postedonedge

Im 5 days sober and im grateful for that but its friday and ive been craving a drink since wednesday. among other things i quit smoking too, all in the same day. Ive been craving smoking more than drinking but i still feel the urge to drink. This is tough i just needed to words of advice on how to deal with these urges and what the hell to do instead. Sorry to sound like a bother but I could really use the help, id rather not drink wake up sober tomorrow and feel fine than to drink and feel the withdrawals and end up staying drunk for a couple weeks.

sampar

For me it was more important for me to stay sober , i had this conversation with my sponsor with regards to giving up smoking. She advised me that doing the 2 together was not a good idea that i should deal with my drinking first rather than fail at both, AA has been my life line.

suki44883

I could have sworn I already posted this, but whatever....

For what it's worth, the doctor at the medical detox facility I was at advised me not to attempt quitting smoking until I had at least 6 months of sobriety under my belt. I can certainly understand the rationale behind that.

GettingStronger2

Hi posted. . .welcome to SR. Congrats on 5 days! Urges are normal, especially if you have been drinking for a long time. They will pass. focus on how much you want to be sober.

A physical craving for me can be dealt with by drinking some fruit juice (I mix in some sparkling water) and even some chocolate (although I try not to eat too much!).

Mental cravings I deal with by finding other things to do and focusing on how much better I feel now that I am not drinking, along with how crappy I will feel if I give in and drink. playing the tape forward to the inevitable consequences helps me to not drink as well.

Supercrew

Congrats on your 5 days! I don't know your history, but I am a heavy nicotine addict as well, and I don't think quitting my drinking would have been as easy if I gave up my dip (snuff chewing tobacco), as well. It takes about 21 days to lose the physical effects of the nicotine addiction. I have quit that previously then ran into a stressful period of my life and reached for a cigarette, which led me to bumming cigs for a week before I gave in and bought a pack, but then I was smoking and coughing and I smelled like smoke, so I went back to dipping! Addiction is an evil cycle!!

Anyways, to get rid of the drinking urges I would stick close to this board, get out and get some exercise, walk, run, bike, lift, and maybe get to an AA meeting. The best way not to cave is going to be for you to stay active and to remember why you want to quit in the first place. If all else fails, I would give into to the nicotine and put off quitting that first and stay vigilant with quitting the drinking which is more mental. Hope that helps, and in reality we can all quit anything we want to. If you are strong enough to quit for 5 days, then you are strong enough to quit for 6!! Good luck!

Chavo

I start writing when things get bad. Make a list of good things in my life now that i'm sober, I make list of the bad things that went down when I was high/drunk, I make list of what exactly I'm feeling with the urge.

Good Luck
Chavo

Aurora80

Congratulations on 5 days!

Anna

Congratulations on 5 days sober!

You need to find what works for you. For me, I would do something like go for a walk, watch a movie I had been wanting to see, play with my pets, anything that would take my mind off drinking, even for just a few minutes.

You can do this!

LaFemme

Congrats on 5 days. I had to quit smokin and drinking at the same time since they were completely tied together, I could no do one without the other. But I don't recommend it!

postedonedge

well, i wouldnt smoke that often when i was sober, i would only smoke about 5-7 cigs a day, but when i would drink i would jump into maybe 2 packs a day. i smoked 4 or 5 cigs on sunday and havnt smoked since, same with drinking. had my last drink on sunday and havnt had a drink since. I dont see how that could be a health concern. I dont feel bad or anything, i just keep thinking about smoking >.> and like LaFemme said, drinking and smoking usually came hand in hand just alot heavier than normal. And I did make a promise to god that i would stop drinking and smoking so I kinda HAVE to not smoke and drink, not only as a promise, but for myself as well.

wpainterw

Those are great ideas. But if you watch a movie, try to avoid one where there's lots of drinking and drugging. Exercise is good because when you get tired the urge to drink tends to be less. Chocolate or something which is sweet helps. And stay away from places where there is a smell of booze. Put that old racehorse back in the barn and keep it off of the racetrack. (Or don't let that hound dog get a whiff of the pheasant. Distract him with a bone to chew on.)

yeahgr8

have a cig, eat some junk food and get some f2f help...

Dee74

Hi postedonedge

Are you using anyone else for support besides us? If not, it might be something to look into? We can never have enough support

D

bcboy

Good job on the 5 days Posted!

Your almost through the worst of it. I was the same as you and quit both the smoking and drinking at the same time because like you both went hand in hand.

The first few Friday afternoon cravings for the drink were HELL and I know what your going through.

I would be shaking like a leaf in the wind with the idea of that first drink on the Friday afternoon and was in major danger a few times. But I did not drink because I knew that I would be right back to square 1 and used this as my fuel to keep going.

Do something nice for yourself today. Find something to do that you have been wanting to do for a long time now and enjoy knowing that Saturday morning will be hangover free and you will get so much done over the weekend.

You deserve to be happy today because of the last 5 days

CarolD

Day 5 is a good beginning.....
Well done!

Have you considered hooking up with AA?
It's an awesome way to stay sober for many of us

LexieCat

I won't suggest that you smoke--it sounds like you mostly smoke when you drink, and the urges are probably intertwined, so when you crave a drink you crave a cigarette at the same time. You probably don't have any nicotine withdrawal going on at this point.

I do strongly suggest you at least consider going to an AA meeting. I found in early sobriety that the meetings helped to keep me pumped up and focused on my recovery, as well as giving me a network of sober people for support and having something to do every day when I was accustomed to drinking.

artsoul

The first couple weeks of sobriety I would order out from a favorite restaurant, prop myself up in bed with my laptop, reading SR until I convinced myself (again and again) that yep, I was definitely in the right place, doing the right thing (not picking up that drink). Exercise is great because it releases those "feel good" chemicals in your brain and it's hard to hold a beer in your hand while doing it(!). Also, I got a DVR so I could record lots of good TV shows and would always have something to watch, especially when I was tired after a long day and needed a break.

The cravings go away if we give them time. I have to admit I'm still smoking, but at least I'm not going to run off the road because of it. Quitting alcohol had to come first for me.

soberbythesea

artsoul, your described routine sounds a LOT like mine for the past couple of weeks (my first sober)... good food, SR and quiet time. It's working.

artsoul

sober by the sea - after I got up and made my bed, I'd put my stack of menus on it for later, haha. Sometimes it would take me all afternoon to decide what I was going to treat myself to that evening. And I forgot to mention the quiet time. I kept everything at a minimum. Rest and healing........ good to know it's working for you too!