tiffa

I have been sober this time just about a week, sometimes I go three months, sometimes six months, but each time I hurt a little bit more, this time it was very painful, now I am feeling better, but I often wonder, am I the only one that can drink two litres of wine in one day and yet go for another big bottle before the day is over, or better yet start the day with nice big breakfast and big bottle of wine at 8 am , and then there is the fact that you drive to different city to get your alcohol because you do not want to be seen in the same store so many times in a same day,I have 4 stores I rotate, and have been wishing for more stores to choose from. Only way I can stay sober any length of time is to engage in binge exercise, I set a goal in my mind, an event that I am going to do and train for that, but it gets exhausting, because I am always bingeing, whether it is alcohol, food, or exercise, and thats why I am here, to see how other people get sober and stay sober?

shakeel

I stayed sober through the help of a sponsor and AA program. But I kept relapsing. I had to get medical help for my panic attacks too. I also added AVRT( addictive voice recognition technique) you can find out more about it on line.
in other words I had to go to any lenght to get sober.

GotGrace

Hi Tiffa, and welcome! You are not the only one who drinks like that, you are not alone. You are not the only one who is scared and confused, either. And you have the ability to overcome this addiction, like many others here on SR (and not on SR).

LBrain

welcome Tiffa

airwick

Tiffa: I was a wine drinker. I relate quite well with hoping from store to store....not trying to get recognized at any particular one too many time. I would add Vodka to my wine so it seemed as if I wasn't drinking quite as much. I've been without for about 2 months now. I'm proud of myself, and you should be proud of what you have accomplished also.

I hope you continue on your track of being alcohol-free. I'll be right along side of you trying myself

airwick

Oh.....I stay sober for my son!

SoberLeigh

Welcome, tiffa. Wine was my poison, too; it IS possible to beat it.

Glad you found SR.

biminiblue

Welcome to the site, Tiffa.

Well you could live in my area. I went to nine different stores on a rotating basis - trying not to draw attention to my purchases.

Yeah, that worked really well for me. Oh, boy.

It is possible to stop. It helps me to take it one day at a time, plan my days in the mornings, pray, go to a meeting, read, come on SR, list my gratitude and review my day at the end.

I agree with "be willing to do whatever it takes." Congratulations on your new life.

Anna

Tiffa, welcome!

I think it's important to know that you will need to make changes in your life in order to stay sober. You can't just remove the alcohol. So, recovery is a journey.

Mentium

Hi and welcome. I used to buy a couple of boxes (three litres each) and a few bottles of wine. I would drink a bottle of wine to start with and then as that wasn't 'quite enough' I would have a few glasses from the box. Just to top up you understand. In fact I was actually drinking two bottles of wine at a sitting..every single night.

Ruby2

I drank two bottles of wine a night, every night, more on weekends. Started drinking in the morning on weekends. Rotating from one store to the next so that the clerks wouldn't think I was an alcoholic. I'm sure they figured that one out.

The first time I quit I did detox and inpatient rehab. I really needed medically supervised detox at that point. Stayed sober almost 11 months and relapsed for 3 months and then decided enough was enough and started going back to AA meetings and posting and reading on here for support. And calling people I know in the AA program if I am having a moment of weakness. Here I am back at 6 months. Make a plan. Stick to the plan. You can do it.

Hawk07

I feel your pain and frustration.. I was a chronic binge drinker and relapser every time I tried to quit. I'm on try # thousand something and only on day 8. I would rotate stores too. If I went to a grocery store I'd even buy something else, even if I didn't need it so it wouldn't look like I just came in for alcohol.

I have to try something drastically different now because what I was doing to quit was clearly insane (the same thing over and over expecting different results). Seeing a psychiatrist this thurs who specializes in addiction. He's going to formulate a plan for me (AA maybe?) who knows but it will be much different and I expect quite uncomfortable at first.

I also got a full blood work up this Monday, thinking the results are going to scare me silly but I need to know what I've been doing to my body.

anewpage

Welcome Tiffa

AlliH

I was a wine drinker too. I'm still in the beginning stages of recovery and hve not yet reached a week. I hope that we can support each other in this journey! We can do it!

UnixBer

Not a wine-drinker but can relate with the amounts. There was no magical trick for me. I just stopped and sticked to it. It was uncomfortable at first but it gets better and is so worth it.

Also relapsed and tried to quit for years. What really matters is you don't pick up that first drink and always stick to sobriety. Getting as much support as possible is also really valuable imo. And that's what SR is for I guess.

Good luck. I hope you make this your last quit. It is worth it.

FreeOwl

nope... you're not the only one. I did most of those things.... actually, pretty much all of them.

I am sober now because I finally got tired of it all. And I use AA as a part of my support - though haven't gone in a while. I use SR. I use exercise. I use reminders of the suffering that booze brought me. I use gratitude for the goodness I have in my life and for being sober to enjoy it. I struggle with the thought of drinking again sometimes. I've never made it a year sober since the time I started drinking. This time, I believe I will. This time, I believe I've fallen down into that ugly hole enough times. I don't want to go there again and I remind myself of that daily.

This place reminds me daily. I have a sponsor I can call and I do whenever I'm feeling a bit edgy or like I may be headed back toward a drink.

You don't have to pick up again, you don't have to fall further or wake up covered in sweat and vomit and regret. You don't have to run elaborate schemes or routines to juggle perceptions and hide an addiction... you can just be done with that.

It sounds like you're on the right track... just keep at it.

DoubleBarrel

Welcome to the site!

Thanks for your post. Quite frankly, it all sounds familiar and honestly exhausting.

But as others have mentioned, staying sober is going to require more than just stopping drinking.

Do you have any plan to move forward? This is a great site, one I relied on heavily for quite some time.

WanderingBear

I think it all comes down to good old fashioned will power. I was a binge drinker, too. I drank on weekends, but to excess. I would sometimes drink as many as 24 beers in an evening while with friends. I remember one time we were cut off at a sports bar. I was perplexed, because we were well-behaved. I asked the manager why he cut us off. He told me that I had consumed over 200 ounces of beer, and that was enough. I wasn't even counting, I was just having what I thought was a good time. I finally made the decision to quit not only for my own health but for the health of my relationship at the time, too. I never drank again. It will be 13 years this year. If you want to, you can do it. I promise.

Hevyn

Welcome Tiffa.

I did all that stuff too - right down to the 4 different liquor stores. When it progressed to the point that I was never sober, I knew I was going to lose my life if I didn't stop. That's when I found SR. Not being alone anymore made all the difference. We're glad you're here.

Aiko

tiffa,

You are like me or white or Black no greys! No moderation...
I used to buy stupid stuff to buy a bottle... at the end I bought boxes to save trips...

To stay sober... some tips:

1. Support you can talk to
2. I do lists of things to do to be 24x7 busy
3. Avoid situations and places IMPORTANT.
4. Avoid other drinkers.
5. Be ready when they offer you! I got a migraine... escape planning!
6. Exercise helps tones, walking, swimming...
7. Nothing at home...Nothing!
8. Some meditate
9. Pick up new hobbies
10. Sudokus on the mobile helps..
11. Can read books on recovery (AVRT, AA, urge surfing, etc...)
12. Can go to meetings (aa or others...)
13. And SR helps tones... there are threads you can join or the chat or the forum
etc....
14. Can not remember any more lol

Reading and sharing here Priceless