No fooling -- April 2013 AF

[Running Aussie]

No fooling -- April 2013 AF

Hey guys I just set up an email in case the site goes down again. It's RunningAussieMWO@gmail.com. Maybe if anyone else wants to set one up you could follow the same template.

Your member name + MWO @gmail.com

The MWO was added to ensure the email address isn't already taken (RunningAussie was taken). Gmail is super easy to set up. Addresses aren't case sensitive.

So please email me if the site goes down and you need to talk. Imagine if the site was down longer than 24 hours...I hope someone else does this so I will have someone to lean on.

Cheers
RA

[free at last]

No fooling -- April 2013 AF

Great job to all the April Abstainers. Been traveling but just now have a decent email. Wanted to report another AF day/night for me. Just finished a business dinner where I did not drink -- finding the temptations seem to be lessening.

Wanted to send a huge congrats to everyone working toward AF April. People are facing huge obstacles and managing, with support from each other. to keep the AL demon at bay.

Let's keep going!

[Mein Sonnenschein]

No fooling -- April 2013 AF

Hi all... I hope everyone is feeling good today... Day 10 for us who are abstaining the month of April.

I've been ill the past two days for a stupid reason. I ran out of my AD meds and didn't refill the prescription in time. Big mistake! I was four days without my AD meds and going through a roller coaster of both mental and physical side effects. And it was a stupid reason why I did not refill in time... I was scared of the pharmacy! My German language skills are not good enough (yet) for the small town I live in so I often have anxiety about speaking to people. But, rest assured, I am back on my ADs and starting to feel better. So I guess it is true what they say... do NOT go off AD meds cold turkey, even if you "think" you feel better. I hate being to dependent but it is necessary at this time.

I did have a craving for AL last night. I was watching TV and the TV characters were drinking. Usually watching a TV show where drinking takes place does not trigger me to drink (except "Mad Men"... OMG all of the scotch and whiskey drives me crazy) but last night was an exception. Good think I was not feeling well enough to drink so I did not give into temptation. But it's good to know that I need to watch out for new or unexpected triggers. So everyone be on the look out for that!

I wish everyone strength and love for today. Take care of yourself!

[prettytulip]

No fooling -- April 2013 AF

I'm with you about Mad Men Sonnenschein! I've never liked scotch or whisky but each episode makes me want to drink it! (Mental note...stop watching mad men!) In fact, drinking on most tv series/movies are a trigger for me... I'm an advertisers wet dream!

I'm happy that you got your meds in time And try not to give yourself a hard time about being dependent on them - if you were a diabetic you probably wouldn't think twice about being dependent on insulin - it sucks that there is so much social stigma attached to anxiety/depression

Have a good AF day everyone!

[prettytulip]

No fooling -- April 2013 AF

Running Aussie;1489928 wrote: Hey guys I just set up an email in case the site goes down again. It's RunningAussieMWO@gmail.com. Maybe if anyone else wants to set one up you could follow the same template.

Your member name + MWO @gmail.com

The MWO was added to ensure the email address isn't already taken (RunningAussie was taken). Gmail is super easy to set up. Addresses aren't case sensitive.

So please email me if the site goes down and you need to talk. Imagine if the site was down longer than 24 hours...I hope someone else does this so I will have someone to lean on.

Cheers
RA

Great idea RA!!

I've set one up prettytulipmwo@gmail.com

[Snapdragon]

No fooling -- April 2013 AF

Hello April Abbers - how is everyone? Does anyone else feel exhausted?

Ten days AF - been going to bed early every night, sleeping like a log, can only just drag myself out of bed and feel totally exhausted all day. I could just put my head onto my laptop now and doze off zzzzzzzz.........

[Running Aussie]

No fooling -- April 2013 AF

Hi Snap
Me too! Still exhausted and sleeping heaps. Thought it would lift by now.
Cheers
RA

[halo]

No fooling -- April 2013 AF

Day 31 and I was so happy about day 30 I wanted to celebrate, and the first thing I thought of was why does every celebratory occasion link to alcohol (at least in my social circle)...Can't have a toast but booked a half day at the spa, there has to be ways we treat ourselves, in the past it was always with a nice bottle of wine or an expensive liqueur, no longer, finding better ways to treat myself these days...Great work April Alcohol Free partners, I'm coming along for the ride!

[halfway content]

No fooling -- April 2013 AF

Hi, halo! I am making it another day, too. Meeting friends for dinner, plan on getting iced tea. I guess we will have to concentrate more on the food we order. Half day at a spa sounds like a whole lot of fun. Enjoy!

[prettytulip]

No fooling -- April 2013 AF

Just popping in to say hi and well done to everyone!!

There's no denying that the AF days are tough, but do you find that the days accumulate quite quickly? We're already a third of the way into April and in another four days we'll be over the month hump!

I'm still feeling this insane tiredness. I've always been a night owl and I often stay up quite late (I also work till 10pm most days so need some 'wind down' time) but the mornings are a killer! The amount of times that I hit the snooze button is ridiculous! And my siestas have gone from a quick doze to a full, deep, dreaming sleep!

Halo, my social circle (and my mind set) is the same as yours....'a celebration...champagne!' I'm on day 25 and up to now I've managed to lay low but I have some friends coming to visit at the end of the month and I'm sad to say that I'm dreading their visit because I know it will be one trigger after another. I haven't decided what I'm going to tell them yet but I really need to get a good plan together so that I don't falter.

Enjoy your dinner Halfway...mmmm...all those calories you're saving by not drinking can go on a big, rich, yummy desert

[prettytulip]

No fooling -- April 2013 AF

NoSugar;1489663 wrote:
Given all this, it is not surprising that I did not have any sustained success until I joined MWO. Telling the truth and getting unconditional support seems to be crucial. I am so grateful to have found this site and all of you.

:h NS

Well said NS! Without the support and words of encouragement from MWO members I seriously wonder if I would have got this far :thanks:

[Running Aussie]

No fooling -- April 2013 AF

Pretty Tulip - well done on thinking this through now, before your friends visit. With a gameplan and story ready you'll get through it AF for sure! I'm having an alcohol free April is working great for me. I'm using it in every social situation. I'll have to rethink my strategy in a couple weeks. I'm thinking about signing up for a distant 10 k race and saying I'm in training so not drinking. That should buy me a few more months. Funny that I can't just say I don't drink. I guess I don't want to get all the questions that come with saying that.

[prettytulip]

No fooling -- April 2013 AF

I'm thinking that I should just be honest with him, as we are very close friends and I think I would feel a little hurt if he was going through something big and life changing and didn't lean on me for support. And he's been there to pick me up after many of my drunken catastrophes so I expect that he would see through any excuses that I told him about why I wasn't drinking. My biggest fear is telling the world and his dog, and not succeeding. Isn't it strange that we are doing something so positive yet we're so afraid to tell people? You're right about the questions, answering them honestly would leave me too bare.

I think that the run is a great idea- not only to answer those tricky questions, but to keep you focused when you hit a trigger. My fitness levels are shockingly bad at the moment (being a 'functioning' alcoholic left me with little time, motivation or energy to focus on health and fitness - to focus on anything other when the next drink came from if I'm honest), but your fitness and nutrition updates are starting to motivate me! I don't know where to start though...advice needed!

[Running Aussie]

No fooling -- April 2013 AF

Not sure how...but I've been running long distances with serious hangovers for about 15 years. Actually I do know how...CAFFEINE! I'm 38 now and I still run but the last few months I've moved to an area where there aren't any running tracks and I had given up my gym membership because my last neighborhood was on a great running track. So long story short I stopped running as much and filled my time with even more drinking. In a way I'm glad because it got so bad it led me to this site.

Ok so advice on how to get you into fitness...I would say pick the time of day you feel best (sounds like anytime but mornings for you) and have a stimulating drink. This could be caffeine or a protein shake or a ginger tea. Then go for a nice brisk walk. Start with 20 minutes and go longer if you want to. After a while you can drop the stimulating drink and start doing something else you love. Running, bike riding, gym workouts, swimming, aerobics, wii fit, yoga, whatever. Just start by putting on comfy shoes and walk out the front door. You will feel reluctant to do it initially but when you finish your walk you will be so glad you did!

There are great iphone apps to get you started in running, usually called couch to 1 mile or couch to 5k. I'm sure there's something similar for other activities such as swimming and biking.

Oh and listen to music if you enjoy it.

Glad you can confide in your friend. That's cool.

[bcp2013]

No fooling -- April 2013 AF

Hey that's great, l quit drinking easter Sunday with my triplet sister, she came for a visit, we are loosing weight and thought our alcohol was a definite deterrent, we loved wine, but no more its been 11 days and LM so happy, didn't,t this k l could quit , but health is important ,was DRI kind g li,e 5 or 6 days week, over 1 bottle ,close to 2 sometimes more, depends on occasion, how sad, but no more, we should all pat ourselves on the back , this is huge, l k ow it is for me, l want to quit for good, ltS the devil dressed up as our friend,l cried the first few days, just my brain making me think l was loosing my best friend,more like frenemy aye.