Newbies Nest

[Byrdlady]

Newbies Nest

Welcome Laga!! Great job of pouring out the stash. One of our Nest Mothers, K9, says that pouring AL down the drain is the same as drinking it, except you save your body the trouble of processing it!
I hope everyone is having an easy AF day, after the struggles of last night, today should be easy! I'm so proud of everyone who told AL to shove off! It's hard to do, but gives you such a sense of power when you do! Byrdie

[Kradle123]

Newbies Nest

jenniech;1366277 wrote: Cat and Kradle - WOW you guys are me!! I have a daily argument with my AL self but I have been winning...Last night was not the worst in terms of craving buy psychologically, it was the worst because it was saturday night....Here's the thing I am figuring out.....the more days AF, the easier time I have coping with the cravings....they are not going away yet (although everyone promises me they will) but I am able to use past AF days as reference about how I fought the urge and then woke up the next day down right elated that I had made it....
Feeling good today!!

Hi Jenniech: now I have that song in my head- " When the cats in the cradle and the silver spoon..." :H

I've been thinking about why it's been so rough lately and why I am as you put it perfectly, having that damn daily arguement in my head! Well, truth is I'm out of the L-Glut, I'm not taking my supps as religiously as I was, I'm down on the Topa and all this running around with the kids has cut my excercise time to zilch...so I have to finally admit like an athlete in training if you don't use it, you loose it. and unless I get my ass back in the saddle, I will definitely loose it!
Kids r back in school in two weeks and only have one more big event on the calander so....

ITSMYTIMEi love that phrase, my bargaining voice. Perfect description.

Thanks Byrd for my 2 hats. They fit perfectly when I change their locations! Makes me feel like Madonna...

Hugs to everyone,
:l

[Butterbean]

Newbies Nest

Hi all! It has been quite a while since I have checked in. Life is soooooo much better. My husband still doesn't have a job but there are a few good things brewing. My drinking has gotten soooooooooooo much better. I went through several parties, trips to the beach and lots of casual scary get togethers and I feel so much better about myself. I have stopped drinking completely unless there is an "occasion". When there is an occasion I tell my husband (to make me more accountable) 'I am having 2 beers tonight.'
I have stayed very clear of wine and volunteered a bunch to be the driver. I never did before. I am not out of the dark by any means but I haven't had any of those sick mornings where I wake up with that cloud of shame and depression. I feel like I have been in enough situations now where I haven't had anything to drink that now I don't dread those situations at all anymore. i had made such a HUGE deal in my head and again my husband's quote has haunted me..."Trust me, people will notice way more if you DRINK than if you don't!" OUCH! Still is so embarrassing, but I am grateful for his brutal honesty. I knew I was making an ass of myself more and more. Now I kinda like to go to stuff and be low key. Hope you all are staying strong. This is an ongoing lifetime battle.

[ITGeekChick]

Newbies Nest

Happy Sunday, Nesters!

Dropping in for a moment before starting laundry and taking my kiddo out for pizza.

I am coming up up two months AF and amazingly, with each day it gets easier and easier. There are still times I think "Wow, I want a drink!" but it is being countered quickly by "I've gone this long AF, why start again now??" The positives of not drinking are so much stronger than the few moments of pleasure I would get from drinking. I'm trying to stay focused on that.

I go back to see my PCP in a few weeks. I will probably request to keep taking the AB, at least for a while.

Hope you are all having a wonderful, AF Sunday!

[hadit]

Newbies Nest

Good Morning Nesters, Thank you all for posting at the w/e. I managed my fist A/F weekend for a very long time,thanks to you guys!! I am still trying to think of the positives of not drinking: no hangover,no depression,no anxiety!! I just want more a/f days! About to race off to work,will post again later. Well done everyone. Went to 2 social functions at the weekend and found the cravings were not that bad.Drank water and enjoyed just quietly sitting watching everyone else drink. I loved being relaxed without worrying about pouring as much booze into me as I could!! Hope u all have a nice a/f Monday.:thanks:

[Litre2]

Newbies Nest

In 10 days I will have been 60 days AF. Today I was at my Granddaughters 3rd Birthday and beer was going around. It did not even bother me to say no thanks, can you put the kettle for tea. Anymore it seems second nature not to drink. Two months ago, it was second nature to have a glass of wine at all times 24/7. I found my own reasons to quit, and for all who wish to quit, I believe that is what you have to do also. For me, it was a choice of life style, and the loss of a life that brought me to my decision. I am pleased for my choice and I do not miss AL. True there are times when stress gets to me that little red devil jumps on my shoulder, but there must be an icy patch there, for he continues to fall off.
So to all my friends here in the nest, I may not stop in as much, but I still think of all of you. For all of the newbies, the struggle is hard, but so well worth it. I never thought I was strong enough to keep going without AL. I am so pleased I found the strength, and I hope some of you struggling find some strength from me. My love to all. I will be house/dog sitting for my daughter and son-in-law for a week. I will be seeing old friends. I will pop back when I can. Good luck nesters

[Lavande]

Newbies Nest

Wow - busy nest today

Congrats to everyone moving forward & winning battles!

Litre, the arrival of my first grandchild is what finally got me to quit for good. Can't think of a better reason & the rewards have been wonderful Keep up the great worlk!
I spent tome with my two super busy grandsons today - so grateful to be able to keep up with them :H

Wishing everyone a safe night in the nest!
Lav

[rooniferd]

Newbies Nest

Yesterday afternoon, my drinking buddy texted to see if I would meet her at the bar. She wanted to get take out for her husband and her. I said yes.

By the way, this friend does not know about the Antabuse. All she knows is that I've been avoiding alcohol lately because of my diet.

She orders a wine, and I order a soda water. She doesn't bat an eye. She's one of those drinking buddies who actually has some sense.

So, she gives me the scoop about all our friends. Apparently Tom is without a job - AGAIN - and has been boozing it up quite a bit (even more than normal). She said he's noticably gaining weight and losing his hair. Then there's Becky. She's in her 50s and got a second DUI the other night. Apparently she was driving around drunk and looking for her friend. She knocked on two doors in her friend's neighborhood at some ungodly hour, waking people up. One of them called the cops and reported her. That must really suck for her! In your 50s with two DUIs within ONE year. Damn!

Anyway, my friend ordered two more wines and got a pizza to go. When the tab came, she owed like 40 bucks. I owed nothing, but I left two bucks on the bar. 40 bucks! Man, what I could do with 40 bucks....

Anyway, I'm on day 17, and I'm not missing that scene right now. Thank God I've come to my senses after all these years!

[Lavande]

Newbies Nest

Good morning Nesters,

Monday morning & not a bit of sunshine over my portion of the nest, oh well!

Rooni, good that you can be there for your friend. Are you sure meeting her in a bar was the best choice for you? That's something I avoided for a very long time until I felt confident in my quit. Keep your best interests first & foremost, OK? We all want you to stay safe!

OK, time to get my day going ~ wishing everyone a great AF Monday
Lav

[rooniferd]

Newbies Nest

Lavande;1366574 wrote: Rooni, good that you can be there for your friend. Are you sure meeting her in a bar was the best choice for you? That's something I avoided for a very long time until I felt confident in my quit. Keep your best interests first & foremost, OK? We all want you to stay safe!

Lav

Good morning, Lav! No, it was fine. We met at 3pm, so we were the only ones there. It's more of a restaurant than a bar. It was nice to get out the house, and it was also nice to get some reinforcement about my decision to get sober. Hearing about how crappy everyone is doing hanging out with the beast just makes my determination even stronger. My friends are getting fat, getting DUIs, losing their jobs, and ruining their marriages. I am finally starting to see myself as an outsider to that group, and it makes me happy.

Now, if I had not been taking the Antabuse, and my friend wanted to meet at some crowded bar where all my drinking buddies hang, I most certainly would NOT have gone, or else I would have given in and woken up like this on this rainy Monday morning...

:nutso:

Have a great day, Lav! And same to everyone else in the nest!

[Imaginary Girl]

Newbies Nest

Hello everybody. Today is my second day AF and I'm scared. I'm off to work so I can't elaborate right now. I'm also having a hard time putting words to paper because I can't think properly. I just wanted to reach out and let everybody know I'm here and that I'm going to need a lot of help.

IG

[itsmytime]

Newbies Nest

Good morning all,

This will be my second week off work not drinking. It feels good to make plans and know I will follow through, not worry about who's driving and not making plans in the morning because of hangovers.

Freedom!!!!! I am taking this week to get my eating back on track from allowing myself whatever the first month of quitting. Also to be productive and get things done around the house.

Have a great day all.
IMT

[Byrdlady]

Newbies Nest

IG, welcome to our nest. North Carolina must be the drinking capitol of the US, there are a lot of us here! We all came here scared of what an AF future holds, but just reading the last dozen posts here should give you great foresight at what it can offer! When I look back, the scary part should have been the path I was on...the AF path is bright and hopeful! I feel as tho I've been in a 20 year fog...and now I can SEE! We totally understand that you are scared, and that's why we are here...you have Day 1 done and dusted...that's the hardest one of all...if you did that one, you can do today. When you get time, settle in and read back a couple weeks and get to know us...then, if you feel like it, tell us what brings you by. What happened that made you look for help? We have LOTS of success here...you have come to the right place!! Byrdie

[K9Lover]

Newbies Nest

Morning Nesters!!!

I hope everyone had a great weekend. I spent quite a bit of time relaxing...it was great! My house is clean "enough" so I didn't feel too guilty about it. LOL

Rooni - I am one of those people that tried to drink on Antabuse (a couple times, I'll be honest). It is HELL and I strongly discourage anyone from trying it. It's hard to explain the reaction exactly. One time it was fairly mild and I only felt like crawling out of my skin. Another time it was very bad and I spent all night vomiting, every 2 minutes. Think of the worst case of food poisoning that you can imagine, then times that by 10, and that's the reaction AB gives you!

I had a drinking dream last night too...they never seem to go away, but they do decrease in frequency. I dreamt that I was going to drink even though I'd taken AB that morning, and for some reason I remember that I was on day 17. Thank goodness it was only a dream, and I woke up on day 238 today

Byrdie, IMT, Kradle, Litre, Boozer, IT, FD, Lola and everyone else...have a great Monday! Will check in later.

Lav - Give Stella a kiss for me

K9

[Prairie Fairy]

Newbies Nest

OK - I'm all in.

I had the blow out last night with the SO on the topic - fueled up by AL. Woke up in full on panic attacks.

Felt like an elephant was sitting on my chest. Read the drunken texts.

Just knew - this is it. Fix it or else.

Got up. Threw away the wine. Texted him that as scared as I am not to be numb- I'm more scared of hurting him. That I threw away the wine. And please come get all the beer out of the fridge after work.

He called me on his way in. Said I did the right thing. Said it in the way that told me if I hadn't done that this morning - we'd have been over. He's on his way to get the beer after work. I have a long way to go to fix things.

But it is without question ladies and gentlemen - I'm all in. AB or no AB. This won't wait.