Reduction instead of cessation

I’ve been in recovery for 2 years now, not a drop has passed my lips and at most a fleeting tempting thought.

Obviously I’ve heard about the dangers of cold turkey and I know firsthand about reduction.

The problem with reduction is once you’ve made the decision to have a set amount of drinks this evening with all good intentions, the alcoholic you comes in and changes your thoughts for you whilst you are having your set amount of drinks and more often than not usually comes up with a valid excuse for you to veer from the promised 4 drinks to maybe 6, I personally find that far too risky, I know the alcoholic me and she is not to be trusted.

How I stopped drinking was simple. I felt pretty unwell and went to the doctors and after a series of tests was informed that my liver was failing and that I’d need a transplant to survive the next 2 years.

I’m a 42 year old mother of 7, 2 of whom are young 11 and 13 and it suddenly occur

I’ve been in recovery for 2 years now, not a drop has passed my lips and at most a fleeting tempting thought.

Obviously I’ve heard about the dangers of cold turkey and I know firsthand about reduction.

The problem with reduction is once you’ve made the decision to have a set amount of drinks this evening with all good intentions, the alcoholic you comes in and changes your thoughts for you whilst you are having your set amount of drinks and more often than not usually comes up with a valid excuse for you to veer from the promised 4 drinks to maybe 6, I personally find that far too risky, I know the alcoholic me and she is not to be trusted.

How I stopped drinking was simple. I felt pretty unwell and went to the doctors and after a series of tests was informed that my liver was failing and that I’d need a transplant to survive the next 2 years.

I’m a 42 year old mother of 7, 2 of whom are young 11 and 13 and it suddenly occurred to me that I might actually be killing myself, this bizarrely never once occurred to me throughout my 20 years drinking career.

I was terrified as you can imagine and I have not taken a sip of a drink since that day. I just stopped. 2 years have passed now and I’ve changed how I eat to clean fruit and vegetables for the majority of my diet. I’m not on the list for transplant yet and take a lot of different medications to act as my liver should, I don’t take sleepers or anything mind altering. The transplant for me unfortunately is inevitable and I can only pray that when the time comes I get a suitable donor and survive. I wish you luck in your journey to sobriety and hope that you can beat the demon before you have to hear the same words I heard that stopped me in my tracks. 

God bless

Chantelle x

Hi DreamDancer -

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If youre at that point with your drinking, then its a problem no matter what you are drinking. Trust me. I just turned 50 and have drank daily since my 20's, with heavy increase during my 40's. I cut back some last year, but never went more than 2 weeks without drinking. Prior to the holidays, I had to quit my job due to temporary health issues and although was never a binge drinker, became one during that time (was drinking by 11:00 am most days for like a week). I was diagnosed via endoscopy that I have mild chronic gastritis (most likelyfrom drinking) and continued to drink for months. I am now committed to a life of sobriety. My partner has grown very tired of my drinking in recent years and its time to stop.....it really doesnt help solve anything. I did it cold turkey, but if you have insurance (I dont), I would suggest you be honest with your doctor about it as he/she can help you. If the fact that your drinking is bothering your partner doesnt bother you, think about your health.....you already have a fatty liver. Its not easy, but leaving alcohol behind might be the best thing either of us have ever done in our lives.

Best Wishes -

Keith