New here/Glad for Accountability

No permission needed to join us here Diane. Welcome I'm sure that you will get lots of support and have plenty to offer to others too

 

Hi Diane,

Congratulations, you made that first step! I just joined the forum today, as well, and already I feel more positive about myself and my choice to cut back my consumption. I totally understand what you're going through.  I am a mother of three who is also quite disciplined, but somehow not with alcohol.  My husband is also a heavy drinker, although he denies that it's a problem for him.  I think we are co-dependent (my husband and I), which makes this relationship with alcohol all the more difficult to control.  I am going to try Selincro to cut back without totally stopping drinking.  I had already consulted my GP and an addictologist before finally joining this forum.  Good luck with today's party and I look forward to your news on the forum! 

Welcome to the group, it's a pleasure to have you here.

I also drink too much in the evenings and don't seem to have much success in reducing it more than I already have, which I did with the help of this forum.  But I will keep trying, or at least not get back to the way it was before.

Good luck with your efforts.

Pat xxxxx

Dear Diane,

Controlling my drinking was also my goal.  I tried several time using will power and succeeded for a while but, to be frank, I felt stressed an miserable as I kept thinking about drinks all the time. I think my brain had been modified by ethanol.

So after some research I went to my doctor whom prescribed me baclofen. It worked after 4 weeks : from one day to the next I simply stopped being that interested in alcool. It was like getting your will power back, the capacity to make a reasonable decision  without that intense and continuous disconfort and urge to go for a glass of wine.  For the last 2 years my average is at 0.7unit a day with very very little effort.  I was one of the lucky one with no side effects in the treatment, which I have stopped 1 year ago. 

Alcool is not part of my life any more.  I mean it is not a preoccupation or something I need to feel happy, just an occasional pleasure.

The lack of effort of the treatment is the thing which astounded the most and made me wish to join forums. 

I now undertsand that two things

-addiction is not a personal failure (as I was convinced) but is in most cases a neurobiological reaction to a particular chemical; and

-there is no need to suffer to be cured.

I hope this is worth sharing.

All the best

I wish you the same.

 

Just wanted to check in and thank you for your responses; I appreciate your advice as well as being accountable here, since I haven't talked to anyone in my real life about my drinking.

So far I have accomplished what I set out to do..In the last 8 days I have had no more than two drinks per day; and one day I had nothing (was driving home from a vacation, so alcohol wasn't available, but it was perfectly fine.

It has gotten easier; I have had no negative physical symptoms (dt's) at all.  I am so happy to wake up in the morning with a clear head and no guilt.  I feel pretty secure that I won't be "sneaking" alcohol anymore (I really hated that about myself).

Last night, my husband and I had a great steak dinner at home.  We enjoyed a cocktail outside and then he opened a bottle of red wine for dinner.  Although he asked a couple of times if I would like a refill on my glass of wine, I declined.  I think he was surprised, but don't think he really thought that much about it.  I feel, at this point, that I can tell him I am cutting down to 2 glasses per day.  I know that this amount of alcohol is over the recommended daily consumption for women, but it is still cutting way back for me. After a while, maybe I will decide to cut down even more.

My only problem is falling asleep.  I used to have a "buz" at bedtime and easily dozed off.  Now I lie there, sober; and just can't fall asleep.  I have a perscription for Ambian (which works well for me at a very low dosage.  But, my new doctor doesn't want me to take that.  The only thing that has helped (besides Ambian) is if I have my second drink later in the evening...but that isn't the answer.

One thing I am really happy about it that I now remember every night time discussion and TV show or movie I have watched.  When I was drinking more, sometimes I embarrassed myself by asking a question in the morning that we had already discussed the night before.  And, sometimes I fell asleep while watching TV or a movie.  I KNOW this journey is not complete, but I do feel I am on a much better path today.

Any advice on how I could fall asleep without alcohol in my system?

Advice for falling asleep....buy Melatonin 10mg...over the counter medication found in the vitamin isle at your local drug store.

Its amazing.

Your drinking......You are 62.....you sound like you are an alcoholic....This will only get worse (its a progressive disease)....being older...you will start experiencing health problems as you consume more and more alcohol.

Its hard to "control" alcohol consumption - as an alcoholic myslef I KNOW this.  The only relief you will find is NOT drinking alcohol at all.  Is there a cocktail you can make for the evenings with your husband that resembles your drink without the alcohol?

I know you don't want to give up that evening drink...but you will die younger if you don't..because your consumption will increase.