Notices

looking for the light in a new day

Thread Tools
 
Old 09-04-2005, 12:12 PM
  # 41 (permalink)  
Member
 
degadar's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: UK
Posts: 375
HI allie,

I lost about 2 stone in the first 6 months - but like you I was hungry , always, for the first 3 months at least. I've put a bit back on this year, but mostly down to lack of exercise (something that's on my list to do).

You seem to be doing really well, and that's great.

Deg.
degadar is offline  
Old 09-04-2005, 12:17 PM
  # 42 (permalink)  
Member
 
degadar's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: UK
Posts: 375
LOL! you can always sober up and be the black sheep of the family - just like I am. I swear my folks don't believe I don't drink. I'm sure they think I'm just pretending to make some sort of statement.

Deg.
degadar is offline  
Old 09-05-2005, 03:11 AM
  # 43 (permalink)  
Member
 
wingsfree's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Life Is Short
Posts: 2,017
Hey Allie, how you doing today?

Oh the cravings, yep aren't they something else. Mine have calmed down, I was doing the chocolate chip thing too, lol, I'd chuckle to myself when I'd take a handful of them toss them in my mouth, I used to give my kids heck for doing that, those were for baking not eating like that....haha. Like you Allie, I craved icecream for a while, I don't even care for it, once a year would suit me just fine. A couple weeks into into sobriety I bought three different kinds, couldn't believe it....anyway not today, the craving taper off, they will with you too, your body is craving the sugar from alcohol. Try drinking a lot of water, that makes me laugh too, we're suppose to drink at least 8 glasses of it a day.....oh yeah sure 8 ah huh, lol, funny how it wasn't a problem drinking 8 drinks in a couple of hours, but lordy 8 water all day. I've been eating more fruit, and yeah working on more water, the fruit seems to take the junky stuff craving away.

You're doing GREATTTTTTTTT yippppppppeeeeeeeee woooooohooooooooo keep it up.

Degadar like you it took about 3 months before my cravings leveled out, prob is I drink to much coffee now, something to work on......hmmmmmm seems there's always something to work on, lol.
wingsfree is offline  
Old 09-05-2005, 05:44 AM
  # 44 (permalink)  
Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Highlands, TX
Posts: 1,192
Hi Allie, I read what you wrote and my heart goes out to you. I skipped page two of the replies (which were all great) so if I repeat something that has already been said my apologies.

First, the withdrawal. It sucks! I mainly drank at night too until I passed out so nights were especially difficult for me too. I had the shakes, throwing up, diarrhea, nausea and like you I had the thought that just a drink would calm all this crap down. But, also like you, I knew that I wouldn't stop at one.

Rehab was not an option for me either as I had no insurance and was a contractor and could not afford to lose my job. Plus I have kids but I was also living with my mom by this time because my life had totally fallen apart. I was (and am) attending AA so I derived a lot of strength from them during the day. Also if I kept busy that helped. The nights were the worst because normal people were asleep! Mine went so far that I couldn't even go in my own room because that is where I did the majority of my drinking so I couldn't lay in my own bed. It was over two weeks before I felt safe enough to sleep in there.

I took books and laid in the living room on the recliner and watched tv and dozed. People assured me that nobody ever died from a lack of sleep and eventually my body would wear out and I would fall asleep. I did. I would doze here and there. What kept me going was this thought. If I could just get through this, I didn't EVER have to go through it again if I didn't want to. It worked! 13 months later I can still remember this time like it was yesterday and I don't EVER want to forget it lest I become doomed to repeat it.

For help, my group is a big advocate of natural honey. My significant other has 16 years in the program and has his newcomers eat ice cream. The body processes it similar to how it processed alcohol. I kept chocolate with me and sucked on that. Sugar does help although it is no majic bullet. It is just something you'll have to get through but it is possible and you CAN do it.

Above all, stay busy. Keep your mind occupied. Read, clean house, cook like you have been and keep posting on here and reading older posts. Realize you are not alone and you CAN do this thing. If you have meetings nearby get to a meeting. Even if you don't want to share, just being in the company of other sober alcoholics is very encouraging. If you do choose to share, you will find lots of people willing to reach out to you and help, share what helped them and even offer to let you call them in the middle of the night.

Above all, do NOT pick up a drink. I know today that picking up a drink will never solve any problem. It will add to the problem. I'll feel like crap the next day and still have the problem.

And finally, quit worrying at this point about your relationship and the things you've done to your family and whether or not they will forgive you. FIRST THINGS FIRST!!! Don't drink, no matter what. Later on after you have been sober for a while is the time to take a look at those things. You are powerless over them just as you are powerless over drinking so quit beating yourself up over them. They are in the past. The future isn't here yet so you don't know what it's going to hold. Stay in today, stay in the moment and make sure that moment is a sober moment. That you CAN control.

Big hugs to you sweetie! I wish you all the best!

Kellye
Kellye C is offline  
Old 09-05-2005, 06:04 AM
  # 45 (permalink)  
Member
 
Pernell Johnson's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Plainfield, New Jersey USA
Posts: 491
Two Days

Allie welcome to soberrecovery. You are in the right place and so far you have received some excellent suggestions and love and concern. I suggest for all that you said is wrong and the craving to drink, that take two days and go into a medically monitored detox. Just two days, can you afford to spend two days for your body to let go of the craving, aches, pains and other physical maladies. Just two days. Call a hospital and get a bed in a medically monitored detox.

This will take care of your body. you can work on your mind when you get out. We will be here for all the support you need. But only you can do this!
Pernell Johnson is offline  
Old 09-05-2005, 08:21 AM
  # 46 (permalink)  
i dont need a drink anymore
Thread Starter
 
alliecat72's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: belton, s.c.
Posts: 41
good morning all well, i made it through another day!so now i'm working on day 5. i had a little trouble sleeping last night, i stayed up really late, and then forced myself to go to bed, im a little groggy this morning and i feel really rundown. (another sober induced hangover????) i'll admit, as it grew late in the evening last night i grew a lil edgy and started obsessing....but, today is a whole new day, right? VERY FULL DAY PLANNED>>...so,with gods grace and growing willpower..... i'll make it today too!!!thanks kellye, for the advice....it really was heartfelt,another cheerleader in my corner is exactly what i need!, and pernell , thanks for reaching out...but going into a medically monitored detox, is not something im opposed to, it is something i simply cannot do. my 3 small children require my time. i dont have anyone to help in taking care of them.it is an excellent suggestion and i do appreciate all of the advice i'm getting, so please keep it coming........deg, i dont mind being the black sheep,i'm just having a little trouble dying my wool...lol, i'm glad ur here. how much exactly in lbs is 2 stone?
alliecat72 is offline  
Old 09-05-2005, 08:22 AM
  # 47 (permalink)  
Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: matawan nj
Posts: 86
Hey just think of this whne you want one, it kinda helps.......think about how much your going to have to buy, think about how much sense it makes......

One is too much, a thousand are never enough

Dead Poet is offline  
Old 09-05-2005, 03:35 PM
  # 48 (permalink)  
Member
 
degadar's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: UK
Posts: 375
Hi Allie,

You're doing so well! 5 days is cause for celebration in itself. Well done Allie. Coping with this and having children to see too as well makes it a doubly-big achievement.

Don't be surprised when the alcoholic thinking comes and goes in waves for a bit now - and you're ready for your drunk-dreams too I should think if you've not started them already?

Waking up in a panic thinking that you've been drinking is a strange sensation. It happened to me for months - and most other people I know as well. I used to wake up dreaming I was drink driving in a cold panic sweat - did that for ages.

2 stone is 28 english pounds (not sure if you have your own special pounds that weigh 10 ounces or not!) I love working out and being fit - and that's something that being sober has made possible for me. Exercise often features in success stories here as it happens - so there's another handy tiperoony.

I've just booked a weekend away with my eldest boy - 12, we're going to Paris for the weekend. There's something I wouldn't have done two years ago. I could go on forever about how good being sober is. It's hard not to.

You're a star allie - keep on doing what you're doing and good things are on their way.

Deg.
degadar is offline  
Old 09-05-2005, 06:19 PM
  # 49 (permalink)  
i dont need a drink anymore
Thread Starter
 
alliecat72's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: belton, s.c.
Posts: 41
thats a good thought poet. no, deg, i dont wake up thinking i have been drinking, i just cant get to sleep, and when i do, i dream really crazy stuff, so far anyways. ive had the panic/wake up experience before when i tried to quit drinking.....i'm actually doing alot better this go around! wow! paris, sounds like great fun! maybe one day i'll make it over there.....today has not been all that bad, and i'm hoping sleep will come easier tonight, im really tired(loooooooong day) so maybe that will help. its really strange, as i sat here looking back through all of my posts, just how up and down i have been these past few days...i've had some really tense moments....but then there was today. i started out feelin kinda yuck, but got so busy, and stayed so busy i didnt have time to dwell on feeling bad, or have time to obsess. i know everyday wont be this easy, but...i can always hope , cant i?
alliecat72 is offline  
Old 09-05-2005, 06:52 PM
  # 50 (permalink)  
Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Highlands, TX
Posts: 1,192
Allie, you're doing great and I'm so proud of you. I would venture to say that the worst of the physical part is close to being over. The thoughts will come for a while. Heck at almost 13 months sober I still get them but when they come I play them through to the end and remember where drinking got me and all of the consequences. Suddenly drinking doesn't sound like such a good idea! Alcohol is cunning, baffling and powerful and it will tell you lies and make them sound like the truth. Be prepared, be aware and keep doing what you're doing.
I never had the drunk dreams but I hardly ever dream that I remember it anyway so I'm weird. I did have vivid terrors as I struggled to go to sleep when trying to detox or whenever I ran out of liquor and couldn't get any so I know what they're saying.

Stay strong Allie. You are awesome and you can do this. One day at a time, one hour at a time or one minute at a time if need be.

Big hugs,
Kellye
Kellye C is offline  
Old 09-06-2005, 02:06 AM
  # 51 (permalink)  
Member
 
degadar's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: UK
Posts: 375
Hi,

Sleep will come. Relaxation is what you need more than anything. I know that's easy for me to say, and very hard to achieve.

Have you planned yourself a treat yet?

Deg.
degadar is offline  
Old 09-06-2005, 08:22 AM
  # 52 (permalink)  
i dont need a drink anymore
Thread Starter
 
alliecat72's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: belton, s.c.
Posts: 41
hey guys, i made another promising step today... i live in a really small town, one where you know almost everybody, and today i let my local convienience store clerks know i quit drinking, and told them not to sell me another drop of alcohol, do i have a treat planned? you had better believe it....lol. my boyfriend is "holding " the money for me, but here's what i did. i ask him to put my weekly "drink money" back and at the end of 6 months, i plan to celebrate...i know this is awful guys, but in 6 months i would have normally drank enough to pay for a cruise,....so...instead of drinking it up,. i'm gonna "cruise" that money away. i figured this way it gives me something to look forward to. how are you guys today? i have been a bit selfish and so absorbed in my own struggles, that i have not taken time to ask about you all...sincere appologies to all. as for how i'm doing? taking it one day at a time, and getting a little stronger, and perhaps a little more confident everyday. hugs to you all
alliecat72 is offline  
Old 09-06-2005, 10:13 AM
  # 53 (permalink)  
Member
 
wingsfree's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Life Is Short
Posts: 2,017
Allie, I love your plan, good girl keep up the good job you're doing. :Terrific

A cruise sounds wonderful, you'll get more enjoyment out of that then what's in the bottom of a bottle.

You've made my day is what you've done, I thank you for that.

A tip just in case....it's good to be confident, but don't get over confident....boy do I know about that one, today I just take one day at a time, it really works.

Keep up the awesome Sober Happy Dance, you're doing it kiddo, and we're all walking right along side of you.

Hugs.....Denise
wingsfree is offline  
Old 09-06-2005, 03:01 PM
  # 54 (permalink)  
Member
 
degadar's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: UK
Posts: 375
Hi Allie - good for you. You've just put a very useful tank-trap in the way of a temptation that hasn't appeared yet - but it will and you're doing the right thing to get ready for it. Six months seems like a lifetime away at first but the days start clocking up once the worst is over. With a treat to look forward to and a supportive family - you're starting to look like a bookie's favourite to crack the drink habit forever. Being an alcoholic is very expensive - You'll be able to get yourself a very nice cruise every year for the rest of your life - and still be quids in. How many non-alcoholics can afford that - Read It and Weep, Suckers ! LOL!

You're certainly sounding better - what bits of being sober have you enjoyed most so far?

Wingsfree is right - there's a fine balance between being confident and getting caught out. I used to have to pick my son up from drama class every week and there was a bar at the college where he went to - I started off standing well away from the bar - like just in case it reached out , grabbed me, and forced me to drink. As time went on I started getting cocky and moved nearer and nearer to show it who's boss - squaring up to it for a fight. I ended up inside - and at the bar. It's unbelievable now thinking about it - I was almost unconscious as all of the feelings from the past 6 or 8 months came over me - I was stood at the bar and the girl the other side asking me what I wanted. I think she thought I was one sandwich short of a full garden party - and I ended up walking out without saying anything in a daze. But I was THAT close. I got home , threw up, and went to bed crying. Gone all cold thinking about it.

As a fun exercise the next time you're bored - get the alcoholic's best friend out of the drawer (a pad of paper and a pencil) - and write out the worst 6 or so scenarios you could imagine being in, that would lead to you drinking.

You attend a reception at Buckingham Palace and on the way in you get a glass of shampoo thrust in your hand just before the loyal toast. (happens to me all the time) YADA YADA

And then underneath what you feel thinking about it, and what you would do in that situation. Real solutions - not phoney ones. That's cheating.

I couldn't have survived without pen and paper.

Keep up the good work.

Deg.
degadar is offline  
Old 09-06-2005, 04:19 PM
  # 55 (permalink)  
i dont need a drink anymore
Thread Starter
 
alliecat72's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: belton, s.c.
Posts: 41
i will be okay....i will make it.....i will not break down during first glimpse of hard times.......
:tissue
ok, that being said, i got bad news earlier today. someone i really cared about has passed. the services were today at 2:00, i did not find out until 1:30, so no chance to pay respects. i did send a card. i am trying to maintain my sober sanity,...but the voice in my head is being a real pain in the @$$! dont worry guys, (and girls) im not going to give in to my demons. i realize this is part of my healing process, learning to cope with what life throws at me, instead of drinking until i'm numb. deg, when you said make a list that was a really good idea. i'll take time to do that.....however, just letting you know, this real life scenario is worse than any i would have listed. i agree overconfidence can be a real kick in the pants, and believe me i'm in no way that confident....thats why i asked them not to sell me any alcohol as long as i continue to say no tomorrow will be 1 week clean...(this has been the longest week in my life) and it is also the longest ive gone without drinking in years. on the other hand thats 1 weeks drink money in the pot toward my carribean vacation...lol denise, im working on that funky lil dance...cause its gonna be the most awesome dance ever! much love to u all
alliecat72 is offline  
Old 09-07-2005, 11:03 AM
  # 56 (permalink)  
Member
 
wingsfree's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Life Is Short
Posts: 2,017
Originally Posted by alliecat72
the voice in my head is being a real pain in the @$$!
You bet it is, in time it will ease off, that voice always amazed me how it talks to you, it's so REAL isn't it? rotton demon that it is.

Sorry about your loss Allie, yep no amount of drinking will make things better, only magnify them.

How you doing today? <----doing lots of that I hope

Hope you know you're helping others while you post here, me being one of them, it's encouraging watching you grow and learn, keep up the great job.

Hugs....Denise
wingsfree is offline  
Old 09-07-2005, 01:48 PM
  # 57 (permalink)  
Midas
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
My condolences also, Allie. How are things today?
 
Old 09-07-2005, 02:03 PM
  # 58 (permalink)  
i dont need a drink anymore
Thread Starter
 
alliecat72's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: belton, s.c.
Posts: 41
im ok today...still sad, been crying on and off....but, i need to grieve him so,i guess thats ok.sober 1 week today. i didnt sleep last night, couldnt stop thinking.so i feel like i got a hangover today. other than that all is well. i had to tell the voice to shut up...(literally) i'm waiting just to tell someone im talking back to the voices in my head! isnt that scary.???lol thanks midas and denise for your sympathy, he was was my first love....and i never did stop loving him, and never will......thanks for listening....hugs to all
alliecat72 is offline  
Old 09-07-2005, 02:34 PM
  # 59 (permalink)  
Midas
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
I'm glad you're OK! A short grieving period is good, considering he was your first love. I wish that wasn't so. If you happened to read my Leaving It All Behind poem, you'll see I'm rather partial to first loves myself. I'm so sorry. Be Strong though!

****{Hugs}}}
 
Old 09-07-2005, 02:58 PM
  # 60 (permalink)  
Member
 
degadar's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: UK
Posts: 375
One week!

Well done allie. Sorry you've had such bad news. To cope with that at this time is hard, so you can understand where all the emotions come from.

I have voices too. I've had them since I had a breakdown in my late teens - I've healed ok, but the scars are all over the place, and I'm stuck with them for life now. Alcoholism is one of those scars I'm sure.

One week -> 7 days -> 168 hours . well done allie, You make my day.

Deg.
degadar is offline  

Currently Active Users Viewing this Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are Off





All times are GMT -7. The time now is 06:52 AM.