Hodd

Inspired by today’s birthday boy 1stepup, who if they play their cards right has had their last ever drink …

My last ever drink was in an economy class seat somewhere over Asia. I’d cut right down that year but was still drinking more than was healthy, and more worryingly I always craved for more. Everyone in that situation will end up drinking even more, and I knew I had to quit. When the plastic economy class meal turned up, my reflex was to ask for a beer, and a cold can of nondescript Dutch or Danish beer was placed on my tray. I might as well have been drinking soda water. It was tasteless and did nothing for me. I’m pretty sure I didn’t even finish it. There was a second flight after a stopover, and I slept for most of that and didn’t drink at all. The next morning, completely jet lagged, I had an appointment to collect my first packet of Campral, a drug that supposedly reduces alcohol cravings. In all honesty, my mind was made up, and I never needed the tablets.

I reckon a lot of those still drinking imagine they’ll go out with a bang. That last drink will be at the end of some party to end all parties. It will be savoured like the finest nectar.

Bo*****s. Most people’s memory of that last drink is probably a blur. I sometimes hear of people planning to quit on such and such a date. If that works, I’ll eat my hat collection. The dullness of my last drink, even the odour of the plastic glass overpowered the bland beer flavour, mirrored the dull decade or so I’d had as a drinker. In my last year or so drinking, red wine was tasting metallic and chemical. I was drinking out of habit.

Any stories of that last drink? They’ll probably be more interesting that mine, but then again, a lot of people just decide to quit, which is great. We’ll always remember our soberversary date with fondness, but it doesn’t have to be exciting in any way 🙂

Gettingcloser

Like you, mine did not go out with a bang. I have been sober May 30th 2018 and my last drink came after drinking beer on my 2.5 hour drive to the city for a meeting in the morning. I was in the "maintaining" stage so I could put off the horrible withdrawals and depression that I knew would be just around the corner if I stopped. I woke up in the hotel room that morning and felt awful. I was so depressed and riddled with anxiety. I didn't know at that point that I wouldn't drink again but I certainly remember realizing how completely dysfunctional my drinking had become.
Today my life is balanced and very manageable. I am back in control and I do not plan my days around my drinking.
There are times that I wish I could join in the drinking that goes on around me at my work functions but I know that I would be right back at the start and I 100% do not want to be back in that unbearable place!

Introvrtd1

New Year’s Eve 2020! I had a number of beers that day, but actually had my last beer around 9pm. Didn’t even feel that drunk like I wanted to be. Just felt like I was already withdrawing while still drinking which told me I needed something stronger like hard liquor.

Didnt wanna go that route before I decided it was time to quit and this would be a good place to stop. 🙁

Evoo

I just kind of fizzled out. My AV was creeping back in toward the end of 2020. I had wine at Christmas Dinner. It was uneventful, and any attempt to romanticize it would be my AV talking. I was pretty sick otherwise and dealing with health issues related to UC/crohns. I felt even worse after I had the wine and just didn't pick up another drink.

I haven't had even a drop of alcohol this year. I'm very excited to tackle my first completely-sober holiday season.

Khorhey

Had one ****** **** early afternoon Tuesday. To taper but it still sucks right now.

The pain, agony, lack of control and withdrawals alcoholic suffers being what they are especially at my age.

I am planning on that being the last one until I die. If I pick up another drink it might as well be a gun.

Hodd

I was going to say leave that to the “normies”, but I reckon a lot more people than we think have an alcohol dependence. Hopefully this will never develop too far, but a lot of people can’t “relax” without one beer or glass of wine a day. I admire people who can drink one and maybe not drink again for a few days, but I don’t envy those who get drunk when alcohol’s free. Those people are likely to run into problems.

UNITE4STRENGTH

Large bottle of *****....after previous afternoon of drinking until blackout. I couldn't go out to get it myself so I had to ask someone to bring it over, I was waiting about 2 hours, I felt awful, was dying for a drink and my stomach was painful and in knots because I hadn't eaten enough the past 36 hours. The very first effects were a little relieving but I just felt crap anyway and by the end of the bottle it wasn't doing anything and tasted grim. I needed food but I finished the last of the lager and that was it.

Hodd

I wouldn’t go quite that far 🙂 Hope that is your last drink. Well done 👍

Hodd

I’m going to get in trouble with Dee again ☹️

I think it’s not appreciated to give alcohol brand names on here.

Jupiter11

Why?

Hodd

You’re going to love it 👍👍👍

CBS62

Hodd I think we discussed this in another thread months ago. But you may need to eat your hat. ;0). I had my last drink on December 16,2020. Following an ER doc's orders after a visit the the hospital for a serious blood pressure spike and what the doc called mild alcohol withdrawal, I drank 1 ounce of wine standing in my dining room by the bar. I have a vivid memory of saying to myself this is it. That was after a 8 day wine taper that the doc prescribed along with a Librium taper. So far so good. I tried for years to moderate after decades of drinking and it never worked. I would say the anxiety every day after drinking the night before is the biggest reason I decided I needed to quit. Though when I first started tapering down my wine consumption in September 2020 I wasn't sure I was going to quit for good. I just wanted to quit for a while and then see if I could moderate. But during those months from September-December 2020 when I was methodically tapering down I had serious enough withdrawal that I knew I was dependent and probably needed to quit for good. Insomnia and anxiety were raging during this time. Add in the hellish PAWS that I am still suffering and I don't ever want to drink again. I long for the day that PAWS lifts. But I am determined to never pick up again.

Hodd

There aren’t many rules here. The moderators are great, but I think they’d prefer we not mention specific brands. I could be wrong, but it’s something I try not to do here.

Hodd

I’ll gladly eat all my hats after reading that. Quite a battle, well done 🙂

Introvrtd1

Paws eventually does lift CBS…I can tell you though, it’s sooo slooow. Hang in there.

fishkiller

Sitting at home drinking alone. As usual. MISERABLE and had been for a long while.
I had heard of SR from someone on another forum completely unrelated to alcohol.
I had already made up my mind that tomorrow was to be Day1.
Found SR on the web. Made an account and posted.
Dee was one of the 1st if not the 1st to reply. He asked me about stopping right then and I said No, tomorrow is the day. So I kinda set a date.
After being here for almost 2 years now I am sure he thought I would never come back as it happens so often. But I had decided to become a man of my word. No more bs.

I did not care about going out with a bang. I just wanted OUT.

dustyfox

I can't remember my last drink but it was probably red wine. I guess it would have been an average evening of drinking too much after feeling anxious all day about drinking/not drinking; hours of negotiating with myself about drinking. Hours spent nearly going to buy some wine/not going/ nearly going, oh and then I guess just going to buy it , like I knew, all along, I would. By the time I bought it , got it home, poured a large glass it was all over, no pretence at all that I would moderate. I expect the Red wine was my favourite label, I expect I drank the whole bottle and then some. I expect I woke at 4 am with pounding heart and shame crawling over me like ants. What I do know is, I was so freaking sacred the next day, so scared of myself and my inability to stop I knew I needed help. THANK God, the next day I found SR and all that madness stopped.

Jupiter11

Why?
The horror of your last drink is not going to protect you from the next. Maybe for a little while, like a week, a month.
Pain DOESN'T stick in the human brain!
If it did every woman would have only one child!
Research it.

least

I ruined a sober streak of six months by drinking for two days. Don't know what possessed me, but I woke up on the third morning and something in me snapped and said "no more!" And it's been almost 12 yrs since that day.

Hodd

Sorry, Jupiter, I misread your earlier post.

I’m posting my experience as it was so nondescript and empty and all so very unplanned. A lot of drinkers do envisage a party end to their drinking, but they’re better off just quitting ASAP.