Newbies Nest

[Lavande]

Newbies Nest

Good evening Nesters,

Wow - such a busy day around here, great!!!!
Congrats to everyone on the success train. And to those climbing back in the nest after a recent fall - glad you are back The only way to succeed is to keep trying, no matter what!

Wishing everyone a safe & cozy night in the nest!
I am going away for a few days with my daughter & granddaughter for a little well deserved R&R. Will check in when I can.

Be well,
Lav

[Petrelhead]

Newbies Nest

Rahulthesweet;1662707 wrote: Hello nesters,

Have been doing a bit too much running and jogging so much that my knees are hurting. I was proud to that I ran non stop for about 9 km in few minutes more than an hour. But my knee has taken a toll. Petra I need some advice here.

Hi Rahul. Glad to hear you're running, but not so good about the knee. If you developed the knee problem during the run, it's likely to be a chronic impact issue. Generally:

1. you need really good shoes. Plenty of cushioning is a must. And a supportive shoe if you need it. If you pronate (heel falls in) then you need extra support. Best to get some expert advice on shoe choice.

2. Avoid running on hard surfaces when you can. Concrete is the worst. Parks and dirt roads are much better.

3. Something that helped me was changing my running technique. Instead of landing on my heal and rolling forward to the forfoot to take off, try running on your forfoot only. At worst, land flat footed. Landing on our heel seems to be the root of many chronic injuries.
By landing on your forfoot, the ankle joint acts as a stress breaker for the rest of the body. All of the jarring forces are absorbed mostly in the muscles. It's tough on your calf muscles initially, but has kept me injury free for many years.
Try googling : .....Chris McDougall "Born to run".

Sounds like you need to rest it now, and perhaps see a physiotherapist.

Hope that helps.

[available]

Newbies Nest

Hi nesters, checkin time for me to say thanks Petrel for the 170 days congrats and byrd (didnt think i got a prize for that one), time flies when you are having fun and it still doesnt feel like me plodding along on this journey but i dont know any different now. I can imagine drinking. I do wish i could be a normal drinker but I know i can never be so plodding along is what i will be doing forever. No harm in wishing but i would prefer to win a million dollars than put a glass to my lips. Actually i feel like i have one the lotto by not drinking and sticking to it.

Dil glad you came back but as we all will say drinking solves absolutely nothing, it does not take any problem we have and make it better. It feels good at the time but all the shit is still there the next day and the day after. Previously we dealt with stress by drinking and it solved nothing. It is our choice to drink AT situations or people but to choose not to takes strength. It is not your fault about work, we cannot fix the world, we can only fix ourselves first and then try and fix other things. Velcro those tail feathers back in the nest. Its funny but us mwoers can always gather that when one goes AWOL they are probably drinking so keep on here and bitch up a storm, we are here to help you. In my early days my 11 year old dog had pancreatitis and was very very sick, she is my world and i love her dearly. believe me i drove past those bottle shops, i thought about how a drink would help me, i wanted to forget that she may die and she is a big part of my family but i wanted to be in the "here and now" so i did not drink. I felt i even had to prove to her that i was strong enough not to drink so i posted on here and received the support that i needed, i did not turn away from my support network and of course they came through for me.

Lav my lovely, congratulations on 5 years fag free. I am giving up on 1st June a it will be 6 months af and i have a plan in place and am working on it already. Its scary and i have those thoughts that i will fail but i have not failed in giving up al so i will not fail with the fags. Someone said to me that i should find a give up smoking site but god i have all of you to bitch too so i am not going anwhere, which is my way of saying to you all BEWARE of the bitch!

BND good on you for day 5, took me forever to get a good sleep but i am not a good sleeper and sorry i called you a girl, sigh.

Petrel you tire me with all that talk of running but maybe soon i may start doing a slight jog, mmm maybe not! You are doing so well and you will make that 100 days.

Sarah, 10 drinks in 3 days is way more than the recommended allowance for women. if as you say you have never been a heavy drinker you should not be shaking. I drank 2 bottles a night for years and gave up cold turkey, if i felt i was in any form of danger i would have seeked medical assistance although everyone is different.

Juj when i first stopped drinking i had that fight after work of how the hell would i make it to the door without detouring to the bottlo but i fought the urge and got home, then i showered and got into my pj's and then i could not be bothered to leave the house. I did all my shopping before i went to work as they do not sell al before 10am. Keep yourself busy and eat the pantry cupboard if necessary. Its hard but its doable.

Lucky what a totally meaningful post and a huge congrats on your 60 days. You are still accountable here even if you dont post much, keep on going and going and going.

Jvo a huge congrats on your 50 days girl, you totally deserve these days, you have worked hard to achieve them and you are a godsend to have around the nest on what not to do lol. But you have so got it and i love you to bits and so very proud of you.

[Sarah42]

Newbies Nest

Byrdlady;1662599 wrote: Good Morning, Nesters! Hope everyone had a good, sober weekend!

Dottie, I have been thinking about your situation with your dad's house and the stress of selling it. You know, just like getting sober, it's all a matter of perspective: To a worm, digging around in the hard, dry dirt is a lot more relaxing that going fishing! Maybe you can shift your thinking to the fact that you don't have this huge liability to deal with anymore. After all, the memories are already made, you prolly don't want to remember it as it is, right? You remember the PEOPLE in it more than the structure...so letting it go will likely be a blessing...It sure will be to the folks who buy it! Letting go is never easy. Best of luck to you.

Pav....waking up with sheets marks in your face? I call that Sheet-Faced, as opposed to Sh*t-Faced, like I used to wake up!! :H

Booze Blues, I may have missed awarding your moon yesterday! So I will do that in conjunction with Daisy's today!
:moon: :moon:

Double moons! Great job on reaching 7 days! BB, your post reminds me of when I first quit...it was as if I were operating with more information! I was able to make decisions more easily and with a clear thought path. I guess we really ARE....we are not scheming our next fix, in the throes of it, or recovering from it, so we are gathering more sensory information....for me, it was as if I were seeing in color for the first time in a very long while!

J-Vo, 50 days, GIRL, you are royalty!!!
:crowned:

Ava....170 days is awesome!! Go YOU!!
:cheering:

Juja, great to see you, and HopefulinOz! Settle in and let us know how you are doing!

Sarah, I'm not sure what is going on with your shaky hands. Other than AL, are you doing anything else differently? Maybe it's time to completely cut out the AL and eliminate that as a suspect? I know it's hard to imagine, but you know eventually, it must go....the sooner the better, it's only prolonging the agony, and you will be AMAZED at the tricks your MIND will pull to try and get you to continue it!! It will tell you that stopping is UNHEALTHY. That you NEED it to function. THAT STOPPING is dangerous. Don't listen to these things, they are all part and parcel of the LIES AL tells us to keep it alive! Starving it to death is the only way, when you do the occasional feeding it only makes it more potent. I was shaky and sweaty the first couple weeks of going AF...like I had a mild flu...your body is doing a lot of work to switch over to running on food instead of ethanol, so be patient as your body adjusts. If you feel it is NOT AL related, please get some medical advice. I hope you feel better today!!

Hope everyone has a wonderful day! Beautiful weather in the Southern part of the nest today! Byrdie

Happy days to everyone who are af!

Byrd- I did a test tonight, I'm not proud of it. i drank 3 drinks and the shakes/anxiety stopped. Maybe cause the last 3 days I tapered so much that my body was in w/d?? To make matters worse, I drank more. I know that's not the 'acceptable' thing to say on here, but I did.

I'll peek in tomr but for now I'm pretty ashamed, and don't know what else to say.

[roxane]

Newbies Nest

sarah, when you say a drink what do you mean? its hard to quantify. thats why we mentioned units. it is a specific measure of alcohol.

dont feel ashamed, we all know its hard to take that first leap. someone said the al brain does marvelous things that can convince us its a bad idea to stop, and thats so true.

[Sarah42]

Newbies Nest

roxane;1662902 wrote: sarah, when you say a drink what do you mean? its hard to quantify. thats why we mentioned units. it is a specific measure of alcohol.

dont feel ashamed, we all know its hard to take that first leap. someone said the al brain does marvelous things that can convince us its a bad idea to stop, and thats so true.

Hi rox!

Emm.. "units" to me is confusing LOL. I had 3- 12 oz light beers...which got rid of the shakes. Then, I preceded to drink more (including wine), and I have no idea how to gauge a glass of wine in 'units', but I prolly had a little less than 1/2 a bottle?

Not my best day for sure, and I'll be the first to admit that I'm prolly 'drunk' right now as I type this...if going thru w/d like those shakes I had are a precursor of what I have to look forward to not drinking..then that scares the chit out of me. Again, I never thought I drank enough to get 'shakes' ...so if AL is doing this to me, than I'm obviously delusional.

I sort of think it anxiety of some sort - which is prolly why I drink- which might be why I can't get off this cycle. IDK. That- OR I could just be a drunk.

[frances]

Newbies Nest

Good morning everyone - wishing everyone a great AF day today!

I'm going out with friends this evening which will be a test for me. Last time I saw this friend I said I was not drinking for lent. She said "isn't lent a Catholic thing?" (I'm not Catholic). I said I just wanted to stop drinking, I do it every once in awhile for a break. (yeah right, I just always failed my quits before). Anyway this evening will be a test but I'm feeling ready and strong. I'm sure it will come up this evening - I think I will just say I was drinking too much, too often, too early in the day, etc. and decided it was getting out of hand and I better do something about it, and so I'm not drinking anymore. In other words, the truth!

Sarah I'm not sure what's going on with you have you considered consulting with a doctor? I think based on what you've said here about how much you drink, that it does not sound like enough to cause this but I am not an expert. Byrd might be on to something with the essential tremor - AL gets rid of those shakes too so it might be this or something like it that is starting to happen to you. Either way a medical professional might be able to give you some advice. I also like the idea of cutting out AL completely. Go for a few days - see if you continue to have the shakes or not. If you experience more serious symptoms than shaking be sure to get medical assistance right away. If after a couple of days with no AL you are still having shaking then you know it's not withdrawals from AL - shaking from AL withdrawal is expected go away after a day or two from what I've read.

[Booze Blues]

Newbies Nest

Hi Everybody! Just am amazed at all of the extremely high numbers! You runners have inspired me to begin walking every day! And everyone else, well lets just say trying desperatly hard to be as good as you! The plethora of kindness and concern overwhelms me. You all are truely wonderful, don?t forget!

[daisy45]

Newbies Nest

Hi all; day 8 for me - just feeling better and stronger.....up early today and went to the gym with my daughter, then for a swim, so ready to take on the day! I am climbing a mountain on Sunday - you may have heard of the Mourne mountains; well, we are going up Slieve Donard - think it is the highest one. It is more of a trek - about 30 family and friends doing it in memory of 4 family members, my dad an 3 aunts, who died last year.......so after little exercise this past couple of months I will be seriously getting ready this week.
Back to my knitting last night - was occupying my evenings in front of the tv with food fests, so just making a few changes.....
All in all, everything is going in the right direction.....

[Juja]

Newbies Nest

Shoo-ee, so much going on here....

Kind of depressed this morning, but that's not unusual. I don't think it's AL. It's my nature, and my life, at this point. Still, I'm grateful.

Need to get ready for work (overslept--yay!), so all I have time to say is stay strong. I'll be thinking about all of you today. Really.:l

A huge thanks for all the helpful insight, and to a special person who offered a lifeline.:h

[j-vo]

Newbies Nest

Morning Nesters,

Ava, I really don't know what it's like to have lots of money, but I can bet we are in a better place than people with lots of money anyhow. You are winning everyday. And you will, too, with the smoking. I believe in you!

Lav, congratulations on your 5 years NF!!! That is so wonderful! I've gone down to a 7 mg patch and will be on it for probably two weeks. I'm feeling confident in getting that out of my system.

Frances, enjoy your night out. The longer I'm AF the less I'm worried about what true friends think. I know they'd be happy for me, and those that know are. It's still an awkward thing to discuss, but I just have said that I don't have an off switch and quit.

B. Blues, I'm beginning my exercise routine today. Need to get those endorphins kicking. Good luck with your walking!

Daisy, happy day 8! That mountain climb sounds awesome. I bet it beautiful. Enjoy the Memorial Day with your family.

Juja, it takes awhile for alcoholic depression to lift. I've been depressed almost my whole adult life, and only recently have I really started to feel great. Give it time, as it was a completely new feeling to me, and I was a little weary that it wouldn't last, and it has! TBH, I still think I'm gonna wake up and this wonderful dream will end.

Have a great day all!

[j-vo]

Newbies Nest

Sarah42;1662925 wrote:

I sort of think it anxiety of some sort - which is prolly why I drink- which might be why I can't get off this cycle. IDK. That- OR I could just be a drunk.

Sarah, it definitely could be anxiety. I lived with anxiety for years and years, and just recently, along with depression, my anxiety has magically disappeared...well, lessened quite a bit. The longer you're away from alcohol, the better it gets. I drank for years because I was depressed and had severe anxiety, but now I know it only made it a thousand times worse. And, we're all drunks, that's why we're here! But have faith in this site and the people that have AF time, because they were where you are, and they got off the merry-go-round, or should I say miserable- go-round and found out that life can be awesome without alcohol.

[Orimus]

Newbies Nest

Day 3 AF/NF underway though I heard that serpent's whispers in my ear as I drove to work.

Juja, St. John's Wort may be beneficial with the depression if your interested. It's been shown to be better than placebo for mild to moderate depression and is prescribed as such in Europe. Personally I look for the planetary herbals brand which is overseen by a Licensed Acupuncturist with a degree as an Oriental Medical Doctor. Usually takes about ten days to start feeling any benefit but it could take 4 to 6 weeks.

Sarah, I definitely agree about seeing your doctor about the tremors. Its not the kind of thing you want to wait and see on and AL is only masking symptoms by depressing the nervous system.

Have a good morning all and a great AF day! Lets keep those numbers rising!

[Byrdlady]

Newbies Nest

Good Morning, Nesters!
All this talk about knees has me longing for the good ole days....where I could bend, squat and hop....enjoy your knees while you have them! :H

Something I DON'T miss are the shakes! Sarah, I'm certainly not a doctor (I'm a salesperson for Pete's Sake!) but if you have some time today, google Essential Tremors. A lot of folks on this site have them and they are not AL related at all. If you think back in your family tree, do you remember someone who trembled? My aunt and grandmother (dad's side) did. I take a med for it and it helped THE NEXT DAY! Not only did it calm the tremors, but it calmed the agitation in my head, too. Primidone is what I take and it made a big difference. Did you try to draw a spiral and to walk heel to toe (while totally sober?) if you are miserable at both, it's something to consider. Believe me, when I was first diagnosed, I thought it was a free pass to DRINK to alleviate them...AL doesn't fix anything, it makes it worse. Believe me, no one understands more than I do about clinging to it. Maybe that's why I'm so good at seeing what others are going thru...I WAS THAT person who thought she was different....I WAS going to beat this thing and get control over it. I literally TRIED EVERYTHING to make AL work. If was tough to admit that I am an alcoholic, but alas, I am. There is only one thing worse than being a recovering Alkie and that is being an alkie who's not. Giving up AL was the BEST thing I ever did AND the scariest. I was entrenched in its grip. I thought it made life worth living....that is the big lie AL tells us. It will tell us absolutely anything to LIVE within us. If you have Essential Tremors, trust me, taking a pill every day is a LOT easier than trying to drink it away. My liver thanks me every day. I just went to the dr yesterday and he said I have the blood work of an 18 year old! (then he looked up and saw me!!!) Bah!
I say, the ship is going down....get off it before it drags you down with it!! You will never be sorry! Man the lifeboats!! Start today, get all of it out of the house and join us that have gone before you! Do you see any of us miserable?? It is totally do-able and not nearly as bad as you think!!! Jump on board, we've got you!!! xxxoo, Byrdie

[Dila]

Newbies Nest

Happy to be back on track and waking up feeling good.

Staying in the nest this time. Day 2