Today 3/21 at approx. 4:50 I will have stopped drinking. I am 50, and have been drinking daily since my daughter started driving and I started having panic attacks. It has progressed to 2-3 bottles of Pinot a week and 1-2 750ml of Vodka a week. I drank very lightly (for me) last night, got a good 7 hours sleep and woke up feeling very good. I want to keep it up!!
PRAYERS FOR MY 1ST NIGHT PLEASE!
Thank you!
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Welcome Congrats on your decision to try and give up the drink. 
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Here is a useful post for early recovery:@JohnSee Here is a great “fist aid kit” for withdrawls…Have Gatorade with you at all times, stay hydrated! Can’t stress this enough. It helps to flush your system and reduce cramping, take Tylenol or ibuprofen as recommended, helps with pain, if you can, eat granola bars and chocolate, alcohol is metabolized like a sugar, eating chocolate and granola bars mimmicks that in a small way and sleep/rest as much as you need to. Once youve gotten through all this and can get a shower, clean up and, for me, I called the AA hotline and got myself in recovery. For me the physical withdrawal was hard but staying sober mentally was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I got me a sponsor the first night, and got plugged into the program and started working through the garbage that made me want to continually escape for so many years. Now I have an amazing life, still challengin but worth it! We can all do this, but we can’t do it alone! God Bless! Stay strong, stay sober, stay connected! 
Thank you. 5:00-8:00 is the worse…got out of the house tonight, kept occupied with friends. Here’s to (God willing) day 2!!!
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Regarding withdrawal symptoms…in the past 12 years, I probably have gone 1-2 days without drinking that I can remember (probably with the flu, etc.)…and always thought I could go longer i I wanted…now that i’ve made THE DECISION, (besides cravings of course), should I expect more of a sickness experience in the next week or so??
It’s hard to say because we all respond differently. Just be prepared for the unpleasantness and muscle through it. One important thing I think we have to understand as addicts, that we have to have help changing the way we “think”. For me, I had to work through all the shit from my past that I had been running from all my life. I never wanted to look at that stuff or any of the wreckage I caused when I was drinking and drugging and the people i had harmed and I damn sure didn’t want to deal with my feelings…ick! Have a plan in place of what you want your recovery to look like once you put down the drink. Whatever it takes! You got this! God bless and stay strong, stay sober, stay connected!
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Thank you MicheleH. Thats the thing…i really really really enjoy drinking, it usually gives me motivation, energy to get through the drudge of cooking & cleaning. The only one I’m hurting is me. I’m HIGHLY functioning. Thats what scares me so much. 12 years of drinking daily, mostly highly to excess in those 3 hours after work, now spreading to starting at 12:00 on Sunday & lasting all day - its probably killing my insides (and I’ve gained 20 pounds). Besides not having memories of the evening…buying stuff online I don’t remember till the morning when I check my email, etc…having text conversations I don’t remember till I re-read them in the morning, preferring staying at home "enjoying myself’ then doing anything else, not feeling great in the morning, but eventually feeling much better by evening…to start all over again - I’
Lol…hmmmmm…that sounds a little “unmanageable” to me. There’s one of many acronyms in AA that we recognize as triggers (and if you don’t recognize your triggers now you will the longer you stay sober)…H.A.L.T…hungry, angry, lonely, tired. …(and boredom) is a huge one for many. Anyway, those a few of the many areas where we struggle and start to crave a drink or a destructive “behavior”. You mentioned that you really like to drink. …me too, I loved it, for a long time it was fun, and many times I could just drink 1 or 2, even after my life became unmanageable, but in my eyes, that was my disease (my ego) trying to trick me into thinking I was not an alcoholic because more times than not, I couldn’t stop at 2 or 3, id have black outs, hangovers, act like an ass, etc until I finally surrendered and made that decision. I promise you that if you stay sober, work a recovery program you will find true energy and motivation that won’t require getting loaded. It won’t always be easy, but it’s so worth it!
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Hey @evey339. I do sympathize about cleaning, cooking, chores etc. I would always drink to get through them. I went a full year in 2016 sober and every time I would start freaking out, "how am I going to [shovel, put up decorations, take down decoration, clean the pool, clean the house, etc, etc] while sober!? But you can get through it. I substituted the drink with always keeping tea/coffee/etc at hand, and playing my music or tv in the background to pass the time. It really is possible, and actually ok. Best wishes for you.
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H.A.L.T. !! That’s it! Especially in that order. I come home hungry from work, and (as sick as it is) enjoy drinking on an empty stomach. I got drunk quicker and it killed my appetite. Anger being #2 - I’d get in a tussle w/my husband and poof - I’d drink even more. Now that tough part is coming up with really effective ways of dealing with these triggers day after day. I quit smoking about 12 years ago cold turkey. It was 3 months of hell, another 3 months of climbing out of hell, and I still miss it to this day (never once had a puff since).
I THINK I CAN I THINK I CAN, with God’s help.
Welcome @evey339! Congrats on your decision to quit and live a better life. My sleep patterns were the first thing I noticed that changed (for the better). I’ve never slept so good in my life. Keep coming back! 
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