365 days without booze... join me?

[othername]

Day 9 for me today (not that I'm going for 365), longest I've not had a drink in possibly 3 years - the last time I did a few weeks off it. Had a few ups and downs with it before stopping, bit of a big binge end of last month (probably the devil on my shoulder telling me to have a blow out as I'm stopping!) which left me feeling predictably pretty crap.
So far, I still feel like crap - listless, no energy, tired all the time. I'm wondering if I should have tapered off (ie a couple of glasses of wine couple of nights a week) rather than going cold turkey when my body is so used to it, medical opinions seem to vary in the best way of managing what's essentially withdrawal symptoms from prolonged drug use. I just want to stop feeling like st and start feeling the benefit of not even having a glass of red with dinner!
Anyone else had the same after stopping? What's your thoughts on just suddenly stopping vs tapering off?

[Captain Smerc]

I'd keep going as you've stopped for 9 days already, all this will pass soon and your wonder why you drank at all. 1 day at a time will get you through this.

[othername]

Captain Smerc said:

I'd keep going as you've stopped for 9 days already, all this will pass soon and your wonder why you drank at all. 1 day at a time will get you through this.

It's fair point, I'm not intending to stop per se, dry November then see how I feel end of the month. Still interested in thoughts on tapering vs cold turkey, there's a fair bit of medical opinion that advises against it but I think that's for the most chronic vodka-in-the-morning kind of cases where stopping can lead to life threatening seizures.

[Davie_GLA]

othername said:

It's fair point, I'm not intending to stop per se, dry November then see how I feel end of the month. Still interested in thoughts on tapering vs cold turkey, there's a fair bit of medical opinion that advises against it but I think that's for the most chronic vodka-in-the-morning kind of cases where stopping can lead to life threatening seizures.

Good to see your name pop up!. I'm also on a forum for the British Liver Trust and it's scary how many times you see people come on, check in nice and positive after stopping for whatever reason and then the updates slow down. Some simply get on with it and others come back and update as they need to, it's what I do if I'm feeling a bit exposed or down. I use that site, here and reddit to keep me sane.

However, as lockdown gets worse and people struggle there are more and more updates from new users who have signed up t let the forum know that "Mr X" has sadly died due to being ill through booze or even worse they have decided enough is enough and have taken their own lives.

Sorry, not very cheery but I think what I'm trying to say is that there is always help. I could never do AA and I refused counsel when I was in the hospital because I just wasn't ready to answer the questions I already knew they were going to ask.

[Caddyshack]

othername said:

Day 9 for me today (not that I'm going for 365), longest I've not had a drink in possibly 3 years - the last time I did a few weeks off it. Had a few ups and downs with it before stopping, bit of a big binge end of last month (probably the devil on my shoulder telling me to have a blow out as I'm stopping!) which left me feeling predictably pretty crap.
So far, I still feel like crap - listless, no energy, tired all the time. I'm wondering if I should have tapered off (ie a couple of glasses of wine couple of nights a week) rather than going cold turkey when my body is so used to it, medical opinions seem to vary in the best way of managing what's essentially withdrawal symptoms from prolonged drug use. I just want to stop feeling like st and start feeling the benefit of not even having a glass of red with dinner!
Anyone else had the same after stopping? What's your thoughts on just suddenly stopping vs tapering off?

It will take time to feel the full benefits. It is worth dosing up on vitamins, I can do a list if you need one. People that have used alcohol a lot need a fair cocktail.

Bearing in mind that you know you feel crap, why would you not want to give up for good? I was scared to tell people that I was giving up for good as I did not want to fail and go back, I think I was scared of what life might be like without it...what I know now is that I had to learn that it was a lie and alcohol has nothing to offer me.

[Blib]

When I worked in a rehab the consultants regularly put our alcohol dependent clients on a librium detox. These detoxes often took several weeks. They were always closely monitored by our nursing staff and tailored to the needs of each individual.

If you feel physical discomfort in any way after you stop drinking please contact your GP or attend your local hospital. Withdrawal from alcohol can be dangerous in some cases.

[Davie_GLA]

Caddyshack said:

It will take time to feel the full benefits. It is worth dosing up on vitamins, I can do a list if you need one. People that have used alcohol a lot need a fair cocktail.

Bearing in mind that you know you feel crap, why would you not want to give up for good? I was scared to tell people that I was giving up for good as I did not want to fail and go back, I think I was scared of what life might be like without it...what I know now is that I had to learn that it was a lie and alcohol has nothing to offer me.

I'd be interested in the vitamins you found useful. I don't feel I'm lacking in any (other than perhaps sun but who isn't at the moment, and especially those of us who are Scottish )

[Caddyshack]

Davie_GLA said:

Caddyshack said:

It will take time to feel the full benefits. It is worth dosing up on vitamins, I can do a list if you need one. People that have used alcohol a lot need a fair cocktail.

Bearing in mind that you know you feel crap, why would you not want to give up for good? I was scared to tell people that I was giving up for good as I did not want to fail and go back, I think I was scared of what life might be like without it...what I know now is that I had to learn that it was a lie and alcohol has nothing to offer me.

I'd be interested in the vitamins you found useful. I don't feel I'm lacking in any (other than perhaps sun but who isn't at the moment, and especially those of us who are Scottish )

I will do a list, Craig Beck published it and gives the reasons why due to how alcohol strips the body / brain of certain things. I have been taking vit d for 2-3 yrs and a recent hair sample still showed a deficiency. (South of England)

[othername]

Caddyshack said:

othername said:

Day 9 for me today (not that I'm going for 365), longest I've not had a drink in possibly 3 years - the last time I did a few weeks off it. Had a few ups and downs with it before stopping, bit of a big binge end of last month (probably the devil on my shoulder telling me to have a blow out as I'm stopping!) which left me feeling predictably pretty crap.
So far, I still feel like crap - listless, no energy, tired all the time. I'm wondering if I should have tapered off (ie a couple of glasses of wine couple of nights a week) rather than going cold turkey when my body is so used to it, medical opinions seem to vary in the best way of managing what's essentially withdrawal symptoms from prolonged drug use. I just want to stop feeling like st and start feeling the benefit of not even having a glass of red with dinner!
Anyone else had the same after stopping? What's your thoughts on just suddenly stopping vs tapering off?

It will take time to feel the full benefits. It is worth dosing up on vitamins, I can do a list if you need one. People that have used alcohol a lot need a fair cocktail.

Bearing in mind that you know you feel crap, why would you not want to give up for good? I was scared to tell people that I was giving up for good as I did not want to fail and go back, I think I was scared of what life might be like without it...what I know now is that I had to learn that it was a lie and alcohol has nothing to offer me.

Fair enough; I'm not 100% sure it's just giving up booze that responsible for feeling crap but I'm going to hang with it will at least the end of the month and keep punching out time on exercise when I feel I have the energy. I'm not even going to mention it to anyone, just carry on carrying on (except the mrs of course).

[LordGrover]

Clearly, depending how much you/anyone drinks on a daily basis, you may be suffering from a calorie deficiency - or more specifically nutritional deficiency.

I was drinking at least 1,000 kcals a day and did way better when I replaced some of that with nutritious foods. Don't just plug the gap with snacks and junk.

[JQ]

Good morning all, I actually feel great on a Monday morning, which is rather unusual. It'll be 2 weeks once I get through today. Kids were a nightmare on Saturday afternoon and both my wife and I admitted yesterday that we were very very tempted to reach for a glass of red early Sat evening. I'm glad we didn't, got loads of stuff done yesterday.

I shall head off to Boots at lunchtime to buy some multi-vitamins as a result of this thread, if anyone has any recommendations please let me know, if not I'll be getting Multi-Bionta or Wellman.

Here's to a good week.

[othername]

LordGrover said:

Clearly, depending how much you/anyone drinks on a daily basis, you may be suffering from a calorie deficiency - or more specifically nutritional deficiency.

I was drinking at least 1,000 kcals a day and did way better when I replaced some of that with nutritious foods. Don't just plug the gap with snacks and junk.

Thankfully I've never been one for snacks and junk... I've definitely noticed an increase in my appetite which just means bigger portions for each meal. I've had the odd bit of chocolate here and there (sugar cravings which happened last time I stopped drinking) but mostly it's nutritious stuff. Oh, and a penchant for cheese an hour or so after dins, but that's a far better vice than booze! My weight has always sat around 12.5-13st & I'm 6"1 so bang on what I should be. Had a massive 10hr sleep last night (unintended, just didn't set an alarm expecting to wake naturally after 8) and I do feel better for that.
Each day that goes by I seem to feel a little better than the day before - I guess I impatiently expected some amazing epiphany after a week where I'd feel amazing and go run a marathon But it's incrementally improving so I'll just keep doing what I'm doing, hopefully in 2-3 weeks time I'll be feeling properly energized.

[Davetheraver]

Never posted on this thread before.

Wrong side of 40 and it turns out blood pressure is through the roof (life is pretty stressful to be fair) but the drinking has also crept up along with the stress levels which is a viscous circle because then you can’t get out of bed, concentrate etc, but like many I have kept doing it.

Diet is also shocking with work all day and nothing to eat u til getting home and opening a beer then eating all evening often until the early hours. Rinse and repeat.

Time to change. I don’t want to give up as I enjoy a social drink but I am going to go cold turkey for a couple of weeks and from then on do no more drinking at home.

Last drink Sunday evening and it’s now 5:30 on Tuesday and other than being a bit bored I am good. Have decided to sort the healthy eating at the same time so have cut all sugar and processed crap, coffee etc for a week as well.

Will see how I get on. We have quite an active social life and have already had to turn down three nights out this week as I definitely couldn’t manage at the pub or a restaurant yet (no lockdown here)

[K12beano]

Davetheraver said:

Never posted on this thread before.

Well....here is a good place to be.... a little corner of Internetiness for us to just be supportive and non-judgemental - so thanks for sharing.

Davetheraver said:

Wrong side of 40 and it turns out blood pressure is through the roof (life is pretty stressful to be fair) but the drinking has also crept up along with the stress levels which is a viscous circle because then you can’t get out of bed, concentrate etc, but like many I have kept doing it.

When I found I had high blood pressure (which it turned out was just starting to give me some issues which could be catastrophic if not checked) I got fairly scared about it all. And then I had no choice because I went to hospital for a test and my BP was above 220 or something and they just didn't let me back out for a week!!

I suddenly envisaged - with some degree of HORROR - that I might have to be on pills for ever.

But I was a year sober when that happened, and my whole attitude did come round after a while (I now take six pills a day and have a monthly standing order to the NHS to pay for all my prescriptions.... subscriptions for prescriptions, so to speak).

And all-in-all it is better than being dead; modern technology in working out what was wrong with me before it was catastrophic and in being able to give me stuff to keep me in shape that way is just amazing.

And despite a wobble for a few weeks earlier this year, I feel quite a lot better not putting out wine bottles in the recycling or whatever..... so, it all can be done and things will be better. Just thinking about and seeing your own issues, which you have now done, is just the beginning - but a very important one. So we're rooting for you now! Good luck!

[bristolracer]

I'm 7 weeks in
Started as stoptober and carried on
The one thing I really do not miss is the fuzzy head and feeling stty in the morning.

[Davetheraver]

So I only stopped on Sunday, and am really struggling to get to sleep of a night. Guess my body just isn’t used to switching off without a few drinks to help.

I have to be up in 4.5 hours and currently feel like I have had 15 coffee’s

[HairyMaclary]

Welcome to the newmen joining this thread. It does get better and better so stick with it.

I agree it's nice to check into this thread occasionally for some support or accountability. The other things to keep me on the straight and narrow is my day counter I find really motivates me and also my anon sober twitter account. Plenty of people sober or sober curious use #recoveryposse for support or just to vent.

Oddat

[Blib]

Davetheraver said:

So I only stopped on Sunday, and am really struggling to get to sleep of a night. Guess my body just isn’t used to switching off without a few drinks to help.

I have to be up in 4.5 hours and currently feel like I have had 15 coffee’s

That seems about right for two days in.

[FreeLitres]

When I first gave up I found that running really helped as mood booster and helped me to feel tired at night.

Even 20 minutes at a moderate pace really helped. Worth a try if you are struggling in the early days.

[deckster]

FreeLitres said:

When I first gave up I found that running really helped as mood booster and helped me to feel tired at night.

Even 20 minutes at a moderate pace really helped. Worth a try if you are struggling in the early days.

Definitely this.

It's a blindingly obvious truism, but it really does help if you are actually physically tired when trying to go to sleep.