2013-LET'S DO THIS!

[Tipplerette]

2013-LET'S DO THIS!

Got through a New Year's Eve dinner with sparkling cranberry water. Fondu and the others were raving about the wine. I had no problem except that little thought I had this afternoon. So glad to move ahead with you people. We are deserving of this.

[Struggles 106]

2013-LET'S DO THIS!

Hey guys-staying up late and smoking the rest of these nasty cigarettes.

Sober and fit and healthy for the new year!!!

[Kradle123]

2013-LET'S DO THIS!

So incredibly proud of everyone tonight!! roud:

And thank you Tipp for your perspective :h. I found that first post I had from you which kept me sane when my computer went out....so glad I didn't loose it!

Had a big restaurant meal with my family...completely stuffed. Lots of diet pepsi and mint tea

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE :l

PS: thanks Once for sharing your story. I think about the times I too drove telling myself I was fine...cringe. But NEVER again. :h

[Tipplerette]

2013-LET'S DO THIS!

Kradle, you are most welcome; I felt connected to you and still do.

This evening I am dealing with a difficult personality here at the lake house; a drunk, stoned niece and she is the type that needs to alienate women. Being drunk, I usually just throw it back it her good naturedly but tonight I want to rip her face off. Unfortunately for her, I will become stronger and next year I will be able to avoid her when she invites herself over for a whole week. I will have the strength to say no. I am such a pushover as an alkie. Look out world, this sober chick is not going to take shit any more.

[NoraC]

2013-LET'S DO THIS!

Kradle - it's a great feeling! :l

Tipp - good for you!!! We are all going to become stronger this year. :h

[FlyAway]

2013-LET'S DO THIS!

OnceAgain;1435641 wrote: As the year ends I am reflecting (and trying not to drink) on 2012 and what brought me to the place I am now. Last New Year's Eve I drank a whole bottle of sparkling wine by myself and then proceeded to go and pick my son up from a party a few miles away. I did not want him driving because there were "drunk" people on the road. Well - I was probably one of them and I had him in the car with me. Luckily all went okay and we got home fine. Two days later I driving to pick him up from a swim meet and I had had a bottle of wine before leaving the house during a very short period of time. I was buzzed but told myself that I was okay when I left the house. On the way to that swim meet I hit a guard rail going about 45 miles per hour. I did $12K of damage to my practically new car but I was okay and thank God did not hurt anyone else. I told the officers that I had swerved to miss a dog. They bought it and I did not even get in trouble. I proceeded to keep drinking - even after that. I could have easily killed myself, my child, or someone else. That is how strong AL is - it will make you risk everything - even the most important things in your life. I feel guilty and ashamed that I kept telling myself that I was okay and that I did not have a problem. A few months ago I started to black out while drinking. I would wake up and not remember things that happened or things that I had said. This summer I started journaling and said that I wanted to make some changes. I was not happy in my job and was not happy with my relationship with my kids or husband - and I admitted to having a drinking problem. As of today I have changed all of it. I looked for and obtained a great new job that I start next week. I am working daily on my relationship with my family and trying to be a better wife and mother. AND as of 12/27 I have stopped drinking. I am only on day 5 and I feel good and bad and anxious and scared but most of all I feel thankful and happy. Happy to have found all of you because you are helping me get the strength I need and not feel alone. Thank you all so much. Happy New Year! (and thank you for letting me go on and on and on....)

You are not the only person here who has driven drunk. I have too. I know one time I apparently drove in a black out. I remember being at a party, then I remember waking up the next day in my bed. In a panic I ran outside to see if my car was there. Yes it was, and I drove it home. I remember none of it. It's so incredibly scary to play the "what if" game. And I am so damned grateful and blessed that I never hurt anyone. How incredibly selfish and irresponsible and reckless of me to endanger other people. Never again.

Five days is great. You are still going to have some pretty strong callings from your Alcohol Voice. But you are establishing a new pathway in your brain that can only be made firm by your continued sobriety. I swear to you with all I believe in that it will get easier. You have to trust in that. You can and will do this!

[FlyAway]

2013-LET'S DO THIS!

I was missing in action yesterday. A family member was having surgery and I was at the hospital until late last night. I got home and turned on my computer and WOW! There were so many pages on this thread to read through. It makes me happy to see so many inspired folks who are looking for a new life. This will be a very Happy New Year for us! :groupluv:

[FlyAway]

2013-LET'S DO THIS!

For those of you talking about anxiety and anger, I'd like to suggest researching the amino acid L-Theanine. I happened to hear a friend talk about taking it and it helping her. The more I looked into it, the more it sounded like one of those "too good to be true" supplements. But I'm finding that it's really working for me.

Theanine is one of the few supplements that crosses the blood/brain barrier. It increases the Alpha waves in your brain and promotes a state of calm. It is believed to help with cognitive function. Of course, in the USA you're not going to find studies done on L-Theanine since it's not patentable and not a money maker for the drug companies. But I did find this page of medical studies done around the world: L-Theanine - PubMed - NCBI There are studies about it helping with ADHD, cognitive function, nicotine withdrawal, anxiety, and more.

I've been taking it for about 2 weeks. It wasn't like I noticed a difference immediately. But what I did notice within a couple days of taking it was that I was pretty chill during my hour long commute. I just didn't get worked up over the idiots on the road for the most part. Then after another couple days I realized that I felt a greater affinity toward other people and enjoyed engaging them in conversation more. I've noticed I've been more talkative and friendly and have been feeling more motivated to do things around the house. Now I have felt depression on and off for about 35 years, sometimes severe where I really didn't want to live. I've tried taking antidepressants before with little to no relief. I've tried many natural supplements that were supposed to help with depression and really saw no difference. I am extremely skeptical of any med or supplement and I never seem to get the result that others claim to receive. I feel better now taking L-Theanine than I have in a long, long time.

I've read that if you're going to buy it you should look for Suntheanine. I guess it's the preferred version of L-Theanine. I've also read that be careful if you're on blood pressure meds because L-Theanine can lower your blood pressure. It's also supposed to be good for your LDL cholesterol. The studies about cognitive function talk about L-Theanine being taken in conjunction with caffeine. I take 100mg every morning with my coffee. Then I take 200mg about a half hour before I go to bed since it's supposed to have a calming effect and may help with sleep. My husband starting taking it too btw and he remarked the other night how he didn't get all anxious about a situation like he normally would. He said the same thing as me; that it wasn't like a light switch was turned on when taking it, but that he just noticed a subtle difference after a few days. It has made such a difference in the way that I feel that if it continues I will take this for the rest of my life.

Finally, I am not a doctor. I am in no way trying to get people to buy this supplement. Please do your research. I did tell my neurologist that I was going to be taking this though and he had no problem with it.

[Tavistock]

2013-LET'S DO THIS!

Happy New Years Day everyone! Today is Day 1, i only had a couple glasses of wine last night at my daughters along with lots of lobster tails and steak. So though I'm a bit tired, i'm not hungover....hopefully that will make this first day easier.

So excited to finally begin my journey. Best wishes for the new year to all.

[Tipplerette]

2013-LET'S DO THIS!

Fly Away, thank you for that interesting information. If this 'cloud over my head' feeling continues I will buy some. I don't like feeling resentful. I have wasted lots of money on supplements that rot in my cupboards as when I am drinking I forget to brush my teeth let alone take supplements. Now that I'm done with the poison, I may be able to take some good stuff consistently enought to feel their effects. xoxo

[FlyAway]

2013-LET'S DO THIS!

Tavistock;1436035 wrote: Happy New Years Day everyone! Today is Day 1, i only had a couple glasses of wine last night at my daughters along with lots of lobster tails and steak. So though I'm a bit tired, i'm not hungover....hopefully that will make this first day easier.

So excited to finally begin my journey. Best wishes for the new year to all.

Sounds like a great dinner! Good job on starting the new year clearheaded.

[Alcoholic]

2013-LET'S DO THIS!

I'm going to see if I can find some at cvs tomorrow on way to work, thanks, flyaway!

[NoraC]

2013-LET'S DO THIS!

Morning everyone! I woke up this morning and thought - what have I done....why did I say that I was going to be AF for 2013???? But, then I came here and read your wonderful posts and realized that I can do this. Thank you Fly for your wonderful words. Almost a year for you now. That's fantastic. :h

[Struggles 106]

2013-LET'S DO THIS!

HAPPY NEW YEAR_OFF WE GO

Well here we are. Still psyched for the new year! And FlyAWAY I want to check out the stuff you mentioned, sounds very interesting and possibly helpful since I am dealing with nicotine withdrawal too.

Cold and rainy today. Happy to be here with all the great people who will no doubt inspire and be inspired as we go along this journey.

Not to be negative but I wonder about the damage done last night related to alcohol-oh yes the socially acceptable drug.

I am feeling a bit shaky today. Not related to alcohol by this point but nicotine and possibly sleep issues. I went back to ambien lately and it worked a few nights and now oddly keeps me awake. It is hard to focus when you are not well rested so I'm hoping that exercise will help.

I plan to check in daily and I STILL don't have my big calendar. As someone suggested I'm going to Staples tomorrow and I'll bet they have one.

Have a great day all!

[scottish lass]

2013-LET'S DO THIS!

Happy New Year all - happy to start the year without a hangover and hopefully going to make this a really great year.
Happy to have so much company on this journey. Managed my smoked salmon and prawns without wine last night, and now looking forward to roast beef without wine!!!!