so but still struggle with keeping emotions level. I feel emotionally "raw" if that makes any sense. Congrats on your 3 months!!!!

topspin

Congrats on the 90 days Betterlate !

I've experienced many of the same improvements too.

I've lost quite a bit of body fat I was maintaining consuming all those empty carbs of liquid sugar water; ....wine, beer , booze, mixers. ugh ! I am a sort of sugar junkie anyway, so it's been more than 100 days completely sucrose free for me. What a relief not to have to carry around all that unnecessary wt. !! .... since I've got a really bad knee anyway.

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betterlate

Congrats on your 19 days!

Yeah, that's why I decided to stick to writing about the physical stuff for now, because the mental part is still a little messy. I go to a meeting led by a guy who told us that he spent his whole first year dealing mostly with physical stuff, and that mental improvements came later. As for me, I'm doing some therapy which has been helpful for the mind mess. Also the meetings are very good, being around others in the same boat helps a bunch. Being able to come to this board anytime has been a lifesaver on a number of occasions as well.

LaFemme

Congrats and thanks for sharing!!!

I am at 14 days and my body hurts a lot less then it did but isn't 100% yet...I think my face looks less bloated too which makes me happy.

Hearing about your physical benefits is a great motivator for me! I don't think mental recovery is possible when you feel like crap:-)

artsoul

Great list and observations! One very interesting thing that has happened since I've been sober (close to, but not quite 90 days) is that my joints seemed to ache less.

I fell off a stage set and broke my wrist several years ago and was living with a constant ache, wondering if it would ever get better. After about 2 months off the alcohol I noticed it wasn't hurting all the time anymore. Conincidence? I hardly think so!!

Stang

Now that ya mention it my tendonidas is gone.

Fandy

LaFemme you should pull up the Physical Vanity thread....there are a lot of motivating posts there....i will try to bump it, i think it was resurrected 1-2 weeks ago.

LaFemme

Ohhh, there is a physical vanity thread

least

Congrats on ninety days sober! I too love looking and feeling better. I can't believe I had the bad effects from drinking but kept drinking anyway... So glad that's the past and I've got today to make a difference. Yesterday's a memory, tomorrow is a promise, today is all we have. I'm glad I'm sober to enjoy it.

JennyMac

I'm at day 25 and I never realized how crappy I felt physically when I was drinking. Now that things are getting better, like my skin, sleep patterns, eating habits, lack of aches & pains.

I'm amazed at what I choose to do to myself for years and then let the damn alcohol call the shots for my life. I never want to go back to that again.

Great thread and thanks.

Snarf

Great job on the big 9-0, betterlate! Yeah, the physical improvements are a big plus. It's amazing how much better we can feel once we get that alcohol out of the system. Keep up the good work!

Kmber2010

Thanks for sharing BL. Ahhhh......the dreaded acid stomach. My stomach would burn and it felt like I had a hole in it. Also the burning in my throat from the puking....bluhhhh.

What I totally don't miss is have a bowel movement to the theme of Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire ------- ....and it burns burns burns.....the ring of fire.

Yeah I dreaded those moments or the burning bile I yacked up.

Ok let me stop.

Thx for sharing