There is a first time for everything!

[caleb]

I am 29 years old and I have been drinking since I was 16. When I was in high school I would drink perhaps every four months. When I turned 21 I started buying some alcohol every night. When I was about 24 years old I was going through a twelve pack per night. I am still around a twelve pack per night. I realized lately that I have been drinking for better than 30% of my total life. I am married and I have a kid. My wife is irritated with the drinking but has the ability to work around it. Often times I can start drinking late enough at night that she does not see me very drunk because she just goes to bed.

This is the odd part for me. People that I work with, my friends, and most of my family don’t know that I have a drinking problem. I have never had major drama in my life as a result of drinking. Perhaps this is why I have never spoken to a single person about drinking and how to stop. I don’t understand how I can do something for 13 years and not tell someone, besides my wife, that I was scared and felt trapped.

I have had about three or four months of sobriety since I was 21. I am sick of alcohol having this grip on me. I hope you people can give me some pointers on trying to get it out of my life. I absolutely hate it but I just keep doing it.

This is the first time I have ever reached out to other people for help.

Thanks.

PS What is "the book" that people keep mentioning?

[southernbelle47]

There is a first time for everything!

Hey Caleb,

Congrats on taking the first step to recovery.
You are still young enough to change your life style and still have many healthy years with your wife and kids.
I stopped drinking around 30 years old but it came back to bite me in my 50s.
Read here and post and order the book...My Way Out....you can get it here or Amazon.com.
There is hope and you can do this
At your age it is easy to "hide" at home and no one will know except your family that you are drinking too much. It does get harder as you become addicted to the drug.
Do this for your wife and kids. They need you.

Nancy:l

[MKR]

There is a first time for everything!

Dear Caleb,

Welcome!!! You have come to the right place. We all understand and there are many wonderful people on these boards.

The book is the My Way Out book that Roberta Jewell wrote about the problem drinking that was taking over a part of her life. If you go to the top of this page, click on heath store and you can find the book. It has the info on the program in general. In the store, you will find vitamin supplements and CDs. They are all part of the program and I would strongly reccommend purchasing them when you can. The out lay of cash will come back ten fold in no time along with a general sense of well being. You can choose what parts of the program to use and what works best for you.

The program is outlined in the book. She also has an exercise element to the program which I find quite helpful.

Good luck Caleb, come back to the site often, read as much as you can about this problem and post when you can.

Hugs,
Mary

PS: Nancy is right, you are young and have many years of excellent health waiting for you!

[Quiescent]

There is a first time for everything!

Hello Caleb,

Yes, there's a first time for everything! :welcome:

Congratulations on your first step in the right direction:thumbs:

Keep coming back and posting and let us all know how it's going for you!

RYL

[wellseasoned]

There is a first time for everything!

Caleb
Glad you found this site. Recognizing that you have a problem is a HUGE first step and you are young to have been blessed with the insight. Many of us did not see the "problem" until we had been struggling with it for decades and it had created kaos in our lives as adults.
Read the book - it is very good. Keep coming back to this site - even when you struggle with yourself. There are so many great folks here - all honestly trying to battle the alcohol "beast". It can be done, I am confident.
Congrats on your new beginning - God bless
wellseasoned

[caleb]

There is a first time for everything!

When I signed up for the forum this morning I thought this was a very general alcohol forum, for example, if you drink too much you can come here and talk to others that are going through the same thing. I downloaded "the book" and I have started reading. It is comforting to hear that there are a lot of people just like me that experience alcohol being a big issue from 8:00PM to 11:00AM. The hangover is typically gone by about 11:00AM for those who were wondering. On the bad days the hangover ends at 2:00 after lunch has ended. I want to look into this "My Way Out" path more carefully. You people need to give me a reason to buy into this. Do the medications tend to loose their strength over time? Has anyone here had more success with something like AA? Does this treatment help me past the first year, and then it is all up to me? I have a hundred questions, some of which will be answered by the book I suppose. This program sounds good, almost too good!

Win me over!

[I Like Brandy]

There is a first time for everything!

Welcome Caleb!

I'm glad you found MWO. I have been exactly where you are right now. But being here at MWO has helped beyond what I could have ever imagined...

The Big Book is under the AA website. I have it and have read parts of it and I haven't made it a part of my recovery. Your wife sounds like she gives you alot of support, that's awesome! Nobody can do this alone. Nobody here will judge you. Nor will you be told what road to take when entering recovery. We all came here for help and support. You have to post and read. Get to know the people here.

The only thing I can tell you since I came here 12/05 the support of the people here have gotten me through rough times. RJ based this web site on her own experience. There is nothing but LOVE AND SUPPORT HERE AT MWO!!

If you have been reading, then you also know that some of the people here held the very first MWO weekend celebration!

:welcome: Brandy

[cv1]

There is a first time for everything!

Caleb,

Please also go into the Research section in the miscellaneous forum and get knowledgeable about the physical issues that make you want to drink and the deficiencies that you need to address to get healthy again. The medications help but they won't address the basic physical cause of your cravings. You need to determine which nutrients will help you the most so that you can recover your health and eliminate your cravings. You can do this.

[southernbelle47]

There is a first time for everything!

Hi Calab,:welcome:

I'm not doing the meds, just some of the supps and the nutritional part. I also listen to the cds. I drink a lot of water and work outside to exercize everyday.

It is a lifetime change!!!! Only you can choose life over death.

Your brain has come to think of twelve beers at night as "normal". You will find the tools here to change your brain(mind).

That includes information and friendship and support and honesty about what we all have been through and are going through. Life is hard......get some help.

I am on the abs site......that doesn't mean that I don't slip some ,but to begin with, abs is the way to get the drug out of your body and start to change the damage you have done. It will work... It is worth it... You can do it..

Nancy & Belle:l

[Midnight]

There is a first time for everything!

Caleb - I am 32 and pretty much drank every single night since I was 20. I found this book and website on the Internet as well, am following it, and now can "moderate" and control my drinking. I went from drinking between 4-6 beers per night (on a good night) or 7-8 on the weekends or nights out with friends to none during the week, and maybe 1 or 2 drinks on the weekend or nights out. Alcohol no longer has a grip on me. I didn't want to go the route where I never drank again, but some people choose that for various reasons, or in the beginning. I wanted moderation, so this program was perfect for me. Sounds like you are reading the book, and understanding the program, so that is perfect. This program is amazing and has changed my life, and I'm sure you will read lots of posts saying the same thing. I was getting to the point where I was sure alcohol was going to cause something bad to happen. Matter of time. Best of luck!

[InnerStrength]

There is a first time for everything!

Hey midnight

what dose of topa are you on? I recall you are on it right?
Hugs Jen

[angela]

There is a first time for everything!

Hello Celeb,

Welcome! I just join yesterday so I too am new to this program. I am very excited and hopeful. I want to get my life back and stop allowing the drinking to take total control. I downloading the book yesterday. Hang in there, we are all in this together.

Angela

[Midnight]

There is a first time for everything!

Jenneh - I'm on 200mg. Midnight.

[YoungAtHeart]

There is a first time for everything!

Welcome Caleb!

Welcome, Caleb!:welcome:

Hey, Caleb, gotta tell you, it's not our job to "win you over"!!! It's YOUR JOB to read the book and decide if this program may be right for you! Clearly, you're tired of the control that drinking is having on your life, and I think that this program can help you. But, ultimately, YOU are the only one who can decide if you want to make it work for you. Topamax is a great medication if you can get it, but it is NOT a magic drug. It helps a great deal to reduce or eliminate cravings, but YOU still have to work on eliminating the HABIT of drinking from your life!!!

There's a lot of good stuff here, and a lot of great people on this site who will provide you with wonderful support, but in the final analysis, it will come down to you! Welcome. I wish you success in your journey!

Kathy

[Guest]

There is a first time for everything!

Hi.

You have to admit it sounds almost too good reading the first chapter. I am willing to work, I scheduled an appointment with my doctor for Monday. I want to see what a doctor thinks about this idea. I hope he/she has heard of this program and has the ability to give me more information. Thanks for the many replies to my last post. In the back of my mind I was wondering if everyone who responded to me was the same person with different forum names.

Never hurts to be cautious.

caleb