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I NEED TO STOP DRINKING, any good tips? Please.

Posted , 11 users are following.

sg1475
sg1475

I have been drinking on and off for years but now drink vodka and coke every night.  I have such a routine that as soon as my little girl goes to bed i sit down and drink watching soaps, i have managed for 3 days a few weeks ago but just started again.  I have been diagnosed with Gastritis and oesphogitis and it will only get worse and yet still can't stop. My little girl is only four and i am 42, i am really scared of leaving her without a mum, logically this should stop me yet it doesnt.  If anyone has any tips i would be very grateful.

0 likes, 16 replies

16 Replies

  • Misssy2
    Misssy2 sg1475

    Posted

    Alcoholism is so sad.  I know..I have it...you want to stop and you can't.

    Really no tips...except..like you said...if you are already having physical problems from drinking at 42..that is NOT a good sign.

    I have been sober 1 month or a little more. I had 8 years sobriety and DRANK for 2 years after that.  I'm lucky to be alive.

    I read during my search on line that most "active" alcoholics only live till about the age of 58.  How old will your daughter be? Ask yourself.....maybe that will scare you?

    Alcoholics need to be scared enough and sick of being sick enough to stop....that is what it takes...Gastritis - the liver and kidney are working really hard to sustain your drinking...they will start to be affected within a year or two?  I'm purposely trying to scare you enough...but they are facts....somethings to ponder in your fight against the bottle.

    • sg1475
      sg1475 Misssy2

      Posted

      Thank you so much for your reply, i do need to be scared, i think it is the only way i can stop, i am going to delve into research on the effects on my body. And keep remembering how old my daughter is, thanks again.
  • Joanna-SMUKLtd
    Joanna-SMUKLtd sg1475

    Posted

    Breaking routines that are so engrained over many years can be difficult.  Your brain has learned to recognise that the time is arriving when you can put your little girl to bed and it is likely now a 'trigger' for you - it wants to drink in response to that.

    When you were diagnosed, did you discuss your drinking with your doctor?

    This is probably worth doing.  There are medications now (in the UK one is called Selincro) that can help block that circuit in your brain and helps reduce your drinking and eventually stop altogether if that is what you want or need to do.

    You take a tablet a couple of hours prior to start of your nightly drink.  The tablet stops the reinforcement of the endorphins that alcohol releases, reaching your brain.  The craving circuit is broken and over some months your brain learns to recognise that alcohol no longer provides what it once did and your cravings lessen.  You will no longer watching the clock for when you can have your first drink.

    This MAY be something for you to look at if you find yourself caving in again.  If you find that you can stop without medication that is brilliant, good for you.  If you struggle and keep drinking when you promised yourself that you wouldn't, then maybe your brain needs a little help to do so.

    Do some google searching on The Sinclair Method, which is what this method is called.  It has an extremely high success rate at almost 80%.

    Many years ago, I blistered the back of my throat with drinking so much neat vodka.  It was very painful and I completely lost my voice for weeks.  Not a squeak!  It was scary to not know if it would heal properly or if I would be able to talk again.  For a while, that scared me sober but eventually the memories of the pain and anquish faded and I invariably started to get drunk again.

    Good luck on your journey and I hope that others will offer you some good ideas too.

    • sg1475
      sg1475 Joanna-SMUKLtd

      Posted

      Thank you for replying, it's good to hear other people's troubles with alcohol, I am sorry to hear how bad it got for you, do you still drink now?  I have googled selincro and the Sinclair method and sound great. I don't know how easy it will be to get it, do I go doctors or is it a treatment I pay for myself?  Thanks again for replying.
    • Joanna-SMUKLtd
      Joanna-SMUKLtd sg1475

      Posted

      I still drink ocasionally, yes, usually when out at a family meal or something.  As long as I take a tablet prior to drinking, the compulsion to continue drinking to excess is gone (I've been following the method for almost 2 years and it took around 8 months until I could say that I was completely craving free).  I used naltrexone as Selincro wasn't approved when I started the method.  Now, I drink one or two drinks maybe once a fortnight, so use approx 24 tablets per year.  Once 'extinction' of the cravings have gone, it is just a case of maintenance to ensure your brain doesn't relearn the problem.  Of course, if you chose to go abstinent at that point, then that is a personal preference. 

      All GP's should be able to prescribe if suitable BUT some areas appear not to be prescribing, perhaps due to cost.  Google NICE guidance for Selincro and it will give you a bit about the medication and what it does.

      Then google the website C Three Europe.  That is the not for profit website that I operate to raise awareness of this method and support others.  Half way down the homepage there is a link for 'free counselling' - click that and read it and you will be able to see what you need to know before you consider approaching your doctor.

      You can also contact me on there if you wish to.  I'm always to help or answer questions on here or privately.

      There are many options out there to help people like us, the key is to find the one that is most suitable for your needs :-)

  • carmel83758
    carmel83758 sg1475

    Posted

    IF you carry on like this you will probably wake up shaking and feeling awful, which is withdrawal symptoms from not drinking for eight hours or so. You might then feel you need to drink in the morning too, and so on. Alcohol depletes your minerals and vitamins.  Have you tried AA or hypnosis. Hypnosis is a lot cheaper and better than drinking.
    • sg1475
      sg1475 carmel83758

      Posted

      Am looking into a hypnotherapy programme on net which looks really positive, but affording it is another matter. I have ptsd and find people and groups of people quite scary, so don't think AA would be for me.

       

  • juanfo
    juanfo sg1475

    Posted

    After you put your daughter to sleep grab the bottle and pour all the vodka out in the toilet. Then flush the toilet. Do not go out and buy another bottle. Tough it out for the night. You are not a slave.
  • jojo1234
    jojo1234 sg1475

    Posted

    How much vodka do you drink in the evenings? I'm only asking because I have only ever drank wine. Vodka sends me a bit mental! If you are only having one vodka and coke in the evening then that's only two units. Obviously it's better not to drink at all but I think the more we worry about our alcohol consumption, the more we drink.

    I'm tapering off at the moment and am starting to feel normal again. I've read that tapering off with a differing drink is better as we don't enjoy it so don't want to drink so much. There are also pills out there that can help stop the cravings but that means telling the GP.

    I know what you're going through x

    • sg1475
      sg1475 jojo1234

      Posted

      Hi there, i drink about 6 or 7 vodkas, i buy two cans of coke instead of a bottle so i can't drink too much.  I had PTSD and used vodka to make sure i went straight to sleep but know i don't need it now.  I think if i tried another drink i would just replace the vodka and form a pattern with that.  Someone mentioned Selincro on here yesterday which i will look into.

      Thanks for replying, its good to hear from other people who understand.

    • jojo1234
      jojo1234 sg1475

      Posted

      My friend used Naltrexone. She was a very heavy drinker with complex PTSD. She started drinking in the morning sometimes and couldnt stop. She had to get the pills privately as they weren't prescribed in the UK at that time but I think they are now.

      She said that if you take a pill an hour before you have your first drink and then have that drink, you don't feel the need to have another one.

      I haven't tried it myself but I think it might get to the point soon where I will! My problem is because I have a child I'm frightened to have alcoholism on my medical records.

      Stupid question, but do you measure your vodka into one shot for each drink?

      PM me if you want to talk x

    • nicole36330
      nicole36330 jojo1234

      Posted

      I have after many years taken the next step after my gp and have been referred to nexus /signpost although my youngest is 16 they still asked for his name and what school he went to and I had to sign consent forms as to who they would contact etc,so I can see how you might be worried.My son is 16 so there's no chance he would be taken into care but I'm still worried about the consequences,ie them talking to him about it as he would be mortified
    • sg1475
      sg1475 nicole36330

      Posted

      I have two grown up boys of 23 and 21 aswell as my four year old and have received help with my drinking when the boys were between 8 and 10  and honestly unless they think your children are in danger they won't take your children, they do everything they can to keep families together and help you.  They can't talk to your children without your consent.  I have had help on and off for years but feel its all catching up with  me and i really need to stop. Well done for taking the first steps to stopping, good luck.
    • juanfo
      juanfo jojo1234

      Posted

      That is so true. I thought that it was only me. The more I would try to stop drinking the more I would drink. Alcohol is such a downward spiral that everything makes it worse.
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