Heavy Drinker - Now Sober - First 3 Months Sobriety Summary

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  • dsboohead
    dsboohead Posts: 1,900 Member
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    Wow!!! What incredible people from different opinions of alcohol dependent situation. Whatever you call it....you are beating it and It makes me smile. Food sort of has the same mechanics doesn't It! Brave and literate folks in regards to this issue.....thankyou for the education!
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,897 Member
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    vingogly wrote: »
    Think long and hard before you label yourself (or anyone else) as an "alcoholic" or a "drunk". You tend to become what you tell yourself you are.

    https://www.cchrint.org/psychiatric-disorders/psychiatric-labels-are-the-problem/

    Yes, that was part of it too. So I say things like "I abused alcohol" rather than "I am (or I was) an alcoholic".
  • CarvedTones
    CarvedTones Posts: 2,340 Member
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    I do realize I am prone to substance abuse even though I haven't abused anything for over 11 months. My regular doctor knows that opioids are bad and made a note in my chart (at my request) and my psychiatrist switched me to strattera instead of adderall for ADHD (at my request) and also made a note in my chart (no stimulants). I won't let it define me, but I will keep my guard up. Keeping away from alcohol is all on me, of course; I can't tell anyone not to prescribe it. I don't need a label or frequent meetings; I just need to be someone who doesn't drink.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    AllSpiceNice wrote: »
    Congrats Tweaking_time! Not an easy thing to do. Thank you for sharing your experiences during the past 3 months, especially how it effected your sleep. I gave up drinking during the week when I noticed it might help me fall asleep initially, but on those nights I would frequently wake up in the middle of the night and have bad quality of sleep overall.

    Best wishes as you continue your journey!
    If you have an apple watch, download Autosleep. It was a HUGE eye opener for me.
    When I have a few glasses of wine my heart rate all night is a full TEN POINTS higher and I have ZERO minutes of deep sleep.

  • JLatham325
    JLatham325 Posts: 105 Member
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    Tweaking_Time wrote: »
    I totally get the sweet tooth @kshama2001 ...Got them myself.

    Love dark chocolate now...but still only have a little each day.

    I forgot to add to my long message above that I no longer swear each and every morning while in the shower that "today I am going to quit", or "no more", or "not another drop" because I felt so freaking lousy. I usually felt bad for about an hour or so - at most. The shower, coffee and a big breakfast always made me feel better. But at least 1/2 of my morning shower was just letting the water run over me hoping to feel better and knowing exactly why I was feeling the way I did and swearing off the liquor. I would have such resolve when I would leave the house for work. By 5:00 PM, the liquor demons would have used their logic on me, my resolve to quit will have vanished - poof - like a burp in the breeze - and by 8:00 PM I would have my well established bourbon buzz going.

    this REALLY hit home for me. During the week, while I'm at work I'm all "I'm not drinking this weekend, want to lose weight, I want to have more energy, alcohol does not serve these goals".... and then next thing I know after doing my evening commute I'm swinging through the liquor store for my wine etc because "I've had a long stressful week, I deserve it, I'll do better tomorrow" .. it irritates me how well I can justify ANYTHING, especially my lack of willpower :(
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,897 Member
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    JLatham325 wrote: »
    Tweaking_Time wrote: »
    I totally get the sweet tooth @kshama2001 ...Got them myself.

    Love dark chocolate now...but still only have a little each day.

    I forgot to add to my long message above that I no longer swear each and every morning while in the shower that "today I am going to quit", or "no more", or "not another drop" because I felt so freaking lousy. I usually felt bad for about an hour or so - at most. The shower, coffee and a big breakfast always made me feel better. But at least 1/2 of my morning shower was just letting the water run over me hoping to feel better and knowing exactly why I was feeling the way I did and swearing off the liquor. I would have such resolve when I would leave the house for work. By 5:00 PM, the liquor demons would have used their logic on me, my resolve to quit will have vanished - poof - like a burp in the breeze - and by 8:00 PM I would have my well established bourbon buzz going.

    this REALLY hit home for me. During the week, while I'm at work I'm all "I'm not drinking this weekend, want to lose weight, I want to have more energy, alcohol does not serve these goals".... and then next thing I know after doing my evening commute I'm swinging through the liquor store for my wine etc because "I've had a long stressful week, I deserve it, I'll do better tomorrow" .. it irritates me how well I can justify ANYTHING, especially my lack of willpower :(

    @JLatham325 Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is really useful for learning how to identify the voice that makes statements like "I've had a long stressful week, I deserve it, I'll do better tomorrow" and shutting it down. I've heard it called the Addictive Voice, Sabotaging Voice, and BEAST. This works for food as well as alcohol and drugs.
  • rk544
    rk544 Posts: 4 Member
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    Thank you for sharing! I've been sober 17 years - it gets easier, but the struggle has never completely gone away. Some days I would sell my soul for one drink. I totally shifted my addiction to food, and am still working on being "sober" from that too. And the quit-drinking-sweet-tooth is 100% real!!
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
    edited June 2018
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    CarvedTones wrote: »
    vingogly wrote: »
    Think long and hard before you label yourself (or anyone else) as an "alcoholic" or a "drunk". You tend to become what you tell yourself you are.

    https://www.cchrint.org/psychiatric-disorders/psychiatric-labels-are-the-problem/

    I do have an issue with substance abuse, but I think I can be someone who just doesn't drink and not worry about it anymore. 11 months in, that hasn't completely happened yet; I had to worry about it a lot to start with and less frequently as time has passed but still the occasional urge. Between those urges I don't give it much thought unless I come across a discussion or if I am going to be in a situation with a high potential for urges and easy access to alcohol. I know AA members who haven't had a drink in 20 years and are still all about being an alcoholic, going to a couple of meetings a week. They seem ti have beat the problem long ago but still let it define them.

    tangent: it isn't a problem. it is a disorder or disease. my doctor preferred to call it a disorder because there is no cure but death.
    in the big book, they describe lots of drinkers and they define what an alcoholic is. if you aren't an alcoholic, then don't worry about AA. it wasn't meant for you anyways.
    the solution to their problem is something that they feel must be addressed every day. because if they don't, they end up dead like so many of my friends who went dry including my husband. recovered/recovering has always been a hot topic. in the book, it says you will recover.

    I'm not an alcoholic. but i know many 12 steppers and many non12 steppers. well versed in different views of alcoholism-alcohol abusers-substance abusers.

    sweet tooth....likely because of the sugars from the alcohol your body is no longer getting. think about how much sugar is in beer. and many people go cold turkey. your body wants sugar. SUGAR!!!! :wink:

    OP: congratulations. it's a great accomplishment and one many haven't been able to accomplish. I hope whatever route you end up going, you do so successfully :smiley:
  • Jennloella
    Jennloella Posts: 2,287 Member
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    Great job, I hope you come back and update your lab work, I'm curious what/how much can be turned around in 90 days!
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,897 Member
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    CarvedTones wrote: »
    vingogly wrote: »
    Think long and hard before you label yourself (or anyone else) as an "alcoholic" or a "drunk". You tend to become what you tell yourself you are.

    https://www.cchrint.org/psychiatric-disorders/psychiatric-labels-are-the-problem/

    I do have an issue with substance abuse, but I think I can be someone who just doesn't drink and not worry about it anymore. 11 months in, that hasn't completely happened yet; I had to worry about it a lot to start with and less frequently as time has passed but still the occasional urge. Between those urges I don't give it much thought unless I come across a discussion or if I am going to be in a situation with a high potential for urges and easy access to alcohol. I know AA members who haven't had a drink in 20 years and are still all about being an alcoholic, going to a couple of meetings a week. They seem ti have beat the problem long ago but still let it define them.

    Ya, I briefly dated two men who had been sober for double digit amount of years but were not available on Saturday nights because that was Meeting Night. If I had already been in a relationship with them I could have made space for it, but given we were new to each other it didn't make sense to me to continue. They seemed to not have the emotional bandwidth I was looking for - too much emotional availability was invested in 12 step meetings and being an alcoholic.

    (I'm not saying they should have done anything different - they are free to do what they think is necessary for their best good - just saying we weren't compatible.)
  • junodog1
    junodog1 Posts: 4,792 Member
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    CarvedTones wrote: »
    vingogly wrote: »
    Think long and hard before you label yourself (or anyone else) as an "alcoholic" or a "drunk". You tend to become what you tell yourself you are.

    https://www.cchrint.org/psychiatric-disorders/psychiatric-labels-are-the-problem/

    I do have an issue with substance abuse, but I think I can be someone who just doesn't drink and not worry about it anymore. 11 months in, that hasn't completely happened yet; I had to worry about it a lot to start with and less frequently as time has passed but still the occasional urge. Between those urges I don't give it much thought unless I come across a discussion or if I am going to be in a situation with a high potential for urges and easy access to alcohol. I know AA members who haven't had a drink in 20 years and are still all about being an alcoholic, going to a couple of meetings a week. They seem ti have beat the problem long ago but still let it define them.

    For some people the problem is never beat. It is a challenge every day, even 20 years later. One drink can open a door back up after a long period of sobriety. Not everyone is like that but some are. I had a generation older family member who fought this battle for the last forty years of her life, which were sober years. It is important to know yourself.

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