Day 1...no drinking. What to expect?
 

I've been steadily drinking 5-7 beers daily...usually starting around noon, spacing them out until 9pm or so. Today, I drank the last beer in my fridge and have made it a priority NOT to buy anymore. If I can go a few days, I'll be impressed with myself.
I know this is going to be hard...it's only 2pm and I'm already dizzy, doing whatever I can to stop myself from driving to the liquor store.
How long should I expect this to get easier??

Welcome!

I'm glad you've decided to stop drinking. It's always a good idea to talk to your dr because detoxing from alcohol can be dangerous. Please take care of yourself.

wow....i finally found someone just like me on here :) my old routine was:

1) wake up with an upset stomach, go to work
2) get home from work at 4PM
3) drink 7 beers between 4 and 9
4) eat a horrible meal
5) pass out in bed, keeping others up with my snoring
6) back to 1

i'm on day 12 and still get a little bit dizzy at times. your body is out of whack because it is missing the carbs. i recommend eating well and maybe talking to your doctor about supplements. hard boiled eggs have been my best friend! but i honestly felt better physically after day 3 or so.

congrats on giving up the drinking! just take it a day at a time. all you have to worry about is making it the rest of today without drinking...tomorrow you can worry about tomorrow.

If you truly go through withdrawals - it an last up to a couple of days. I drank vodka daily, so my witdrawals were bad for about 3-4 days and I've had to detox at a hospital three times I felt so terrible. Just drink lots of liquids (pop/soda) and I've heard sugar helps, since sugar is in booze. But, if you've been drinking for a long time and are abrubtly stopping without weaning off...you may cosider going into detox...good luck! And it does get better

Have you spoke to a doctor wrldhealer? That would be good if not only just to put your mind at rest. I felt pretty rotten for a while, months really, but the sleepless nights and night sweats only lasted a week and a half. I don't think I ever had any serious withdrawal symptoms. It's best to get checked out though. Let us know how you're getting on x

hi and welcome wrdhealer :)

Another vote for the Dr - not everyone has problems but detox can be problematic and even dangerous for some of us.

Not trying to scare you, I do think it's best to be safe tho.

here's a thread of our members detox experiences:
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...at-we-did.html

D

I'm a stay at home mother...detox just isn't an option. My husband has to work, no one else to watch the kids.
2nd day now...it's 10am here and going okay so far.
Husband did bring home a 6 pack for himself last night...was difficult not to take one, but i was successful!

I agree with that. Beer is loaded with carbs, if your body is used to getting most of it's energy from carbs and you stop eating (or drinking carbs) you can go into withrawal called the low-carb flu. I went thru it when switching to a low-carb Paleo diet a year ago. The key is to eat some healthy carbs (or fat if you're going Paleo). When I went into low-carb flu I felt dizzy, tired, cranky and just felt like crap. Not the most healthy things but some potato chips helped when I needed it, just don't eat the whole bag. And drink plenty of water!

Best of luck wrdhealer. I am just starting day 1 too and my job really needs me. So no detox in my case either. Never got dts and I didnt sleep bad last night. Everyone is different in what they drank/how often. I think I can ride it out do you think you can?

No, i don't think I can...because it's 11:46am and I already caved. The good news, is that there's only the one beer in the house...so after this one, I have to be done. I can stop myself from going out and buying more, but I can't seem to stop myself from drinking one if it's in front of my face :(

Welcome wrldhealer -

I would have had a hard time, too, if alcohol was in my house the first days of sobriety. Have you talked to your husband about this? I had to change some things in the early days, like not being around alcohol, bars, people drinking, etc.. I think we have to do that for ourselves (and we're worth it!) in order to stay sober.

Keep reading/posting - we know how tough it is and it won't always be this hard!:ghug3

Only you know if your husband will be supportive, but if he will, I second the recommendation concerning talking with him. My wife drinks alcohol in moderation, so I've asked her to either not keep any in the house... or literally hide it where I can't find it if she does. I feel silly about the hiding thing, but suspect, like you, many of us would drink it if it was there during the early days, would do so in a weak moment. Everyone in your home benefits from your sobriety, so I hope your hubby is willing to help.

He only thinks I have a problem when he gets mad at me...he uses it as ammunition against me. When he isn't mad at me though, he doesn't think I have a problem...

I wont bore you with all the ugly details of my detox's. Other than it lasted usaully about 5 6 days. Of some ugly stuff.

Like its said see a doctor, go to the er. Being and doing it with a doctors care is just not only so much better , it can save your life. :)

If you're giving up drinking you're gonna be detoxing, no choice in that I'm afraid. You just need to make sure you're doing it safely is all. You don't have to go to rehab in order to do it though. Just have an honest chat with your doctor so he can check it is safe for you to do at home. If they have concerns they may recommend meds to help you through the process...

Maybe you could just ask your husband not to drink at home for a few weeks or something? You could sell it as a pre Xmas detox or something, that way you don't need to convince him of your problem, just to get him to quit long enough to help you through the first days weeks.

Also if he is at home in the evenings could you maybe use that time to go out to an AA meeting or something? Figure out when your danger times are and make sure you're busy.

Good luck, you can do this! :) x