Newbies in Need - Day 15

[Kitty]

Hi all,

Hope you are all having a good weekend.

The weather here is so miserable today. I was going to go to the shops on my bike but I'm going to wait for my OH to get home from work with the car because it is sooo wet. Gone up to 50mg on my Topa today and so far so good.

Have a nice day everyone, and lets hope our dear friends Bluesky & Janice are back with us soon.

Kitty

[Guest]

Newbies in Need - Day 15

Hi Kitty and all to come.

My daughter seemed to pick up a bit later last night and she got a decent sleep. Holiday weekend here, so am taking her back to G.P. to get her a referral to an eye specialist as she`s still seeing the lights etc. in her eyes. N.H.S. here is shocking, isn`t it ?..........will ask G.P. to fast-track my girl`s referral, but will opt for private consultation if we`re going to have to wait several wks. for N.H.S. examination.

Just think all our other problems all but fade into oblivion when our children become unwell............is terrifying experience for a mother.

Had to laugh at you leaving the bike in favour of the car due to the rain Kitty.................my favourite hangover cure used to be walking in the pelting rain!!! LOL

Love to all my dear Newbie friends.

Starlight Impress

[Kitty]

Newbies in Need - Day 15

Star,

Your daughter is in my thoughts. I know what you mean about our NHS, so brilliant sometimes and so utterly useless others, a real lottery. I agree that if you have to wait weeks the private consult will speed things up. Keep us posted.

And yes, does put things into perspective doesn't it.

Kitty

[bird]

Newbies in Need - Day 15

Hi all
I have been messing up. I got drunk Thursday and ate a whole pizza and some ice cream sandwiches. Then I did it again last night. I have noticed that I drink after getting through problems or social situations. Sort of a reward type thing I guess. My brain thinking oh I made it through that! Now I'll just have a few to calm down. But it does'nt work. Must watch that. Starlight...I always like to go to the library with my hangover but walking in the rain sounds good too.....nothing to do with drinking, but I met a new friend yesterday. Her and my daughter are friends and we set up a play date. When I went to drop my kid off I ended up talking to the Mom for over an hour and more when she came to my place to bring her home. It was like I'd known her forever. I'm usually pretty quiet. It was like I'd had a snootful but was completely sober. What a good day except for running for the beer after she left.hmmmm. Happy day all. Bird

[Cinders]

Newbies in Need - Day 15

Good Morning From Alabama

Hello to Kitty and Starlight and all to come!!

Starlight, our medical care is great, if you can afford it. Neither of my children (29 and 25) have insurance, so they pay huge money for any care. In your case, you get care but it doesn't always seem to be what you need.

I truly hope they find out what is going on with your daughter. I know how scary that is. Have gone through that kind of thing in the past and you "eat, drink, sleep" it. We are all thinking of you and her!!

On a selfish front, I did make it a day AF yesterday and shooting for another today. Wish me luck!!

Take care all and be well.

Cindi

[Reenie]

Newbies in Need - Day 15

Bird: Your avatar cracks me up every time I see it! It's so cute! Isn't it nice when you meet someone for the first time and connect with them. Last week I had my hair done by a stylist who I never had before. She and I connected immediately. While she was cutting my hair, we had very souful conversations. By the time I left the salon, I felt like I had 1.5 hours of mental therapy. Just the other day, in the mail, was a package from the stylist. She mailed me a book and some cd's along with a little note. The book and cd's are inspirational/spiritual in nature. In the note, she stated that she was thinking of me and that the book and cd's have gotten her through some tough times. I was touched, and greatly appreciate a her reaching out to me. I have since mailed her a note thanking her. Meanwhile, I look forward to getting my hair done by her again. I feel like I made a good friend.

[Doggygirl]

Newbies in Need - Day 15

ACK!! Had a nice long post addressing everyone and I lost it. I hate when that happens!!

Anyway...Good morning (or whatever it is in your time zone!) to all new friends here.

((((Starlight)))) Big hugs for you. I hope you are able to get into the specialist soon and find out the solution for your daughter. I will be thinking of you and doing my best to send you positive vibes.

Reenie what cool situation with your new hairdresser and new friend! Same for Bird!!

Bird I'm sorry to hear of your struggles. It sounds to me like the positive side of this is you are really aware of your triggers and situations that make you want to drink. To me that sounds like the first step towards being able to develop a strategy to combat those urges and figure out a different response that you will be happy with.

Cindi congrats on your AF day!!

Hi Kitty. It's a smart Kitty who waits for the car on a rainy shopping day. Hope you are having a good one!

For me I am VERY happy and grateful to be on Day 5 AF. I feel quite calm and peaceful today - like someone put Zen in my Kudzu rather the rocket fuel (a ton of energy) in my kudzu. Both are fine. I'm liking then Zen feeling for a lazy Sunday!

Have a great day everyone!

DG
AF Day 5

[nancy]

Newbies in Need - Day 15

Temporarily AF

Oh my God!!!

Someone else on this thread, Reenie, has my Avatar!

Well, I guess I should not be selfish, and we will have to share the cartoony character.

Kitty, sorry, I must have missed that you were going on topa. When did you start? Do you think a low dose helped you to abstain so far?

As I wrote before, after almost hitting a month moderation and falling short one day before the milestone, I am trying temporary AF. Was it Doggy Girl who suggested stickers on the calendar to mark good days (she said stars)? Anyway, I am doing that and finding it quite motivating.

Only I use smiley faces. I don't find it juvenile at all..

I am doing the hypno and have three days AF so far. I wonder if I could do one month? I don't want to commit to that though. Maybe by then the hypno would help change me and I could learn new coping patterns with difficult thinking and emotions.

The book Feeling Good made me realize I have some cognitive distortions, ways of negative thinking that make you depressed and are self-defeating. I wonder how these come about? It's based on cognitive behavior therapy. I am not convinced that most emotional problems are linked to negative thoughts but certainly a share of them are.

Also, I ordered inosotol. Determinator wrote about it. It is a b vitamin that helps the liver and helps neurotransmitter function (good for depression and anxiety).

Hope everyone has a lovely sunday.

[nancy]

Newbies in Need - Day 15

Janice and ADuggan

Janice, our thoughts are with you!

And where is ADuggan? Anyone checking in with her? she came back for a while and went on meds...

[Kitty]

Newbies in Need - Day 15

Hi Nancy,

Good luck with the af and let us know how you go with the inosotol.

I'm only on my 4th day of Topa, so still on old fasioned will power. I just feel like I want some extra help and a long a run at af as I can get to try and rewire my brain. I went up to 50mg today after some advise from some of the more experienced Topa users as I wasn't experiencing any negative side effects. I am sleeping quite well which has been good. Be interesting to see when I get the "switch" I've read some really encouraging things about Topa at low doses, so I'm hoping not to have to go up too far.

Kitty

[Doggygirl]

Newbies in Need - Day 15

Hi Nancy and congratulations on another AF day and laying your claim on another smiley face!!! We ought to make a suggestion to add pizazz to the drink track here by adding the eyes and smile to the "O".

Kitty, I am following your topa experience with interest of course!!

DG
Day 5 AF * * * * * (gold stars!)

[retteacher]

Newbies in Need - Day 15

Bird: I've used alcohol as a reward when I've gone through some difficult days. I feel that it's the only way I can relax, & it does often lower my inhibitions & I go off on food as well. Just dust yourself off & try again. Keep the memory of the alcohol-pizza-ice cream sandwich binge in mind the next time you want to "reward" yourself. The aftermath isn't worth it.
Good luck, Mary