Anyone here ever try to quit drinking cold turkey?

[Mully]

I've battled with a drinking problem for the last 14 years. After reading Hokie Fans post, it made me do quite a bit of thinking. I've had several health problems over the years due to my drinking, but never anything serious. I recently went 2 weeks without a drink. Let me tell you, I felt like crap the entire time and couldn't ever get a good niights sleep without nyquil or something. My mind actually felt more screwed up than when i was drinking. anyway kicking around the idea so If anyone has some advice or knows what I'm talking about, please reply.


Thanks

 

[kneifl]

You might not like it but go to AA meetings if you think you have a serious problem.

Also,

Are you married? Spend some of that time with your wife that you would normally go drinking.

Try to find something that keeps you very busy at all hours - an extra job, go back to school, etc.

Try to get into a regular fitness regimen. Will keep you occupied and not drinking.

JMHO,

kneifl

 

[Axle]

I didn't just try...I did it. I had to do it for 1) my health, both mental and physical.

One day after a wicked night of partying, I had one of those hangovers that make you say that you are never going to do that again...I'm sure you have had one of those....I sat there suffering and wondering where I had gone wrong in my life.

In high school, I had a lot of potential. I graduated 3rd in my class. I didn't drink or smoke. After a short stint in the Marines and a tour over seas, I basically drank way too much, smoked too much (not cigarettes)...and basically didn't give a flying Fnck about anything....

I decided that if I was actually going to do anything meaningful with my life, I had to clean up my act...So I made the decision to quit doing it all. The hardest part was telling "my buddies." I hung with...they all laughed...but I laughed last.

I know you hear it all the time, "You have to want to do it." In my opinion, that's what it takes.

Now my only vice is gambling...but that's o.k....right.:142smilie

 

[bear]

Mully.....Good decision!!
If you even think about...its probably time to DO IT!
There is IMO......no better group than AA
You would not believe how many Americans they help EVERY DAY
GL
bear

 

[loungelizard]

I did it, June 7, 2001 not easy but few things worth while are. Never used aa or anything other than will power and that is strange cuz I have little of that. Good Luck

Peace,
ll

 

[marine]

I kinda did it... used to drink a lot. 2-3 beers a night, weekends were a 12'er for me.

Then I had kids, and I just didnt have the damn time to keep drinking!

so that's the solution: have kids, no more time to drink.

 

[Old School]

Mully,

HERE IT IS STRAIGHT FROM AN ALCOHOLIC


My kidneys don't work very well.My bladder is beyond repair..I lied and cheated on the two previous wives for almost 20 years...I spent their money and all of mine...all for the sake of A DRINK....
Lost friends made enemies ....and still ...gotta have that drink..
"I can control my drinking." yea sure I could...48 hours without a drink and then pound down 10 or 12 with the boys and chalk it up to a good time..
Yea it's a good time now...Doc says I will continue to urinate 5 to 6 times a morning for what life I have left..
Retirement...what retirement...can't retire after pissing away $100.00 to $200.00 a week back in the 70's ...Damn sure can't pull the $300.00 a week pissed down the toilet in the 80's and early 90's
"I'm not out of control dear."...no not me...drink and drive...get pulled...hire the lawyer...cheat the system.....Do I learn a damn thing...NO WAY...
"I CAN CONTROL MY DRINKING." sure I could...2 years later..second divorce pending...wife has had enough of financial ruin...stumbling drunk coming through the door..
My soul-mate of 15 years pleads.."get help or I leave."...surely that's enough to get help...

NOW FRIGGIN' WAY...


"I CAN CONTROL MY DRINKING.'

second wife has finally had enough ..she takes some clothes and leaves..
That night I lost the most cherished thing in my life..
She never returned..WAS THIS BOTTOM?

HELL NO..."I CAN CONTROL MY DRINKING."



still drinking EVERYDAY..leave bar drunk...plow into a car full of kids..no one killed...

License suspended for 5 days..Trial date set..

Walk to bar..get drunk..Walk to bar get drunk..

"I CAN CONTROL MY DRINKING."

Postponement..drink..postponement... drink..

Home foreclosure..fired at work..

"It's all their fault."

"I CAN CONTROL MY DRINKING."

Court day...show up w/hangover...[so my lawyer says]...what hangover? ..noway...haven't had a hangover in at least 15 years...:mj07:

Lawyer tells me be prepared to face ASAP and major fine..or worse.

Plea down to reckless driving for second time..ASAP ORDER..HUGE FINE...


Is this bottom?"..

hell no..."I CAN CONTROL MY DRINKING"

blow off ASAP FOR ALMOST A YEAR..finally go to enroll and told I must now return to judge for non-compliance..

Lawyer time again..he tells me be prepared for jail time..

Judge is none to happy..

1-5 years in jail....suspended with the agreement of ASAP compliance and 1 year of state ordered REHAB.. 5 YEARS PROBATION
NON-COMPLIANCE TO any of the above and go directly to jail.

[will add more later today..there is a way to leave behind this living hell and I will explain and make suggestions for those who want to know..
but I have to get to the Ford Dealer to get a part for one of "MY COMPANY" trucks.:spotting:

 

[Penguinfan]

I can't relate to a drinking problem like that, maybe I have a few more than most regular people do, but I honestly wouldn't classify myself as having a problem, not would anyone I know. Just wanted to wish you luck with it.

I have had to kick around some demons of my own in life and about now I would say the score is pretty much even, so if you find something that helps let the rest of us know.

Best of luck with it.

 

[IntenseOperator]

You need to replace the drinking time with something else. Work out, maybe get involved with some hobby/club/group of some sort. Don't hang with people that do what you are trying to avoid or what you need to distance yourself from.

That's why I walk on the other side of the street if I see a person from California coming my way.:s8: :chew: :yup

 

[Old School]

The road to sobriety is not an easy one but it is THE ROAD for an ALCOHOLIC to have a life again.


....left the courtroom that day..Paid my lawyer w/borrowed money.[another enabler to my rescue...]
What now[a few frosties and some clear thinking]....gotta figure out how to get around the system...who to ask...fellow drunks of course...
The skinny....ASAP starts right away ...but no testing in ASAP CLASSES[many of boys on the bar stools filled me in] ... ...Hell ...clean up nice,keep low profile and contribute just enough in class to so your attentive.
Worked like a charm...only have 5 or 6 cold ones day before ASAP[don't want to look like a milky eyed drunk...hell.visine will do the trick...it has worked for years]...and then right back to pounding those cold ones.
OH but "THE BOTTOM" was near ...but of course you never know it til ya get there..

It's OCT.1996 now and my birthday and wedding aniv.[one in the same...drunks need memory jarrers] are near...My placement interview for rehab is near plus the divorce decree is only days away..
Once last attempt to save my marriage...But there was no saving it.My tears and wails of controlling my drinking fell on deaf ears...She had found out that there was a life to live outside of the clutches of an alcoholic and all that it intails My wife had sought help and finally figured out .An enabler she had been for almost 15 years...She would enable me no longer..The divorce decree was hand delievered by a carrier days later
Thus began a torrid drinking spree that I can only describe as near suicidal.Drinking on the job[only the most professional of drunks can half ass perform and hold down a job] and pounding beer after beer every night...Weekends were a 12 pack before 2pm and the nights were consuming til passout...only to have anxiety attacks in the waken hours to the point of psoriasis so bad my scalp bled and heart murmurs where I just knew I was going to die.
I had to quit ......but how?..losing my soul-mate/wife...the foreclosure on my lakefront home..countless true friends who had been stretched to the limits w/my uncontrollably drinking had no choice but to let me flounder.I had shown no signs quitting or control for nearly 15 years and for 5 years prior to that had not drawn a sober breath on the weekends.

Little did I know that help was an interview away...The Rehab interview was like an undressing of which is hard to describe...The choices were now clear...Attend classes weekly for a year ...be tested weekly...AND ATTEND TWICE WEEKLY MEETINGS AT AA.
Failure to comply meant jail...no ifs ands or buts

I had made a wreck of my whole personal and professional life...For the first time in 20 years I realized that failure to try my best was the only option left if I didn't want to go to jail.

My first Rehab class was scheduled for 12-11-1996..Room 108C.
The counselor was to be Ted __.It was to start at 8m.
Little did I know what a profound effect this man and the soon to begin AA Meetings in between these meetings would have on this,at the time, drunk, broken down shell of a human being.
On DEC. 1Oth 1996 I sat at a booth in the local watering hole all by myself and ordered one draft beer...I stared at that beer knowing full well that after this glass was empty it had to be the last time my body would ingest alcohol or I would be in jail or dead and possible both..
I drank that beer..in fact I sipped it...I sipped with the knowledge that it had controlled my very being for nearly 7,300 days..Not a soul in that bar knew what was happening...not a one of my so called friends of drunkenness...Not even some of my oldest and former dearest friends who had called or come by just to make sure I was still alive..
I did share those sips of beer with something though...I shared those last sips of beer with that little voice in my head that had whispered to me over and over again.."The Truth Will Set You Free"

Rehab and AA MEETINGS followed...Ted the counselor in REHAB and hundreds of other drunks in AA meetings showed me a path back to the human race..Without their help I would not be here typing this..

There is of course more...and I can surely discuss it at any length if anyone cares to know...and I am sure there are others here who can elaborate...and probably alot better as well..

...the shakes...the vomiting..the urge to drink again.the crashes by the body...the regaining of ones selfpride...the letters to friends and enemies ...

The rebuilding of credit...the years to clean the driving record.

Months into rehab I established a motto for the rest of my life..and it was and still is...

"I will have it all again"

on Dec. 10th 2006 around 9pm or so I will have been been 10 years without the consumption of alcoholic beverages.
I have a great wife...a beautiful home...and my friends call me the "King of The Neighborhood..
I am owner/operator of a Landscaping Service that has taken me nearly 7 years to build..


How did it happen....

PEOPLE...PLACES and THINGS...



anyone entertaining the thought of sobriety must change and or alter these 3

if some of what I have written can help anyone in anyway I am truly glad to help further if you like.
Sincerely,
Old School

 

[layinwood]

Mully, I've never had a problem with drinking but I did smoke quite a bid of marijuana and when I stopped the hardest thing for me was not being able to sleep. What helped me was melatonin. You can get it anywhere(Walmart, any drug store, I get mine at Krogers). It really helps me sleep. I know that won't be the only thing you have to deal with when you quit but I also know that getting a good nights sleep takes out one thing that hurts when quiting a habbit like drinking.

Most importantly, GOOD Luck, I'll be rooting for you.

 

[CherryPicker]

Mully I would try and find someone who has gotten Sober and talk to them about it, then get to an AA meeting and get involved. It is very hard to do it yourself, I will say a prayer for you.

 

[Penguinfan]

Thanks for sharing Old School.

 

[SixFive]

thanks for the post, old school.

Mully, hope you are successful in your attempt to stop drinking.

One poster in this thread said something like "I don't have a problem drinking, and I don't know anybody that does". I've learned that in my adult life, I've always been around excessive drinkers/alcoholics that I never knew about, and I would just find out when they would get in big trouble or when they would tell me, and I'd be shocked. There's probably a few posters even already in this thread who might unfortunately have a beginning story like Old School did.

I also suggest a 12 step program and going to the MD. GL!

 

[Mjolnir]

hoping the best for you. being able to stop before something really bad happens to you or someone else would be great. i dont really go out partying with my friends anymore. the only time i drink a little too much is if i am home or staying at a friends house.
i am terrified of getting behind the wheel while i am drinking, but i notice that when i wake up in the morning i tend to go get breakfast and i still can feel the effects, not to smart of me.
thanks for the post and i am going to take this opportunity to seriously cut back on my consumption.

layinwood,
thanks for your post also. we are similar in that i used to smoke to much and when i stopped i had a hard time sleeping. i sleep a max of 5-6 hours and thats it. it was difficult to adjust to sleeping or lack thereof.

 

[The Mover]

Generally " If you think you have a problem most likely you do" Had my last drink 1984, went to AA & my life has completly turned around physically, financially, spirtually & mentally. " Give it a try what 's it going to cost you.?"

 

[The Sponge]

I've battled with a drinking problem for the last 14 years. After reading Hokie Fans post, it made me do quite a bit of thinking. I've had several health problems over the years due to my drinking, but never anything serious. I recently went 2 weeks without a drink. Let me tell you, I felt like crap the entire time and couldn't ever get a good niights sleep without nyquil or something. My mind actually felt more screwed up than when i was drinking. anyway kicking around the idea so If anyone has some advice or knows what I'm talking about, please reply.


Thanks

boy u sound like my brother. He always says he can't sllep unless he drinks. I told him try to get up a little earlier and you will sleep just fine. He sleeps ten hours a day. No excercise at all. no wonder he can't sleep at night. He does work second shift tho and that is a tough shift to be sober on.

 

[fatdaddycool]

I have never tried to quit drinking cold turkey...........however.................I did quit drinking Cold Duck some time ago......................

While I know this is a serious thread and you are asking for a serious answer, I have found myself, as I often have in the past, unable to accomodate you.
It is literally and physically impossible for me not to make a crack about something. I'm the one that needs help here, sorry.
Heres to hoping things work out for you..............oops sorry probably not a good idea to make a toast..........again.......I apologize. You know what I will just wish you well and leave it at that.
Cheers,

Excuse me again.........sorry, how about,

good luck,

FDC

 

[blgstocks]

Man, great post Old School, glad your doing well.

 

[UT-Longhorn]

Ive seen 3 family members die from alcoholism. I am now watching my dad fall prey with nothing I can do. I cannot tell you how much it pains me to watch him drink nightly and pass out. Ive tried everything to get him to quit. The person HAS to want to quit more than anything. I cant stand the sight of alcohol