First day. Beginning of my Journey/my story

Your Story
#1

Hi Everyone,

My name is Jack I’m 30 years old and today is the day I’m finally going sober. I am writing this mom the hospital bed where I was checked in today for Alcohol Withdrawals. I drank for 9 days straight, all day and all night. Got to a point where trying to fix the withdrawels by drinking more. This is what I did for 9 days actually and today my body finally gave up. Tried 3 beers and the chills aches, lightheadedness, sweating, just got worse.

So here how I got in this mess.

I’ve always been a drinker. Started hard in college and then just continued after that. Never had a problem with morning drinks because I was never too hungover. I’d say from 26 and on that started to change. Drinking still happened 3 days a week but sometimes when I was very hungover I’d reach for the alcohol again. I convinced myself it’s fine, everyone does it and calls it brunch. Seeing as I was in denial I continue to do it and the binge drinking got more and more frequent.

Here comes the downfall. I’m 27 years old and binging is become the normal. Mostly Friday to Sunday all day. I’d then wake up needing it to function so I’d have a couple drinks in Monday too. 29 hits and I’m bad and I know it. Drinking the weekends and how every man days into the next week until I taper off. Withdrawals after binges would be begin and sleeping would need more alcohol. I’d wake up in the middle of the night and need a drink to sleep and then 1 immediately when I woke up. Sometimes I’d need one each and every hour of the day just to function.

Now comes the final chapter. Got drunk each day, every day for 8 days straight and I can finally admit I have a problem. Decided myself to come to the hospital and check me in. I’ve had enough. I just got engaged 10 days ago and this is the first event my fiancé has to go through.

My journey begins from here but I know I won’t ever go back to where I was.

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#2

Welcome and congratulations on taking this first great step in getting your new sober and healthy life. This is an awesome group. Check in and read the posts often.
Hugs

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#3

Welcome Jack, take care in that hospital bed !
Just remember that life gets far better from here.
Read around, hope to see you frequently here :+1:

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#4

Welcome @Jstevenz
Awesome support here and good luck on the journey through recovery :+1:

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#5

You’re at a safe spot: the hospital. Glad you are taken care of yourself now. Admitting to yourself you are having a problem is hard to do. I’m addicted to alcohol myself and that part I found very difficult as well as asking for help. You did both!
Well done! :facepunch:

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#6

Bookmark this, take a snapshot of what you have wrote, because I tell you this through kindness this road of recovery is not easy… You will have moments of wanting to give in, don’t its that inner addiction calling. You’ll have moments when you think you can have just one drink you can’t. Accept and kind of mourn over you drinking days because if you want this, than the biggest change for you is going to be saying goodbye to drinking which is never easy.

Your in a safe place take all the support they have to offer, listen to the guidance they give you.

I wish you the best on this journey, keep coming here… Read, some of these people have amazing strength and it shows with the numbers under them.

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#7

Thanks everyone! I was released at around midnight last night. Got the typical fluids, Librium, and Ativan. Chills and shakes went away after a couple hours and so did blood pressure and overall anxiety.

They also prescribed 4 days worth of Librium to take over next 4 days to ease remaining symptoms. This morning I felt extremely fatigued and a foggy head but overall well. Slight feeling of embarrassment/depression and then that left when I took the Librium.

Question for all of you since I’ve never taken any prescription drugs before, especially benzos, do you think it is safe for me to finish the doctors recommended dose or do you think that may cause a possible problem for addiction on those once it’s done?

#8

Welcome Jack. Take care and all the best to you.

#9

Can you ask your doctor this question?
And hey, welcome !!

#10

welcome, jack!!! thanks for sharing your story with us. :heart:

#11

Welcome Jack. I’ve only been on here a few days but by god it helps. You can get vital info and help from the different story’s and topics you read on here from a wide range of people. I’ve already got lots of hints and tips to help with cravings and low mood etc. Hope all goes well for you :slight_smile:

#12

Day 3 - felt tired/ foggy brain today but that turned around later in the day. Biggest breakthrough of today is being with 3 family members ( who don’t know I’m going sober ); they are all drinking their wine and I see it around me and even have been offered and of course said no. Best part is I’m not even getting any urges.

Honestly biggest problem I’m finding is drinks too substitute the alcohol lol. I had a coke and now seltzer water. Found the flavored seltzer water to be the best.

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#14

Hi Jack and welcome to Talking Sober! Now that you are through the worst of the withdrawal, you can start on building your recovery. Most people I know who have gotten sober have something in common: the willingness to try whatever is offered to them as recovery tools. In my first month of sobriety, I took Antabuse and started individual counseling. After that, I went back to AA and did what they suggested I do. I wound up in an intensive outpatient program.

Before I got sober, I thought that some brief period of being dry would mean I could try to drink and keep it under control. That control lasted from 1 to 4 days and then would crumble. I lied to my doctor and my counselor about my drinking. I told myself and others that I wasn’t a “group guy” and I was an agnostic, so AA could not work for me.

When I got sober, the reason I got out of bed each morning was to wake up hangover free and start concentrating on getting to bed sober that night. Just focusing on the 14 or 16 hours from wake up to bed time. And while maybe that sucked for a couple months, I kept in mind, constantly, how shitty the last day and weeks and even years of my drinking life had been.

I pray that you get the gift of being desperate enough to try anything and everything to get and stay sober. And here’s a link to a thread of ideas on how to do that. Resources for our recovery.

Blessings on your house :pray: as you begin your journey.

#15

Welcome and congratulations on getting sober!!

I traded the booze for the seltzer water too. I don’t drink it unless I get a craving. I like how it’s bubbly and slightly flavored without the sugars. I feel that it is a nice treat to offer myself, instead of a drink!

Here’s to the more sober days ahead! Love and light :v:

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#16

Best decision you will ever make.

#17

Hey guys! Day 20 here and feeling amazing. I’m down 10lbs. Been going to the gym 5x a week and haven’t had a single sip of alcohol OR even really been craving it.

Tonight was a very proud moment of mine too. My fiancé and I live together and she doesn’t have the problem with alcohol that I do so we do keep alcohol in the house and she does have a couple glasses of wine throughout the week. That does not tempt me at all. Tonighy though, was the first time I went out with my friends sober. We actually went to a brewery, then back to their apartment where they all enjoyed themselves and had drinks and got drunk and I did not crave it whatsoever. Huge step for me to know I can still go out, be around it, and not want to cave.

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#18

Today is a big day for me. I’m on day 22 which is great but it’s also the longest I’ve ever gone without alcohol for basically 10 years. 4 years ago before my problem even came to light I wanted to lose weight and focus on my health and I went 21 days without drinking.

Now at day 22 with zero cravings. It’s such a great feeling waking up without a hangover or needing alcohol to function.

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