onthebrink

I think I need one. Mine will say Uber sober goddess. lol

Johnston

I had 19 years and asked myself the same question. Picked up a beer one night and didn't grow horns. So I figure the BB was wrong in my case. Embarked upon a moderation management program that worked for about a year but then the drinking got slowly out of hand to the point that I was regretting my decision.

One thing that sticks out most in the whole debacle was how hard it was to get sober the second time round. Almost 2 years abs now and I'm mildly horrified that I chose to experiment. Good luck.

Andycapp

Why bother after 26 years, Me gone 9 years and remember the trouble it got me in like it was yesterday.

dizzychainsaw

According to the Big Book, no real alcoholic ever regains control. If someone returns to drinking even after a long period of sobriety, they go back right where they left off or worse. My own experience has proven to me that this is true. Congratulations on your many years of sobriety

DoubleDragons

I think what I have seen repeated on this forum again and again, too, is that none us who had long periods of moderation (I did over this past summer) really enjoyed moderation. It was miserably hard to stay vigilant, it made alcohol a focus because I had to think about it all of the time, constantly monitoring it. I had quit drinking on the weekdays and limited myself to three glasses of wine or less on any weekend day, and although I did achieve that for the most part, my weeks became like "get through" time, a major Countdown to the Weekend, for one reason only, to get to my precious wine. Interestingly, when I quit drinking completely on 9/29, I still went through a fair amount of physical and mental withdrawal symptoms for a good three weeks, even with as little as I had drunk all summer. My conclusion is that really alcohol is a poisonous drug and no one should be imbibing it. Our bodies aren't meant to endure it. Be smug and happy about your sobriety and stay strong! Be an excellent example to your friends, family and society in general, of a life well-lived!!

Tamerua

In my home group, we have a gentleman who was sober 25 years and wondered the same thing. At first he drank normally but within months he was doing medical detox.

Clarajune

The problem with moderate drinking is, we don't get the buzz most of us enjoy. I don't like the taste of alcohol but love the buzz and that is what I would strive for.

LadyBlue0527

SirSean,

I hope you stay and hang around because this is a great place and I think that right now you could definitely use it.

Thank you for posting what you did. It showed me that there will never come a day that I can step back and stop being vigilant about being honest with myself. You also just gave me a tool for life. I am going to make sure that I keep a copy of the reasons that I made the decision to quit and how I feel about the person that I was in the end and it will be on me at all times.

In 5 or 10 years, or whenever I need it I'll pull it out.

At the bottom the words

"Hey you, no matter what you are considering and how insignificant this list might appear at the present moment, right now you're consulting it which means you are attempting to lie to yourself."

Db1105

Wondering if you can drink again after 26 years doesn't sound like much of a celebration of 26 years of sobriety. I was taught that I was given a daily reprieve from my alcoholism based on my spiritual condition. Drinking alcohol is just one of the symptoms. No matter how long I'm sober, I still have to work on the other symptoms so I don't drink.

Joe Nerv

I'm sober 29 years, and I'd be lying if I said I never contemplated whether or not I could drink safely again. I had 0 tools for life when I started drinking. Alcohol caused anxiety, panic, and severe depression... and I couldn't stop drinking for a single day when I was active, yet the thought has popped into my head, maybe now that I've grown up and learned so much????

I think that's normal. And the bottom line with that question is what I do with it. Do I let it consume me? Do I let it take me to the point that it actually takes me out there? For me, it always comes down to this. If I had a drink tonight, I'm nearly certain I could do it, put it down, and not touch it again for a week, a month, whatever I chose. I believe that 99.9%. What I believe 100% is that if I did that, I WOULD eventually do it again. If I were able to do it without reprucusssion 2 times, I know I'd then say I might as well see what it's like to be drunk again. And I'd get drunk. And if there were no repurcussions with that, I'd start the cycle all over... of that I'm certain. There's no way around it. I never understood social drinking, still don't, still don't have any desire to be a part of any of that.

My life without alcohol is awesome. On the incredibly slim chance that I can drink like a normal person, I'm just not willing to take the gamble. Experience of all those around me who failed helps a lot too. Especially the experience of the friend I mentioned in my previous post.

83mama0f2

This is good to know. Doesn't matter how many days have passed, or weeks or months or years, once an addict always an addict. 26 years, wow! That's amazing. I hope I can stay strong enough to say no for good. My life has already made such amazing improvements in the past month and a half, going back to alcohol seems stupid at this point. Good to know that no matter how much time has passed, alcohol is never something I will be able to moderate.

dizzychainsaw

It has been really hard to maintain my sobriety after losing my 14 months last November. I have been struggling for a year now! It's easier to just stay sober in my opinion!

ChloeB

STAY SOBER!!! Get to a meeting fast! Good luck prayers for you!!

JadeSatellite

In my opinion, when something has such a hold over you that you constantly think about doing it, but worry about the consequences, that means you shouldn't indulge. I'm sure there are folks out there who had a problem, and are now able to have a drink or two. Maybe you're one of those people who, after so many years sober, can control your drinking. It is really dependent on who you are, and how you view alcohol. For instance, I quit smoking and use an electronic cigarette. I think about buying a pack here and there, but I don't because it does nothing for me but feed a habit. It's the same with alcohol - I want it and desire it, but I know that it will do nothing for me. Again, I respect people who drink casually and can control it - I'm not one of them at the moment, but maybe one day I can. In all seriousness: alcohol just makes me feel tired, depressed, and hungover. I don't like feeling that way. I like being sober and clear.

miamifella

The fact that alcohol matters enough to you that you would ask this question--well it just shows that you cannot drink normally.

Normal drinkers do not anticipate drinking in this way any more than you anticipate pears or burritos.

Freebird13

The first time I quit drinking, I stopped for over 2 years. But then I started again because I figured "Hey, I only drank on weekends. I'm really not an alcoholic. I can handle it." Well I ended up getting drunk daily for many, many years before I stopped again--this time for good.

Alcoholism is a progressive disease--plain and simple.