Day 8 - now what?
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Join Date: Jun 2012
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Me Too
Originally Posted by ast1 
Don't quit now. You have to keep moving forward. I'm at day 3 and working hard to get to day 8.
I also find that sometimes I think a lot about/panic about… Oh my gosh what if I drink again?? And it sends panic through me because I know it is imperative that I stop I just know
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Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 74
day 14. wow. seems like i posted the day 8 thread yesterday. i don't know what happened the first week. just a blur. can't believe it's been 2 weeks. it's still an up and down challenge. i feel fantastic in the morning, by noon the urges come back. but they go away. been real tempted several times but just knowing 1 sip will ruin me somehow i fight through it. i can't have just one drink. if i take a sip, i'll drink til bedtime. then i'll lose this momentum, then i'll dread doing it all over again, and i know i won't do it for several more months til i build up the courage again. so i continue to just hang on, the urge will pass. and then it does.
on the positive side, i'm doing better at work. i'm exercising more frequently. my heart has stopped pounding out of my chest. the anxiety/nervousness my astronomical blood pressure was causing is totally gone. i can concentrate for an extended amount of time again. i don't get side tracked, i stay focused. the unintentional distance i kept with my parents is gone. my personal hobby projects at home have resumed. i can't wait to get off work and continue them each day. i'm not as exhausted and mentally drained when i get off work. i'm not stressed out anymore, and i realize nothing has changed in my life except removing the alcohol. everything else is the same. makes me see what alcohol was really doing to my mind. it wasn't just relaxing me and making me "feel good". it was making me think i was stressed, which stressed me out. pretty wild to see some clarity. physically i don't feel much different. no explosion of newfound energy or anything. just a new level of content. i'm comfortable again. normal. i like it. ('til noon when i'd love to have an ice cold beer!) lol.
i'll miss that tasty toxic poison. but i'll replace it with other stuff i love even more. like healthy organs and not having a heart attack at 32yrs old, walking my daughter down the aisle someday, retiring and growing old and crusty with my wife, yelling into each other's hearing aids.
things are slowly coming back. thank you all for the support. and best of luck to those of you on this thread who are on the same early beginner track as i am. i hope you too are finally catching a few glimpses of good news as i just shared.
on the positive side, i'm doing better at work. i'm exercising more frequently. my heart has stopped pounding out of my chest. the anxiety/nervousness my astronomical blood pressure was causing is totally gone. i can concentrate for an extended amount of time again. i don't get side tracked, i stay focused. the unintentional distance i kept with my parents is gone. my personal hobby projects at home have resumed. i can't wait to get off work and continue them each day. i'm not as exhausted and mentally drained when i get off work. i'm not stressed out anymore, and i realize nothing has changed in my life except removing the alcohol. everything else is the same. makes me see what alcohol was really doing to my mind. it wasn't just relaxing me and making me "feel good". it was making me think i was stressed, which stressed me out. pretty wild to see some clarity. physically i don't feel much different. no explosion of newfound energy or anything. just a new level of content. i'm comfortable again. normal. i like it. ('til noon when i'd love to have an ice cold beer!) lol.
i'll miss that tasty toxic poison. but i'll replace it with other stuff i love even more. like healthy organs and not having a heart attack at 32yrs old, walking my daughter down the aisle someday, retiring and growing old and crusty with my wife, yelling into each other's hearing aids.
things are slowly coming back. thank you all for the support. and best of luck to those of you on this thread who are on the same early beginner track as i am. i hope you too are finally catching a few glimpses of good news as i just shared.
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Join Date: Sep 2015
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Day 20... just had my 3 week followup w/ the doctor. yes, only 3 weeks.. my blood pressure, cholesterol and triglycerides were so high they wanted me back quickly to followup. today was the day they would've referred me to inpatient rehab if i had failed to quit drinking on my own. no such referral necessary! 
3 weeks ago my blood pressure had spiked to 180/110. the drive home i literally felt like i was having a heart attack. my chest hurt so bad i considered stopping at an EMS station. but stubborn, i talked myself out of it, came home and calmed myself down.
so here we are, only 20 days later, zero alcohol, tons of water, jogging 3-4 times per week, blood pressure has dropped to 130/82. i also gained 2lbs (my weight was abnormally LOW last time).
they were so thrilled/satisfied, they don't want to see me again til 1st week of December. my next blood test. and i can't WAIT! those little line graphs for cholesterol and tri's are going to look like the edge of a cliff, plummeting from 700 down to who knows. <150 i hope!
3 weeks ago my blood pressure had spiked to 180/110. the drive home i literally felt like i was having a heart attack. my chest hurt so bad i considered stopping at an EMS station. but stubborn, i talked myself out of it, came home and calmed myself down.
so here we are, only 20 days later, zero alcohol, tons of water, jogging 3-4 times per week, blood pressure has dropped to 130/82. i also gained 2lbs (my weight was abnormally LOW last time).
they were so thrilled/satisfied, they don't want to see me again til 1st week of December. my next blood test. and i can't WAIT! those little line graphs for cholesterol and tri's are going to look like the edge of a cliff, plummeting from 700 down to who knows. <150 i hope!
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Join Date: Sep 2015
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Originally Posted by picturebigger
Day 20... just had my 3 week followup w/ the doctor. yes, only 3 weeks.. my blood pressure, cholesterol and triglycerides were so high they wanted me back quickly to followup. today was the day they would've referred me to inpatient rehab if i had failed to quit drinking on my own. no such referral necessary!
3 weeks ago my blood pressure had spiked to 180/110. the drive home i literally felt like i was having a heart attack. my chest hurt so bad i considered stopping at an EMS station. but stubborn, i talked myself out of it, came home and calmed myself down.
so here we are, only 20 days later, zero alcohol, tons of water, jogging 3-4 times per week, blood pressure has dropped to 130/82. i also gained 2lbs (my weight was abnormally LOW last time).
they were so thrilled/satisfied, they don't want to see me again til 1st week of December. my next blood test. and i can't WAIT! those little line graphs for cholesterol and tri's are going to look like the edge of a cliff, plummeting from 700 down to who knows. <150 i hope!
3 weeks ago my blood pressure had spiked to 180/110. the drive home i literally felt like i was having a heart attack. my chest hurt so bad i considered stopping at an EMS station. but stubborn, i talked myself out of it, came home and calmed myself down.
so here we are, only 20 days later, zero alcohol, tons of water, jogging 3-4 times per week, blood pressure has dropped to 130/82. i also gained 2lbs (my weight was abnormally LOW last time).
they were so thrilled/satisfied, they don't want to see me again til 1st week of December. my next blood test. and i can't WAIT! those little line graphs for cholesterol and tri's are going to look like the edge of a cliff, plummeting from 700 down to who knows. <150 i hope!
24 beers a day to ZERO a day. for 20 days! can't put in to words how proud i am of myself. i didn't think i could do it.
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Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 1,634
Congrats on making it through a tough craving. Learning to do something other than picking up when a craving strikes was a big breakthrough for me.
Sounds like you're getting a snapshot of what long lasting sobriety feels like. In time it does get easier, the cravings get less, but only if you don't pick up - otherwise you'll have to start all over again with the cravings. Stay stopped and you'll never have to go through it again.
Sounds like you're getting a snapshot of what long lasting sobriety feels like. In time it does get easier, the cravings get less, but only if you don't pick up - otherwise you'll have to start all over again with the cravings. Stay stopped and you'll never have to go through it again.
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Join Date: Sep 2015
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Originally Posted by SereneEdition
Congrats on making it through a tough craving. Learning to do something other than picking up when a craving strikes was a big breakthrough for me.
Sounds like you're getting a snapshot of what long lasting sobriety feels like. In time it does get easier, the cravings get less, but only if you don't pick up - otherwise you'll have to start all over again with the cravings. Stay stopped and you'll never have to go through it again.
Sounds like you're getting a snapshot of what long lasting sobriety feels like. In time it does get easier, the cravings get less, but only if you don't pick up - otherwise you'll have to start all over again with the cravings. Stay stopped and you'll never have to go through it again.
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Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 74
Originally Posted by Dee74
Day 31?
Not being a wise guy either...there's no answers back the way you came.
Are things less up and down yet?
D
Not being a wise guy either...there's no answers back the way you came.
Are things less up and down yet?
D
Cravings have eased up a lot. Latest thing is temper. I don't lash out at anyone, but man do I get angry inside over the simplest things. Just zero patience, super easily irritated, very short fuse. I'm normally a very patient person. Never get mad. Maybe this is my mind finally getting a chance to do it now that it isn't supressed, or something. Dunno, just looking forward to it passing. Been about 2 weeks of it so far.
Otherwise things are OK.
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Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: PA
Posts: 12,000
congrats on 30 days...
For me, day 30 was just the start. Everything bothered me it seemed. It wasn't until 90 days or so that I was starting to get better with cravings and the like - even longer. Don't give up. Next year you will be thankful. These are the toughest days.
For me, day 30 was just the start. Everything bothered me it seemed. It wasn't until 90 days or so that I was starting to get better with cravings and the like - even longer. Don't give up. Next year you will be thankful. These are the toughest days.
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Join Date: Sep 2015
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Thanks everyone. Thanks for the insight LBrain. Good to know it's a stage others are aware of. I can maintain.
Yesterday was an extremely close call. Beer was present. I resulted in the "wait 5 more minutes, see if you still want 1. Wait 5 more minutes see if you want one then." It worked!
Yesterday was an extremely close call. Beer was present. I resulted in the "wait 5 more minutes, see if you still want 1. Wait 5 more minutes see if you want one then." It worked!
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Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Lakeside, Ca
Posts: 10,208
Originally Posted by picturebigger
I'm beginning a phase 2 where I want a beer MORE AND MORE every day, not less and less.
Remember the one who has deceived us the most.
Yes, the one we see in the mirror.
MB
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Join Date: Sep 2015
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Just thought of 1 great thing about passing 30 days... now I can go shorter increments and it sounds huge. Day 8, day 12, 18, 24 are all nice, but something about passing the first month, now 40 days, 50 days, 60, 70, etc sound bigger. Every 10 days will seem like day 1 was a "really long time ago".
quat
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: terra (mostly)firma
Posts: 4,823
Awesome count in groups of 10, or months or whatever, or even don't count at all, its all good, yeh ?
Just keep the 5 min rule handy , keep kicking that AV butt , you got this, and congratulations on your badass self
Just keep the 5 min rule handy , keep kicking that AV butt , you got this, and congratulations on your badass self
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