Newbies Nest

[Catbuddy]

Newbies Nest

Hi Fin,

Saw you posted and miss you, too. As K9 said, when you're ready, you're ready. You, my wing man, can do whatever you set your mind to.

Cat

[Catbuddy]

Newbies Nest

Screaming voices

Hi ODAT and others on early days,

I saw your post about screaming voices from the bottle. Oh, I can relate and tell you that they really do stop. In my first two weeks, I placed in a triathalon and was given a celebratory bottle of wine. I was so proud and chagrined; I couldn't give it away. I posted and read on here, get rid of it before it starts sprouting heads and talking to me. So I poured it down the sink, laughing the whole time.

Fast forward three months. Over vacation, I'm driving around with a bottle of wine in the car. For the entire weekend, I forgot it was there. I never went searching for it, it never weighed on my mind.

Now, today, driving up to a ski resort, I had a huge urge to get a drink, as I always drank after skiing. It's just a leftover habit, and though the urge was stronger, it wasn't stronger than me.

It does get easier; those voices actually stop. Just hold on.

Cat

[RunningCourage]

Newbies Nest

Hi Fin,

Been thinking about you - Happy new year - and hope you're doing well. Good to see your posts.

RC

[Kairos]

Newbies Nest

Day4
Almost sleepless last night but for a couple of hours at dawn. But hanging in.
K

[sweetpea29]

Newbies Nest

Hi everyone

Pleased to 'meet' you all and hope to get to know ye all better.
Its Day8 here for me and i plan not to drink today. By posting here I aim to hold myself accountable. I dont want to let drink strip away any more of my self-esteem. I deserve more.

Byrdie, i haven't 'met' you yet but have gained much from your posts. Would just like to add my thoughts are with you and your family at this time x

[Lavande]

Newbies Nest

Good morning Nesters!

Happy Friday to one & all! It's chilly here in my portion of the nest.

Kairos, hang in there you are doing great! Those first few days are the worst but will feel better & sleep better very soon

Sweetpea, nice to see you here & congrats for getting thru your first week AF!
We all want to be accountable to someone, it sure helps!

Wishing everyone a great AF Friday! Hope your AF plans for the weekend are in place

Lav

[lolab]

Newbies Nest

kairos, those sleep issues will start to even out soon...you're doing great! Sleep was probably one of my biggest obstacles in getting and staying sober. My first serious attempt lasted over 30 days - but aches from not sleeping, and not sleeping due to aching - made me think I needed to drink. It took me 6 months to get a good quit going again, and that time I rode it out. Now I sleep better than I ever thought possible. (well, most of the time - last night was awful - LOL!) And sweetpea - 8 days is fantastic, too...you're right, we all deserve more.:l To all the others that I didn't mention - please post what you're going through. It will help you by gaining some support and understanding, and it will help others who are going through the same thing.

There are so many new faces and I'm so happy for that. Posting here is a huge step - don't be put off by the illusion that this is a "group" that already knows each other...it just seems that way because we all kind of "do" know each other....we see so much of ourselves in ever other person's posts. I'm quite sure that I "know" lots of people who don't even post - just lurk....because I have read my own thoughts, my own behaviors, my own crazy rationalizations - in so many others' posts.

[New Day]

Newbies Nest

Good morning Nesters......re the sleep problems......can some of you chime in as to how long it took to be able to fall asleep naturally? By the sounds of Lolab, it was well over a month for you......I hope that's not the average! It is such a struggle to get to sleep, even though in tired and take over the counter sleep aids. I have some prescription sleeping pills but don't want to become dependent on them. They are highly addictive and hard to get off......so I'd just be trading one addiction for another. I will use them only when I absolutely have to.

That said.....I still feel better this morning than if I had of drank last night. For that I am grateful. So here is to the start of day 4.....sure seems longer than that....LOL!

[lolab]

Newbies Nest

Hi new day. I know that if you had an real amount of time, it would be helpful - as you know you can do something difficult for a determined amount of time....

Actually, if I remember correctly, the sleep issues kind of re-emerged for me close to the 30 day mark...but I don't think this is the "norm". It really didn't take a month for the nice sleep to come. I got so exhausted from those first few nights of twitching and I remember sleeping with pillows kind of propping me up because it felt more comfortable....I also had my laptop and phone nearby for something to do if I couldn't sleep....but anyway - I got so exhausted from all of it, and with the alcohol out of my system, I would say by a week or so, I actually started to get some sleep. I wasn't "fixed" yet by then, but at least at times, I could see the light at the end of the tunnel. I'll also add that I haven't been a good sleeper for years and years.....probably before the daily alcohol use even started....although it was so long ago, I don't remember....

I will say don't feel put off and don't judge yourself based on how much you felt that you were awake....the episodes of sleep that you get are so much more restorative than drunken sleep.

I also found that at the time the Calms Forte wasn't the most effective for me. I preferred Nerve Tonic also from Hyland's. So play around with that a little....the over the counter stuff. I don't blame you for not wanting to go the sleeping pill route. There are many other options to try first, and eventually things should even out - and it shouldn't take a month for you to start to see some changes.

[New Day]

Newbies Nest

Thanks LoLab....I will look for Nerve Tonic......and it's a relief to hear that it wasn't a full month for you. I also can't remember if I also had difficulty sleeping before Al took over.....but I have had difficulty sleeping on a regular basis as well.....particularly if I went AF for a couple of days. That was another factor that drove me back to Al.
Well, not this time. I will NOT drink today! :thanks:

[Honeysoup]

Newbies Nest

Good Morning everyone,
Day 4 is here, thank goodness I made it. Last night was pretty tough for me, and I was really cranky to my kids. I felt so bad, but I was so irritable and had no patience for whining and being loud. I got through making dinner and eating dinner and then once I sat down, I started craving it even worse. I was also craving sugar, chocolate, sweet and salty. I was rummaging and rummaging and finally found some Chocolate JELLO Mousse. Wasn’t what I wanted but it did the trick then off to bed I went at 8:30pm. I was exhausted from no sleep and the nightmares from the night before. But I popped a melatonin and finally slept all night. In fact, I overslept for work! But after the rush of getting ready and my kids off, and finally made it to work. It was nice to know that I wasn’t late because I was hung-over and couldn’t drag my sorry arse out of bed it time. It was because my body is healing and in recovery, and that’s a great feeling.

Happy Friday all!

[moni]

Newbies Nest

Just popping in. I'm very stressed today. I have a meeting with my counsellor this afternoon and it's on my mind all week. I haven't seen her since my 30 days where I was very aggitated in the meeting. I think it's because I don't know what to sit there and say. I'm 51 days. Didn't drink over xmas. Whoopeee.... what then. I don't want to talk about how I feel about it, I've done it.. that's good enough for me. I was almost tempted to prepare a script. Go in, recite it and get out.

[Hippyman]

Newbies Nest

Another wonderful day in paradise for me. Sobriety is wonderful. I will do whatever it takes to keep it. This time for sure!

[Starfish1]

Newbies Nest

Hiya, Moni! Great job on the 51 days! I think it's great that you are recognizing the source of your stress and thinking of a plan to reduce it. I say, do whatever it takes - and if that means preparing a script, then go for it. There is NOTHING worth losing your sober streak over.
Hellooo, Hippyman- and yes, sobriety IS AWESOME!
I need to read back to address others- back in a flash!

[Tess-2]

Newbies Nest

Morning to All, I'm on day 4. Yesterday was rough. Seemed like husband, daughter, friend were miffed with me. They didn't actually say that they were -- I just felt it. Wanted to drink away the pain and insecurity. Now that I'm not drinking it is easier to see the triggers that motivated me to drink. Anyway, I got through the day. Sleep was crummy. Reading other posts helps me to believe that sleep will improve before too long. I'm back to school next week, so that should keep my mind busier. I feel sad when I think of how many times I went to class half-drunk. I'm a "quiet drunk," so I don't think too many people suspected. And I've always made good grades, so that helped me keep my secret too. I wonder what school will be like without AL. Better -- it has to be much better!!