af day Sunday 10 March

[treetops]

MAE - this really is a quick start and check in - I am busy with lots of different things today but I hope you are all well and enjoying a sober Sunday - as I have and am!

5 months abstinent for me today - and feeling great!

[blondie]

af day Sunday 10 March

:goodjob::goodjob: :yay: on 5 months sober!!

[Lavande]

af day Sunday 10 March

Good morning Abbers!

CONGRATS TT on your 5 AF month :wd:
Hope you have a great day!

Greetings blondie & everyone else arriving later today!

I'm expecting dinner company today so I need to go gather supplies. Enjoying warmish temps here for a few days but the cold is due to return later this week.

SF, I'm sorry you are having such a hard time staying motivated right now. Have you tried writing a gratitude list, think of the reasons why/how being AF would change & improve your life. I had a strong desire to be a non-drinking, non-smoking granny. So the birth of my first grandkid finally gave me the push I needed to hop on board & stay put. I wouldn't have it any other way

Have a terrific AF Sunday everyone!
Lav

[porqoui]

af day Sunday 10 March

MAE ALL...

TT...thanks for the kickoff and WOW 5 months already! I remember when you first started time traveling with us. :goodjob: Like they say "Look after the pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves."

Blondie...got my score card ready to go...Mick/Stoller...I'll let you know the results. :H

Lav...I can just picture this little chicken walking up and down Mick's back. :H

Had a great visit with my Dad yesterday. He was very alert and in this time zone.
AA later this morning, missing my face 2 face as I didn't make it last two Sundays.

Have a great AF Sunday all and all to come....PPQP

[Catbuddy]

af day Sunday 10 March

Congratulations, TT!

Let's have a dance!

:band2:

Have a wonderful day with this milestone in your heart!

SF and Pauly, I know just how you feel on the struggle ending when you decide to drink. SF, I agree that it's as if your brain can finally relax because it has secured what it wants. For, it was all my attempts at moderation. I would decide to take a day off, then decide to just have two glasses of wine. Sometimes it would work to stop at two. Sometimes it would not.

At the end, it was, "It's 8:30am, I just finished making coffee. I could get the milk out, but oh look, there's an open bottle of white wine. I'll just have one glass of that instead of the coffee." Then I would finish the bottle, and open a new one. By 10:00am I needed a nap. During these hours, I would be working, having conference calls, negotiating, etc. I'm still amazed I didn't completely f**k up my career.

I really needed to go zero tolerance to abstinence or hang up my life. So I know what you are feeling. If you can get on top of the brain chemistry/drug dependence & withdrawl cycle, you can manage out the other side.

I'm still very fragile, though not with AL per se. I trace this to a lifelong sugar dependency that runs rampant in my family. So now, I am very cautious about sugar, carbohydrates in general, stress eating, imbalanced meals. If I miss my L-glut, I'm in trouble. I just gave up my SSRI and added Amoryn. If I miss my Amoryn dose, I'm in trouble.

I approach this as a VERY COMPLEX biochemical maze, and believe I have to navigate it every day, or go back to AL, bulimia, anorexia, all the demons of my lifestyle at some point.

We're all in this together in some way.

Cat

[paulywogg]

af day Sunday 10 March

excellent post catbuddy,everytime i quit i make sure theres a "saftey beer"in the fridge for some dumb reason it comforts me knowing its there,usually it sits for weeks then my husband drinks it,but at first i need it there,your 8:30 am story is me to a tee,thats why im not giving in again,if i give myself a green light to drink,all bets are off i go hogwild

[Mick]

af day Sunday 10 March

TT..just home...Congrats on your 5 months well done and deserved


:goodjob::wave::banana::wave::applaud::wave:

[treetops]

af day Sunday 10 March

Hi there esp SF and Pauly - yes as Lavande says it really helps if there is a special resolve to make the switch to being AB.
Her's was being a Super Granny - mine was staying alive and being there for my daughter as she becomes an adult (so both for me and for her). All the extras soon come to light - thats the gratitude list you can draw on.
Fortunately I have never ever wanted to drink AL for my breakfast but I had that 5pm call - that could be a 3pm (thinking about it etc etc). This was really hard to overcome because picking up a couple of bottles of wine was so easy to do when picking up groceries from the supermarket.
I had to focus on the 3pm - 7pm hours and grit them out, plus my partner helped with his awful jokes, lots of positive reinforcement and putting up with my flat mood/depression at the start of the quit. I don't see myself out of the woods by any means and I also still have to be careful with my liver and general health. But sure as hell am kicking that Big Bad Wolf away as I make my way through the woods.

[paulywogg]

af day Sunday 10 March

what is it with that 3 to 7 time frame? mine are then too,plus that flat mood at first,where everybody asks you whats wrong,are you sick?are you tired? NO! i WAS sick,iWAS tired,im trying to make myself healthy and if im boring and quiet for awhile so be it,thank you treetops for writing that post,i needed to hear it

[Determinator]

af day Sunday 10 March

just a quick hello that I'm alive and hanging in there best i can. between work and helping my friend with legal council, vehicle impound etc I'm just mentally fried.

did want to share this lovely story with you though:

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=EBYPlcSD490[/video]]Saving Valentina.6.8.11.h264.mov - YouTube

be well