Greetings fromthe Emerald Isle

[eire go brea]

HI all,
Been hovering for a week or so and decided to sign up tonight ( as it is in my time-zone)
Day one will be tomorow ( again!)
My story mirrors so many of your own that it probably doesn't bear repeating. I'm a 'only drink at night guy' 4 1/2 litre cans of STRONG ( 5.6%) beer plus a glass of wine that I cannot even explain.
Sick and tired of the 'Groundhog Day' experience....wake up about 5:30 wonder WTF time I went to bed and what damage I caused before doing so! Will I be OK to do the school run in the morning if I were stopped by the police ( Garda in my country) . EVERY morning I wake up and WANT to NEVER drink again but by 3 or 4 pm this morphs into ......." Sure why not have a 'few' beers to calm the nerves/ drown the sorrows/ celebrate the good times....i.e the usual litany of excuses to be drinking!
I've tried in recent weeks to cut back and, brilliant that I am, have managed several one day stops but in the past week when I thought I'd be kicking it for good, stayed off it for 2 whole days ( WOW!!) but then fell back to type. Can't even say that I " white knuckled it" for the few days - more a case of, I feel like a drink so what the hell else would I do?! That more than anything scares me!
Stopped smoking in Jan this year and thought I'd be able to bring that experience to the whole AL thing but find that the rules are completely different! When I feel like a cig , I simply say " wat are you thinking?" or words to that effect and it works! I thought I could bring that attitude / gameplan to the whole AL thing and 'win', in so far as Im winning with nicotine to date.
Notice I've prattled on for ages and apologies for that - will ( hopefuly) post again, more coherently, after day one begins tomorrow!
If anyone listening or considering posting a reply, I'll be V clear - I REALLY want to stop drinking but have not, as yet. Please God by this time tomorrow, all I'll have is a hangover and seriously better outlook on life!
Thanks for listening? reading.....
By the way, Eire Go Brea roughly translates as " Ireland forever!"

[one2many]

Greetings fromthe Emerald Isle

Just on me way to bed Eire.

Fellow Irish girl here...Just to let you know I have read your post and will reply 2moro..me little eyes are hanging out of me head...wrecked tired!

In the meantime, please check out the toolbox thread ,it is located in the month abstinance section.

WELCOME and I will chat to you 2moro!

[Guitarista]

Greetings fromthe Emerald Isle

Welcome Eire!

Best wishes on your journey. G.

[mollyka]

Greetings fromthe Emerald Isle

Hi and Welcome Eire! You have come to the best place. The support is fantastic, just knowing that others know exactly how you feel through their own experiences is brilliant!
Plenty of us Irish folks here tho quite honestly with the odd linguistic misunderstanding between different cultures it really doesn't matter a toss where we are from cos we all have the same aim - loose the bastard booze out of our lives.
Good luck tomorrow, stay strong and get Day 1 under your belt and you'll start feeling so much better soooo quickly
Molly

[wannachange]

Greetings fromthe Emerald Isle

Good stuff Eire, glad you made it, am Irish meself, you came to the right place... plenty of good folk here, trust me.
Catch you around.

[mayday]

Greetings fromthe Emerald Isle

Welcome Eire go brea, youve definitely come to the right place..there is so much great support and positive vibes here...and we're all here for the same reason...My Dad was an irishman who hailed from a long line of dinkers, his mother died in childbirth because his father was so drunk he didn't/couldn't go for help, consequantly my Dad never touched a drop. However it skipped a generation and myself and all my siblings have struggled with the demon alcohol..wishing you all the best..stay close and keep posting

[eire go brea]

Greetings fromthe Emerald Isle

Omg - so many replies so soon. I will respond to the goodwill when more competent to do so ( i.e. When have at least 1 day under the belt!)
thank you to all and will post again tomorrow sans alcohol!! Loving it already - there are folk out there who truly understand! thanks, thanks and thanks again! Talk to you all tomorrow, please G!

[Guest]

Greetings fromthe Emerald Isle

Good morning Paddy. (It's morning here in the arse end of the World) I'm a few weeks ahead of you on the journey and eleven days AF.
I'm a Scot, many years from home and I'd like to tell you that if a jimmy can do it so can a paddy.
The hardest bit is over. You are here now.

When I came here I thought I would be able to cut down and become a moderate drinker. The idea of giving up entirely appalled me. While it might be possible for some, maybe even you and me, it is not possible for everyone.
The first step is to quit for 30 days, then reassess the situation. In that 30 days the alcohol will wash out of your system and you'll notice the physical changes. I am noticing them now.
There are no other options, there is no middle road.

How do you do it? That's the trick.
For me it was just bloody-minded determination and I forced myself.
Good luck - and yes, it does get easier.

[patrice]

Greetings fromthe Emerald Isle

Hi Eire and everyone else...
I am on Day 1 again myself, reading about everyone here I know its possible to do it, I haven't managed to yet because it reaches a time and I think mmm.. 1 glass would be ok but it never is one glass. Finally I realise that, taken a long time.
Good on you Blue for 11 days and I'm very inspired to hear that you notice the physical changes already..let us know changes as they happen!!

[KateH1]

Greetings fromthe Emerald Isle

Welcome to MWO Eire and Patrice! So lovely to have two more Celtic people here!!
Yes, Yes, it is very possible to beat AL here, many of us have accomplished quite a bit of sober time and living quite well without alcohol! Yes, we must always stay alert and awake to Al's taunting, but over time it does get much, much easier and better!!

So, Cheer's to your success!
Kate

[startingover]

Greetings fromthe Emerald Isle

Hi there Eire
Welcome to MWO
I just got back from your beautiful country on Tuesday this week. A fantastic meetup with a number of folk from this site.
I was similar to you in that every day I would pledge not to drink but the same thing would keep happening once the hangover cleared. There are so many reasons we can give ourselves permission to drink. Happy, sad, lonely, tired, celebrating, commiserating, boredom, anger in fact just about any emotion that we can feel can be a trigger for a drink.
For me, it was hitting rock bottom in the sense of an almighty binge where I thought I was either going to die or had done myself some serious damage. But for years up until that point I worried about my drinking/drug taking and my insatiable need to change how I felt all the time.
In short, this site, supplements, determination and the friends I made here got me through. I am now coming up to two years sober, have completely turned my life around and am finally enjoying myself and making my life work for me.
You too can do this. There are many here who have walked your path and changed the outcome.
Good to see you Eire and look forward to accompanying you on your journey.

[eire go brea]

Greetings fromthe Emerald Isle

Good morning all and thank you so much for your advice and support! I am truly humbled by such a response. A little hungover but determined to follow the right path from today. Discovered that Dr Bill took his last drink on June 10th, so an auspicious day to stop maybe. I know I'll be fine til late afternoon/ early evening then the demons will come calling to try to convince me that just another day of oblivion won't matter! So hopefully I'll spend more time on this site instead. Don't know if I need a detox or not but have some Librium from my doc so probably will use for a few days. Have been taking multivitamin supplements for a couple of months as well as omega 3, so clearly I've been gearing up for something! It's always that first one thoughisn't it? To quote a compatriot " I can resist everything except temptation!" looking forward to a sober day and your company later. Feel honoured to be so readily accepted into your forum and thanks again! May all of you have a wonderful sober day.

[Tabbers (a.k.a. KTAB)]

Greetings fromthe Emerald Isle

C?ad m?le f?ilte go Eire Go Brea, nil aon rud ach cupla focal agam as gaeilge.
As bearla, welcome Eire, glad you found us and have decided to take the all important first step. I was a daily drinker for over 20 years before I came here and it is no exageration to say this place and the people here have changed my life. I hope you stick around for there is plenty of non judgemental help, support and advice here from people who have truly understand. I would suggest downloading the book and reading it. It will help you to put a plan into place, stick close to the boards and post.
Keep safe
KTAB

[Anjicia]

Greetings fromthe Emerald Isle

Failte Eire Dublin giirl here. I'm so glad i found this site as the support and advice is great. I've been a problem drinker for 20 something. Years the lonest i quit since was 5 months 3 years ago and i caved n at a wedding. Snce then its been a few weeks few days here and something sparkes the need for a few drinks which gradually gets out of control.. I would anytime day or night. The last bender lasted a week and i was so sick i was determned not to feel like that again. So i made it to day 16 and today i won't drink.
I just started back at AA meetings my first was yesterday and this evning i'll go again. AA is not for everyone but i just all the support i can get right now not to fall off the wagon. The supplement i take is 1000g of L-gutamine tablet form 3 times daily i think it helps witht the cravings. I heard kudzo is good too but i havn't found it n Chemists or health food shops here yet. Good luck on our journey. xxx

[Anjicia]

Greetings fromthe Emerald Isle

The AA celebrated its 75th anniversary yesterday. June 10th.