Fed up

[universal]

Fed up

Oh Hon, just saw this........yes, I can relate......and I feel your pain.

I was the cheerleader/hottie of the school.......then lost my mom and myself at the same time......

Glad you found us........we will help you.

Love and Hugs,
Uni
Pm me if you ever want to swap stories.........welcome to MWO

[paisley]

Fed up

hope everyone is doing well. its a new day. it'll be a humdinger.

[KBCE]

Fed up

Hi Paisley - sorry I am late on this. I can relate. I don't like the person I have become. I am a totally functioning alcholic - my family had no idea how much I drank. I found that I could function fully TOTALLY hungover. Not good. I have gone a few weeks AF a few times, and always slip. Tomorrow I start again - on my birthday. I thought that would be appropriate. Keep posting, reading, taking the supps and you will feel stronger. I drink to block out old pain - my life is wonderful now - so WHY THE HELL DO I DRINK???? AL is a freaking beast that tried to brainwash you. You CAN do this and you will see that you have many friends who understand what you are going through - probably more than you know. Take care.

K

[Helpwanted08]

Fed up

Hi Paisly,
MY story is similar to yours, I was a cheer leader and actually a Miss teen California. MY dad had a massive heart attack at 50 and for the next 8 years had no quality of life and actually mixed too much AL with all his heart medicine and over time it killed him. When I drik too much wine I see him in myself and it scares me. I have put on 25 pounds in the past 2-3 years when in the past I was always very thin. I have been on the Topa and supplements for almost 3 weeks but have not gone up from 25, it does take away the craving but it wipes out your appetite so it helps with the weight loss too. I thik losing some weight helps with ones self esteme so much that maybe feelign better about how we look will help to stay away from the wine too. Keep us posted, I have the CD's but have not used them yet however; I hear people say they help some too.
HW

[Helpwanted08]

Fed up

WOW, I guess I need to use spell check, sorry for all those typos.

[Casey]

Fed up

Paisely-

Alcohol had an amazing ability of becoming very important to my every day life very quickly. That theme seems to be common: one day you don't drink, the next day you do. And, a lot! It is amazing, what other substance other than drugs or cigarettes would become such an important part of our lives so quickly? Can you imagine eating six bananas a day?

You ask if other people know? Well, I believe it depends on where you are in the progression. We used to have a lady that worked where I work who actually smelled like alcohol. In hindsight, I think she must have worked with hangovers most of the time.

For myself, I knew, and, therefore, I think on and off other people knew something was wrong but they, perhaps, couldn't tell what it was. I was just "sick" with whatever was going around that week. Plus, I have allergies and the alcohol exacerbates them. So when I am drinking heavily my nose is constantly stuffed up.

As you begin your AF journey, STAY BUSY. When is your witching hour? You should pin point that time and stay busy especially then. What is your favorite non-alcholic drink? When you feel the need to drink vodka, fill a big glass of milk (or whatever) and drink it right down.

Did I gain weight? Heck, yeah. I would drink four to six shots of whiskey while making dinner, then eat a huge dinner plus dessert. Do this over a period of time and the pounds accumulate. Exercise? Has anyone ever excersized with a hangover? The only thing that makes me feel better is hair of the dog that bit me.

Best wishes!

[Babbert]

Fed up

Hi Paisley, Babs here
As for your question, has anyone gained weight from drinking....uh YEAH. just so i'd have it on the record i pulled out the digital scale i used to use before i was more interested in vodka martinis and got on it yesterday. it's the kind that takes what you weighed the last time you stepped on it and tells you the difference.......48.2 POUNDS!!!!!!!! if that doesn't motivate me i don't know what will.
very sorry about your dad, i am a diabetic too, type 1 and my future scares me. i started today Sunday as well, hope you did too. so far so good. did get all the ammo though, topomax, all the supplements - although the powder "All One" is god awful, going to try and mix it with yogurt tomorrow morning. the cds should be here in a couple of days too. good luck!:thumbs::thumbs:

[paisley]

Fed up

i might need to get supplements because im kind of experiencing a little anxiety. i hope i will be able to go to sleep tonight as the only way i have been sleeping was from one too many vodka martinis. anyone have any problems sleepy when you stopped drinking? any sugesstions. other than that my first day is not soo bad. i am pacing around my house. very unlike me. i need to learn more about topomax. i just need a little help.

one down (well it will be in about 4 hours) i am remaining hopeful

[A Work in Progress]

Fed up

Good for you, Paisley!! Come on over to the BoozeBusters thread and the AF Army thread! There are a lot of people there who are going through exactly what you are going through. Lots of support, lots of help, and we have a good time there.

wip

[Boss.man]

Fed up

paisley;403763 wrote: i might need to get supplements because im kind of experiencing a little anxiety. i hope i will be able to go to sleep tonight as the only way i have been sleeping was from one too many vodka martinis. anyone have any problems sleepy when you stopped drinking? any sugesstions. other than that my first day is not soo bad. i am pacing around my house. very unlike me. i need to learn more about topomax. i just need a little help.
l

Sleep the first few nights is awful. Just expect that. It's part of the process. You've made a habit of "sleeping" by doping your brain up with alcohol. This makes you slumber, but really destroys your REM sleep so you probably have felt tired the next day even though you got 8 hours of "doped up" sleep the night before.

Most people take 4-5 days (sometimes more) for your body to re-learn how to engage in natural sleep. It involves chemicals in your brain, and the alcohol has been mucking with those chemicals for quite a long time. It will take a few days for your body to realize it's time to make those chemicals again. Until then, you will be restless during the night, and sleep fitfully.

Some things to help: Take 2 Valerian (herbal), or 1 Unisom (actually 1/2 Unisom works fine for me) or 1 Benadryl pill 30 minutes before going to bed. Also, you can take 3g of Melatonin 30 mins before it's time to sleep. I also find if I wake, another 3g of Melatonin at 2am worked to keep me down until morning.

Don't stack any of the above, except for Melatonin. Also, at least for me, nearly all of them result in difficulty waking up in the morning.

To stop drinking is not a button or a magic pill. Your body needs to detox, and there are a lot of side effects. Restless sleep the first couple nights is part of the detox process.

[Babbert]

Fed up

Hi Paisley
i know what you mean, i've got major ants in the pants too. can't tell if it's physical withdrawal or just my head messing with me. never had to fill my free time before, just sat around watching movies and drinking. now it's like the day is twice as long. do what you can for now, i'm sure the first few days are the worst. i ended up having a triple iced mocha this morning just to jolt myself out of it...

[KBCE]

Fed up

Bossman - Not to hijack the thread, but I wanted to thank you for all your insightful and compassionate posts. Reading them is always informative. They are always well thought out and kind. Really helps me in this striuggle. Just wanted to say thanks and that I appreciate it!

K

[hopefull]

Fed up

Hi everyone,,,,,well I am a brand new kid on the block as well. today is my first time on here.
I realized years ago that I had a problem, but have not had much luck in quitting even with group support. A friend of mine sent me this my way out deal and reading the ladies story was really touching and reasonated deeply within me.
I am going to go to a treatment centre near end of sept and I am freaked right out. I want to ask my doc before I go about the medication
I havn't read all the stuff yet on this site but have read a pamplet on the medication campral. Has anyone out there tried it. If so what was your experience? Thankyou Hopefull

[peacenowplease]

Fed up

Oh Paisley, I feel, like many here probably do, that you could be my twin. Tonight is the first I have decided to stay AF and I am coming out of my skin. I can see the bottle out of the corner of my eye and am dreading trying to lay down and sleep without it.

keep in touch

[nancy]

Fed up

I am with KCBE, Boss.mans comments rule. I def get movitated by his descriptions about what alcohol does to the body. Like what was the last one I read, like an IV drip of sugar that gets stored you know where! Eek! And I don't want all my neurotransmitters to be in a big mess.

To Paisley, a therapist once reminded me that Bridget Jones threw away that bottle of vodka, realizing it wasn't the right way to handle the crisis. I re-watched the movie and he was right!

I read somwhere, maybe in an Alan Carr book, that using alcohol for a crisis is like seeing the emergency lights are on while driving and just shutting them off, as if that makes the problem go away. i think he also said alcohol is like a crutch made of wormwood.

Anyway, I don't know how we get this notion that it's better to numb emotional pain instead of dealing with it, coz it's so bogus.

What's your choice? You will still have rough nights, but you will skip the two days of alcohol-related blues if you abstain and just put up with the pain.