Hoping to chart my progress here.
Posted , 12 users are following.
I have been heavily drinking for 4 years (20 units at the highest point but managed to get down to 14). I had made various attempts to taper off last year which failed. However, last October I did taper off. After that I was alcohol free for a couple of months. Then it began to creep up again but I knew how hard a taper was so I never drank more than 2 days in a row. The drinking amounts then began to creep back up again.
For the last 3 weeks it has gone back up to every day again. I have a lot of experience now through failed attempts as well as my successful attempt at the end of last year. I am hoping to use that knowledge and experience to now make another attempt which avoids the things I did wrong.
The plan is to fix the issues that brought me to this point but before that the alcohol needs to go. Although I would guess I am not addicted to alcohol, in order to avoid any anxiety I have decided a very short taper beginning today. From the 14 units I have been consuming I intend to drop to around 7 tonight, 4 tomorrow night and 2 on Tuesday night and then stop.
Last year I posted on here and struggled with the courage to updated after my first post and deleted my account. This time I would like to update regularly, if not for anything else, to just keep track.
0 likes, 36 replies
daisyjo JDorian
Posted
Sounds like you have a good plan there! personally my attempts at drinking moderately or occasionally have failed dismally. Good luck and keep updating. If you're on Fb there are some supportive non judgemental groups on there too.
Robin2015 JDorian
Posted
Great plan. We fully understand and will guide and assist you. We are not judging you. Best of luck. Robin
Nat666 JDorian
Posted
You sound really positive in your efforts. I wonder if you have heard of or considered the Sinclair method (TSM) Many of us on here are using this scientific approach to reduce our drinking to safe levels or have stopped completely . It really does work. I was desperate 3 years ago when I stumbled across this site , with the fantastic support and guidance I received my alcohol addiction has long left my life.If i want an occasional glass of something I can now do so without it turning into a big drinking session.However, its rarity now that i bother even with that odd glass as it just doesnt appeal anymore. Google C3FoundationEurope for lots of information.They are such a welcoming and friendly bunch of people and there is lots of advice and support available 😍
JDorian
Posted
I had a change of plan yesterday. I felt the 3 day taper was rushed and the important thing was the transition period from 14 units to nil not just physically but mentally. I changed to a 4 day taper. Same as before in terms of units but I added an initial day at the beginning at 10 units. So now I have done 14 down to 10 and am looking to move down to 7 today, 4 tomorrow and 2 on Wednesday.
10 was a bit risky because it is enough alcohol to make me make the wrong decision. I did manage to stick to 10 units so I am now on my way. I used beer yesterday and will be using beer today and then again for the remaining days. Luckily I despise beer and find it impossible to get seriously drunk with beer.
At the moment I am trying not to think too much about giving up. I know what the challenges are and know what to expect and don't really want to get stuck in my own mind about the whole thing. I also am trying not to get to happy if I do well and hopefully won't be too sad if I have a set back.
One area I am working on is to not look too far into the future. The obvious issue will soon be Christmas but that is far off and I have a lot to do to get to the position to even be ready for a sober Christmas. An immediate issue however is the Christmas party at work. I have to let them know soon and I think it is best to make an excuse for this year.
There has been a family get together planned for a while now starting this Friday. I had not been looking forward to it as my relatives had insisted that they would like us to stay at their house. However, now it is a great positive as they don't drink and neither do most of the people there, all families have kids and I actually never drink when out with my wife and kids so this kind of makes it a bit easier for me, if I can get through the taper. Also, Friday is always tough for me to not drink and this get together means I will be away so that is taken care of. The only issue is that there has been mention of a visit to a local brewery pub for a quick drink to sample their specialist beer on Saturday but I am not too worried about that. I'm not really a beer drinker and never use it as a weapon to get drunk as I struggle to drink enough of it to make an impact. At the moment I don't really want to worry about that as it is early days and even assuming I get through the taper and then end up having a pint, that is something I have to deal with at that point.
@Daisyjo and @Robin2015 thanks for the kind words. @Nat666 thanks and yes I am familiar with the method. For now I am focusing in trying to just taper off so am not looking at medication based treatment.
vickylou JDorian
Posted
not wishing to put a dampener on your tapering, but personally i think you are trying to run before you can walk.
Tapering does not have a high success rate, only a few determined and strong people succeed with it. However you may well be one of them.
In my opinion your tapering plan is too drastic, far better to take a couple of weeks, even staying the same for a couple of days.
It never worked for me, simply because even a small amount of alcohol can have an effect, so decisions you make are different than when youre sober. Your thinking pattern changes with alcohol and in my case, i would start off determined to have a set amount, but then think, "well one more wont hurt, i will cut down tomorrow" and do the same thenext day.
Medication worked for me and has the highest success rate. Acamposate ( campral) which is an anti craving drug, really worked for me and would recommend it
JDorian
Posted
I have to weigh up every option available to me and consider if it is a viable option to get me out of this situation. When it comes to medication, it is as simple as, it only works if I take the medication. Just like I can drink or not drink a whiskey.
Joanna-SMUKLtd JDorian
Posted
Just curious, once you have tapered off, why would you not take a medication for a while if it helps you manage the cravings and ultimately help you in the long run to not fall back to drinking again? It'll help you protect yourself a bit and help you get over that hump when relapses can happen.
If you broke your leg, would you refuse a crutch?
If you had a shockingly bad infection, would you not let your doctor prescribe you a medication to help weaken the infection, or would you prefer to remain in discomfort?
If you had to get to the top of a really large mountain to ski down it, would you struggle up that mountain by foot, or would you get a little help and use the ski-lift to help you reach the top.
Taking a short-term medication to help you is not a sign of weakness, but rather a sign that you are not a slave to the stigma which is telling you that you should be 'strong' enough to fight this one your own. If you are strong enough to fight this alone, then brilliant, but your previous attempts tend to indicate that just 'learning from those mistakes' may not quite be enough.
Each to their own of course, and i wish you well in whatever you decide, but don't fall into the trap of believing you have to 'man-up' to beat this thing.
vickylou JDorian
Posted
Not sure i quite understand where you are coming from. Do you want to stop drinking completely, or do you just want to be in control and just drink socially?
Obviously its your choice whether you drink or not, or whether or not you take medication. At the end of the day, the ball is in your court.
You say you dont want to be happy if you dont drink so youre not too sad if you do. To me, thats a very negative comment as you are already focusing on relapsing. Rewarding yourself for say not drinking for a week is a real incentive. do something you want.
Everyone is different, different things work for different people.
Medication and no alcohol for a year has totally transformed my relationship with alcohol. I now drink socially, never alone and avoid spirits
JDorian vickylou
Posted
My reply was in response to your post directly above. You said that chances of a successful taper were low and that you recommend medication. My point was that at this moment I don't really see how either work without will power. Both can be by-passed to continue in to heavy drinking. Personally, I have been happy with the taper so far.
Regarding social drinking, I am not too sure. Definitely aim to stay away from whisky (abd spirits in general). After that, at the moment I cannot see any form of safe drinking for me. However, that may change after a long period of cessation and breaking the cycle of habitual drinking. But that is an issue for a long way into the future as I have alot of steps to go through to get to that point.
vickylou JDorian
Posted
The medication i recommended is an anti craving drug.
The idea being once your tapering has finished, you start campral. you would probably need willpower for a couple of days, until it kicks in. After that you wont think about alcohol
T
Nat666 JDorian
Posted
Vickylou suggested an anti craving medication so as to help with the terrible craving which most of us know or remember. No pill will work by magic but as I understand it will stop or greatly reduce that craving if you mindfully work with the medication .Then, I think its highly likely success rate of reaching your goal will be yours to grab.
Sincere good wishes for whichever path you choose 👍
vickylou JDorian
Posted
Just wondering how your tapering was going.
Hope everything is ok. Look forward to reading your progress
JDorian vickylou
Posted
Taper was successful, thanks. After dropping to 10 units Sunday before last, I stabilised at 7 units on Monday and then 6 units on Tuesday. I then went down to 4 units on Wednesday and 2 on Thursday at which point I stopped.
I am at 4 days sober as of yesterday evening. Not been easy so far but luckily I haven't come close to failing yet. Sleeping is getting better. I do still wake up at night but can manage to go back to sleep whereas previously I would stay awake for an hour or. I also used to get random bloating where my tummy would just swell up with no other symptoms. I'm guessing that is because of whisky plus me mixing it with lemonade. That has not happened to often since I began my taper.
Still alot of healing to do. Feel drained but that is expected from all the consecutive hangovers I have had.
Preparing myself for staying on top of this and not falling into a false sense of security.
Robin2015 JDorian
Posted
Well done and soon one week sober. You can do it
JDorian
Posted
It didn't work. I reached 7 days sober last Thursday but then drank Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Back to the drawing board to figure out another way to quit.
vickylou JDorian
Posted
tapering is very hard, but you did a week. How much are you actually drinking? Was it social drinking or binge drinking?