Nightwolf

Finally a roomate gave me two sedatives. Helped some. Finally got a couple hours sleep. I was told obtaining more for the next few days, might be smart. Takes the hard edge off the ordeal.

30 year nightly drinker here. Yep 30! Stared with 6-packs, progressed to 12-packs of malt, I'm end the end of my rop now, with rum.

If God didn't invent diet Coke and ice, I don't think I could touch the stuff. Smells like poison.

Why start all those years ago? Family violence. Unable to sleep. Kinda made watching movies and listening to muisc more enjoyable, I'd love to sit on the back deck and to thunder & rain. Alcohol made me warm and fuzzy. It gave everythig color.

All the time I was in the gym, eating right, and taking all my supplements Even as late as two years ago, aI was a big, strong guy. Now I'm just a sick shell, of what I was. And very depressed. In all the years, there was never a DUI. Never a fight. Never affected a job of 20 years.

Sometimes I feel it's too late to stop. I'm old. Damage done. My only saving grace is woman who cares about me. If I want a home, I have to stop, or the door won't opened.

The choice should be easy, but now I know: in my mind, alcohol ca be my wife of 30 years. Kinda pathetic.

Most of my life, I have failed at everything---but drinking every night. Not much to be proud of.

I feel powerless...

All of you who have made even a week clean, I admire you. If you stumble keep trying. Most of you are young and still stong. Time to change . Tha's a great ally. Time...

lildawg

It's not too late to quit. And it is worth it, even if just for the clarity you'll get back. Like you, I've never accomplished anything in my life and have failed at most everything I've tried. I was and am a big ball of nothing.

The thing is, being sober gives me the chance to work on being more. If I had stayed drunk, I wouldn't have a snowball's chance in hell to be anything but a drunk. The fact is, you're just not going to get too much done when you're drunk.

I heard this interview once with Kris Kristoferson. In it, he said when he lived with Janis Joplin, he'd wake up every morning and tell himself he was leaving that day. Then, by noon, he'd be drunk again and the whole thing would start over. Though I never lived with Janis Joplin or Kris Kristofferson, I know exactly when he meant. Being drunk just takes the umph right out of you.

Be careful not to get addicted to the sedatives. You don't want to quit one thing just to pick up another. If you're going to do meds, you might see a doctor who specializes in substance abuse so you can do the meds safely.

Keep going with your quit. You're doing great.

Godspeed to you.

Fandy

good morning Wolf, and welcome to SR.

I had a lot of the same symptoms you described during the first few days, for me they did subside after a week or so, now a days I sleep well, soundly and naturally.

if you are still drinking diet coke, go for the caffiene free version.

congrats on your decision to quit and your reasons are sound....no one wants to be alone, no matter HOW old you are...(BTW, i'm 53 and was a nightly progressive drinker for many of the same reasons you talk about for 25 years)...6 months later i feel 10 years younger.

best of luck and keep posting!

LorazapamBlue

I agree, it should be easy, but it's not. That is the reality for me. The thinking that it should be easy is for people who are not addicted and don't understand. We are and so we have to let that one go. Like you I have every reason to stay sober and yet the thought of a drink still grabs at me and at moments actually sounds good even though it is slowly killing me.

It's not pathetic at all, it's life. Truth is from what I have seen and heard the odds are against us getting and staying sober. That's not pathetic that's scary and very real.

There are no more excuses or reasons to drink. The only reason anymore is because we are alcoholics and we need all the help we can get with this one no matter how strong we are.

I hope you keep posting here. No need to do this alone.

TexasNative

Welcome, this is a cool place to hang out. I had the sweats at night so bad in the first 4-5 days it was almost funny. I was drinking a lot of Pepsi during my detox and decided the caffeine was making the irritability a lot worse, switched to juice instead. Hang tough, best wishes.

jamdls

Hi Night, welcome to SR. It's never to late hun, I didn't quit drinking until I was 50 and I started at about 16. My dad quit drinking at 61 after being told 'quit or die', he'll be 88 in November and he's told me again again the past 27 yrs have the best of his life. Taking a roommates pills might not be wise, you'd be better off seeing a doctor on your own and perhaps he will prescribe something. You can win! alcohol need not control you.

TenNinetySix

I feel your pain. Had the works too; runny nose, shaking, teeth chattering, want-to-claw-my-skin-off agitation & restlessness, insomnia, nausea, unrelenting vomiting~~ it was a great time. Woohoo. I tried it at home & ended up unconscious on the floor, possibly had a seizure, I don't know because I was alone. You really need to contact a doctor & talk to him or her about detoxing like that because it can be incredibly dangerous, even fatal. I ended up doing mine for real in a rehab where it was still NO FUN but at least I knew I wouldn't come to on the floor with my dogs nosing me around trying to wake me again. Knew I'd survive it.

You CAN do this. I am 46, drank for 33 years, been drunk every day, every night since 1985 (excepting the 9 months I was pregnant when my body, thank God, rejected it). THAT IS 25 YEARS which astounds me. I looked hideous. I had always been an active, physically fit person, prided myself on my hiking & climbing & swimming skills, my strength, my endurance~~ I grew up in West Texas & have hiked all over Big Bend, considered myself a bona fide Pecos River Rat... & I had allowed myself to drink myself into a place where I could barely wobble precariously up my own back yard hill, would break into a cold sweat if I tried to lift a 20 lb bag of dog food. Sad. I'd gained weight & was bloated in the belly area & face but my arms & legs were wasting away not being used for anything but lifting 12 or 16 ounces & now... 4 months later.... I've dropped 40 lbs, & my daughter & I, now 20, are going to the River to wade & hike & swim. I'm getting my muscle tone back, everyone is constantly telling me how good I look & I feel F A N T A S T I C.

You have love in your life which is a beautiful thing & an excellent motivator, but you have to do this for you, not the woman. So do it. ( : You really can pull out of this. Honest.

This is a good place for encouragement, support, & strength that is really just people pointing out to you all the things you have inside you to make this happen. So stick around. Everyone's been there.