Two Days Sober Today

[Apecks]

Thanks Loong, how is your health? the reason I ask is I have not felt so good (physically) for many years. Today I actually felt like going for a jog!

It didn't get past a thought tho.

I still wake in the mornings with a nasty hangover feeling without the headache. Wonder what that is.

33 days today for me.

Take care buddy.

How do you feel better physically? Very interested to hear that

[Livinginexile]

How do you feel better physically? Very interested to hear that

Hi Apecks

For the first 2 weeks I really felt like crap. I caught a cold, got ear infections, on the toilet every hour or so, no appatite, ackes and pains in my joints, no energy at all...it was like I was constantly at the tail end of a bad flu.

My sleep patern was shot, nightmares and sweets, short of breath and my head was racing trying to focus on anything that was negative.

Today I have energy, I love chopping the fire wood in the morning, I take my son to the park and shops and actually love it, I am having great sex with my wife, I laugh a lot. Yesterday my sister commented how healthy I was looking, my wife has told me she is so happy to have the old me back.

Hope is creeking back into my life, I had lost it and everything was doom and gloom. We are starting to make plans again and I am excited about the future. It's allmost like I amn on a high!

My sponsor said it wont last.

34 days today, what a difference.

[loong]

We are starting to make plans again and I am excited about the future.

Isn't it great to know that you have such a different future to what you were facing just 2 months ago?

Keep on enjoying life, you only get one go at it. (unless you're a Buddhist of course)

[Livinginexile]

Hi Apecks

For the first 2 weeks I really felt like crap. I caught a cold, got ear infections, on the toilet every hour or so, no appatite, ackes and pains in my joints, no energy at all...it was like I was constantly at the tail end of a bad flu.

My sleep patern was shot, nightmares and sweets, short of breath and my head was racing trying to focus on anything that was negative.

Today I have energy, I love chopping the fire wood in the morning, I take my son to the park and shops and actually love it, I am having great sex with my wife, I laugh a lot. Yesterday my sister commented how healthy I was looking, my wife has told me she is so happy to have the old me back.

Hope is creeking back into my life, I had lost it and everything was doom and gloom. We are starting to make plans again and I am excited about the future. It's allmost like I amn on a high!

My sponsor said it wont last.

34 days today, what a difference.

All I need to do now is improve my spelling

[Livinginexile]

36 days today

The mistakes I've made over the past 4 years are starting to catch up with me.

I have some hard desicions to make in the next few months.

[loong]

36 days today

The mistakes I've made over the past 4 years are starting to catch up with me.

I have some hard desicions to make in the next few months.

Decisions are not that hard too make, making the right decision can be difficult, and sticking to it more difficult still.

You've already proved that you are able to make the right decision, the most important decision of your whole life. Not only that you have stuck to that decision for 36 days.

Any other decision that you have to make now cannot be as important and difficult as the one you have already made.

[StreetCowboy]

FOR Philo...

----X8

(snip)...You have to do it yourself. And you have to be willing to go to any lenght. Family, friends, money will not matter anymore - you cannot cling to it if you are dead ...

L.I.E. has given me the telephone number to an AA gentleman in Bangkok. I have been speaking to him two times, and he has promised he will find me a suitable hospital. Also he will make shure that AA members will visit me every day.

But in the end it is up to me. Every person hers/his fortune or misery.

Yours philo

(only 2 cans so far this morning)

Hi Philo,

I hope things are getting better.

How did you get on with the chaps at AA?

Very best wishes for your recovery

SC

[Northpoint]

Be careful about withdraw from long term , heavy alcohol use. It can be dangerous and it sometimes doesn't hit real bad until several days after your last drink.

When you go into detox in a hospital setting, they usually put you on valium or similar to ease anxiety, help you sleep.. as well as vitamins, etc. If it starts to get bad, I would go to a doctor and explain the situation. They can give you stuff that gets you "over the hump"

been there

Chok Dii !

You are right about what you are saying about going cold turkey after heavy drinking for a long time. . Anyone interested should look up Delirium Tremens on the search engine. It makes for scary reading.

Our friend should be all right though. The most dangerous time to get the Dts seems to be the period from the second to the fourth day of abstinence. Our friend has now gone four days without alcohol and should be alright. His anxiety, insomnia, shakes and other symptoms will go away in a week or two and he will start to enjoy his food again.

[gerryBScot]

Living in Exile well done keep doing the days. Sure plenty of shi_t to deal with but the thing is sober you can deal with it and make tough decisions. My sp!onsor used to say it continuously gets better. My experience is he was right. The best is yet to come! Take it easy but make sure you take it!

[ThaiPauly]

36 days today

The mistakes I've made over the past 4 years are starting to catch up with me.

I have some hard desicions to make in the next few months.

You are right....once the euphoria of quitting dies down you are left with the REAL YOU....and then you have to take a long hard look at the man in the mirror and try to work out what made you do it in the first place...and how you can prevent it from happening again.

Not an easy task...but it's possible with the right help.

I have experienced times in the last 56 days when I have wanted to quit quitting ...but I have staggered through it because I have invested so mch time and effort getting this far that I don't want to blow it all away.

Keep up the good work, and don't worry too much about the past right now, whats done is done, sure you may have some amends to make, but thats a good thing to actually recognise you made them when you were sick and deal with them when you are sober.

But don't R U S H.

Take it E A S Y

[garro]

36 days today

The mistakes I've made over the past 4 years are starting to catch up with me.

I have some hard desicions to make in the next few months.

You are right....once the euphoria of quitting dies down you are left with the REAL YOU....and then you have to take a long hard look at the man in the mirror and try to work out what made you do it in the first place...and how you can prevent it from happening again.

Not an easy task...but it's possible with the right help.

I have experienced times in the last 56 days when I have wanted to quit quitting ...but I have staggered through it because I have invested so mch time and effort getting this far that I don't want to blow it all away.

Keep up the good work, and don't worry too much about the past right now, whats done is done, sure you may have some amends to make, but thats a good thing to actually recognise you made them when you were sick and deal with them when you are sober.

But don't R U S H.

Take it E A S Y

56 days. Well done Paul. I remember being told in the past that we should not expect too much of ourselves in the first year or two of sobriety; just not drinking is enough. It is easy to for me to get all caught up in the things which are wrong with me, but this path only leads one direction - backwards.

[cognos]

I have been drinking around 6 or 7 small 5% beers, 2 or 3 times a week for ages, and I don't like the pattern any more. I am decently fit, working out 3 ,4 times a week and playing hockey.. but I have this extra 5- 10 pounds to get rid of most of the time..plus the next day you feel sluggish,and feeling sluggish half the time is NFG, I have come to realize( years ago). Oh, I quit for 7 months or so a few years back..and starting today I will try to abstain from the BINGE drinking, period. When I drink, it is probably the equivalent of 3 large Leo. One is not getting hammerered on that amount, but you get "on the verge" of being drunk, and getting up 3, 4 times a night for a drink of water sucks..this post has inspired me to stop altogether for a while..you see I just like beer..I have some wine around the house, and never have the urge to have some just to "have a drink"..I am not an alcoholic, but I am cognizant that could change if this pattern persisted. Thanks for your POST Livinginexile, and keep up the good work! (sorry if I sound like a broken record), Dean

[MHM]

Been reading this through all the way dreading you would have a relapse. Great that you've made it so far, keep going and good luck in your new life. Fantastic thread

[Livinginexile]

36 days today

The mistakes I've made over the past 4 years are starting to catch up with me.

I have some hard desicions to make in the next few months.

You are right....once the euphoria of quitting dies down you are left with the REAL YOU....and then you have to take a long hard look at the man in the mirror and try to work out what made you do it in the first place...and how you can prevent it from happening again.

Not an easy task...but it's possible with the right help.

I have experienced times in the last 56 days when I have wanted to quit quitting ...but I have staggered through it because I have invested so mch time and effort getting this far that I don't want to blow it all away.

Keep up the good work, and don't worry too much about the past right now, whats done is done, sure you may have some amends to make, but thats a good thing to actually recognise you made them when you were sick and deal with them when you are sober.

But don't R U S H.

Take it E A S Y

Thanks for that Pauly, I need to hear these things from time to time.

I have been told that these emotional ups and downs are pretty normal in early recovery.

It's a hel_l of a thing when you can't trust your own thinking

I awoke this morning from a drinking dream and it took a few seconds to realise it was just a dream...It was so dam_n real!

Well...39 days for me today.

I'm right behind you Pauly

[philo]

To StreetCowboy: I haven't managed to make a decision yet. Still drinking - and hate myself for it.

To ThaiPauly and LivingInExile - I envy you.

[StreetCowboy]

To StreetCowboy: I haven't managed to make a decision yet. Still drinking - and hate myself for it.

To ThaiPauly and LivingInExile - I envy you.

Good to see you back.

As I recall, you were having some success with stopping drinking for several hours in the morning. How far can you push that? Maybe get into the habit of stopping drinking every morning....before you know it, it'll be lunchtime...

I'm a fortnight between binges now...all the other guys here are certainly an encouragement.

All the very best of luck

SC

[Curt1591]

Anyone know what to do in BKK?

I have an ex- colleague who is slowly killing himself.

He has done AA, and I think he has had anti-abuse tablets (??) in the past. The place in Kachanaburi is expensive it seems,. I don't think he will go to a Wat.

I am not qualified to say whether he needs to go in a ward, or if he can have tablets at home. Ideally he needs some kind of good psychiatrist in BKK, who will give him the tablets he needs and see him regularly. maybe Bumrungrad or somewhere, I was going to suggest that. But...I don't know which place does that stuff.

Any comments would be helpful.

thanks

P Ed

Just like smoking, one has to actually want to quit. Some programs might help clear some's mind a little, but unless the guy wants to quit, he'll quickly return to his habits.

----

Livinginexile

The anxiety and remorse are natural byproducts of getting straight. It can take quite a while for these to dissapate. It's a result of taking a sober look at one's "stinkin' thinken'", as many refer to it. I thought it would never go away. That was 34 years ago.

AA teaches the "Serenity Prayer". Another good way to help pratice this concept is to learn about Buddhism, in it's pure form. All our problems are because we don't accept life as it presents itself. Odds are that's why you drank.

If you are truly commited, it will become easier and easier. What is hard is convincing others you don't want anything to drink. I think it scares many of them.

[mallen]

4 days

Great news Big man. 4days is a milestone date. The worst bit is the first few days. It varies from person to person. You sound from your post's to be a remarkably strong minded person. I think you will prove to be stronger than alcohol. No mean feat because alcohol is strong!!

Keep sending in your progress report. We are all routing for you !

Good idea to find another interest as well. Personally I like scuba diving and have started to play (well strangle anyway) the saxaphone. So go find something friend. Lots of luck

And to any members reading this on-going story, how about spending five minutes on a blog to support livinginexile. You never know, you could need some support one day.

[nanyang]

I awoke this morning from a drinking dream and it took a few seconds to realise it was just a dream...It was so dam_n real!

I stopped smoking 27 years ago and still have the ocassional 'smoking' dream.

They're both powerful drugs so if you're still dreaming in 27 years time - no worries!

[middlepath]

Livinginexile, where are you mate?

You are our rock...

[Curt1591]

Going on five days with no word. I hope this isn't an omen.

[B Fuddled]

Thank you Lord for letting me smile today, but please, don't let me forget how I cried.

[tjansen]

Thank you Lord for letting me smile today, but please, don't let me forget how I cried.

One thing I heard early on in AA, and I took it seriously, is that if you get stuck at the Fourth Step and don't do it, you are more likely to 'go out' drinking. Of course, having only done it one way, I don't know how other ways would or wouldn't work.

The best thing that I can say from the recovered perspective, that is very much less than obvious, is that a sober life is well worth the initial agony of quitting and learning to live without drinking.

Chok Dee to all on the path.

Tom

[loong]

Livinginexile,

where are you?

[ThaiPauly]

Livinginexile,

where are you?

He got his wrists slapped on another forum and won't be posting for a couple of weeks ...but he's OK still not drinking

These things happen from time to time

[Thunder26]

I still wake in the mornings with a nasty hangover feeling without the headache. Wonder what that is.

It's low blood pressure buddy, even some people who didn't drink in their life feel like that in the morning.

[balo]

Going on five days with no word. I hope this isn't an omen.

I really hope you can continue what you started.

A lot of people are watching this thread and we're proud of you.

[LaoPo]

Livinginexile, where are you mate?

Livinginexile: Last Seen: 2009-06-24 09:30:22 but he posted his last message on the 16th....

I have been following his topic and hoped he could make it.

Alcoholism is a very nasty and dangerous enemy. Many years ago I encountered a girl who was an ex-alcoholic and later worked for the addiction clinic in The Netherlands she was admitted into.

She said that curing from alcoholism is much more difficult than drugs. Alcohol can be bought on every corner of the street and drugs is something one has to "fight"" for to:

1. get it

2. to pay for (expensive)

I hope Livinginexile realizes he can't do it on his own and needs guidance and help in a clinic.

Nobody can help him other than himself. The clinic is there but HE must knock on the door and accept that they throw away the key for as long as it is needed!

Remembering his story a bit, I would opt for a treatment in Thailand with the monks...his wife can be his guide and wait for him.

Come one Livinginexile, show yourself you can do it!

LaoPo

[bridge]

I've been trying to get off the piss for 3 years and today I am 2 days sober.

Enough is enough, I choose life over a slow miserable death. That's what it's come down to for me.

Amazing how much better I feel after only 48 hours.

FANTASTIC.

Keep us updated

bridge

[BigSnake]

Hope he is not back on the Wagon.