Newbies Nest

[narilly]

Newbies Nest

Way to go Dottie! I hope you can get the BP thing figured out, sometimes that takes a while to figure out.

I know I can go a long time sober but I am am a little concerned about my Florida trip coming up. Sitting by the pool and having a cocktail is my usual thing to do so I will have to keep busy. J-Vo gave me some tips like exercise, visualization and ordering virgin drinks (what a concept!)
Anyway, I have to get that straight in my mind and just NOT DRINK on my trip. I know I can do it.

Everyone seems to be doing well. Way to go!

[Darkest Diamond]

Newbies Nest

Happy Monday Eve

Evening everyone,
Well I have almost completed day one, but in the last couple of weeks the two sober days each week have always been Saturday and Monday. This one day completion has to last, a day at a time, forever now as am sick of all the slipping and sliding.

Narilly hope your trip goes really well, sure it will if you are sober. Even if you do have the odd awkward moment you won't have any of those awful doubting moments the day after when you think "Did I really do/say that?" and you inwardly cringe.

As always special greetings to fellow quads,hope Hypernova is ok on his trip, hiya Fat Fella, who I now know is not fat!! Winter Walk, how are you ?

Has anyone heard from C Dev or Gambler? I really miss their posts, one night I remember working through the night but messing around and laughing with them about all the cleaning they were doing, do you remember they used to joke about it but were both proud of their immaculate homes.

Different sort of day today as I worked from home and relaxed a bit too. I feel I've got a better perspective now on work I will stop at around 8.30 to 9.00pm each evening (whether I have finished or not!!) There will be exceptions ( some later eves) but also I hope even days when I stop even earlier than 8.30pm.

Sod all the work targets. My target is to stay alive and sober. That is the priority. Tonight I still have loads to do, but it wont get done,not after 9.00pm..... be interesting to see how I get on tomorrow at work!

Looking forward to watching tv later, love to all DD xx

[Fat fella]

Newbies Nest

DD. Your inbox is full. Glad today is going well.

[Bastet]

Newbies Nest

MAE everyone,
We had our cable service changed yesterday and of course after they had left we discovered our internet was down. My husband was able to fix it this morning so I am back in business. Between my email, netflicks ant this site it is amazing how much I depend on the internet!

Poppy, Avaliable, Lavande, HP & TJ, and Gracieb thanks for acknologizing my daughters gift of the flowers. It was truly a wonderful motivator for me. Our families are so very important to all of us. I know I have let them down in the past but the only thing I can do at this point is be there for them now and and in the future. Actions will speak louder than words.

Myluck - congratulations on your MBA! What an accomplishment, do you have plans for the future?
Narilly - I totally get it about missing the numbness that alcohol provides but you are right it also provides hangovers, forgetfulness and a ton of other nasty effects. I hope your trip works out well. I will be interested in how it goes. We are going skiing in a couple of weeks and not sure how the apr?s ski thing will work AF.
DD - I think it is great you are limiting your hours working. A woman on her deathbed never says I wish I had spent more time at the office and less with my family.
Yay for TJ 21 days, DottieBelle 5 months and NoMoreJim almost 30 days! These are great numbers!
Gracieb, I think you and I are practically quit buddies because I have 15 days today.

I went to a new gym today and loved it. I have a special 30 day pass right now and if I want to join they will give me a discount. It is pretty pricy but it is a great facility with a pool sauna jacuzzi and tons of classes and only 15 min from my house. If I were to add up my months supply of top tier gin I am sure the membership would pay for itself! I guess I will think about it because I have some time.

I hope everyone has a good beginning to their AF week!

[HP and TJ]

Newbies Nest

Hi All

HP and TJ just checking in before bed.

22 Days and counting. Very good day from TJ( Be even better if she could dress herself!)

Thanks for the kind words from all of you.

Byrdie, TJ is beating the bottle. I'm just here for support and I will never drink again while we are on this mission. And from what I've learnt while here, I may never even bother with another drink. It's been an eye opener!

Bastet. Thanks for your support too.It means alot to us both.

Available. Thanks. Your kind words are appreciated very much by TJ and makes me realise that I'm doing a good job.

Little Beagle. Good to have your on our side. TJ is a lovely lady. And I'm the lucky one for being able to see her gradual change into her new self.

Darkest. Well done . Keep going.

Gracieb. Those AF days keep coming dont they. Billiant job!

Happy days to us all

[NoSugar]

Newbies Nest

jane27;1619229 wrote: 21 days and feeling fine-good.

Byrdie, Lav & NoSugar, it has been such a help to be able to go back and read posts you made early in your quits. You all sound the same now as you did then & that helps paint quitting as an attainable goal for me. Its all about collecting days. I want my drinking life to get smaller and fainter. (sitting in the back of a pick up truck and driving down a dirt road...the barn that fades the further away you get).
Love to all.

Congratulations on those 3 weeks, Jane. You sound really strong. Your image of the receding barn is spot on - I can still tell what color it is but Lav and Byrdie probably can't even see it! Just keep collecting those days one by one and guard them with all you've got.

Typing those early posts helped me - as did all the responses and support of so many people here. I'm glad they helped you :l.

[Starfish1]

Newbies Nest

So very proud of you, Jane! 21 days is awesome! Keep up the great work!

[Marylou123]

Newbies Nest

Jane, congratulations. Three weeks is awesome.

I have been really, really sad the past two days. I don't crave or even miss the wine. I'm proud I've made is to day 6. I'm just so sad about all the screw ups that I'm responsible for and sad for everything I've lost. (I know, woe is me.). It is much harder, at least right now, to deal with the anger and loneliness (HALT) facing it sober.

Blood test tomorrow - another reality to see what kind of physical damage I've done. I have a feeling the emotional damage goes far deeper. And that MWO is going to help me get through it.

Does anyone have experience they might be willing to share regarding using anti- depressant while battling the beast? I'll ask the doc this week but trust my peeps more.

I'll be sticking close to the nest tonight.

[Lavande]

Newbies Nest

Very nice on the 21 AF days Jane

Greetings everyone!
I was happy when the temp went above freezing fir the first time in nearly a week but it didn't last long. Super cold & windy now, oh well!

DD, get thru today AF & you absolutely will want to do it again tomorrow. Keeping your quit in the forefront is the way to success

Dottie, how'd it go with the doc?

Stay warm & safe in the nest everyone!

Lav

[Lavande]

Newbies Nest

Marylou,
Sorry - we cross posted!
I have personally been on & off an AD, didn't help me much - but that's just me.
I have had better results with a St John's Wort product called Amoryn. Have been on it for 5 years now, mood is very stable

[available]

Newbies Nest

As much as a womans mood can be Lav!

[Marylou123]

Newbies Nest

Thank you Lav - I prefer to go the natural route when possible.

[Pavati]

Newbies Nest

MAE, Nesters! (If I say GAWAK will Gambler appear?)

Hi, Marylou - I have had bouts of sadness - mostly about "how in the world did I let this happen to me?" I have found exercise and writing here has helped me immensely, and I also see a therapist once a week. I know that's not for everyone, but that helps me move on from the endless replay of "if I only," "why didn't I do ....," "I wish I didn't." What's done is done - we can only shape what's still to come.

Nar - I think you should let the drinkers stay by the pool while you spend all that cocktail money on a massage, a new dress or a few yoga classes. Have a great vacation and check in here if you feel tempted!

Way to go, Jane! 3 weeks is amazing. I am a fan of those magical numbers - for some reason 3 and 9 especially. Keep it up. I tried to look back at old posts but I could only see back 500 posts - even I have more than that. I would like to do that if you can help!

Bastet - there is hardly any snow here and I screwed up my knee last fall, so I won't be skiing this year, but the after-ski beer is VERY high on my list of triggers, even just thinking about it now. Make a firm plan of what you will order instead - a mocha? A big plate of fries?

DD - great plan to try to get back some of your life. Stay strong tonight, and keep it up for tomorrow. Why don't you pour all the AL out tonight on your off night and then make a plan for after work tomorrow that involves something other than drinking. Can you do some work at the library or a local coffee shop that doesn't serve AL?

Tree, NoMoreJim - Only 3 more days for the big 3-0. I hope you're preparing your speeches and a place in your closets for a hat.

Dottie - You're an inspiration. Thanks for being here.

GracieB - Loved the story about the flowers! Keep it up.

Lav, NS, Byrdie - thanks for everything.

When I make a post like this I know I forget someone - sorry! This is an amazing array of days adding up. Happy Monday!

[Byrdlady]

Newbies Nest

Well hello Marylou....I always get that song stuck in my head after I say that!
Funny you should ask about Anti depressants....I'm in the society against the average Joe taking them. On Nov 17, 2010, I stopped taking Cymbalta. I had been taking it for 5 years because I had trouble with hurricane Katrina that many years earlier...my doctor gave them to me, and I figured all my friends were taking them so why not? It was around this time I got BAD blood tests back, my liver functions were off and I had too much ferritin in my blood. So trying to give my liver a break (other than stopping drinking!!!) I stopped taking any meds I thought I could do without. Cymbalta was one of them. Then I got what I thought was the flu over that Thanksgiving.. 2 weeks later, I was in the ER with heart palpitations and the worst shakes you've ever seen. I was having withdrawals from Cymbalta! If that weren't bad enough, after that, I fell into THE WORST depression of my life...I mean, to the extreme...I was thinking of the ultimate, you know? This is NOT like me at all! I'm a salesperson for Pete's Sake! My sister got so concerned she looked up Cymbalta withdrawals online and found an entire forum of people with the same symptoms! And they were all mad as hell because doctors give these things out like candy and they are HARD to get off of!!! It took a good 6 weeks to get it out of my system...(you are NOT supposed to stop taking them cold turkey). You see, I was numb from the drug and numb from all the drinking so it was a really DARK period in my life...if I ever write a book, I'll call it Numb and Numb-er!! Believe it or not, I was going to ask my doctor about that other drug to amplify the AD's!!! Abilify! What I realized AFTER the whole thing and getting sober that my problem WAS ALCOHOL! It was a catch 22...I was depressed so I drank and I was depressed because I drank. Of course, I BLAMED everything else....I blamed processed sugars, or other people, or the sugar in WINE or the guy who puts cheese on the nachos at the ball game...I blamed everything but the true culprit...ALCOHOL. So to make a long story longer....give your AF self a chance to experience life and I think you'll find you don't need AD!! A few weeks after I got sober it's as if life were in COLOR again!!! I had been living in black and white! The highs weren't high anymore and the lows weren't low...I was just existing. It was awful!! See how you do at 90 days or after you hit 100 days....I bet you'll be a new girl!!

Hope everyone had a wonderful day...it'll be a big day on the roll call tomorrow!!! Hugs all, Byrdie

[Pavati]

Newbies Nest

Speak for yourself, Ava. I'm perfectly balanced. Just ask my husband and kids! :nutso: