Newbies Nest

[Lavande]

Good morning Nesters!

BeachGirly, I would definitely re-gift that bottle immediately
Your SIL hopefully will understand that you have a new life plan now that doesn't involve AL. Thank her for her gift but firmly inform her that a wine tasting is definitely not possible. Try to remember that your commitment to your sobriety is top priority over a few minutes of disappointment that your SIL may have.

Hello & welcome James, glad you found us! Please settle in & make yourself comfortable.
Have you made a good working plan for yourself yet? Check out our https://www.mywayout.org/community/sh...24253-Tool-box for lots of great ideas.
Stay close to the nest & let us know how you are doing. I'm 61 & quit nearly 6 years ago, you can do this too

Ava, you had quite an adventure! Enjoy your visit with your Mum!

Pav, great to hear you are enjoying an AF vacation!!

Greetings Frances & Pie!
Wishing everyone a wonderful AF day!

Lav

[mywayin]

Hi James, today I stopped drinking! Let's be "quit partners". We can share our successes and a better life with out poisoning ourselves and instead of drowning our sorrows, let's fix them. Will tell you more about myself later but presently I'm almost 60 and looking forward to fixing alot of things that are not right and creating a better quality of life for myself, my children and husband.

[Byrdlady]

Welcome James and great to se you back, MWI!
Read and post, thats the best advice I can give. Knowledge is power!

BeachGirly, interestingly, my neighbor asked me to co host a wine tasting while we were having Christmas breakfast. I told her I wasnt a good one to ask since I dont drink! This was in front of 7 other people, so I was sort of put on the spot. But that answer was truthful and sincere. Why would a non drinker go to a wine tasting? Just decline and suggest you can get together for lunch soon. Deflect! A wine tasting is the last place for us! I dont care how strong our resolve is, we dont need to be immersed in this kind of pressure. I find that I am not so concerned anymore about what other people think, I am in the fight of my life and I will do whatever it takes to remain sober. No matter what. I am sure you will find a way to decline this invitation. There will always be other opportunities to visit with these folks. I found the world kept revolving even if I wasnt at a party! Good luck!

Wishing everyone an easy day! Byrdie

[narilly]

Good morning from an Un hungover me! I did it, oh yeah, uh huh. Holy Moley it was a tough one. Thank goodness for you all. My husband sasid 'oh, they talked you down did they?' He thinks he is hilarious but it's true
Welcome James, stick around with us, it works. Don't drink today, I won't either, ok?

Beachy, give that that booze away asap. Can you try and talk to your SIL? She might be very supportive of you, like Ava says, this is the fight of your life-protect your quit no matter what.
Frances, our minds go in crazy directions when we want to drink eh?

Pav, we don't drink, exactly.

So happy I did not drink yesterday, whew.
Xxxx

[KENSHO]

Happy un-hungover day to you Narily! I will never get over how great that feels!

I actually woke up feeling a bit under the weather - a bit of a head cold. This led to a really surprising conversation with my husband. Last time we talked about alcohol, I informed him a bit about the extent of my drinking and hiding and personal struggle. He previously had thought me to be exaggerating. I told him that if he sees me drinking now, it's leading to no good. I assumed it went in one ear and out the other, like usual.

But this morning when I said I was tired and felt a little yucky, he asked me if I had wine last night. (No one noticed me not drinking last night - and it never came up). I said no. He said "good" - in a praising way. The he asked me if I'd had any in the last week, and I said no. Then in the last two weeks - I said "not a drop". He actually praised me.

I think he may be "getting it" a bit, that this is something that is important to my health and happiness. His encouragement and support means the world to me.

Welcome James and Mywayin! Tell us more about yourselves and your goals - we are here to help!

[open halo]

No Sugar,I enjoyed an AF holiday, it wasn't easy but it was better. Have been feeling sick with the flu for a couple of days which is the worst, but feeling good that my feeling terrible is not self induced. Wishing everyone a happy holiday, keep on the excellent AF path, only a couple of days till 2015!!

[Altaman]

Hi Everyone,

This is my 3rd or 4th time here. I've had some good successes in the past, some over 60 days, but know I can't get rid of this devil on my own.
My doctor recently told me my GGT reading was elevated and that we need to find the cause. I'm pretty sure it's due to alcohol. I have another blood test in a couple of weeks and I'm afraid what the reading might be this time.
Has anyone dealt with elevated GGT levels? I know there are other causes but, as I said, I'm certain it's my love of red wine that's behind it.

Nice to see some familiar names here from my previous times, so glad the long time members care enough to help the Newbies.

BTW, what really bothers me is that I gave up a pack and a half, 12 year smoking habit cold turkey 31 years ago.

Russ

[narilly]

Hey Altaman, I am here in Calgary too. It seems there are a few of us here from our beautiful province.
I don't know much about GGT but if you have been coming here and are back again I am guessing AL is a problem for you. Stick with us and stop drinking AL, your liver will thank you for it.
I was a big wine drinker before but now I don't drink.
Russ, don't drink today.

Be back soon.

[Byrdlady]

Good morning from an Un hungover me! I did it, oh yeah, uh huh. Holy Moley it was a tough one. Thank goodness for you all. My husband sasid 'oh, they talked you down did they?' He thinks he is hilarious but it's true
Welcome James, stick around with us, it works. Don't drink today, I won't either, ok?

Beachy, give that that booze away asap. Can you try and talk to your SIL? She might be very supportive of you, like Ava says, this is the fight of your life-protect your quit no matter what.
Frances, our minds go in crazy directions when we want to drink eh?

Pav, we don't drink, exactly.

So happy I did not drink yesterday, whew.
Xxxx

Hey Nar,
I am compelled to comment on two things in this post. And this is just observation and what has worked for me and where I was mentally at 8 months. If your husband isnt on board with you, GET him on board. It sounds as if he has quite a cavalier attitude towards your situation. If he thinks its funny that you were close to caving, then he needs to be told the extent of your situation. We are fighting for our lives here not jockeying for a parking space. Please let him know this is a very serious issue for you. He could be undermining your resolve. That is number one. Number two is that you are still struggling at 8 months. I wonder if you have fully accepted that you are an alcoholic? Once I did that, and took drinking OFF the table, things became 1000 times easier. What are you struggling with? Can you put your finger on it? Lav had a wonderful post a couple weeks ago about our perspective on this journey, if you consider it a struggle, its going to be a struggle, but if you look at it as if you are winning your life back from addiction, it is considerably easier. If you look at each AF day as a victory and you dont have to be a slave to AL any more, this is going to be an easier path for you. Fighting it every day is going to get old, this path can get downright easy if you get your mind in the right place. I hope I havent overstepped my boundaries, but was concerned about your close calls lately. I love your signature line, you can have the life you want or you can drink. So true. Hugs dear lady. Byrdie

[Lavande]

Good evening Nesters,

Hello & welcome back Russ (Altaman) & MWI!
Glad you decided to hop into the nest for a while
Get your plans together & stay put for as long as it takes!

Russ, don't worry too much about the elevated GGT. It will likely come down pretty quickly if the elevation was caused by AL abuse. You don't have any other symptoms of liver disease I presume? You're right that there are many things that can cause an elevated level. Focus on your quit, the rest will take care of itself.

open halo, hope you feel better very soon!

Greetings to all & wishes for a safe night in the nest for all.

Lav

[Hanna]

Wow! This might be the longest threatened history! I am certainly not a newbie to this site. I was on here i'll plot several years ago and then left. I am now here under a different name. I have struggled with alcohol for many years. It is great to hear the success stories here. I just wish I was one of them. I will never give up this fight. I guess I'm still a newbie.

[ShawTHo]

Good evening pipz! just dropping by to say hi!

[KENSHO]

Hi All. I've looked at the wine bottle in the corner of my kitchen more than once tonight. Childcare cancellations have left me really frustrated. The old way of dealing would have been to drink. Numbing it would make it feel more tolerable, until it wouldn't - and I would still have to deal with the issue anyway. So I'm eating, and trying to solve the problem.

Ok, so... SAP alert. Having some deep thoughts that I wanted to share.

This afternoon, we watched Fiddler on the Roof. I had never seen it before and it was really well done. I know it was fiction to an extent, but I found myself thinking of the ups and downs of life, and the difficult challenges many of us face in one way or another. I found myself thinking of people in different cultures and in different times - people facing extreme poverty, genocide, war, diseases. Suffering - to varying degrees - seems to be a part of life. And as I watched the final scene, I realized this man had lived a hard, but very rich life. He faced sorrow, poverty and loss, but he also cherished his family, his daily talks with God, community, dancing, music, and had a great sense of humor. I imagined if he would have drank away his sorrows - what he would have missed. I guess I thought to myself - sometimes life's supposed to be hard and we are intended to feel it. The lows make the highs that much higher. That's how I want to live.

(Even though I'm really pissed at my childcare person.)

[NoSugar]

I've looked at the wine bottle in the corner of my kitchen more than once tonight

Set yourself up to succeed and please dump it out, Kensho. Quitting is a big enough challenge without putting unnecessary obstacles in our own way.

But envisioning the life you want, and choosing good models, is a great tool for creating it.

[narilly]

Byrdie, thanks for the post. My hubby is on board and quite supportive although I don't think he really can relate to the struggle I feel sometimes and what the consequence of having a drink would be. I tried to talk to him about it the other night but i don't think he got it.
Ya, changing my mind to gratitude from deprivation. I think it was the holidays and all the free time sitting around without a routine that got me. I have to work on it.

Kensho, that was a great post about Fiddler on the Roof, I really like that show.
Hey, I agree with NS though, get rid of that wine bottle. I got rid of all the booze in my kitchen. It was just not good to have around.

Goodnight everyone. Sober here in Canada. -14C right now, going to -21C and it feels colder than it is. Gross!