Well, here I set at Day #8 AF. Lessons learned so far ?
- Change your old habits. I used to come home from work, pour a drink and watch TV all night. In the last 8 days I have not seen 30 minutes to TV.
- Drink lots and lots of water. If your urine has any color at all then you ain?t drinking enough (water that is?..)
- If I cut out AL, my weight drops ? in 8 days I am down 8 pounds!
- Go to bed early and get good sleep.
- Tell those closest to you what you are doing. You?d be amazed what the extra encouragement will do. It really is stronger than the guilt of letting someone know you have a problem. Really!
- During your normal drink time substitute AL with something else. I drink unsweetened tea and lots of it during that time.
- When you wake up each morning, stop for a minute, step outside and really open your eyes. You will see colors, hear sounds, and smell things that you may have never noticed because your senses were dulled for so long. (Note: one morning I let my dog out with me and she took a crap ? sort of killed the smelling part of the moment! I guess dog crap smells stronger when your senses are not dulled! :H )
- Do things for yourself ? be selfish sometimes. I now make it a point to fix myself a nice breakfast every morning. Sounds small but you have to find rewards that work for you.
- For God?s sake, keep AL out of the house.
- Make a plan for what you are going to do when you normally drink. Plan it during a time when you would normally least like a drink. Then stick to the plan. Don?t dwell on it all day, just do it.
Now confessions ?
- If it were not for Antabuse, I would have caved many times (when you weigh a drink vs a trip to the ER, abstinence will always win out!)
- Antabuse will NOT stop the cravings. Read that sentence again. You will have cravings and it?s up to you to determine how you will deal with it
- There have been many days that were stressful and AL seemed like it would be an awesome reward.
- Depression sets in about 3 hours before cocktail time. It hits me like a freight train sometimes.
- My wife tells me that I have been grouchy but she prefers that to slurred words and glassy eyes.
So, for me, I think I have a good thing going. In about a month I will be on a Caribbean vacation. I do not plan to drink until that trip. On that trip I plan to drink as much as I want ? a reward for 30 days. I will take one Antabuse tablet with me. Tahe day we return I will take it and then it is back on plan. That may not be the most sound thing to do but I believe that you have to find what works best for you. For me, I have a plan. I went into this eyes wide open. My choices were start now and take a break for vacation or continue on my destructive path, start when I got back from vacation, and by then maybe the mood would have left me and I would never have started. The good news is that because I developed a support system with my wife and a few friends I will disappoint them if I do not start back when I return.
So that is my story for now. I really appreciate all the kind words and encouragement I have received on this site the past 8 days. It really is helpful. I plan to continue to be here and help and be helped.
ItsJustMe
- Change your old habits. I used to come home from work, pour a drink and watch TV all night. In the last 8 days I have not seen 30 minutes to TV.
- Drink lots and lots of water. If your urine has any color at all then you ain?t drinking enough (water that is?..)
- If I cut out AL, my weight drops ? in 8 days I am down 8 pounds!
- Go to bed early and get good sleep.
- Tell those closest to you what you are doing. You?d be amazed what the extra encouragement will do. It really is stronger than the guilt of letting someone know you have a problem. Really!
- During your normal drink time substitute AL with something else. I drink unsweetened tea and lots of it during that time.
- When you wake up each morning, stop for a minute, step outside and really open your eyes. You will see colors, hear sounds, and smell things that you may have never noticed because your senses were dulled for so long. (Note: one morning I let my dog out with me and she took a crap ? sort of killed the smelling part of the moment! I guess dog crap smells stronger when your senses are not dulled! :H )
- Do things for yourself ? be selfish sometimes. I now make it a point to fix myself a nice breakfast every morning. Sounds small but you have to find rewards that work for you.
- For God?s sake, keep AL out of the house.
- Make a plan for what you are going to do when you normally drink. Plan it during a time when you would normally least like a drink. Then stick to the plan. Don?t dwell on it all day, just do it.
Now confessions ?
- If it were not for Antabuse, I would have caved many times (when you weigh a drink vs a trip to the ER, abstinence will always win out!)
- Antabuse will NOT stop the cravings. Read that sentence again. You will have cravings and it?s up to you to determine how you will deal with it
- There have been many days that were stressful and AL seemed like it would be an awesome reward.
- Depression sets in about 3 hours before cocktail time. It hits me like a freight train sometimes.
- My wife tells me that I have been grouchy but she prefers that to slurred words and glassy eyes.
So, for me, I think I have a good thing going. In about a month I will be on a Caribbean vacation. I do not plan to drink until that trip. On that trip I plan to drink as much as I want ? a reward for 30 days. I will take one Antabuse tablet with me. Tahe day we return I will take it and then it is back on plan. That may not be the most sound thing to do but I believe that you have to find what works best for you. For me, I have a plan. I went into this eyes wide open. My choices were start now and take a break for vacation or continue on my destructive path, start when I got back from vacation, and by then maybe the mood would have left me and I would never have started. The good news is that because I developed a support system with my wife and a few friends I will disappoint them if I do not start back when I return.
So that is my story for now. I really appreciate all the kind words and encouragement I have received on this site the past 8 days. It really is helpful. I plan to continue to be here and help and be helped.
ItsJustMe
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