Less alcohol- February 2018- one day at a time

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  • dressagerider1020
    dressagerider1020 Posts: 108 Member
    Oh no! But dinner will be fun. Maybe a movie?
  • Cardinals_3
    Cardinals_3 Posts: 9 Member
    Anyone else have trouble sleeping after you quit or cut back? Any recommendations? I've been waking up A LOT at night. Someone at work recommended taking GABA supplements--I took one last night and I did fall asleep easily but then was up half the night. I fell asleep ok at a reasonable hour and slept until about 1:30 am but then I was wide awake and could not fall back asleep until about 5am. I'm not really a big fan of tea--I thought about trying a sleepytime tea or something like that.
  • erikNJ
    erikNJ Posts: 1,009 Member
    JulieAL1969 wrote: »
    @erikNJ I'm going to two hour mediation workshop at my yoga studio. Makes me think of your yoga goal.

    That is great! I have always just done it in my living room, maybe i will get to the point of going tona studio one day. I really felt much better when I did it a few years back. I’m sticking to it this time!
  • donimfp
    donimfp Posts: 795 Member
    @Cardinals_3, yes, yes yes! The sleep troubles were the very worst part of going AF at first for me. One night I was up literally the entire night. Finally gave up at 5:30 a.m. and just got up for the day. Ugh! I finally went to a wellness-oriented pharmacy nearby and consulted with their "wellness" person. Told her I was giving up alcohol. It had been I think 7 or 8 days at that point, and I was still having sleep problems. She recommended a supplement that supposedly would help restore the sleep cycle. She said that at first the liver does a lot of "work" at night getting back to normal. The supplement is Kavinace Ultra PM by NeuroScience. It definitely does the trick. I've been sleeping like a baby since then. There are 30 in a bottle, and she said to take them and then my sleep should be ok without them. The ingredients are basically melatonin and GABA. Good luck. I feel your pain!
  • DCRunnerGirl78
    DCRunnerGirl78 Posts: 508 Member
    dressagerider1020 wrote: »

    Great job! 10 mile run! I thought I was doing good just to get to the grocery store before 8am! :smiley:

    @dressagerider1020 Groceries before 8am is a MUCH bigger accomplishment in my books!

  • SanDiegofitmom
    SanDiegofitmom Posts: 303 Member
    Cardinals_3 wrote: »
    Anyone else have trouble sleeping after you quit or cut back? Any recommendations? I've been waking up A LOT at night. Someone at work recommended taking GABA supplements--I took one last night and I did fall asleep easily but then was up half the night. I fell asleep ok at a reasonable hour and slept until about 1:30 am but then I was wide awake and could not fall back asleep until about 5am. I'm not really a big fan of tea--I thought about trying a sleepytime tea or something like that.

    I think it’s common - especially if alcohol was used right before bed as a nightcap. I recommend chelated magnesium, and melatonin. Also make sure you go to bed and get up at the same time, it helps your body know when is time for sleep and don’t nap. I’m positive it will get better. I do drink tea before bed sometimes the Yogi bedtime is tasty.
  • Skyweigh
    Skyweigh Posts: 113 Member
    Hi, Everyone ... I've enjoyed catching up on the posts. On Friday night, I did feel a few "I want to have a drink" pangs ... there was a fairly big snowfall in our city, and I had to drive across town, which can be very stressful under bad conditions. Normally, I would comfort myself by saying, take it easy; there's wine waiting when you get home! Now, it's just "take it easy: .... (Kind of like what was said to me in the days of beginning to run, "Slow down, and then taper ...").

    I think the drinking served as a reward system (as smoking did years ago) ... but I guess I am rewarding myself plenty by not drinking. I bought some AF chardonnay today; don't know if I'll save it for Valentine's day. Guess I'll be happy if it is not too disappointing. I would have said while drinking that I drink for taste, and I never really liked the feeling of being drunk, which is probably why I ate so much while drinking. As I often compared bad wine to "beer mixed with grape juice" I don't know what to expect of the AF wine. Also bought some Kombucha, which I rather like, too.
  • erikNJ
    erikNJ Posts: 1,009 Member
    NormInv wrote: »
    Morning all - confession time, went to a cajun kitchen last night and had beer cuz the bartender asked me if I wanted a drink while I waited for my food....should have avoided sitting at the bar

    Huge win that you only had the one! New start today.
  • xcjumper
    xcjumper Posts: 207 Member
    I ordered the book by Allen Carr. Quit Drinking the Easy Way. Has anybody read this one? It's in my mailbox right now and I will start it after work tonight. So far this month I'm off the mark...Only 3 AF days so far, Bah!! Hoping this book has some good ideas
  • dressagerider1020
    dressagerider1020 Posts: 108 Member
    xcjumper wrote: »
    I ordered the book by Allen Carr. Quit Drinking the Easy Way. Has anybody read this one? It's in my mailbox right now and I will start it after work tonight. So far this month I'm off the mark...Only 3 AF days so far, Bah!! Hoping this book has some good ideas

    3 days is excellent! I hope you let us know if you like the book, and if it's helpful for you.
  • dressagerider1020
    dressagerider1020 Posts: 108 Member
    dbanks80 wrote: »
    Epic fail last night! I went to my grandson's bday party. I did good there with 2 small cups of red wine. THEN my husband being the alcohol bully that he is took us to the neighborhood pizza place with my parents and the wine flowed there!!!

    One good thing I guess I can say came out of it is that I didnt smoke!

    Not smoking is great! It's another day, keep trying, that's what I'm doing :)
  • dressagerider1020
    dressagerider1020 Posts: 108 Member
    @Skyweigh, I do the same thing sometimes, use it as a reward after something really bad or really good. And I think you're right, we're better off rewarding ourselves without it. But if there's a slip, we always have another chance.

    When did you stop smoking? That was really hard for me. It seems like it might be easier these days, since you can't smoke anywhere anymore. I remember smoking at my desk at work, and big ashtrays in the hallways. Man, I'm really old :'(
  • NormInv
    NormInv Posts: 3,303 Member
    xcjumper wrote: »
    I ordered the book by Allen Carr. Quit Drinking the Easy Way. Has anybody read this one? It's in my mailbox right now and I will start it after work tonight. So far this month I'm off the mark...Only 3 AF days so far, Bah!! Hoping this book has some good ideas

    I'd be waiting for the review
  • NormInv
    NormInv Posts: 3,303 Member
    dbanks80 wrote: »
    Epic fail last night! I went to my grandson's bday party. I did good there with 2 small cups of red wine. THEN my husband being the alcohol bully that he is took us to the neighborhood pizza place with my parents and the wine flowed there!!!

    One good thing I guess I can say came out of it is that I didnt smoke!

    Its ok, that was your cheat Saturday, dont have another for at least a month
  • Skyweigh
    Skyweigh Posts: 113 Member
    @dressagerider1020 I'm pretty old! I quit smoking July 22, 1990, age 35 after 22 years of smoking, 15 of them "trying" to stop. Those times when I started again, I guess I learned, but with that addiction it does seem to be that when I reverted to smoking after a long (or short) quit, I smoked more and more! It was very important, when I finally did quit, to be able to be around people smoking and to be non-judgmental. This had been a stumbling block during previous successes with leaving it alone. Also, I wanted to quit because I was embarrassed to smoke. I don't miss it a bit, and haven't for years, but the first year, I was really depressed and crazy. I learned a lot about that addiction, and to this day quitting is one of my proudest and most important accomplishments. One thing that is really important is to have a very personal reason to quit -- for me it was vanity, or how I identified or thought of myself. I did not like smelling of cigarettes, etc. and wanted to be a person that did not smoke, so I tried to think like a person who did not smoke. For instance, a non-smoker does not deliberate about whether to smoke when under stress. I learned that there is an incredibly strong subconscious inclination to smoke (well trained over the years!). About 5 years cigarette-free, I mused whether there were circumstances under which I'd smoke, and I questioned whether I would smoke if I had a terminal illness. I cut that thought down immediately, knowing that if there were circumstances which would allow me to smoke, then there might even be an unconscious volition to create those circumstances! I know that would seem very far-fetched to a lot of people, but not to me. Bottom line, it is a matter of reinventing oneself and identifying with the new, improved version. Thanks for asking about this ... it really is a huge deal to stop smoking, and ... to redefine our view of alcohol, as I'm now learning.
  • Polo265
    Polo265 Posts: 287 Member
    Cardinals_3 wrote: »
    Anyone else have trouble sleeping after you quit or cut back? Any recommendations? I've been waking up A LOT at night. Someone at work recommended taking GABA supplements--I took one last night and I did fall asleep easily but then was up half the night. I fell asleep ok at a reasonable hour and slept until about 1:30 am but then I was wide awake and could not fall back asleep until about 5am. I'm not really a big fan of tea--I thought about trying a sleepytime tea or something like that.

    YES! I'm on my 32nd day and only manage 5-7 hrs of sleep per night. I do take the magnesium citrate supplements and drink either Sleepytime or chamomile tea in the evening. Last night I downloaded 'Headspace', a meditation app. I'm anxious to try it tonight.
  • SunnyDays930
    SunnyDays930 Posts: 1,574 Member
    @dressagerider1020 I smoked from age 15-45 with the exception of when I was 9 months I was pregnant, twice. I'm 9 years smoke free. I think it got easier to quit (I tried several times) as it got more and more frowned upon by society plus when they made our bars and restaurants smoke-free that made it easier to quit. I was sick of trying to hide it from my kids and neighbors etc. Anyway, I used the patch. I just cut it in half every 3 days or so until it was just about gone and so I weaned myself slowly. I wish there was an alcohol patch but there is no such thing unfortch.
  • NormInv
    NormInv Posts: 3,303 Member
    Polo265 wrote: »
    Cardinals_3 wrote: »
    Anyone else have trouble sleeping after you quit or cut back? Any recommendations? I've been waking up A LOT at night. Someone at work recommended taking GABA supplements--I took one last night and I did fall asleep easily but then was up half the night. I fell asleep ok at a reasonable hour and slept until about 1:30 am but then I was wide awake and could not fall back asleep until about 5am. I'm not really a big fan of tea--I thought about trying a sleepytime tea or something like that.

    YES! I'm on my 32nd day and only manage 5-7 hrs of sleep per night. I do take the magnesium citrate supplements and drink either Sleepytime or chamomile tea in the evening. Last night I downloaded 'Headspace', a meditation app. I'm anxious to try it tonight.

    I am doing 5-7 most night, try and make it up on weekends.
  • RubyRed427
    RubyRed427 Posts: 4,377 Member
    Polo265 wrote: »
    Cardinals_3 wrote: »
    Anyone else have trouble sleeping after you quit or cut back? Any recommendations? I've been waking up A LOT at night. Someone at work recommended taking GABA supplements--I took one last night and I did fall asleep easily but then was up half the night. I fell asleep ok at a reasonable hour and slept until about 1:30 am but then I was wide awake and could not fall back asleep until about 5am. I'm not really a big fan of tea--I thought about trying a sleepytime tea or something like that.

    YES! I'm on my 32nd day and only manage 5-7 hrs of sleep per night. I do take the magnesium citrate supplements and drink either Sleepytime or chamomile tea in the evening. Last night I downloaded 'Headspace', a meditation app. I'm anxious to try it tonight.

    At my meditation workshop today, they also mentioned that people like "Headspace". Other meditation experts the teacher mentioned were Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield. At the session today, I learned that there are many forms of meditation. The teacher said meditation can be life changing and it doesn't have to be complicated. A person can start with 2 minutes. And then work towards 5 minutes. Sitting quietly , focusing on breathing in and out. That's how simple it can be. Hope Headspace is good. I am going to download it too!
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