Need Support

HI SkyeBeth. Very rage for anybody not to have been drinking till the age of 38 and you will be the only one on this forum! Great that you are admitting to drinking but has stopped. You are right in stopping immediately before it gets out of control. I stopped 3 yrs ago 31st Dec and feel GRET. Best of luck and let us know how you get on sober Robin

So, you have no cravings for alcohol at the moment?

Don't worry about your liver, 3 months is nothing in the drinking world, it will repair iteself just fine, if you keep off the alcohol.

Thiamin b and vitamin B compound strong, may help your body, if taken for about 3 months. They are non prescription meds and H&B sell them.

Hi Beth, although you started late, sounds like you are alcoholic. The phenomenon of craving will return at some point. I'm 45 and used to drink daily until black out. Beer and then wine pretty much every evening. I tried many, many ways to stop or control my drinking and I could not. I needed help. I'm an atheist so also thought AA was not for me. But I tried it and have not drank for 5 months. It's not a religious group, although the god word does appear often. It's a bunch of drunks who've found a way to live without booze and have also found a program that improves their lives in other ways. You will hear people talk of God in meetings, think of it as Group Of Drunks or Good Orderly Direction. 

If you feel you need help, I'd recommend you commit to going to AA for one month (try to attend meetings daily if possible and talk to people after the meetings, they're a friendly bunch and will welcome you) and go with an open mind. Listen for the similarities not the differences in what people say. If that doesn't work, then look at plan B.

good luck!!

Ned 

You may be new to this section, but you are not new to the forum. I have read a number of your posts in other sections, and your addiction to other drugs. I think you should really post a whole resume of your past and then we can advise better, At the moment, you are only giving us a couple of pieces of a 1,000 piece jigsaw.

Come back and tell the whole story, not just a snapshot and then you'll get the best help.

While I am sad to hear you have this problem, SkyeBeth, it is very interesting because it is yet more proof that alcohol addiction comes from a physiological condition. Many people are blamed for getting into difficulty with alcohol and it is asssumed that they chose the lifestyle of drinking heavily and that turned into the situation where they couldn't stop drinking. However, your story shows, by being such an extreme example, that you were already pre-disposed to becoming addicted to alcohol.

Had you started drinking earlier in your life, exactly the same thing would have happened then.

I am glad to hear that you are doing better now

Hi Skybeth?

I just wanted to clarify, had you NEVER had not even a drop of alcohol until this episode a few months ago?

Dear SkyeBeth,

You have come to exactly the right place!  Welcome, and good for you for taking your health seriously and finding the courage to speak about it.  I also am relatively new to this site, and I am not a professional counsellor so I can't provide much in the way of structural and practical advice - although there ARE counsellors who comment on this site and will definitely be able to give you more focussed help.

I also was/ am where you are - although I have been drinking for many more years than you....   From what I have read about fatty liver (as opposed to more advanced liver damage), it CAN repair itself if you stop drinking now... before it advances to liver scarring and cirrhosis. So you've taken a good first step - to recognise your addictive personality and that you need help.

What has helped for me: keeping a journal of what you drink and when (in your case, if you are giving up completely, you won't be recording anything!); I also have visted another site, "drinkaware", which is UK-based and very helpful - you might want to check it out.  Many people who have commented on this site have also been prescribed with nalmafene (Selincro), which seems to provide huge support for people who need to stop drinking and can't manage it by themselves. You might want to talk to your doctor about it?

I think talking to people on this site is also very very supportive and helpful. People are really great and not at all judgemental. Keep coming back - it's really motivating.

I'll be following your posts and sending you positive energy for your journey to better health and sobriety! You CAN do this.

Hi, SkyeBeth, well done for taking action so promptly and seeking support from this site. It does seem that some people can be take it or leave it drinkers and some can't. I didn't realise this until I started taking serious action on my drinking at which point my aim was to be what I thought of as "normal" - a take it or leave it drinker. But it seems I'm not made like that. I always have to consciously control my drinking and sometimes I fail at that. If you Google help with alcohol in your area you may find organisations that will help other than AA and often you can refer yourself. But I think a chat with your doctor wouldn't go amiss as they can support you, hopefully. Though you'll see from this site that not everyone has experienced their doctor being helpful. But well done again, and keep us posted how things go.

I'm not completely aware of what your circumstances are. You say that you were addicted to pain killers. But what we're the circumstances around this and your recent drinking??

I don't think you should label yourself an alcoholic if you have NEVER drank alcohol before and have managed to stop once you made the decision to do so, as most alcoholics can't just stop so easily.

I'm wandering whether there was a trigger to your drinking I. E. Something in your personal life??

Alot of ppl drink heavily for one reason or another and then stop, but this does not necessarily mean they have are alcoholic.

Society is to quick to put labels on ppl. You only drank for a few months out of 38 years from what I gather.

Hello SkyeBeth:  It's great you decided to stop drinking.  Your situation is similar to mine in the fact that I never drank to the point of having a problem until later in life.  I started drinking from taking on employment that was very stressful.  I developed an anxiety disorder.  It caused me to be unable to cross bridges without feeling like I was going to pass out.  That wasn't related to drinking, it was related to being way over stressed.  That's what the doctor told me.  She said her daughter had a similar situation like mine.  She couldn't cross bridges at all!  Drinking seem to calm me down after a stressful day at work.  Then drinking became something I relied on more and more.  After 4 years of drinking, my body gave signs too that it had enough of this alcohol.  My issues became sugar related.  I became insulin resistant.  That caused my upper arms to ache like a bad tooth ache everytime I drank.  I had many other health issues that came along too.  I finally had to quit drinking because I couldn't sleep at night due to the upper arm pain and chest pain.  I too feel better and have, I feel, conquered the drinking problem.  I took cleanings pills for the liver, colon and blood and stocked my kitchen with things I liked to eat.  When an urge to drink came up, I ate something i liked.  So I replaced the drinking with something else, food!  I also walked and still walking to get my body bad in good working order. 

Coming to this forum is a great support tool.  I wish you the best and keep up the non-drinking.  Also, know I'm here for you if you need to chat.