Sober for almost a year.
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 49
Sober for almost a year.
Hello, everyone.
So, its been one hell of a year. Most of the time before the middle of last October is covered in fog, can't make out much detail. Just bits here and there. I remember posting on here, looking for advice, or maybe sympathy, when I relapsed. Which happened often. I do remember that there were people who tried to help me. Some of them were on this forum, others, out in the real world. Its largely thanks to those people that I'm still alive, I think.
I had my very last drink on October 11, at around 2 am. I think it was some sort of cheap beer. I'm surprised I even remember that, the state I was in. I ended up in the hospital the next day, seizing and with a bp high enough to risk immediate stroke. The docs stabilised me, via the expedient of a massive dose of valium, and kept me in for two days for observation and tests, as there was some suspicion of a minor stroke, or a TIA episode.
While on the ward, I got to talking with one of the younger docs, a guy around my age. I explained the situation to him, how I was trying to quit, but the withdrawals, both physical and mental, were too strong for me. He offered to help, which I never expected in a million years. He called the local SMART branch, wrote an email to my gp, and set me up with a 7 day outpatient detox program right then and there. There were other people at the hospital who offered tremendous support as well, the nurses especially, who were all just amazing. I was later made to understand that I only got onto the program when I did because of that doctors recommendation. Basically, it came down to the will of other people to believe in me when I told them I wanted to stop, and take a chance on me.
Well, not to drag this out. I went through with the program, the meds made the WD's manageable, the psychological support made the mental side bearable, and I slowly started to put my life back together. Can't say it was easy, but I succeeded more than I thought possible, with a lot of help from the people at SMART, and some good friends. I even found a job that pays much better than the one I lost due to drinking, only a few weeks into recovery! It was uncanny, the way so many things suddenly started working out as soon as I put down the bottle. I'm 30 years old, and next month, I'll be a year sober.
Just wanted to say, thank you, to all the posters here that shared their experiences with me a year ago. And also to those who just took the time to read my ramblings.
btw, I thought about waiting a month and posting this in the stories of recovery section, but I just felt the need to share this today, so I'm putting this in newcomers to recovery.
So, its been one hell of a year. Most of the time before the middle of last October is covered in fog, can't make out much detail. Just bits here and there. I remember posting on here, looking for advice, or maybe sympathy, when I relapsed. Which happened often. I do remember that there were people who tried to help me. Some of them were on this forum, others, out in the real world. Its largely thanks to those people that I'm still alive, I think.
I had my very last drink on October 11, at around 2 am. I think it was some sort of cheap beer. I'm surprised I even remember that, the state I was in. I ended up in the hospital the next day, seizing and with a bp high enough to risk immediate stroke. The docs stabilised me, via the expedient of a massive dose of valium, and kept me in for two days for observation and tests, as there was some suspicion of a minor stroke, or a TIA episode.
While on the ward, I got to talking with one of the younger docs, a guy around my age. I explained the situation to him, how I was trying to quit, but the withdrawals, both physical and mental, were too strong for me. He offered to help, which I never expected in a million years. He called the local SMART branch, wrote an email to my gp, and set me up with a 7 day outpatient detox program right then and there. There were other people at the hospital who offered tremendous support as well, the nurses especially, who were all just amazing. I was later made to understand that I only got onto the program when I did because of that doctors recommendation. Basically, it came down to the will of other people to believe in me when I told them I wanted to stop, and take a chance on me.
Well, not to drag this out. I went through with the program, the meds made the WD's manageable, the psychological support made the mental side bearable, and I slowly started to put my life back together. Can't say it was easy, but I succeeded more than I thought possible, with a lot of help from the people at SMART, and some good friends. I even found a job that pays much better than the one I lost due to drinking, only a few weeks into recovery! It was uncanny, the way so many things suddenly started working out as soon as I put down the bottle. I'm 30 years old, and next month, I'll be a year sober.
Just wanted to say, thank you, to all the posters here that shared their experiences with me a year ago. And also to those who just took the time to read my ramblings.
btw, I thought about waiting a month and posting this in the stories of recovery section, but I just felt the need to share this today, so I'm putting this in newcomers to recovery.
Member
Join Date: Aug 2016
Location: Queensland
Posts: 568
Awesome post. I am sure it will help many people on here in the very early stages of recovery 
I love reading success stories. They provide a tremendous amount of hope and a belief that we can stop and stay stopped.
Thank you
I love reading success stories. They provide a tremendous amount of hope and a belief that we can stop and stay stopped.
Thank you
Administrator
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Dancing in the Light
Posts: 61,510
That's a great post. Sometimes the hardest thing to do is to ask for help. And, you were lucky to ask the right person to help you along your path. Be very proud of how far you've come. Congratulations on (almost) a year of recovery.
Member
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: Eastern PA
Posts: 165
Thank you for the inspiring post, SpaceMandrill. My sober date is Nov. 2016. Everything you wrote I can relate to regarding the help you sought to get you on the path to recovery. Congrats and keep up the awesome work!!
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 49
Thank you all for the kind words. I have a question, actually. See, I live in the UK, but I'm not a native, I come from Eastern Europe, and social mores concerning patient-doctor interactions are different there.
The question is, would it be acceptable to write the doctors involved? Let them know that their effort was not wasted, as it were. In some places that might be considered presumptuous, but I don't know how it would be viewed in an Anglosphere country. I was thinking of waiting a full year before doing so, and then just drop the ones I can reach a note, explaining how they helped, and that I'm not going to waste the chance they gave me. Any thoughts?
The question is, would it be acceptable to write the doctors involved? Let them know that their effort was not wasted, as it were. In some places that might be considered presumptuous, but I don't know how it would be viewed in an Anglosphere country. I was thinking of waiting a full year before doing so, and then just drop the ones I can reach a note, explaining how they helped, and that I'm not going to waste the chance they gave me. Any thoughts?
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