A confession to make
 

No, I did not relapse. But I did relapse during the start of the lockdown as many of you know. I didn't drink everyday, but binged plenty. Well something happened this time that scared the heck out of me. I gained about 20 lbs and retained a ton of fluid. My heart rate would not slow down, but blood pressure was very high, I would not urinate at all, then urinate all night. My ankles and calves were huge (edema). My eyes were always red and I would get out of breath easily. It was awful.

Well, I got some prescription diuretics and that helped but what really helped was quitting drinking and starting working at a physical job. I've lost all the weight and water. That little episode scared me because I didn't know if my organs were failing. Should have went to doctor.

Current status: awesome. all aspects of life are good right now.

I am glad you are okay Thomas and there wasn't any long term damage. Scary though huh? Sounds like you are on the right track now.

Scary! I'm glad you're better now. Thank you for sharing your experience with us. It's a good reminder that we're not playing around here. This is life or death for us.

Thanks for the post. A good reminder of how poisonous alcohol is.

Thanks, thomas11. So nice to see you are doing well. We must never ever forget what alcohol did to us because that is the key to lasting sobriety for many of us.

That sounds like a scary episode. I'm so glad that you've turned things around and are feeling good.

Thomas11, you are just 29 years old, right?? Haha. You have another 50 years to go!

I'm glad things are better!

Really glad you turned the switch Jeff. I've been fumbling with it for years, but not anymore. Sobriety is so worth it. It never goes stale like the dregs at the bottom of the glass. Fresh!

So glad you came out of that Jeff. Very scary. A year ago today I had all of those symptoms and many many more unpleasant ones involving all sorts of awful things. I got to a point that I knew I wouldn't pull out of it unless I stopped. My early sobriety was "easy" because the daily physical rewards were so stark. But I appreciate your post as a reminder of what awaits if I drink again.

I am glad you're ok now Jeff.
I think it can be tough for men of a certain age to go to the doctor - and it shouldn't be.

If our wives or children was sick we'd drive them to a doctor. If your pet was sick you'd go to a vet - but we sometimes don;t apply the same standard of care to ourselves. Crazy.

D

Glad you're sober and feeling better. :hug:

Glad you’re doing well Jeff.

Not wanting to hijack Jeff's thread, but didn't know where else to say....

Congratulations Surrendered on your 1st year of sobriety!

Such an important milestone for us all. ☮️

I'm happy you were able to take care of that situation, Jeff.

When was the last time you had a comprehensive physical exam?

Hi EndGame, I get a physical every year in January.

Some more good news to report. My eyes have been red for a year, it had gotten really bad and I thought I needed glasses. Went to eye doctor yesterday and my vision is fine. I have severe dry eye. Got 4 different meds for it. I started yesterday morning and my eyes already feel better. Its such a relief.

Glad to hear that you are doing so much better on many fronts, Jeff. I had a milder version of a water retention / heart rate / BP episode you described in the OP during my own relapse in 2016 - scary indeed. I never saw a doctor about it so never found out what was causing it. Also have a tendency for eye redness, back into my childhood. Of course drinking made that much worse (in different ways) but mine was also traced to what the eye doc diagnosed as "tear film insufficiency". He also said perhaps I made the predisposition worse for myself when I was using Visine daily, for years, to combat the constant bloodshot eyes caused by drinking. I never made the connection to Visine, but it makes sense with the compound that constricts blood vessels - apparently we can get used to it and it makes the problem worse long-term. I stopped using that completely, now I only apply simple saline-based artificial tears occasionally when I feel my eyes are dry or they are visibly red. I get that even more from staring at computer screens typically >6 hours a day at least (that's what I do for work). My eye dryness is kinda mild so no need for prescription meds, but not a good mix with alcohol for sure.

Keep up the good work :)

I'm so happy you're still doing good :). Glad about your eyes too. Mine have been super red, and SO itchy. Now wondering if they are just super dry too hmmmm.

THanks. Do you have allergies? could be allgergies?