been sober 11 days, i hope i cant keep it up, any success stories in here?

I'm not sure if this works with alcohol, but with some 'luxuries' *cough*, it apparently gets easier after 21 days off them.

Good luck, hope you manage to achieve what you'd like to.

~ Peace

Good luck - may it continue. I have a family member who's trying to do the same thing. It's not going to be easy, but it will be worth it.

Good luck, but no it doesn't really get "easier." Find something else to replace it.

I've seen people lose it after a decade sober.

I got hammered the other night after a few months without a drop. But it will probably be months before I drink again. I don't try to "quit." I just try to manage. Same with cigs. I only smoke a pack a week.

OP, congrats on 11 days sober!! Keep up the great work!

i'm gonna try for my new years... good luck!!!!

congrats. you can quit anything.

i quit smoking - 10 years+
quit drinking - 1 year+
quit coffee - 2 months
quit porn - 1 month

you just have to decide to and you will. it took me dozens of times for smoking but one day i decided to really quit and that was it.

be careful who you hang around.

Lots will want to pull you back down with them.

Best of luck!

3 years, 11 months, 17 days.

Still feel the craving every day. The entire process of getting drunk is romanticized in my mind.

Everyone is different, I had to fill the void with work.

No.35 years of drinking.One day off is my limit.

No.35 years of drinking.One day off is my limit.

Not yet. I drink too much. Not an alky yet but i have started drinking alone and that is scaring me in to slowing down. I wish you luck.

I haven't had a drink since may 10th

I can't even stand the smell of it anymore

I still smoke pot though which helps a lot

Keep it up! Take it one day at a time as they say at the meetings. Every day sober is a victory. Don't try to project your mind too far into the future just take it day by day.

[googlevid]

Yo Bro. I quit drinking and smoking years ago. You need to fill the hole up with something else. I took up many new hobbies and ended up settling on a couple that I look forward to doing all the time.

Just keep thinking, "Alcohol is a drug and you can live without it. Take up a healthy lifestyle and find friends that dont drink. Just keep thinking that you HATE alcohol because it destroys lives, families, and career's.

Good Luck Bro. Good Luck.

It's been a little over two weeks for me and it's not as bad as I thought but it's always there, tapping me on the shoulder and saying "have a drink...have a drink..." The funny thing is I feel 10 times better, I sleep better, I already look better yet I can't say that I didn't like drinking - I did!

thanks guys, it's inspiring to know some of you have managed to quit.

i use this online sober recover forum for support and info, it's really great, it's already saved me from drinking a few times.

[link to www.soberrecovery.com]

i keep getting the cravings though.

i get little voices in my head 'just a few' or 'fuck sobriety i love drinking' or 'you're pathetic if you can't drink on occasion without over doing it'

those are hard moments to get past.

It's been a little over two weeks for me and it's not as bad as I thought but it's always there, tapping me on the shoulder and saying "have a drink...have a drink..." The funny thing is I feel 10 times better, I sleep better, I already look better yet I can't say that I didn't like drinking - I did!"

congrats, im looking forward to two weeks, then 1 month.

baby steps.

i also love waking up in the morning now.

ive also made more gains at the gym in such a short period of time then ever before.

looking forward to setting some goals and finding some hobbies

It was very difficult being around my old drinking buddies. They just couldn't understand why I stopped.

You learn pretty quick who your real friends are.

I also lost 30 lbs. from not consuming all those empty calories.

Hang in there.

By the thread title, I wonder at your Freudian slip?!

try going on deployment to the desert. it works man ; )

my advice, since you may not want to join the military and request being in the desert, is start a weight lifting schedule. keep lifting more and more weight and start drinking less and less. not sure how that would work for ya but it has been working for me.

to me, drinking is like smoking cigarettes. i don't care for either. maybe that is because i am also trying to eat more and more healthy and reduce hazardous chemical consumption to a minimum. alcohol is a man made chemical so keep it an other man made chemicals to a minimum.

what i've typed doesn't sound like it would work but based on my experience i have been lifting a lot more at the gym. alcohol puts muscle growth at a snails pace. if you drink and want to gain muscle then good luck cus you probably wont gain strength if you are a binge drinker.


here are some things you may want to consider..

Assuming the athlete is performing within 48 hours of its consumption, as little as two to three standard drinks can directly:

* Decrease strength

* Impair reaction time

* Impair balance and eye/hand coordination

* Impair fine motor and gross motor coordination

* Increase fatigue: Liver function is significantly impacted following the ingestion of alcohol. Up to 48 hours after the last drink the liver may still be metabolizing alcohol at the expense of glycogen (metabolized carbohydrate).

Given that glycogen is vital for most of the body's cellular functions, body fatigue, cognitive decline and loss of strength will result when it cannot be used efficiently. Reaction time, balance, coordination are also impacted by this process in addition to the direct aforementioned neurochemical effects alcohol has on the brain.

* Interfere with body temperature regulation

* Cause dehydration: Alcohol has an impact on kidney function, which interferes with the regulation of electrolytes and fluids in the body (7). Cellular waste removal and nutrient supply are the main functions of fluid and electrolytes, which are controlled through kidney function.

The kidneys filter large amounts of water from many parts of the body, including the brain, to break down alcohol. This causes dehydration and can cripple an athletes performance.

* Deplete aerobic capacity and negatively impact endurance for up to 48 hours after the last drink

* Impact cellular repair: Protein metabolism is negatively impacted when alcohol is in the system. This has obvious implications for muscle repair.

* Impacts the cardiovascular system: Alcohol consumption raises blood pressure and this can result in the heart having work harder to pump blood through the body (8). An abnormally fast heart beat (tachycardia) can also result from alcohol consumption. Further, alcohol increases the synthesis of cholesterol and this can increase the risk of coronary heart disease.

* Disrupt sleep: Alcohol significantly interferes with restful sleep (4). It can make falling to sleep easier to begin with due to its sedative effects but the quality of sleep (particularly rapid eye movement) will be disturbed.

* Cause vitamin and mineral depletion: Vitamins and minerals so necessary for our health have their absorption interfered with, while the body's own supply are slowly depleted, when alcohol is consumed. Even one or two drinks per day (supposedly the "recommended" amount) can have this effect. B vitamins, which have important enzymatic and metabolic functions are depleted extra rapidly (8).

This deleteriously effects the heart, liver, thyroid and kidneys. Vitamin A is also depleted and this interferes with the body's ability to fight disease. Vitamin C depletion makes one susceptible to anemia. Also, when alcohol is ingested the body excretes calcium at twice the normal rate, thus impacting on bone growth and wound healing.

* Cause cognitive impairment: cognitive impairment (disruption of thought processes and brain damage) occur through a number of mechanisms (6,7). Alcohol related sleep disruption contributes to the insufficient restoration of ones neural processes. The effects of GABA-A stimulation, as explained, have been shown to contribute to neural death.

Lack of glycogen to the brain, as a result of alcohol metabolism, causes slow, disoriented, thinking. These are just some factors. There are many more. The implications of cognitive impairment are severe for athletes: loss of motivation, focus and desire in addition to lessened perspicacity and even neuromuscular response.

The effects outlined here are just some of the more obvious ones. There are many others, and it would probably take a book to outline and explain them in sufficient detail.
source: [link to www.bodybuilding.com]

whats wrong with drinking. As long as you can handle yourself. Helps to not be around a bunch of douche bag self absorbed tea toddlers though. Its the company you keep. If you have friends that are anal ashwipe my sheet don't stink types your in trouble to begin with.

Congrats....that's a huge thing.

Good news and bad news on staying sober:

First the bad news....it's easy as hell to get right back into it.
I was exactly 2 weeks sober after 10 days in a rehab center ( was given a choice by my hb....him or the beer).
It wasn't easy, but I did feel so much better in just those 24 days.
Then my 19 yr. old son died.
And I started again....and of course no one could blame me, right?
I figured I needed it then.
Well, I'm right back where I was before rehab, now almost 5 months later.
And I can't motivate myself to even try again right now.

But...Here's the good news.
My husband's been sober for 18 years.
He did NOT pick it up again because of what happened.
And he hurts as much as I do.

I guess it's a choice you make every day...and for him it's just a way of life now...so it apparently CAN become easier if you stick it out.

Good luck....I wish you success.

Ive worked with a fella for 15 years who is totally pickled from a lifetime of drinking. He is 63 now and looks and feels like he is 90. He also is sick as a dog every day and pisses at least 20 times a day. He claims that he wakes up every hour of the night.

They say if you drink and smoke that the last 10 years of your live will be pure hell and he is a good example. Take my advice friend, DON'T BECOME HIM ! I feel bad for him but I mentioned to him that he should quit about ten years ago and he told me "shut up asshole."
So I haven't said anything since. DON'T BECOME HIM. He is suffering terrible now.

Good job, man. It sounds like you are already winning the battle because you are focusing on the negatives of the drug while focusing on the positive benefits you are receiving from abstaining...

We humans tend to form relationships with our drugs of choice... and just like a real friend... we focus on the positives it brings us and brush aside the negatives usually without a second thought... About a year ago... I realized that my main reason for smoking cigarettes and drinking was really because I was just lonely... not socially... but inside I felt as if nobody understood... But OH... cigarettes and alcohol understand because they were there when i needed 'em and never said a word, just a quiet companion...

It is ridiculous how we lie to ourselves and the sooner we realize that THE TRUTH IS THE TRUTH.... the quicker we move on to the best we can be at life

Thank you for letting me write my thoughts out and I hope this can help anyone who wants to help themselves..

Peace.

I'm celebrating my 10th Anniversary of Sobriety from all intoxicants today! I didn't find alcohol that great but I liked "pot" a lot. LOL. I was married to an abusive alcoholic who sounds like that 63 year old another poster mentioned. But I divorced him 9 years ago. Honestly, there are times that are so emotionally challenging that it will take every bit of your courage to avoid intoxicants. But I like keeping a good record. Now you have one started, keep adding to it. We wouldn't want to start over but we can if necessary. I'm really proud of you. It's the best thing to do as a spiritual entity for advancement.

Funny how that Freudian stuff happens to all of us. OP, good for you for making your life different. Big stuff !

Happy 10th, AC !! ; )

I dried out and got sober once, it was the worse 10 minutes of my life, in fact I have a notion to puff a fatty right now!

aaron thanks for that info. ive saved it and plan to read it over many times. i don't see how anyone would want to drink after reading that.

and i didn't notice that freudian slip until you guys pointed it out! very weird.

Best of luck, my dear friend. Hang in there. It does get better, although it may get worse first.

Drank like a fish for 30+ years. Quit a couple of times and went back.

5 years ago, I finally got enough and haven't looked back since. Feels great.

Peace and blessings