What is wrong with me?
 

Two weeks yesterday since I got sober and all I want to do is eat, drink and sleep. I've gained six lbs. already.

When I say "drink", I mean I'm really, really thirsty all the time and I'm drinking ginger ale like crazy. (I hate diet drinks) I'm eating a lot of sweets too and I normally don't eat any.

I'm ready for bed by 7 p.m. or earlier. Also finding myself taking a cat nap in the middle of the day. It's a struggle to stay up and go to an AA meeting at 7 and 8 p.m. is completely out.

Is all of this normal???

I remember all of that so it's normal for me Isadora.
I had a real craving for food and drink and especially sugar.

With most people it dies down after a while.

D

I'm going thru that too. Especially sugar. I am being easy on myself right now.... both with food and sleep. I will be around a couple months in by January and plan to start eating better and doing some light exercise but until then I'm focusing first on not drinking and just doing what I can with everything else.

You are recovering so what you describe I can relate to as I am sure a lot of others can.
My craving for sugar in all its forms and junk food along with heavy fatigue was rampant.

Now for myself down to 1 Chocolate bar per night but for weeks I was smashing several.
My body shape has changed since stopping drinking probably losing the bloating so although I look like I might have lost some weight I haven’t due to my scoffing.

It will ease off as you feel better so don’t sweat it. Give your body what it asking for initially.
It’s better than drinking anyway

Oh I remember the exhaustion & fatigue! Just sleep as much as you can, your body needs it I think.

As for sugar, still on this & at day 60 today....probably just an excuse now but definitely had real sugar cravings initially!

Sounds normal to me. It won't last forever.

Thanks!
 

I appreciate all of you taking the time to reassure me that all of this is normal!

It is normal
 

Yes it’s normal to feel as you do.
I have the opposite problem, I can’t eat, sleep all day, and very depressed all the time
You are just going through withdrawals right now but things will pass

Me too - I had the exhaustion and sweet craving. I had never really cared about sweets until I quit. You aren't alone, Isadora. Everything will settle down.

Yes, it's normal and yes, it will get better the longer you stay sober. :hug:

It’s normal. Have you been to see a doctor? My electrolytes got really low from drinking and they gave me potassium and magnesium supplements. They helped me feel much better.

there's nothing wrong with you.

:)

stay sober, keep working ACTIVELY on sobriety......


we go through many stages, many changes, during the transformation to a present, abundant, joyous sober life.

It's all more worth it that you'll ever imagine.

:grouphug:

Another vote for this being completely normal!!!

My symptoms went on for much longer than two weeks as I was VERY sick when I finally quit drinking. Still, at 21 mo, I always have at least one beverage on hand and I drink a LOT of non-caff bevs a day (I have almost totally limited my coffee to the morning and sometimes a Diet Coke during the day) - I also keep water by my bed.

Sleep is still a big thing with me and it's just something I monitor as far as HALT goes, when I get up in the morning, to keep an eye on how smooth or rocky it is...and I still nap - I do look at this as mostly fatigue (I get up about 5 and expend a lot of energy during the day, including an hour to 90 min of hot yoga, another reason for all the water!) but also check myself when a nap is more than that (say, four hours! it happens) and something emotional is going on.

I elaborate like this to say that our experiences are all similar, and yet each of us has our own path, including physically. I know that the things I "struggle with" - going to the bathroom all the time, getting anxious if I don't have a bottle of water handy, waking up really early and being ready for bed by 8 a lot of the time....it's A OK with me. Life is infinitely better sober and I bet the longer you are sober, the better it all feels for you too!

Keep going!

Give it about 2 to 3 more weeks. It'll get better I promise. When you drink you're not able to get into REM which is a level of sleep where you get good rest. That's where the fatigue comes from. You've probably been dehydrated for a long time so that's where that constantly thirsty thing comes from.
Craving sugar is very common when you stop drinking as well.

isa,

It took me months to settle down and years to start to feel normal most of the time.

Believe me when I say that with each relapse, the hell to get out will lengthen and lengthen.

Eventually, after so many relapses and overdose consumption, people never get out of the hell and just go crazy.

That is where they send folks that can't get clean. The asylum.

We have to stay clean. It takes work.

I was exhausted, stressed, craving, and obsessing hard for over a year.

I am med free and believe that is part of why I felt more stress then some heavy ex drinkers here.

It was so hard and horrible to get to this state of grace that I will never drink booze again. The hell to get out was a living nightmare.

I am just now driving, running, and walking in the darkness with more confidence. My brain was very altered, damaged, by my addiction.

The main thing for me now is learning to cope with the stress of life drug free.

I got into a heated argument with a coworker Friday.

We basically made up before it was over....I apologized even though I feel he was wrong as well. I took the high road and moved on.

But the situation keeps popping up in my mind. This problem is one that I could have learned to handle 30 plus years ago, if I didn't self medicate with booze.

It is getting better and I am relearning to come to a concrete mental decision of how I can solve the problem and move on.

I have a plan for the future and I am good to go.

Since I am no longer physically addicted to booze, it is mind over matter.

I don't drink anymore.

Thanks.