New here. 11 days sober
 

Hi. I've been reading posts here and it has really helped. I am 57 and have been drinking since age 18. At 35, I was diagnosed with heart disease as a result of heavy drinking. I went cold turkey for 5 years and my heart recovered somewhat. By 40, I was drinking again. I am 11 days sober now because of my last visit to my cardiologist. Not good. Hope I can make it through the upcoming football season. Drinking has always just been part of it.

Welcome, Bobdrop!

I hope you make the most of SoberRecovery and all the resources out there so this is the beginning of a permanent recovery. Here's a couple good threads to join:

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...ml#post6584962

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...ml#post6584938

Hi Bob,

Hope you are doing well. I too am new to this forum and am hoping to learn from ppl with more experience. I have a tendency to enjoy substances and am prone to use, was hoping I might be able to use some of your insights to help myself.

Where are you from? I am a buckeye and understand how football seasons are usually.

Hi Bodrop :)
I don;t think it's ever too late to quit :)

Sorry for your health issues but I reckon staying sober will give you the best chance of seeing in many more football seasons to come :)

D

Welcome , well done on 11 days

Welcome! Keep reading and posting. I wish you well on your journey.

Good job. Please stick with us here. There is lots of support. :You_Rock_

I am a Gator. We go to tailgating for hours, and then everyone takes a shot of Captain Morgan rum and then either go to the game or back home to watch on TV. We usually go home and watch. I'm thinking that maybe what I see will remind me of how I don't want to feel anymore.

My cardiologist says he wants to get me to an old man, but he looked very concerned this time.

Do you havea recovery plan and a support network? Lots of stuff in the sticky's (not computer savvy enough to provide the link) on plans. Also stuff like relapses, dealing with boredom...
I use a psychologist, counsellor and regular meetings to help me.
Good for you on taking the first step.

Welcome bob drop. A scary time for you. I am what is called a real alcoholic in AA terms. We also in AA talk about hard drinkers, people who are not alcoholic, but still damage themselves with their excess drinking.

The hard drinker, when he gets a warning from his doctor, such as you had, can stop or moderate, even if it is a bit difficult at the start. He will just choose to stop, and he can do that.

The alcoholic? My buddy Murray, a few years back was a chronic alcoholic. He was a pretty insane dude, much like me. He was a little over thirty when he had his first heart attack. The doctor told him absolutely that if he drank again he would die. He left the hospital and did what any self respecting real alcoholic would do. He drank again, and was dead in a few hours.

The big and very real scare from the doctor failed to prevent him drinking.
You seem to have more insight than Murray. If there is one thing I would suggest you be wary of, it is the number of posters on this site coming back after relapse. See my little alcoholic brain tells me if they can get away with it, so can I. Except that not everyone makes it back, and no one has an unlimited supply of recoveries. If they don't get sober, there will be one final relapse.

But I can't, and it sounds like you can't either. Relapse is not an option for you. It wasn't for Murray and it isn't for me. My only option was to get onto a program of recovery PDQ, and make a total commitment.

I wish you all the best.

welcome to SR! This site has really helped me stay sober.

I hope you plan ahead for the first games. Maybe have your favorite snacks & soft drinks ready to go instead. :)

I had to make changes to my life Bob cos my old life was all about drinking.

Some of those changes were hard to make and left me scared that my life would be joyless - but thats not true.

I love the sober life I have now and I have more joy than I ever had as a drinker.

Things do work out :)

D

Glad to meet you, Bob. You'll find plenty of encouragement & friendship here. For me, it really helped to talk things over with those who understood. No one in my life could comprehend what I was going through - everyone drank socially.

I couldn't imagine my life without the 'enhancement' of alcohol either. Yet if I'd been really honest, the fun was long gone. It was something I did out of habit - & in the end, necessity. I became completely dependent on it to get through the day. 30 yrs. of drinking and reckless behavior - it was time to grow up. It felt strange to be without it in the early days - but I grew to love being free of it & never having to worry about what I said or did. You can do this!

Thanks Mike. This my 2nd time after a warning from my cardiologist. First time, I was 35 and had 2 young children. I stopped for 5 years for them. It wasn't easy and I seem to remember being angry a lot. After improvements to my heart muscle, I gradually started drinking again, for 17 years. Vodka was the drink of choice. Probably a fifth a night. Never drank before 5. Now, after seeing the Doc, I'm doing it for myself. Retiring in 4 years, I hope. Married for 34 years. Don't feel angry this time. Actually feel lucky to have made it this long and if my cardiologist believes, I'm going to believe as well. My biggest fear are the long entrenched lifestyle stuff built up over decades.

Thanks again!

Thanks. On my todo list.

Guess I don't understand how this works. Don't seem to be replying to specific messages. Maybe someone can help?

Hi there - when you type you message there is a box in the lower right hand corner just above post quick reply. Tick that box that says"Quote message in reply". You will be responding to that specific person that you intend to. Their message will show up in the response box on the thread along with your reply. Hope that helps!

Sorry redoing this to show you how it looks when you hit "Quote message in reply?" I forgot to tick it in my response above...LOL

Oh football season! I'm just now watching my first NFL pre-season game and a beer could taste great,but now I know where that's going to get me. My daughter also mentioned a college game to me today and asked if I wanted to go watch it at a bar next sat...nope. I used to use preseason games and horrible college games as "go to the bar and watch" excuses. It's crazy what we tell ourselves as a reason to drink.. I'm not even going to get into my sports betting while drinking/drunk in here or I'll get physically sick. :headbange