Stoptember - why wait.......

Hi, How are you today?

I'm doing well. Day 14 for me and I won't drink in September or hopefully any day after that. I tried for months and months to quit and only made it three days at a time. This is longest I have gone and I don't see myself going back at all. How are you?

Thanks for your message. You are doing so well congratulations coz you deserve it. Keep up the goof work. I am good thanks. It's been 12 weeks for me and counting. Remember I am here if you need to talk. S xx

12 weeks!.wonderful.that's amazing, I can't wait to be where you are. This is all new to me but it's exciting, scary but more exciting. I'm loving this new life now.

hi how are you today. day 16😊

Totally agree with you, RH.

Whilst I appreciate your comment, my view is this s a starting point with others that are in the same position. we are here to encourage each other and be positive. it is baby steps. After Stoptember, we can go to Stopomber and so on. I believe that with this discussion group to support and encourage others together with their individual treatment with support workers can only be for positive to beat this evil disease we all share here.

I don't think it's as simple as that, although I appreciate that you and maybe some people will try it.

When they 'fail', as many of them will, I think they'll feel they've let the others down. This cannot be a good thing. People with AUD go through enough guilt without this forum deliberately setting them up for it.

Hi Thanks for your response. Why focus on ' fail' and not on 'succeed'. We need to be honest and open but at the same time supportive and encouraging. Different things help different people. It might not be for you I get it. Yes there may be guilts but one has to remember no one is here to judge any one. You pick yourself up with support and try again. Even if I have one person in this group, we will do it together and support each other. There is no failure in trying. Thanks

I think you're missing the point. Some political charity fad is not going to help people on this site. It is about as useful as shaving your hair off for a month. Alcohol misuse is a very serious problem, and it greatly affects the lives of many and many that post on here. I and probably others do not buy into this gimmick of stopping for one month.

Most people here can't stop for one day, let alone a month and telling them to try hard and you can do it, will not be very helpful. I am not negative, I offer a lot of positive advice to people, but I don't think that some jingoistic, lets all get on the party for a month and go sober is helpful. The money isn't even going to alcohol support organisations, but to MacMillan cancer, which is a good cause, but not going to help many, except those that end up in palliative care, if they end up with liver cancer (one of those cancers not many people survive).

They are plenty of things to concentrate on, like the causes of drinking and the medical and psychological answers to that and how maybe the government could take some of those billions raises in booxe tax and spend it on helping people, before they end up in hospital.

But most of all, this is a gimmick/fad that is aimed at the casual user to have a few weeks off.

Hi thanks for your response and you are totally entitled to your opinion. We are doing what to do to help. As I said before this discussion is for support and encouragement on a daily basis. I am sure most people on here have there professional support elsewhere. You of people should know that to stop drinking alcohol takes will powers and determination. You can have all the help in the world but you have to want to stop. Whilst there are other things to concentrate on, these are things beyond our control. Why not use what we have control of and try and make the best of it. Good Luck

Well said! Absolutely hit the nail on the head, RH.

Good luck? RHGB is not joining your bonkers idea, and for very good and cogent reasons. Of all the people on this site, RHGB is the most informed about AUD. He has given excellent advice to shedloads of people.

Read his post again, Sados. You ARE missing the point.

BUT YOU DON'T HAVE CONTROL OVER AUD - IT CONTROLS YOU!

This is naive and infantile thinking.

BTW, RH, Jim is still totally sober.

Gosh, that's a wonderful response! I was deeply moved by it

Albeit I don't drink myself I did have a friend who was an alcoholic and can appreciate that getting through it hour by hour, a day at a time, is a heartbreaking struggle...let alone a month!

I would imagine asking someone to abstain for a whole month would be a special kind of hell for them, a torture even. It would add a sense of failure to them when they are struggling day to day, to contemplate a whole month! Defeated before they even begin by a feeling of helplessness.

There is a great deal of ignorance where alcoholism is concerned. Many view it as a weakness on the part of the abuser. As if they could magically stop if they wished/tried hard enough. It's shameful that they do not recognize it for the illness it is

Your post is a credit to you

And a boost to  the moral of those who are in dire need of it

Helen

Missed this one earlier. I am very happy for the both of you. It is actually amazing how the body can actually bounce back, if the drinking stops.

Thanks RH. You helped a lot. Many people did but your straight talking finally got me thinking "This guy is RIGHT."

Hey, how did the endoscopy go - or did you mention it somewhere else and I missed it?

The only smile moment I had, which I still remember, is when I said, don't have a go at him. He knows better than anyone what he is doing to himself and he will only use you as a justification/blame to carry on as before. I wrote it a little bit better than that, but that was the jist.

As for the ultrasound and endoscopy. The radiologist said to me, your liver isn't brilliant, but no worse than two years ago. She did notice 0.5cm gallstones, but as they are not giving me trouble, to leave them alone. And no portal hypertension. The gastroscopy they completely knocked me out after I suggested they might not like someone my size thrashing about. And my oesophageal varices have gone. However, I have gastritis, which I think is because of 25+ plus years of drinking fizzy lager/cider has stripped my internals. I also don't drink tap water, just bottled sparkling mineral water, which obviously doesn't help.

Are there meds to help alcoholics? What actual help is there out there, tess, apart from willpower and the support of loved ones?

I know there's AA but it appears to me it must be a lonely and frightening place to be if there is no assistance from the medical profession

Ha! So you DID have a general anaesthetic.

I can't tolerate endoscopies without a GA.

No portal hypertension? Great.

Gastritis - I thought you were on omeprazole? Perhaps the dose needs upping?

Oesophageal varices have gone? Zippedeedoodah!

RHGB can answer that far better than I can. If he's still awake and not losing the will to live reading our idiotic comments.

Sometimes you have to do your own research and help yourself

I am now over 10 weeks AF thanks to Baclofen

It makes me feel sad that you had to research and have to help yourself. I know, I know, whatever illness we have we must help ourselves, But still...10 weeks! I think that's wonderful, I truly do!

I hope you are proud of yourself Nicole

You should be!

Hugs Helen

Agreed.