SueO

I have been drinking for 43 years, moderately. Half a bottle of wine at dinner, 2/3 beers another night etc., on and off over the years. Didn't even think that was unusual (I am from Europe after all). BTW I'm female, now aged 60.
In the last couple of years the drinking increased so my husband was uneasy about it for the first time, as was I. Then last October I had some blood work done and while liver was OK, cholesterol was high and I was told that could be due to alcohol. So decided if I wanted a long and happy retirement I needed to stop drinking. Went to AA and stopped. Didn't know it was possible to have fun socially without a drink in hand, but it is! Go figure. Didn't have withdrawal symptoms that I was aware of either.
However I did think that if I gave up my "buddy alcohol" I would lose weight, and feel more energetic. So far that hasn't happened, if anything I seem to be sleeping more.
If anyone has insight to offer I'd be grateful to hear from you.

IndaMiricale

First congrats on your time and retierment .

I myself was one of the people that gained weight after quitting, most I see here lost it. But thats fine with me, I take the couple pounds without the daily struggle to find that "relaxation" in drinking.

I am so happy to see you attended AA , I love it , and has become my social world. Those people totaly showed me that indeed it is more than possible to have fun without drinking.

As far as energy and all that other stuff, give it time. You said you been drinking for over 40 years, think about it . You cant expect your body to just do some magic and poof in month and a half be super women.

Take your time , keep being active it will come, and keep up those social meetings.

Right on Sue , stay on the beam.

purpleperson

Well, on the bright side, now that you're sober, you are probably able to start or increase a moderate exercise program (provided your Doc OKs it). Once you do that, your energy and fitness level should start to improve. At least they did for me. Also, when I was drinking, I wasn't eating normally - skipping meals in favor of drink, eating very little or eating at strange hours. If any of these are true for you, you might want to pick up a healthy cooking cookbook or meet with a dietician and get into a healthy diet routine. If all else fails, ask your Dr. Perhaps you need some vitamins, etc, and a Dr. is the perfect person to guide you. Congratulations on giving up drinking!

IndaMiricale

And Welcome to SR

blueshades

Stick with it, Sue. My first month has been up and down in terms of energy, but I know that it will turn around. Your body will likely need some time to adjust to a new lifestyle. Congrats, and welcome to SR!

Live2Run25

I agree. If you drank for 40 years, you aren't going to feel better in a month's time. Stick with it!! it does get better!!