new - needing encouragement

[SAUSAGE]

new - needing encouragement

Thanks for the support Wonderworld
It's now almost 9pm here in UK. Have just been out for a 40 min cycleride after I put my kids to bed as I was dangerously close to drinking. We're about to eat soon but in the meantime to occupy myself i'm trying to make a homemade birthday card (card making is one of my hobbys) for my Godson whose birthday is in a couple of weeks. Could really do with an alcoholic drink but am just having a hot cup of tea after the cycle ride to warm myself up as it's very cold and windy here. I always drank after the kids were in bed (around 7pm) to fill in time before dinner was cooked (around 8.30 or 9pm) as we are always later eating than I would like because of bathing the kids, putting them to bed, tidying up etc. If I could eat sooner (easier said than done) I would have less of a problem / have less time to drink because once i've had my main course and on to my desert / something sweet ,I never drank after that!

[Boss.man]

new - needing encouragement

Stay the course Sausage! Only a couple hours and you'll be past it! I know I have a terrible time when it comes to my "drinking time" and my body keeps saying "You're missing out! You're going to miss it!"

Just keep focused and busy. Get dinner, and dessert and relax. Stay on that tea! I'm rooting for you!

[wonderworld]

new - needing encouragement

Good plans Sausage! I'm a crafter/artist too. and wow - much more than I felt "up to" in the first few days. Way to go .

Hopefully you are sleeping soundly right now. For me - trying to sleep on those early nights was frustrating :upset:. Hopefully the exercise helped knock you out .

You have taken a HUGE bite out of the really hard part - it's true! :goodjob:

JUST KEEP GOING

Looking forward to hearing about tomorrow......

ww xox

[LVT25]

new - needing encouragement

Just going to assume you made it through the rest of your evening af, Sausage. I would think it would help if you could eat earlier. I know with me, hunger was a trigger I didn't recognize. I knew once I ate, I didn't want to drink anymore (besides it killed the buzz). So now I at least have a snack or drink something else.
I was also intrigued by your hobby. I would like to hear more about making cards, and if WW pops back in maybe she could fill us in on her craftiness!:h

Hang in there, you're doing great!

[SAUSAGE]

new - needing encouragement

H

[SAUSAGE]

new - needing encouragement

Hi everyone, made it to Day 4 AF

Have been posting on another thread too on Monthly Abstinance 30 day AF week beginning 09/01 and after much debate over a few days with other memebers have decided moderation is too difficult (a) I probably am incapable of this anyway as past experience has shown and (b) Even if by some miracle or incredible amount of willpower I can moderate I'll just spend every day / situation craving a drink and wondering if I am going to allow myself one on this particular occasion and if so how much - ie will spend the rest ofmy life miserable and craving something which for most of the time I can't have and when I do have it being full of regret and guilt. NOt a nice way to exist so I am definitely going to try and abstain forever- easier said than done I know - so please continue to help me - I'm on day 4 now but as they say "one day at a time"

LVT25 I think you've hit the nail on the head when you say one of my main problems is not eating early enough. Does anyone else fine there main trigger is hunger and so drinking to fill in time before the main meal of the day. Or do some of you only start drinking after your evening meal?!? or both before and after?!? Eating ealier or at least keeping busy til I do eat is something i'm trying to address.

LVT25 you also asked about card making. This is getting quite a poplular hobby in UK and there are lots of craft shops that sell bits / materials to help you. I really only started about 3 years ago ispired by a friend who took it up and was really good at it. I made all my last child's birth announcements done my children's Christening invites and orders of serivce covers, also my grandma's funeral order of service, made a few Christmas cards and now i'm trying to get into doing birthday cards - have a google on internet to get ideas on cardmaking if interested. When I was drinking I never did anything much with my evenings - just sat and sipped wine, went on internet , did nothing really so now i'm going to have a lot more free time. Am also trying to get fit again. I dont' think the alcohol made me gain that much weight. I've already lost 7lbs but want to lose at least another 14 to get me back to my pre-children weight. Before my children (when I hardly ever drank) I was a keen distance runner and did 6 marathons (including London 3x and New YOrk once) my fastest marathon time was under 4 hrs. Having a recent hysterectomy has meant i could only recently begin to exercise but I am determined to get back to my old self again if I knock this booze beast on the head. Please continue to help me everyone
Thanks, Sausage

[Seen the light!]

new - needing encouragement

Hi Sausage!!

Reading your posts really struck a chord with me - I have 2 children who are 10 and 7 and I started to drink more heavily about 4-5 years ago. I also had a hysterectomy going on 2 years ago and thats when my drinking really got out of hand. I didn't realise at the time but it must have been my way of coping. At the start of this year I started thinking seriously about stopping but have never managed to get past the weekend without a drink although I have improved.

Now I am having another attempt and have reached Day 10 which is a little achievement for me and I want to carry on going. I'm sure you can do this - you've proved you can go AF earlier in the year so be strong and keep going - let's do this!!!!!!

[boozehag]

new - needing encouragement

Hi Sausage
well done on making it to day 4. You are well on your way I would say sounds like you have the right mind set. As regards eating and drinking I was the same as soon as I ate that would kill the AL buzz dead so I never ate when I drank and I smoked like a train too when I drank. People used to say to me how come you eat so much and you are not fat and I used to say well I only eat 3 days a week! I am modding now but my rule is that I only have a drink with food so there is no urge to binge.
Unfortunately I think I have cross addicted to food so I started a high protein diet today. I started off with a banana (so far so good) then I had a large cheese scone about the size of a small island with 3 butters (not so good) and then for lunch I had cottage cheese and a tomato followed in the afternoon by a kit kat and coffee and then a roast dinner (not so good). Oh yes and I forgot about the ice cream I had earlier but that was belonging to someone else so that doesnt count. Very soon I will look like Jennifer Aniston....
BH

[evie]

new - needing encouragement

Well done sausage on day 4! With you all the way!
My main trigger is definitely eating late- same as you I eat after the kids are in bed, usuallly 9pm, so I try to have a snack at their tea time and prepare what I can of our meal beforehand. I have never wanted a drink after eating a meal!
Take care
Evie x

[SAUSAGE]

new - needing encouragement

Thanks Boozehag, Evie, Seen the Light - good to have your support.

Seen the Light - Interesting to read your post, your situation sounds similar. Well done on day 10 that's brilliant - is that the furthest you've mangaed? How much were you drinking before and how quickly did it creep up on you. I think people under-rate the longterm implications of a hysterectomy. Physically it's possible to get over it in few months but mentally I feel there are always issues there particularly if it happens when you are still of childbearing age regardless or not of whether you want any more children (I would have quite liked another)

I really feel i had reached a crossroads in my life regarding drinking. either I did something now before it was too late (feel I saw the light just intime) and hopefully I can go back to what I was. I'm not that overweight I hopefully my health has not been affected to date long term if I stop now. If not I will become a middle aged woman alcholic, overweight with no other life but drinking , my children will know I drink (at the moment they are too young I belive at 3 and 4 as I only drank when they were in bed) and all the issues that raises, and my long term health will be affected and it will ruin my life forever. Quite scary how alcohol "creeps up on you" NO-one sets out to be an alcoholic, it's a slippery slope. 18 months ago I was prob only drinking 2 large glasses or wine a day, if that, and now I feel a bottle isn't even enough!!! and the really scary thing is I never even felt hung over the next morning, just a bit dehydrated. My body must have been really used to it !!

It's chucking it down with rain AGAIN here in Uk. We have had no summer. I'm off out now to get my children new shoes. My 4yr old starts school monday and my 3 yr old has really really broad feet and a v high instep so impossible to get shoes for!! So will have lots of fun trudging round shoe shops getting nowhere, in the pourring rain!

Will check back in later

[SAUSAGE]

new - needing encouragement

Hi everyone - Sausage here

Back home again, had a really rubbish day - really tempted to drink - please help me somebody. it's day 4 - that's meant to be a tough one isn't it?!

[A Work in Progress]

new - needing encouragement

Some quick ideas: call someone on the phone; leave the house right away and go for a walk; turn on the TV and watch something awful and take notes as you are doing it, assessing the health problems you see in everyone on the show! eat something! drink a huge glass of green tea (or any tea) with lemon in it!

wip

[wonderworld]

new - needing encouragement

NO WAY SAUSAGE - DON'T DO IT. You're almost to the end of the day - and - if you ask me this transition - day 4/5 is DEFINITELY the hardest. DO NOT GIVE IN.

Have you eaten? Had some water? Do you have supplements?

Hang on Sausage - you WANT to wake up AF tomorrow. Trust me! You'll feel SO much better when you do !

What can we do to help?

Love ww xox

[SAUSAGE]

new - needing encouragement

Am still here - my kids are having their tea it's only 5.15 pm here - I normally dont' start craving alcohol til around 7 pm when they go to bed so this is weird. I've just had a drink (not alcoholic - dont' worry ) and a pack of mini rice cakes with chilli sauce. Feeling a bit better - would love to just leave house but can't cos husband isn't back yet and can't leave kids. Definitely need to leave house to exercise or somehting tonight - reckon the next 2-3 hrs will be really tough....

[LVT25]

new - needing encouragement

Hang in there sausage! Do you have any of the supplements? Kudzu and L-Glutamine helps with cravings. I take GABA which helps me with my "mood". Eating a snack is great!

About those cards. Do you do them on the computer, or by hand? I have seen some really cute ones that people have made by hand with embellishments and a 3-D type effect. I am not very crafty, but I have done some stuff on the computer. I took a bunch of my mom's recipes, scanned them, used photos, poems, things she'd written and used them for divider pages. Then I made recipe books for my nieces and siblings. Now I need to make myself one!
Unfortunately I tend to start new hobbies, then get bored and quit. I really like to embroider, so I'm hoping this winter to do more of that to keep my hands busy. (I quit smoking too)

Do you read? I read more now too. I try to do lots of things I didn't/couldn't do while drinking/smoking.

Hope you're staying strong! It does get easier, really!


Also, if you really feel like you're in trouble you might start a new thread--you might get faster responses!