Newbies Nest

[Byrdlady]

Newbies Nest

Cross Post, Kensho and STL.
Gosh, STL, I hope that with increased AF time, your test readings will improve! Our livers are the air traffic controllers of so many things, when they get out of whack it affects so many other systems. ALL of our thoughts will be with you. Please keep us posted.
B

[j-vo]

Newbies Nest

STL, so sorry to hear of your news. Now there's no turning back to AL as you must get yourself well. You will. Maybe this was a sign from above and you now can move on with a getting healthy. Prayers for you and let us know how your next appts go.

Lav2 and Kensho, good work on getting through these early days! Enjoy your spa appt Kensho.

Daevid and Petrel, glad you're doing well. Good choice with the tea Petrel.

[NoSugar]

Newbies Nest

See the Light;1693664 wrote:
They suspect from some tests that I am now pre-diabetic (which did lead me to be at least mildly hypoglycemic..thx Turn/ NS) with a high chance of becoming fully diabetic. I have an appt. with my doc this evening to run other tests. They also suggested that my liver appeared to be shot or close to it, but that was not that much of a surprise. I?m glad I have been able to stop drinking this time for this long?just wish I had stopped earlier. That?s the beautiful thing about AL..it?s the gift that keeps on giving?.

Hi, STL

I'm glad you went to the doctor! Hypoglycemia can be very dangerous.
Everyone who is on MWO should be sure to have their blood sugar checked (both fasting and after eating - usually only the former is tested but the latter can go haywire long before the former, especially in women). Drinking alcohol increases prediabetes, type 2 diabetes risk - Chicago Alcoholism Recovery | Examiner.com.

Once you have a blood sugar problem, it is yet another incentive to stay off the alcohol! The long-term consequences of chronically high blood sugar are horrible and continuing to drink would just increase your likelihood of suffering them.

Hope you feel better soon! NS

[KENSHO]

Newbies Nest

Fun little Friday tidbit:

I was exercising in the basement this morning (woo-hoo!) and husband called down, "did you make the coffee?" OBVIOUSLY I hadn't made the coffee.

How I would have responded after a night of drinking:
"What, you can't make it yourself? Do I have to do EVERYthing?" (in nasty tone)

What I said today:
"I have 3 minutes left!! Will be up shortly. Do you want to clean out the pot?" (cheerful tone)

Not that hubs doesn't need to be hit over the head occasionally, but my responses are so much more respectful and constructive - I seem to have more patience and generally be in a better mood. Being AF is helping every area of my life. :h

[Dougie]

Newbies Nest

Hello everyone. I wanted to introduce myself. I signed up on here a couple weeks ago, but this is my first time posting. It comes 2 days after a binge. I had been 7 days AF before that. It seems I start getting the cravings after about a week of not drinking. And, when I do drink, it's off to the races. I'm like Dorothy off to see the Wizard, and when I wake up, the tornado has just hit and there is a big mess to clean up.

Anyhow, any suggestions you can give are greatly appreciated. I guess I'm gonna download the book here and start reading. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

[Cocoflo]

Newbies Nest

Hello Everybody,

Hopefully there is room in the nest for one more. I'm back again on day 2 after MANY fails! Trying to get my life together and move forward without alcohol.

Byrdie, I have thought each and every one of those "junkie thoughts." I'm going to print that and look at it when those thoughts creep into my head.

coco

[momofthree]

Newbies Nest

Afternoon everyone!
A couple newbies, welcome Dougie and Cocoflo! Lots of support here to get you through the bad times. Try to stay focused and really don't forget about all the bad that happens when you do drink and the shit storm afterwards you have to clean up, those are the moments you really need to hand onto.
Another AF day under my belt and feeling good. Slightly shaky from my copious amounts of Coffee I have consumed this morning so far but atleast it's not a hangover.
A nice rainy day here so baking up a storm and keeping myself busy.

[peppersnow]

Newbies Nest

KENSHO;1693701 wrote: Not that hubs doesn't need to be hit over the head occasionally, but my responses are so much more respectful and constructive - I seem to have more patience and generally be in a better mood. Being AF is helping every area of my life. :h

Kensho, that's been my experience as well -- the patience I never had before is in abundance since becoming AF, not just with my DH but with my kids as well. My biggest regret is that I didn't quit years sooner, rather than waiting until my kids were older teens...they have no complaints (that I know of) but I could have been a much better mom to them during some hard times if I'd had as much patience and focus as I do today. I'm not giving myself a pity-party, either -- it's just a fact. I'm living with it by being the best mom I can be to them in the here-and-now. I'm blessed beyond words to be their mother and I'm never letting AL get in the way of my love for them again, and am going to make sure I deserve their love.

Welcome Dougie, and welcome back Coco!

Congrats for big numbers to Eloise, MyLuck and to Kensho for hitting the double digits! Hang onto your progress everyone and have a wonderful AF weekend! :l

[LavenderBlue]

Newbies Nest

STL, that must be so scary; I also hope things keep getting better and sending good thoughts your way!

Kensho, I'm noticing the same with my reactions being more balanced. Which is crazy since I'm still definitely withdrawing. But it's easier to at least take a second instead of just lashing out or wanting to burst into tears. I'm not married, but I have a close guy friend that I have a bad habit of overreacting with.

Dougie, nice to meet you and glad you're here! I'm just starting off AF myself, only into Day 3, so I sure don't have a wealth of knowledge. From other times I quit, though; I know I wish I'd just paid attention to what triggered me so I'd know to avoid it next time. So it sounds like knowing you hit your cravings after about a week is something helpful to know, at least!

Coco, nice to meet you and glad you're here! You and I are really close on days - I'm just into 3 now. And it's definitely not my first time trying to quit! Hanging out here whenever I can has really been helping me out, everyone is so supportive and has great advice.

Good luck and good thoughts to everyone. I slept in and am sitting with my coffee - Day 3 no AL or soda. When I wake up a little more, I'm running to the store to get some more AF drinks and snacks to have around. It seems like the more variety I have, the better it is - then going to the fridge seems like a treat instead of "Oh god, all I can drink is [thing]" I'm also picking up some hard candy or something - the sugar craving is definitely a thing and until now I was getting all of my sugar from soda and AL. Sweet fruit juices have been great, but I think I was something I can just grab for insta-sugar.

Thanks for all the support everyone. God bless/Blessed Be/or just good energy your way - whichever you prefer so long as ya know I'm grateful.

[momofthree]

Newbies Nest

LavenderBlue;1693822 wrote: Good luck and good thoughts to everyone. I slept in and am sitting with my coffee - Day 3 no AL or soda. When I wake up a little more, I'm running to the store to get some more AF drinks and snacks to have around. It seems like the more variety I have, the better it is - then going to the fridge seems like a treat instead of "Oh god, all I can drink is [thing]" I'm also picking up some hard candy or something - the sugar craving is definitely a thing and until now I was getting all of my sugar from soda and AL. Sweet fruit juices have been great, but I think I was something I can just grab for insta-sugar.

Thanks for all the support everyone. God bless/Blessed Be/or just good energy your way - whichever you prefer so long as ya know I'm grateful.

LB, how are you finding this cutting out the pop? I have as well, for the first little bit I was getting headaches my body was so addicted to the sugar. I went from lots of sugar in AL and pop to virtually none, I rarely drink juices. If anything I drink mostly water now, lemon or cucumber water or iced tea.

[LavenderBlue]

Newbies Nest

momofthree;1693830 wrote: LB, how are you finding this cutting out the pop? I have as well, for the first little bit I was getting headaches my body was so addicted to the sugar. I went from lots of sugar in AL and pop to virtually none, I rarely drink juices. If anything I drink mostly water now, lemon or cucumber water or iced tea.

Yeah, the pop thing wasn't something I originally planned on, but my poison was mixed drinks in soda, plus I've been meaning to cut it out for ages 'cause my weight is fail between that and the AL soooo...seemed better to hit both at once. For the caffeine I went back to coffee, though just in the morning for now.

It's also been a pain for me because I can't drink artificial sugar. I get migraines and mood swings when I do. I'd blame it on the AL but it was noticeably worse when I went to diet soda and my mom has the same issues. So a lot of the flavored waters I can't drink. I did find out that Dasani does sparkling water with fruit flavors and no fake sugar, so I have some of that around.

I usually don't drink juices either, but my first day AF I grabbed anything at the gas station that sounded remotely good! I also found a spritzer...*goes to check the brand*... R. W. Knudsen. I found them in the grocery store section that was all random natural sodas and things. The ingredients are just sparkling water, fruit juices, and natural flavors but I swear it's got more of a sugar kick than soda. I'm only having one a day but it's been great when I really want something sweet and carbonated. Other than that, lots of lemon water - I mostly drank Mountain Dew so the citrus is nice.

I'm also going to pick up some hard candy or something today. I stopped eating anything sweet when I started drinking so much so I'm having to actually sit and think about "what did I used to eat that was sugary?"

Good luck, I'm sure we can both do it if we try. There's plenty of sugary things out there, just have to find the ones that work!

EDIT: I'm hoping to kick the sugar habit, too, eventually so that was my logic in trying to stick to things like juice. Last thing I need is to come off AL and soda but eating gallons of other sugar. O.o My family has a long history of diabetes so one more thing to be careful about.

[Daevid]

Newbies Nest

As I said, I've been feeling fantastic a lot of the time. I've worked hard and damn enjoyed every minute of each day.

The "fly-in-the-ointment" is the abdominal twinges that don't appear to be going away. If anything they are more frequent. The ultrasound department in my local NHS hospital has quoted a 16 week wait. I am not "bloody-well" suffering 16 weeks of health-anxiety and deprivation of the possible need for treatment. So I have booked an abdominal ultrasound privately for 28th August (?99 GBP, not bad). I'm hoping to put this behind me, at worst gallstones? I've just messaged my grown up daughter to see if she will come and hold daddy's hand in case of bad news. Oh good grief!

[available]

Newbies Nest

Dougie and Coco welcome. The early days are very hard, your body has had al poured into it for years so it needs to recover. Day 7, well that al brain entices you into thinking you didnt really have a problem, you have done 7 days, you are not as bad as you thought so lets have a few to celebrate the occasion. I didnt need any excuse, the sky was blue was good enough or any day ending in a Y. I think we all hit our rock bottom and decided enough is enough. Mine was blacking out at my nieces 21st party and the realisation that i was getting worse with my drinking as much as i denied it. it takes determination and dedication to get al out of our lives. To me this meant posting on here, reading as much as i could, watching alky doco's and being kind to my body and mind so i could heal. My motto is still "today i will not drink" and I dont. I have had numerous situations where i could have easily drank (a few weeks ago for example) but it is ultimately my choice to pour al down my throat and i choose not to. i never want the anxiety back, i dont want the depression, i dont want the self loathing and hatred i felt for myself. Being sober is wonderful, it took me a few months to adjust to this new life of mine and as Byrd says "no one regrets being sober".

My baby turns 21 today, last night i took him shopping after work, i walk when i get home from work now, i do so many things when i get home from work whereas in my drinking days all i did was crave for that first glass of al so i could find oblivion before life set in. Now life is here and its fantastic. I never thought this could be me, i never thought i could get sober let alone stay sober and i have.

Daevid, i know how you feel being anxious and it seems to build into a huge all consuming thought. We seem to always think the worst. i had arm cancer the other week but it turned out to be bursitis with impingement. Try and relax, which i so know is hard to near impossible. What will be will be, we cant now change anything in life. Drinking wont solve the problem so just take each day as it comes. My thoughts are with you.

Up early to prepare for the family dinner tonight, go for a walk and clean the house. past memories are of waking up to consume Paracetamol, tell myself i was never drinking again and giving every excuse not to face the world and to live as i deserved. Its a great Saturday in Aus land.

[Dougie]

Newbies Nest

Thank you Momof3, LavenderBlue, and peppersnow for the warm welcome. LavenderBlue, you mentioned something about "triggers." This is something I was thinking about the other day. I had realized I had that "how about a drink" thought pop into my head. I asked myself "What caused that thought?" I then reviewed the thoughts that occurred right before I had the thought to drink. I think I discovered a pattern there. I know we talk about triggers in our environment, but often this idea to drink just pops into my head for seemingly no reason. I think I may have discovered why.

From now on, when I get the idea to drink, I will examine what I was thinking about right before I got this idea. I think it is going to point out some areas in my subconscious that I didn't realize were stimulating the idea of drinking.

Thank you all for sharing, and have a wonderful weekend.

[Dougie]

Newbies Nest

Thank you for that available. It really helps a lot to hear that from someone further down the road.