Anyone else given up the booze and gone through withdrawals? The booze thread

I used to drink every night, couldn't sleep unless I was drunk, but got up every morning took some headache pills, then functioned normally until evening when it became wine o'clock. This had been my pattern for years, holding down well paid jobs, but in the back of my mind secretly knowing I was alcohol dependent.

Well nearly 2 months ago my mother died suddenly, had lost my dad a few years previously, but this loss totally broke me. I went on a complete binge, drinking from morning to night, by a couple of weeks ago I was drinking maybe a bottle of wine in the pub in the day, then 1 litre of vodka and another bottle of wine at night - total madness, such a huge amount I even stopped eating anything more than maybe a couple of pieces of toast.

So I contacted my doctor, wanted to stop, and was referred to the junkie/alcho team at the local health service and they offered me counselling, telling me to keep a diary of my booze intake and cutting down gradually.
I knew straight away there was nothing any counsellor could tell me I didn't already know, and cutting down slowly it would take 30 years before I'd be down to a glass of wine a night 😂 So I decided to just stop.

3 days in and I'm curled up in a ball on the floor, sweating, shaking violently, cramps, vomiting, then started seeing and hearing things. It was awful, I couldn't take it so phoned a friend asking her to bring me some alcohol because I couldn't physically make it to the store.
She turned up then refused to give it to me, forced me into her car and took me to the hospital.
I got admitted immediately, hooked up to 3 different drips, some drug injected into my shoulder muscle, multiple pills every couple of hours, and to be honest I lost a few days in my mind.

After a week I was fully detoxed and they released me. I actually feel alive again and free from the clutches of alcohol, it's amazing!!! 😁😁😁
I was invited to a pub breakfast yesterday, local event going on, by midday everyone around me was already pretty drunk, but I still had a fantastic fun time even just drinking my OJ and lemonade 😂
That was a test for me, and I didn't crave alcohol in the slightest, in fact I now actually fear it! 😱
Rehab detox is the best thing that has happened to me this year, all my taxes over the years are worth it if only for that!

I checked locally and the cheapest private 7 day rehab residential clinic I could find was £2000 which no way I could afford as I'd spent my savings on alcohol, and although my independent annuity income is enough not to have to work, I couldn't save up the two grand while still drinking, like a vicious circle.

Anyway, thanks to all the NHS staff who cared for me, I've been out one week now and am completely dry, got a bit of an addiction with fizzy pop right now but the staff said that is because I'm replacing the sugar I was getting from alcohol so suggested eating high fructose fruits like apples, grapes, and watermelon instead, which I'm now doing.

I said to a friend yesterday that alcohol to me now is like ending a crazy, passionate, destructive relationship but with an ex who I may bump into every few months and have mind blowing sex with for the night but we can never get back together again 😂

Any alcoholic stories welcome, just sharing mine because each time I do it reminds me how lucky I am ❤️🙌

Well well done to you. I like beer to much to give it up, but I have cut back as cant stand a hangover.

a reply to: DaisyRainbow

Good on ya! You've been clean a week. Be very careful. The longer you go without alcohol the easier it gets. All it'll take is one fall and you're back where you left off. Get some AA sponsors meetings etc happening. Stay away from the usual areas and avoid serious clashes/discussions etc until the mind gets better.

You didnt get to where you were in 1 day, you wont be "cured" in 1 day. It'll be long but beleive me its worth it.

Being sober is a great feeling.

One must live on the rocks to understand if one is truly addicted "and won't quit" drinking. So you are not an alcoholic with a mental disease . Alcohol is legal because it is a poison that is taxable, same as fags and soon to be pot. Is pot a poison, well, ask yourself that. Alcohol is not a poison in moderation, we all agree upon that unless your liver says so. Fags are hard to quit, but not an addicted drug, but they do harm and can kill.
So that leaves us with pot, it is a natural plant. I hope you all get my point.

a reply to: DaisyRainbow

Congratulation!!!

It is very brave of you to take that step and turn your life around.

I admire you strenght..

Peace

a reply to: musicismagic

Pot in itself is not addictive...kicking the herb is easy and will leave you sleepless three days max.

It's the lifestyle that comes with it that is hard to kick. It so easy to forget you problems for a few hours..

Everything in moderation I guess..

Peace

a reply to: TheConstruKctionofLight

Ah thank you ❤️
I've been brutally honest about my recent events on facebook and since then 10+ friends have reached out by private message.
The other night two ex drinker friends came round my house and we had a right laugh pouring each other fizzy pop like it was bottles of sparkling wine lol, even telling alcoholic jokes lol. And even better, another friend who we are worried about drinking too much called in and stayed having the same laughs, we invited her to join the fizzy pop club but the bouncer won't let you in unless she is sober 😂

She had fun, and wants to join the club so we will help her, and now she sees that you can have a laugh without being drunk.
Everything is looking positive with blue skies, daisies, and pretty rainbows 🌈

a reply to: DaisyRainbow

great to hear

a reply to: TheConstruKctionofLight

I went full details public on FB to make sure everyone knew.
The pub breakfast event yesterday went so well because although by midday everyone was drunk, not one friend offered me a drink aside from "Want another juice?" stuff like that, they knew 😁
Never be ashamed to tell your friends, if they really are your friends then they will only want to help you ❤️

I have never had a drinking problem as such but when I get a little bored a beer can turn into a few
Sitting watching tv is a trap so I avoid sitting around
I dance, paddle and play golf, work and ride, gets me out and social.
Better than trapped inside
You want to do something other than drink, get out

a reply to: Raggedyman

Getting out is good advice!
I was at the stage where I was only getting out to the store for more alcohol 😱

a reply to: DaisyRainbow

What will you spend all that extra money on ?

Consider a weekly small contribution to the facility that helped you so you in turn can help others, it will help keep you on the right track.

1 small step for you - 1 giant step for your kind.

Ohh I just read the rest of your post..

I was concerned, and jumped the gun!!

Thankfully, you did what I had thought of

AWS can be fatal... and there is no hell that can compare to the thoughts that arise in that morbid, deathly state.. been there, more than once.. :/

a reply to: CthruU

I've noticed the money already!!!!! Was spending £30 to £60 a day 😱😱😱

It was the NHS hospital which detoxed me but our town has a local charity which buys medical things for them which the government budget doesn't cover. I've started a direct debit monthly 😁

I’m eleven days sober myself, I know the struggle is real, so congratulations.

I started drinking heavily a few years ago. I had always binged drank off and on for the past 20 years, but I had always held a job and remained a functional alcoholic. Back in 2013, I had a major disability from cancer surgery and started drinking more little by little, I still was not an everyday drinker but last year, long story short, I was having major family problems and ended up being a one man nursing home for my disabled elderly dad.

Before I knew it I was drinking a 12 pack, sometimes a whole case a day. Beer, wine, whatever was around really. I would not hardly eat because I was drinking my calories every day. It got to the point where I wouldn’t even get hangovers the next day. I knew I was going down a bad road, but couldn’t seem to stop it. I never thought I would let myself get like this, it sort of sneaks up on you and you find yourself trying to justify it in your head even when you know you should stop. It’s horrible.

I would hide my drinking as well. I would go to the store, grab 2 six packs, chug one of them on the way home and then when I pulled up in the driveway, take one off the other six pack and open it like it was my first one. I would make sure to take the trash out early in the morning so the wife would not see any beer cans or liqour bottles in the trash.

Exercise and walking the dogs early in the morning seems to help, self reflection and being mindful of the things I’m thankful for seems to help too, it’s still a struggle. I pray every day never again to have the alcohol monkey on my back. And like you, it scares the hell out of me to even think of going down that road again, but at the same time I know it would be too easy for me to be right back where I was if I’m not vigilant.

People who have never been there can’t understand.

Keep your head up and stay sober my friend. Every day it gets a little better.

originally posted by: DaisyRainbow
a reply to: Raggedyman

Getting out is good advice!
I was at the stage where I was only getting out to the store for more alcohol 😱

For the largest part of the last 20 years or so, pretty much the only person I had verbal contact with was the bloke at the bottlo.. In 2010 I managed to break out of the cycle, and spent 2 years sober. studied, ironically to become a counsellor, but a fateful reunion with an ex, threw me under the bus. 7 years later, back in with good support, I'm still struggling, but mindful of the fact that there is always hope.

Social anxiety is my biggest concern. I just can't do real life things. lol.. but with reams of test results from so many tests, I know it has to change. The irony of all my fibrous tests coming back within normal ranges, still confuses me.. just how much does one have to consume?? I cannot fathom the amounts required for people to get so far down that road.

And I am hopeful that I won't find out. Sure, I'll be a grumpy ol' hermit stuck in the old house with the roof that flies away into neighbouring yards for them to scratch their heads in wonder, but hopefully, not heading into a hospital for hospice.

a reply to: Cancerwarrior

Oh man thank you for your story!!! ❤️
And well done! I totally know the hiding evidence thing, I get two rubbish collections, one week general crap, next week recyclables, never dared put all my empty bottles and cans in the recycling, even the bin men would have been shocked! 😂

Thank you so much for sharing 👍

a reply to: gallop

Ah thanks for sharing your story as well ❤️
Well done, do you know since I've been so brutally honest on facebook I've discovered a massive amounts of friends have been struggling with alcohol as well, it's sparked an openness in conversation, like we all wanna help the tribe itself control the seductive snake that is alcohol 😂

a reply to: DaisyRainbow

I've been open about my problem for a long time now, reusing mindfulness is what helps me, but there are so many things yet to deal with, it's still rough waters.

Nothing feels as good as that smile when you can sit around alcohol, and not feel compelled though. I remember how I'd walk past a bottle shop and smile.. thinking "How was I trapped in that place for so long..." ahh, but it's still easy to lose sight, so having open communication, good support and the will to be that better person, is vital.

I'm at a stage now of having to take care of my aging ol' mum. And with that, the knowledge that one day, she'll be gone. And with no family to speak of, and having isolated myself for so many years, well, the prospect of a future feels .. felt, hopeless.

Which is why I grabbed onto this thread so eagerly. support and hope, strength and the courage to battle on, come from many varied places.

This thread gives me those things, this sunday (the day I dislike the most), having read your op.

a reply to: gallop

Oh wow, I get you, and I feel for you knowing what is coming so the challenge you will face alone ❤️ My deepest love and empathy, message me if you wanna share anything uncomfortable in public, but sharing to the world will help someone somewhere with similar struggles ☺️
Thank you for sharing, and like you I nearly accidentally walked into the wine aisle in the store then realised and chuckled then turned back to the cat food! 😂

I hope others can find release sharing their own stories in this thread, like they say, it's good to talk ❤️