44 and scared
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: red lion, pa
Posts: 26
notmyrealname and lbrain thank you you're words meant a lot i do have to grow a set of nuts and just jump this is the first time i've reached out aside from sitting silently in a AA meeting.
Guest
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: The Deep South
Posts: 14,636
One way to deal with that dichotomy is to see the one side of your brain as the real you, or your higher/wiser self. And the other side that's screaming for the beer as the AV, the addictive voice, or... your addiction.
Member
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Ireland
Posts: 25,826
Welcome to the Forum NeedChange!! 
It all comes down to developing new habits, how was life as a kid without alcohol? was it a disaster or did it go alright? because going back to that time without alcohol can be done, we've been there before.
Small steps, small changes, one day at a time, keep it simple!! You can do this!!
It all comes down to developing new habits, how was life as a kid without alcohol? was it a disaster or did it go alright? because going back to that time without alcohol can be done, we've been there before.
Small steps, small changes, one day at a time, keep it simple!! You can do this!!
Member
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Georgia
Posts: 576
Needchange..I was doing the same thing , and around about the beginning of Nov , I got sicker than heck with a sinus infection among other things...I was running and working 16 - 20 hrs a day at work and home. With beer , I could keep that pace..But it finally caught up with me when I got so sick , I couldn't even think about a drink....But I kept trying to drink...On Nov 12th I had 4 beers working in the garage , I felt a shot of Ammonia like smell shoot up my neck and almost passed out....That's how hard I was pushing myself and trying to use beer to push it just a bit further...
That day , I knew it , the can had caught up with me,,,Starting Nov 13th , I became sober...Dizzy headed , sick as a dawg , tired as heck , could barely formulate a word or sentence,,,,I continued to work sober , but wasn't very productive at all....
Not long after I ended up in the ER dehydrated ,liver and kidneys not shot , but wore out....Few days later , I was in a Detox unit for a few hours and they gave me a prescription , then I saw my Primary care Dr. who gave me a plan and continued a prescription....
My point to all this , I pushed myself hard enough to be forced to quit and see a few different Dr's and Hospitals..
If you want to take a shortcut , talk to your physician first , before you are forced into being hauled off to the ER...
That day , I knew it , the can had caught up with me,,,Starting Nov 13th , I became sober...Dizzy headed , sick as a dawg , tired as heck , could barely formulate a word or sentence,,,,I continued to work sober , but wasn't very productive at all....
Not long after I ended up in the ER dehydrated ,liver and kidneys not shot , but wore out....Few days later , I was in a Detox unit for a few hours and they gave me a prescription , then I saw my Primary care Dr. who gave me a plan and continued a prescription....
My point to all this , I pushed myself hard enough to be forced to quit and see a few different Dr's and Hospitals..
If you want to take a shortcut , talk to your physician first , before you are forced into being hauled off to the ER...
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: red lion, pa
Posts: 26
morning all. thank you for all your words and thoughts. i'm gonna call my doctor today and see what she says. the hardest thing about all of this is not knowing a life without beer. also to go it alone without someone to lean on at home. I asked my girlfriend to please reconsider so she could help me through this and she said no.
Hears The Voice
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Unshackled
Posts: 7,901
Originally Posted by NEEDCHANGE38 
the hardest thing about all of this is not knowing a life without beer.
Fear of sobriety is a hallmark symptom of addiction. It's completely irrational, but very very real. I had it in spades. Then I got sober and now I can't remember why I waited so long.
Congratulations on your decision to pursue a sober life. You won't be sorry.
Better when never is never
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Wisconsin near Twin Cities
Posts: 1,745
I benefited from reading Alan Carr's The Easy Way to Quit Drinking as it clearly tore apart every argument that I enjoyed drinking or that there was any benefit in it. At your level of drinking, I would definitely have a frank talk with your doctor about quitting. The reality is, the human body can only take so much abuse before it gives out. From what I have seen and heard, this decline usually is rapid rather than gradual with many signposts.
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: red lion, pa
Posts: 26
I saw the rapid decline you speak of firsthand jazzfish. my dad and three uncles. all died young except for one uncle who went from a six figure career, family, picture perfect life to being divorced, no family, and living with his mother my grandmother
Member
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 8,637
Originally Posted by NEEDCHANGE38
hi all. quick history of me. been a heavy beer drinker for 30 years. 10-12 every weeknight and 30-40 on weekends. I have an excellent job in business management and never miss work because of hangovers. over the past month I have been thinking a lot about my addiction to beer, mostly because my girlfriend left me because of my drinking.
how am I supposed to accomplish this when it's all I've ever known ? I enjoy beer a lot but my sensible side is getting louder and louder saying it's no good for me and I need to stop. I just have no clue how to do it. I asked my girlfriend to come back and help me get sober but she said no.
how am I supposed to accomplish this when it's all I've ever known ? I enjoy beer a lot but my sensible side is getting louder and louder saying it's no good for me and I need to stop. I just have no clue how to do it. I asked my girlfriend to come back and help me get sober but she said no.
You can do it.
How? Well.... If you'd like to have all the details of one solution, check out AA and get yourself a copy of the Big Book.
Welcome
Member
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: northern michigan. not the U.P.
Posts: 15,281
Originally Posted by NEEDCHANGE38
morning all. thank you for all your words and thoughts. i'm gonna call my doctor today and see what she says. the hardest thing about all of this is not knowing a life without beer. also to go it alone without someone to lean on at home. I asked my girlfriend to please reconsider so she could help me through this and she said no.
But the fear of what my life.... actually I was only existing... With alcohol( a miserable death) kept me goin back to AA and putting in the footwork to change me.
Plus I read the big book, saw the Promises of what would happen if I followed a few simple suggestions and also saw the proof that life without alcohol was possible in the people at the meetings and it sure looked and sounded a helluva lot better than what I had.
And life has taken on new meaning just as promised.
Member
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: northern michigan. not the U.P.
Posts: 15,281
Here's a set of promises from the Bb that have happened:
And we have ceased fighting anything or anyone - even alcohol. For by this time sanity will have returned. We will seldom be interested in liquor. If tempted, we recoil from it as from a hot flame. We react sanely and normally, and we will find that this has happened automatically. We will see that our new attitude toward liquor has been given us without any thought or effort on our part. It just comes! That is the miracle of it. We are not fighting it, neither are we avoiding temptation. We feel as though we had been placed in a position of neutrality - safe and protected. We have not even sworn off. Instead, the problem has been removed. It does not exist for us. We are neither cocky nor are we afraid. That is our experience. That is how we react so long as we keep in fit spiritual condition.
And we have ceased fighting anything or anyone - even alcohol. For by this time sanity will have returned. We will seldom be interested in liquor. If tempted, we recoil from it as from a hot flame. We react sanely and normally, and we will find that this has happened automatically. We will see that our new attitude toward liquor has been given us without any thought or effort on our part. It just comes! That is the miracle of it. We are not fighting it, neither are we avoiding temptation. We feel as though we had been placed in a position of neutrality - safe and protected. We have not even sworn off. Instead, the problem has been removed. It does not exist for us. We are neither cocky nor are we afraid. That is our experience. That is how we react so long as we keep in fit spiritual condition.
Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 211,442
Originally Posted by NEEDCHANGE38
what do doctors do to help people quit drinking ?
Detox can be dangerous even deadly - thats why I recommend seeing a Dr....at least get your vitals checked
Some drs will prescribe meds for you to help with withdrawal, others won't.
Depends on your clinical history, your general condition and the Dr.
D
Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: UK
Posts: 1,130
You said: "the hardest thing about all of this is not knowing a life without beer. also to go it alone without someone to lean on at home."
You can lean on us a bit. Admittedly we're not all as cute and cuddly as your ex-girlfriend but we're here round the clock and we know what you're going through. We're not here to judge but we will nudge you towards medical help and probably 12 step meetings because we know these approaches have helped us.
You can lean on us a bit. Admittedly we're not all as cute and cuddly as your ex-girlfriend but we're here round the clock and we know what you're going through. We're not here to judge but we will nudge you towards medical help and probably 12 step meetings because we know these approaches have helped us.
Currently Active Users Viewing this Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
