AF daily Tuesday 10 april

[FlyAway]

AF daily Tuesday 10 april

Well I guess there's no giving the vodka away. Mr. Fly opened it up last night and made himself a White Russian. He hardly ever drinks vodka. I was surprised. I'm also surprised that the vodka has NO POWER over me! I don't want it, don't think about it, don't crave it at all. Like I said, I've had other types of booze in the house all along and felt no cravings but I wasn't sure how I'd react to vodka.

I'm trying to get into working out regularly and have been doing some really heavy (for me) weight lifting. I'm following New Rules of Lifting for Women. I also got the Jason Vale book Slim For Life and am reading that. It's time that I cut out the sugar that I've been eating since I quit drinking.

Welcome back Bear. Strength and positive vibes to you.

Dizzy--Way to go on the weight loss! At 2 weeks in I noticed that my sleeping had improved greatly.

Sugar--I used to be extremely hard on myself too. I suppose I still am to some degree, but definitely not as bad as I once was. Perfection was the only thing good enough for me. Ridiculous if you think about it!

Almostfamous--I agree with what you said to Bear 100%. Each time I fail it gets harder and harder. And forever does seem overwhelming and I can see how it would discourage people to think that way. But right now the way I feel is infinitely better than I ever felt while drinking. I don't ever want this to end!

TDN--Interesting about family undermining our sobriety. I've got to say in my husband's defense I'm sure it's unconscious on his part. He is a sweetheart and I love him dearly. If I called him on it he'd be shocked and if he really thought about it he might see that it's true. A lot of our relationship has involved drinking. But he is a wonderful man. I'm sorry about the job but I agree that something will turn up and that this wasn't meant to be.

Blonde--Day 50 is soooo close! I love that you love your job. Funny, I'm listening to a hypnosis CD right now called "You Love Your Job." LOL! Trying to make myself believe it cuz there's no way I'm quitting after 21+ years.

Shue--How much longer are you on "vacation?" LOL. Stay strong.

Sunni--Snow? WTH?

Lav--Babysitter Extraordinaire! Tilly is such a sweetie! Great news that she slept the night through.

Kaslo--I found that info fascinating! I wake up with headaches often.

[Kaslo]

AF daily Tuesday 10 april

Sugar, I am so glad for you! Thats fantastic!

Thanks for the post Fly, I am glad your hub has a lot of good things to go with the lack of understanding. I still shake my head over Mr. Kaslo... he just didnt know how bad I was and doesnt see it even when its explained to him over and over. Oh well.

kaslo

[bear73]

AF daily Tuesday 10 april

hey everyone - dinner in oven,washing up done, ready for the last episode of 'the walking dead' - brilliant brilliant zombie series.

I will put the coffee on tomorrow - it's Italian though, hope that's ok?!

For now I am AF and it feels good.

[DizzyBee]

AF daily Tuesday 10 april

Thanks for all the well wishes guys (takes a bow)

As for the headache, it seems to have calmed down even though I haven?t taken any pain killers today. Normally I would?ve taken loads of pills so far but I?m trying to get back in touch with my body. I did take pain killers yesterday and the headache calmed down after this morning anyway and it wasn?t a migraine after all.

Kas thanks so much for taking all the time to explain things to me. I am constantly reading up about medication and health etc. so any info you can give me is greatly appreciated. Firstly I must just say that I didn?t eat any sprouts today and I do feel a bit better. I just made way too many and ?over indulged? a bit. Also, I have been craving lots of healthy food and I know the previous time I followed a ?detox? diet as per homeopath?s advice I did have bad headaches.

I have been sleeping much better than when I was drinking actually. AL used to keep me awake until the wee hours and I would take my anxiety medication at night to help me fall asleep. Even then I would often wake up at 3 or so if I drank too much (well, even more than normal) Of course I can?t tell if my sleep quality is better but I sleep through and my mood is better. I have soft spectrum bipolar and I think this is the first medication to help for my depression and it could be that its making me sleep lighter than normal i.e. making me slightly manic. It's hard to tell but my doctor is monitoring me.

I?ve done two AL free month long stints before without too many complications but haven?t really gone much further than that before. This is the first time I?ve taken Topamax though and what you said about the water interests me. The Topamax is making me feel very good but I'm always thirsty. I drink about 3 litres of water a day as opposed to about 1.5 before. I?m more energetic up til about 3pm and then I feel more tired than normal and I pee twice as much as normal. The peeing is driving me crazy! Sorry for over sharing the rest of you but I just thought this may mean something. I know Topamax can mess with ones kidneys and I don?t want that.

:thanks:

[Kaslo]

AF daily Tuesday 10 april

No thats great, dont worry about too much information on here. Just say what you need to say. i am glad to see you are drinking lots, and peeing lots. Its going to take some time. It is possible that taking anti anxiety meds when drinking heavily may have saddled you with a bit more extra brain chemistry than you want but it will get better. I can promise you it WILL get better, as long as you stay off the booze, eat healthy foods, drink lots of water and exercise. Also analgesic use can cause an overuse headache, its a bit of a conundrum, and more common in people with migraine headaches.

One thing I want to say here, is that referring to ones own experience when it comes to the reactions, timing, severity etc of symptoms in others is great, its affirming and community building, but everyone is different, and a good doctor is unbelievably helpful.

Kaslo, who is going out to rake leaves in the wind. Talk about a fruitless exercise!

[ItsJustMe]

AF daily Tuesday 10 april

Oh Kas?. I like it when you ?get down? scientifically! :H

Actually being in the pharmaceutical industry I really do find this stuff fascinating. Understanding the toxicology and physiology of it all takes some of the mystery away. And as an example, I am hydrating the crap out of myself. I?ve been doing a dry sauna for 20 minutes after running the past three days as well. I?m also loaded up vitamin b and milk thistle. As far as the sleep, I have something that helps me get the deep sleep I need. Short version is that I feel great and I think my body appreciates the TLC it is getting. My mental state is a little pissed off between 3PM and 9PM. But my mind can just get over it!

Fly ? I?m astounded that your old nemesis (Vodka) has no affect on you anymore. That is GREAT!

sugarbeat;1294689 wrote:
Now I pulled out of this little mood I don't have the luxury of wallowing in it too long and by doing all the right things I am slowly but surely getting back in control of my emotions, confidence and peace of mind. At times tough its feels like my emotions and thinking is like a robot and I'm learning how to push the right paddles and buttons again, and I don't always get to right.

I don?t think you will ever get it 100% right. The important thing is that you improve over time. I have enough pent up depression and anxiety to float a boat to China. It is all in how you deal with it. "Wallowing in it too long" is a great analogy. I find myself dwelling on my problems and wallowing all day sometimes. That is what I have to work on as well.

Getting ready for the hour commute home. Take care everyone!

IJM

[DizzyBee]

AF daily Tuesday 10 april

Thanks a lot, I feel a bit better now. Topamax is more readily RXed as an migraine drug as an addiction drug. Strange how these things overlap. I suffer from alcoholism and migraines, have soft spectrum bipolar and am overweight and although this drug was designed to treat epilepsy (which my dad suffers from) it is used off-label to treat all four of these conditions. I could feel this medication working within two hours even though other AD and mood stabilisers took days or weeks to 'kick in'.

I almost had no headaches in my first two AF weeks and this feel more like a migraine than a headache. I'm not sure if you know but I get normal headaches which go away and then I get migraines which start behind my eyes and usually just get worse. When drinking I would take paracetamol daily and it really surprised me that I could stop that 'cold turkey' when I started Topa. When I was in rehab I had to go to the nurse every second day and ask for paracetamol as I was titrating off that as well. I mean, I don't get any kicks out of paracetamol but I do get a headache within half an hour of drinking wine (blood tests showed a mild intolerance to brewers yeast, read somewhere that we sometimes crave things that we are intolerant to?)

Anyway, I'm rambling. My doctor is very good and thorough. She lets me talk and occasionally has to ask me if she can lead for a while as I do so much research and have been working as a medical copywriter for the last few years but we work together very well as a team.

I hope you won the battle of Kas and the leaves vs the wind Thanks for the advice.

[MumOfTwo]

AF daily Tuesday 10 april

:hiya::hiya::hiya::hiya:

Hello all fabbers

Miss a few days and it takes hrs to catch up :H Lots happening with everyone and all sounds so positive.

A lot of chat about the affect of families on our sobriety journey. I am lucky that my DH is supporting me and has only had a 6pack of beer (when I was not around) in the last three months. He does not have a problem, he can take it or leave it. I am reading the Allan Carr book atm and was telling him some of what is in it, geez he does not get it at all ! His thought process on AL is so different to mine. So I have decided to reserve my opionions on AL for my fellow abbers here.

This lil bunny is steaming ahead on her AF journey and am now 60days plus and life AF is darn good if I say so myself.

Blonde and AF - Well done to the 50days - amazing achievement

Lav - Tilly is beautiful, sounds she is setlling in well.

Fly - WTF, is all I have to say..geez DH sometimes does not stand for Dear Husband! Well done for not been tempted..your strengh grows from day to day

Sugar - you are sounding so well, you have come a long way, you should be very proud

Shue - Sending you Strengh vibes...London is not one of my fav cities in the world

Bear - welcome back, great to have you hear

Dizzy - Well done on the weight loss and AF time. you are from my part of the world

ITM - Hi - I dont think we have met before, I have been on this thread for a couple of months and love it

Kas - love the techi speak, I find that stuff fasinating

Sunni and Turn - Snow ?? is it not supposed to be 'spring'. speaking if which, it is supposed to be autumn here and we have 34deg C yesterday and 32deg C today ??

Sunni - hope the poines are all good, when is your clinic. Will send you more piccies next week, got some good ones over the weekend and will hopefully get some more this weekend.

Det - Safe travels, hopefully will catch up in chat later this week

TDN - Hi! I am sorry you didn't get the job however your postive attitude is amazing

Hopefully I have not missed anyone, if so, sorry

Have a fab day.. one thing is for sure..

xx

[Lavande]

AF daily Tuesday 10 april

I am so tired it's not even funny :H

Glad everyone is OK & sorry about the snow up north - what the hell????

Talk to you in the AM
Lav

[sunshine_gg]

AF daily Tuesday 10 april

Good evening fabby ABbies!

Brrrr... Spring my foot. I've got a fire going. Sigh.

I'm also surprised that the vodka has NO POWER over me!

Fly, you ROCK! That is all.

No, wait.. it isn't. Have we got any news from Matilda?

Re water intake... I've been craving water like crazy for the past couple of days. Wonder if it has something to do with all the food, especially all the sugary treats. That has got to stop now. I'll have to jump on the greatly reduced sugar wagon sooner rather than later, here.

MumOTwo... my first clinic isn't until the last weekend in April. And then another one 2 weeks later. The first one is 2 days and I'm taking the spazzy horse (Atlas), the second is 3 days and I'll drag Trouble along Looking forward to your pictures! You should post a couple here, too.. guys, her daughter and her horse are just gorgeous!

Ok... back to work. Got some time to make up (all that playing in the dirt last week). Be well and one thing is for sure!

[Accountable for Me]

AF daily Tuesday 10 april

Just a quick hello to all of the FABBIE ABBIES!

I am still alive and kicking. My hair is growing back, not as fast as I would like, but I have some and that is TRES COOL in my books! :H

I am on hormone therapy now. I am taking Tamoxifen for the next 5 years to keep the Estrogen levels down. It simulates 'menopause' in many ways. I had so many 'hot flushes' during chemo, (it put me into menopause) that this therapy doesn't seem to be affecting me. So far no side effects. Hallelujah! KNOCK ON WOOD.

So nice to see so many new faces here on the ABs thread! WTG everyone.

I am back working at the SPCA. Only a couple of days a week for now, but I am appreciating it bringing me out of my feelings of being 'institutionalized' the past several months.

I also will be celebrating my 1 year (full) year AF on the 22nd. And I am turning 40 on the 14th! This month is full of milestones for me.

Anyway, good to see you all. I will check in more often. Now that I am starting to feel normal again, I don't want to become complacent. I want a lifetime of sobriety. No falling off the wagon!!

xoxo

[sunshine_gg]

AF daily Tuesday 10 april

Ohhh.. so good to see you, AFM!!! You sound awesome (as usual!)

[Determinator]

AF daily Tuesday 10 april

whew! in a rinky-dink hotel in the middle of nowhere here. but AF and have most of my body parts so can't complain much.

AFM! heya stranger! so cool to hear you have a one year cake to be made

Ditto what Kas said on detox, great material. and please please take vit B1 (thiamine), magnesium and C if your detoxing. (they give those to you in detox clinics for good reason).

must sleep, very long day ahead.

be well everyone zzzzzzz

[greeneyes]

AF daily Tuesday 10 april

AFM!!!! :l:l:l SO good to hear from you!!!

[BlondeAFAmbition]

AF daily Tuesday 10 april

Kas, that was great info on the sleep/hydration and headache link. I'm totally on board with all of that! I am a firm believer that most of what ails us can be cured with 8 solid hours of restorative sleep each night if we let ourselves have it. I have been getting at least 7 if not up to 8 consistantly and it has made a huge difference in how I feel every day (for the better). And to think, not too long ago, I was robbing myself of precious sleep by going to bed drunk and waking up in the wee hours of the morning to nurse a hangover and be wide awake....missing those key hours of deep sleep and only to fall back into the lighter, REM sleep cycle right before waking up and then feeling tired all day. Who needs that? Yet ANOTHER reason not to drink AL!