Newbies Nest

[NomoreJim]

Newbies Nest

Good morning all! It is the begining of day 4 for me. I haven't made it this far for some time. I agree with Available about the withdrawals getting worse. For me the worst part is the anxiety and poor sleep. It wasn't until I started to do some research on al addiction that I found out that anxiety was one of the symptoms of al addiction. This was the AHAH moment for me always blamed the anxiety on work, family, money, etc. Once I realized that I started trying to moderate but the morning after always brought the anxiety and I HATE anxiety. Yesterday was the first morning that I didn't even have a twinge of anxiety. This morning the alarm woke me which is very unusual (usually wake up sweating and anxious about 3 a.m. and can't go back to sleep). Now that I know what was contributing I can stop it. The support and accountability here is great. Hope everyone has a great day.

[halo]

Newbies Nest

Lav,
Sometimes nest mums have to be prison officers, the good ol tough love approach! Having those familiar positive posts time after time is what I believe makes the MWO special. So thanks to all the present senior members who make this happen, your giving back has helped so many. Here's to a warm January, and even if we can't control the weather (it was around -30 here yesterday!) we can make it an AF January for sure! I choose not to drink today!

NomoreJim hope you have a great day as well!

[Dottie Belle]

Newbies Nest

MAE all,
Off to breakfast then to visit dad...we need to get out before the next blizzard....this is NOT normal for Ohio at all....may go do some therapy shopping too...
Back later,

[Tavistock]

Newbies Nest

Hello everyone! I am here on day 1. I dumped the wine out this morning and am ready to commit to an AF life starting today.

I've got the supplements, the CD's and a Quit Drinking app for my phone. I've told my friends that I am sick and staying home this weekend which is kind of true. I do have a bit of a cold but that never stopped me before. I feel I'm finally ready, and ready or not I need to tackle this.

May I ask what does MAE mean? I feel I know all of you as I've been lurking so long. But lurking doesn't cut it, I'm glad I'm finally taking the plunge.

Looking forward to the journey.

[HumbleRider]

Newbies Nest

MAE = morning afternoon evening, depending on where you are. Welcome Tavistock. Thank goodness you poured out the wine. Check out the Toolbox thread, it's so helpful. I listen to a hypnosis clip on my phone at night and I believe it has worked.

[Byrdlady]

Newbies Nest

Good Morning, Nesters!
So good to see everyone and read your progress. This is definitely a process and I am so happy to see returning faces as well as new ones. This place DOES work and I'm living proof!

Available, you are so right...being part of this group by participating is the key to making us accountable. I THOUGHT that I posted a lot more in my very early attempts to quit but when I look back I don't see many posts at all...I wasn't engaged in the process and I guess I was just HOPING it would rub off...this is a contact sport...you gotta get some skin in the game! Getting it out on paper gets it out of your head and sometimes that's enough. I am as proud of your 35 days as if they were my own. Rinse and Repeat!

Hope everyone has an easy day today! Do something nice for someone else, it helps!! XO, Byrdie

[DreamThinkDo]

Newbies Nest

Tavistock - welcome here! I too lurked for ages before I quit and started posting, and in a sense I'm really glad that I did so: I had a much clearer picture of the road ahead and it made giving up the booze a lot easier - not easy, just easier. Stay close, use posting and reading here as a substitute for drinking - and enjoy the journey you've just set out on!

[HumbleRider]

Newbies Nest

I'm with DTD. A big part of this is embracing the journey. If I can't do that, then I'm back to wanting to get blotto on a daily basis, whether I actually indulge or not.

[Hypernova]

Newbies Nest

Darkest Diamond;1607719 wrote: Available
"Why did I drink again after over 3 years?" I have asked myself this question over and over again, I think the real answer was that I did not treasure my sobriety, I had begun to take it for granted. I had stopped praying, exercising and meditiating, stopped going to AA.Work at the time was causing me huge stress (no excuse I know) I drank as I wanted to turn my brain off. Needless to say it did not work, I then had ten more years of suffering. Now rocking Day 8 !! A day at a time I must stay sober, I never want that despair back and the physical devastation that it brings.

DD ~ Great words.~ Treasure your sobriety, I never looked at it that way always as deprivation yours is a much better perspective. ~~ Taking things for granted: Guilty.
Praying, exercise and meditating are absolutely necessary and I can not survive w/o them.
~~Turning off my brain? Wish there was a switch! STRESS the ever present danger. If I don't deal with it constructively I'm done, personally humor and exercise are my favorite tools for this. ~~~Ten years of "suffering" ~ Why do we impose this on ourselves to such an extent? Moving through day 8 here also. Let's use the past as a guide to keep us out of the pit of despair. Thanks for the post & Rock On

[MntGirl]

Newbies Nest

NoMoreJim...starting my 4th day as well. Thanks to all who posted their insights last eve and this morn. Last night I was honest w my dh (funny, now I know what it means as I too have known it to mean something completely different). He knows ive been trying to stop and he can definitely be called an enabler but he never knew how bad I truly am. I laid it out and he was floored, this time he is taking it for real and sees the severity and all.
night sweats still bad and anxiety, today iam going to good old walmart w the kids, shopping, get some lunch and then to work. this is a definite challenge because the anxiety could be a kicker.
Anyway heres to an af sat as well!

[DipGal]

Newbies Nest

Howdy Nesters and Nest Mums! Trying to get through my 3rd day, which is also my 1st AF weekend day in 28 years.. I?m sticking close to MWO while playing around with different flavors of sugar free syrups from Torani or DaVinci in my club soda.

Welcome to the totally new newbies!! Great place to be!

I?ve been reading many posts today that say ?I drank to get drunk, so what is the point of moderating??. That isn?t why I drink. I don?t get drunk very often because of my high tolerance. I do it for a buzz, fun and entertainment. When I was a younger binge drinker I did it to get drunk. I don?t like that feeling very much anymore.

I just was reading about liver damage.. I have had twinges of pain under my right rib cage on and off for the last couple of years. It?s never gotten worse, but I am scared about that obviously. DH has even more symptoms of liver disease. We really need to do this. I want to moderate, but know it?s not in my best interest. I am paying attention to see if I get any more twinges while I abstain. I am also hoping to somehow just feel better in general and that will give me incentive to stay AF.

Dottie Belle ? I am 2 states away in Illinois and I am SO WITH YOU! My motto so far this winter is ?Kill Me Now?. Haha, not exactly positive.. And, Lavande has a good idea with the Netflix! It?s my savior ? I watch it on my Kindle every night! Old TV shows and movies that I want to see (vs DH?s choice)

[Byrdlady]

Newbies Nest

Mtn and Dip, I am so proud of you....weekends were a real challenge in the beginning...after all, I would start my drinking at 10:30 in the morning and hope I could pace myself so I wouldn't pass out before 8 that night. Why 10:30? That is as long as I could hold out. It was getting earlier and earlier. When you start making rules about "when you can drink" then you know you're in trouble. I was definitely there. That's why i stand by my moderating statements, the more rules we make, the more we break them, the worse we feel, the more we drink. It really is a hamster wheel. Certainly no way to live but a good way to die. Keep yourselves busy and keep your tummies full! There are 7 years of wisdom on this site....so I can guarantee if you are thinking it, someone else has written about it. Keep up the great work and we will be shining our fannies for you pretty soon! Stay warm nesters! Byrdie

[HumbleRider]

Newbies Nest

Hi Dipgal, to me getting drunk is the same thing as doing it for the buzz, fun, and entertainment. I drank to get the feeling that alcohol provided, which I thought went hand in hand with fun and entertainment. What I have come the realize is that what I thought was indulging in a fun and entertainingly buzzed evening was actually very simply getting drunk, whether I had 2 glasses or 4 or more. I don't crave that kind of 'fun' anymore!

[available]

Newbies Nest

Check in time in Aus. Everyone sounds strong and welcome newbies, you have made a great step in the right direction.

Jim, not having anxiety is like a new life for me. I can now walk out the door without popping a xanax to cope with it all, my sleep is still not great but 5-6 hours of deep interrupted sleep is better than when i was drunk and woke up with a hangover. I cant say enough about the positives of not putting al down my throat daily and finally after 33 days my headaches are going, they were the killer for me but i put the crap in my body for 20+ years so i think of it as deserving them. Keep going and keep posting.

Lav you are still my prison warden keeping me on the straight and narrow and rehabilitating me to go in the outside world but you will always be my kind loving strength.

Byrd you have always had faith in me, it waivered a bit sometimes but you are my strength and determination to stay on this path of sobriety. I will make you prouder than what you are now and keep posting on here but i also think that being totally honest with ourselves and i mean completely is another step in sobriety.

Humbe what hypnosis do you listen to? i would so love to go to sleep before 1am.

Welcome Tav and good on you for getting rid of the al in the house, it does make it easier. I had no al to get rid of, i drank it all.

MNT my 1st Friday was not a good one, another reason why i dont want to hit the "repeat button" but damn i was proud to get through it and really it was only another day ending in Y for me. Take it from me the anxiety does go, i did take some valium/xanax the first few days but dont take them now.

Dip i had pains constantly, always blamed it on something else, it could not be my best friend doing it to me. Now, no pains, nothing so i am hoping the liver damage i did incur is slowly healing but only my blood test results next week will tell me. I am hopeful.

[little beagle]

Newbies Nest

It is so good being able to come here. I know that there is absolutely no situation that is helped by drinking.
My anxiety levels were unbearable before I stoped drinking.
Thank you Jim. That made things a little clearer for me.
I had a crazy, emotional morning. My b-day today. The 1/2 century mark. A friend of mine took us for lunch and I finally felt a little better.
Have a great MAE all.