Leemzer

Hey all, Today is day #11 for me, and I am proud. This is a holiday weekend for me, and last night would have been a typical night for me to get hammered and probably binge this whole weekend since I have Friday-Monday off from work....but I chose differently, made a healthy meal, watched some television, and got a good nights' sleep.....but.....I woke up sick.

Now I have tried this enough times to know there is something up. Has anyone else noticed when they get sober that they might get a really bad cold or something right afterward? This has seemed to happen to me since I was a kid and I am now in my 40s. I don't know if it is the result of having burned the candle at both ends for so long, and then when I take a break my body is healing or something, but it seems to happen every time. I am not angry about it, I rather find it fascinating. I quit all the bad stuff, then I end up with a major cold or something else.....could it be that my body is in repair and my immune system is down? Every time I have noticed this I always make sure to eat very well, exercise, and get plenty of rest, which I have done for the past 11 days....I have almost pampered myself. Then I get sick.

Am I alone in this? It has happened enough that it no longer seems coincidental...

stillsleeping

Yes! Didn't know it was a common thing, but I got a bugger of a cold that lasted 10 days, started about day 8 I think. Bummer. Meant that I felt fricken amazing when the flu and the detox cleared up...

Massive congrats on 11 days

vinyl

I'm pretty sure it's quite normal, and yes, I get it too and am still having effects 15 days later from going dry. I'm pretty sure your body is just going through some heavy changes and isn't used to being clean, therefore it's freaking out I get a runny nose like crazy btw and fatigue. At least that's been the last 15 days for me.

Leemzer

Thanks to you both! This time I just stopped scratching my head about it...It has now happened too many times in my life but wondered if it happened to other people too. Stillsleeping, I know what you mean about feeling better when it is gone, feeling amazing....I know when this cold is gone I will feel like a million bucks. Sleeping a lot but I think that is for all of the poor rest I have gotten over the past 16 months of not being sober after being sober for 10 months straight without a slip up.

I also am sick relatively often. I have wondered if all of the drinking compromises the immune system. Surely it must. I think in my 10 months of sobriety I was considerably more healthy on all levels. And so I press on. Monday will be two weeks, and that I can totally dig! It seems like so long already but it in a good way....I cannot believe it has only been 11 days. Like a weird time warp or something, but a good time warp. I can remember the last 11 days, LOL.

I have noticed being sober just the immense extra "free time" I seem to have....now I understand what it means when you read "Spends an excessive amount of time either procuring or engaging in the drug or behavior." My days seem longer now that they are fuzz-free and I seem to get so much done....I AM getting so much done. It is terrible to think of the amount of time wasted while drinking and recovering...I mean, how much of the time out of the day is wasted on that....? I am no longer 22 (not that age matters)...I need to make these changes NOW so I can fully enjoy my 40s...a clean and sober decade for ONCE in my life....I owe it to me.

seanie1888

Yeah that happened to me a few times also, hope u feel better soon

InsertNameHere

Weird I posted a thread about this as well entitled something like "sick I never get sick" But yeah somewhere inbetween week one and two I got a cold. It didn't last long but the fact that I even got one was weird. Like I said I never get sick. I guess it is pretty common you would think it would be the opposite.

sugarbear1

Congratulations on 11 days! Amazing you!!

Leemzer

Thanks, I really wonder if my "burning the candle at both ends" then going from 100 MPH to 0 MPH is the culprit...the body goes from super distress to eustress in a blink of an eye and maybe gets sick as some sort of defense mechanism while it repairs? And I agree with all of you who have said that it never seems to happen right away...it is a few days later...for me I started feeling like I was getting sick two days ago, on day 9. Glad I am not alone in this, and also glad I have a holiday weekend to vegetate and realize that I'd rather be "this kind of sick" than the other. I am sure, also, if I were to drink it would go away.......but no, I won't test that hypothesis. No way. I'm holding onto these 11 days with every fiber I've got!

Leemzer

Thanks sugar bear! =) Each day is easier and easier....but I will NOT become complacent this time. *Lesson learned from last trip up that ended up being a 16 month flip up*

sugarbear1

Your immune system IS changing. I used to, well, never mind. I'll deal with regular sickness today!

Remember, they used to use alcohol as the only anesthetic for ill patients and old time surgeries...alcohol certainly does kill germs, but it also kills other things, too. Stay stopped.

Stay strong!

Dee74

It's pretty common - I think we put ourselves through a lot as drinkers - when we stop our body and immune system are at a low.

Hope you feel better soon

D