ericshan07

Hi everybody, I'm new to this. Everybody probably says the same thing. LOL! Seriously though..........I am an alcoholic. It might sound crazy, but I have drank tonight. I and my wife have been weening ourselves off for several days to lessen the detox. Well in our minds tonight this is it. We're done. As for myself I'm in my 40's and had been a social drinker off and on for about 10 years. When my mother died in 2004 I found whiskey. Then it wasn't social anymore. I found my poison. Now 6 1/2 years later I'm realizing it's killing me and my relationship with my wife whom I love very much. I and my wife are serious about quitting. But I know it's not going to be easy. Any help would be appreciated.............Eric

CarolD

Welcome....glad you are giving yourself a chance for living sober.
It's a great way to be healthy and happy....

Ghostly

Good luck Eric. Everyone that quit had to start somewhere. You can do this, it is up to you. Stick around and keep us posted.

Kmber2010

Welcome to SR! You have tons of support here so much useful info and experience.

Sobriety is achievable and it is amazing. Take it easy and remember baby steps.

Looking forward to sharing the journey with you.

fighttowin

The story sounds the same as my house, but my husband does not want to quit. I have not had a drink for almost 3 weeks and feel so good. Husband has slowed down, because I am not drinking with him plus he farms and it is busy season. I always felt we encouraged each other to drink you no the saying JUST ONE MORE then bed. Working on it togather is great I wish u both the best. SR is a great sight and have a lot of supportive wounderful people here. Keep posting and reading

artsoul

Welcome to the forum! I drank socially for years until I crossed that invisible line between the sane and insane type of drinking. I really didn't even know how much I was controlled by alcohol until I attempted to stop. After lots of failed tries, I found SR and got lots of support.

Glad you're here - things really are much more enjoyable sober, once you get past the initial detox. Don't be surprised if things seem strange at first - it really does get better.:ghug3

Anna

Welcome!

I'm glad you are reaching out for support.

LexieCat

Welcome,

It will make it easier if you are both in recovery. Have you got a plan?

I suggest you go to an AA meeting--it's a wonderful way of life. Might make it a little easier to walk in together--that walking into the first meeting is the hardest part for a lot of us.

ericshan07

We haven't gone to AA yet. But it is an option. We have discussed it. We're gonna take it one day at a time. All I know for sure is we definately have it in our minds that we are done. You don't realize how much control it has over you until you hit rock bottom and have to figure out how you're going to feed your family or even put gas in the car. Thank you for your post..............Eric

3RIVERS

Glad you found this site, there are a lot of good people here. Sobriety is a new chapter in my life as well. I won't say it has been easy, but worth every bit of the effort.

ericshan07

Made it through day one. YAY! It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Although I've heard it could be bad right away or days or weeks later. But for now I feel good. No hangover.

SoberforME

Eric- My Mom died in 2005. I hear ya. I have always had a drinking problem, but it went dark once my Mom died. I was sober 8 months and relapsed for 2 months. Now I'm through day one, and I feel wonderful!

Let's do this together. And welcome!!

ericshan07

I hear ya. We can do this.

least

Welcome to a great recovery site. If either of you has any 'problems' getting thru the initial detox, please get medical help. Alcohol withdrawal can be dangerous.

I'm glad you've both decided to live a sober life. It takes work and some sacrifices but is so worth the effort.

Toronto68

Bereavement issues (and all the surrounding ones before and after death) were a big part of my life in the early days of my drinking. They weren't the only source of adversity for me either. The anniversary of one of the deaths just passed by recently, and this is the first time I haven't been drinking.

The early pleasure of the buzz in my 20s turned into an illusion of strength and courage and a miscalculation about being a better person through it. Then the difficulty in enjoying the inebriation sessions became more and more frequent in my later 30s, and it just felt like I was giving myself a beating once the 40s rolled in. I had been an everyday alcoholic for 13 years (and an alcoholic overall for possibly 20) on something I once called "only beer."

A little more than a month from now, it'll be a year of no drinking. I've never been without this long since I became legal to drink. I like it this way, and it's how it needs to be too. More work to do inside, but I don't belabor the points I believe I need to focus on. In fact, it often feels like every day is its own solution.

ericshan07

So my wife and I made it through 3 full days. She had a bit of anxiety on day 3, but other than that we have done pretty good. Ah but today is number 4. She went to work feeling fine. As for myself, I stayed home. I felt like crap. Without going into details, it felt like I had the flu. I had all the symptoms minus the fever. I could be sick or I could be detoxing. I don't know. It's just unusual for me since I'm the one that almost never gets sick. And even more so never calls into work sick. I just tough it out. Is this normal? Anyone? P.S. I don't have shakes or tremors either. Still just odd for me................Eric

LaFemme

Hey Eric...I was never sick too! I had flu like symptoms the first week and then got a cold, an earache and a respiratory congestion one after the other....wait, isn't sobriety supposed to make us feel good? Seriously, it sounds like detox which is described as flu like. If you are concerned the doctor is the way to go. Its good that you are doing this with the wife so you aren't alone.

Congrats on day 4!

Draciack

Hi Eric

My first week, I felt completely foggy--dazed, confused, sleeping at odd hours, body aches, chills, night sweats, etc.

It took my body awhile to even itself out. But after it did...well, it's something amazing

One day at a time worked best for me early on.

ericshan07

Well day 4 was rough. But I got through it. Didn't crave at all yesterday. Now it'd day 5. I woke up feeling great. Work was very stressful today. Work always piles up when you're gone. Nobody will do it when I'm gone, but I'm expected to do their work when they are out. Oh well, boo hoo for me. Enough whining. Basically what I'm saying is the stress made me want to drink when I got home. I didn't though. I restrained myself along with the help of my wife. I love her for that. Cravings were only for an hour or two. It was only a few short days ago that I would have given in after 10 minutes. It feels really good to have the power to say NO!

ericshan07

Haven't posted in a few days. Been busy. Life is getting so much better so quickly. Family visited last night. They don't know I'm an alcoholic. So naturally the drinks came out after dinner. They offered to buy and I was able to say no I'm good today, thanks. I didn't even dwell on it or crave while seeing them have a couple. I can't speak for everybody, but for me and my wife it's been easier than expected. I hope it continues this way. Good luck to everybody else...........Eric