[Drinking] Alcoholic/like a beer or two too much?

[thedonkeycentrehalf]

It is a year today since my last alcoholic drink. It was a rum in the Railway Bell after an evening out with friends - wouldn’t have been my choice of pub or drink if I was choosing - but then I didn’t know at the time it was going to be the last one.

Not missing the drink and it hasn’t affected my social life. Good luck to all those who are keeping off the booze.

 

[MTSeagulls]

I have pretty much come to the conclusion tonight that I can't live without alcohol.
Like many before me I have lost the buzz from alcohol and drink more and more each time even though I'm not even enjoying the taste anymore. I appear to be functional but now suffer memory loss of the evening on a regular basis. I then feel fine the next day so I suffer no consequences other than the damage I am doing to my health.
I totted up my units from just Saturday and Sunday and it's in the 40s and that's a normal weekend.
I tried to give up last week and managed Monday to Friday but then we entertained Saturday and went camping and fishing Sunday.
I haven't had a drink so far this week but feel so miserable and have an anxious knot in my stomach today.
I'll read through the thread to see if I can get some inspiration.
Thanks for reading.

 

[thedonkeycentrehalf]

I have pretty much come to the conclusion tonight that I can't live without alcohol.
Like many before me I have lost the buzz from alcohol and drink more and more each time even though I'm not even enjoying the taste anymore. I appear to be functional but now suffer memory loss of the evening on a regular basis. I then feel fine the next day so I suffer no consequences other than the damage I am doing to my health.
I totted up my units from just Saturday and Sunday and it's in the 40s and that's a normal weekend.
I tried to give up last week and managed Monday to Friday but then we entertained Saturday and went camping and fishing Sunday.
I haven't had a drink so far this week but feel so miserable and have an anxious knot in my stomach today.
I'll read through the thread to see if I can get some inspiration.
Thanks for reading.

I stopped as I wasn't enjoying the taste so get that. I never got a buzz from alcohol. The memory loss is not a good thing though as the worry is what you might have done without knowing.

With entertaining and friends it can be difficult. If you really feel you need to top, then be honest with both yourself and your friends. You'll still get the odd person who will try to push the 'just one' or 'go on, it's Christmas / birthday etc' but your real friends will support you.

My wife still drinks but as I don't she has switched to non-alcoholic wine. She says the white wines are like drinking Schloer but M&S do a nice red which she reckons is really nice.

You say you are miserable without a drink - it sounds like you need to find something that can take your mind off drink? Some on here have taken up running, some cycling, some back to football - from your post fishing might not be the answer

Keep coming back to this thread though - there are plenty of us here who are at different stages of managing alcohol and are happy to support each other.

 

[East Staffs Gull]

For me, the hardest thing about giving up alcohol is what to replace it with when I go out to pubs, restaurants, etc. or fancy a drink at home. I’m not a great water drinker, nor would I fancy an evening of drinking coke or fruit juice. I’ve tried a multitude of low and no-alcohol beers and wines. The wines, frankly, are generally disgusting and expensive, so I’ve abandoned that route. On the beer front I can quite happily drink Brewdog’s Nanny State or their other two low alcohol pale ales. Adnam’s LA Ghost Ship is not too bad either. Lager wise, I’m more than happy to have a few Becks Blues, which I am increasingly finding available in pubs. I prefer this to Heineken Zero.

I’ve just returned from Germany, where just about every bar served alcohol free weissbier, which I found extremely drinkable. Indeed, Erdinger’s version is freely available in the UK.

I’ve not had a proper alcoholic drink since early April and, after the first few weeks, the temptation completely disappeared. Friends ask and speculate about when I’ll start drinking again, of which I’ve got no idea. At present, not drinking isn’t requiring any willpower whatsoever. I’ve lost a bit of weight and probably feel better generally. Driving to pubs, restaurants and friends is no longer an issue.

The only downsides are occasionally going out for a curry and finding out that the restaurant has no low alcohol beers and, also, staying out too late and trying to have sensible discussions with people who have been drinking alcohol all evening!

 

[StillHateBellotti]

I have pretty much come to the conclusion tonight that I can't live without alcohol.
Like many before me I have lost the buzz from alcohol and drink more and more each time even though I'm not even enjoying the taste anymore. I appear to be functional but now suffer memory loss of the evening on a regular basis. I then feel fine the next day so I suffer no consequences other than the damage I am doing to my health.
I totted up my units from just Saturday and Sunday and it's in the 40s and that's a normal weekend.
I tried to give up last week and managed Monday to Friday but then we entertained Saturday and went camping and fishing Sunday.
I haven't had a drink so far this week but feel so miserable and have an anxious knot in my stomach today.
I'll read through the thread to see if I can get some inspiration.
Thanks for reading.

Having started this thread at a time of peril, I am so glad to see it’s still on the first page and I am not the only one. I did amazing after detox, for about 4 months and then hit the dreaded, I will try one button. Been worse recently than I was before to be fair!. Would be doing exercise but awaiting surgery which will hopefully allow me to get back to fitness and being balanced. It’s a tough road, but good to read so many inspirational posts on here, about how many people feel better without alcohol.

 

[Bozza]

By way of coincidence, I'm trying to draw the line, again, as of last night.

I had to pop into Tesco yesterday evening for a couple of bits, and instead of picking up a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc, I picked up some Heineken 0% as last time round this particular block I found it the best option of those I tried.

I have no intention of stopping completely, nor replicating the "dry streak" that I stretched to nearly seven months last year, but I want to cut back significantly, and only drink when there's a good reason to do so, and I do include "it's Friday" in that, if I fancy a drink. Friday evening should be a special time to look forward to, but it's less so if it means having a drop of something you fancy that you've been having nearly every day anyway.

Good luck everyone!

 

[MJsGhost]

For me, the hardest thing about giving up alcohol is what to replace it with when I go out to pubs, restaurants, etc. or fancy a drink at home. I’m not a great water drinker, nor would I fancy an evening of drinking coke or fruit juice. I’ve tried a multitude of low and no-alcohol beers and wines. The wines, frankly, are generally disgusting and expensive, so I’ve abandoned that route. On the beer front I can quite happily drink Brewdog’s Nanny State or their other two low alcohol pale ales. Adnam’s LA Ghost Ship is not too bad either. Lager wise, I’m more than happy to have a few Becks Blues, which I am increasingly finding available in pubs. I prefer this to Heineken Zero.

I’ve just returned from Germany, where just about every bar served alcohol free weissbier, which I found extremely drinkable. Indeed, Erdinger’s version is freely available in the UK.

I’ve not had a proper alcoholic drink since early April and, after the first few weeks, the temptation completely disappeared. Friends ask and speculate about when I’ll start drinking again, of which I’ve got no idea. At present, not drinking isn’t requiring any willpower whatsoever. I’ve lost a bit of weight and probably feel better generally. Driving to pubs, restaurants and friends is no longer an issue.

The only downsides are occasionally going out for a curry and finding out that the restaurant has no low alcohol beers and, also, staying out too late and trying to have sensible discussions with people who have been drinking alcohol all evening!

This stuff is delicious. I've not seen it in a supermarket, but can be bought online (20 bottles for £30 on Amazon, or more elsewhere is you want to avoid the tax dodgers https://puritybrewing.com/product/maisels-weisse-alco-free-2/)

Good luck with your journey!

 

[sydney]

This stuff is delicious. I've not seen it in a supermarket, but can be bought online (20 bottles for £30 on Amazon, or more elsewhere is you want to avoid the tax dodgers https://puritybrewing.com/product/maisels-weisse-alco-free-2/)

Good luck with your journey!

View attachment 128410

well dug out son ..!!

 

[sydney]

I have pretty much come to the conclusion tonight that I can't live without alcohol.
Like many before me I have lost the buzz from alcohol and drink more and more each time even though I'm not even enjoying the taste anymore. I appear to be functional but now suffer memory loss of the evening on a regular basis. I then feel fine the next day so I suffer no consequences other than the damage I am doing to my health.
I totted up my units from just Saturday and Sunday and it's in the 40s and that's a normal weekend.
I tried to give up last week and managed Monday to Friday but then we entertained Saturday and went camping and fishing Sunday.
I haven't had a drink so far this week but feel so miserable and have an anxious knot in my stomach today.
I'll read through the thread to see if I can get some inspiration.
Thanks for reading.

i have suddenly come to the crashing realisation after a few birthday parties strung close together that i drink a lot more than normal people and then wonder why i have black outs ......12 -14 pints a few shorts then a bottle of wine to finish off ...........the hangovers are dogs hit , i need a word with myself .

i haven't contributed to this thread as much as i could have , i guess it's a matter of where you're at on any particular day , if i don't drink for 3 or 4 days i can't sleep and have what can only be described as waking nightmares , me and the missus were supposed to be in Lombok for our birthdays and that was going to be a time for me to break the cycle .......it hasn't happened due to this poxy bug , i'm still fully functional but i know i need to cut down if i want to make 70 +

love to all...x

 

[Grombleton]

Much respect for everyone, at whatever stage they're at for sharing!

I've cut down significantly in the past few months - i've definitely found being so bus with work and exercise has helped me not *want* to have a drink, but there are still the odd evenings when I am staying in that I do fancy a drink...I just have to try and manage those.
I've not noticed a huge change in terms of weight loss unfortunately, but I'm putting that down to other factors.

I did recently try a very nice non-alcoholic beer after a session down at Yellowave the other week: https://brooklynbrewery.com/brooklyn-beers/year-round/special-effects/ Available in Tesco etc too so well worth a punt. Might make that a regular thing in places that stock it.

 

[Wrong-Direction]

Cut my binge drinking on weekends down by about 80% the last few months, never been one to drink at home in the evening, I'm all or nothing with alcohol, if there's a special occasion I'm all in but I find most of it tastes pretty horrible, which is a good thing I guess.

Sent from my SM-A600FN using Tapatalk

 

[Bevendean Hillbilly]

By way of coincidence, I'm trying to draw the line, again, as of last night.

I had to pop into Tesco yesterday evening for a couple of bits, and instead of picking up a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc, I picked up some Heineken 0% as last time round this particular block I found it the best option of those I tried.

I have no intention of stopping completely, nor replicating the "dry streak" that I stretched to nearly seven months last year, but I want to cut back significantly, and only drink when there's a good reason to do so, and I do include "it's Friday" in that, if I fancy a drink. Friday evening should be a special time to look forward to, but it's less so if it means having a drop of something you fancy that you've been having nearly every day anyway.

Good luck everyone!

Having sat in numerous AA meetings and detox...there is an issue with alcohol free beers in the same way as there would be with “nicotine free” cigarettes.

People with crashing addiction don’t “casually pass over the Sauvignon Blanc” they are usually to be found hovering around the Aldi Vodka. When I was drinking, if I was in the pub with friends and someone got up to leave with half a glass of wine left, or a good quarter pint I’d have a near anxiety attack.
I couldn’t understand how folk could walk away from good booze...I just couldn’t.

I’d drink anything that didn’t have brushes in...seriously. I’d clear out half forgotten bottles of baileys or some such in the back of relatives cupboards...I was a disgrace.

Alcohol free beer is just maintaining your custom for when you go back on solids. They’re a bad idea for real addicts because it’s all of your attitudes to drinking, your patterns etc. Will need to change for you to stop. If your in the pub with your pissed mates drinking beer that doesn’t get you drunk...you’ll fall off the branch for sure.

 

[Bevendean Hillbilly]

Incidentally. All of you on here with alcohol dependency. You know who you are. Then take some advice from someone who was enslaved by addiction to Alcohol and then opiates and then both...you won’t stop because someone else, your wife, girlfriend, parents, kids...you’ll promise them all you will stop...but you’ll fail. You will only ever stop for you. It’s.always only your choice.

But I stopped. I don’t go to AA or NA anymore but would if I needed to feel some fellowship. It’s not for me..I’m an atheist so no 12 step program is ever going to stick. But there are other things one can do.

You can get out without fvcking everything over but..you will lose things when you stop.

I lost a marriage, a relationship with a dad and brother in law who were confirmed boozers, friends...a lot.

But I’ve gained infinitely more than I lost.

 

[Bozza]

Having sat in numerous AA meetings and detox...there is an issue with alcohol free beers in the same way as there would be with “nicotine free” cigarettes.

People with crashing addiction don’t “casually pass over the Sauvignon Blanc” they are usually to be found hovering around the Aldi Vodka. When I was drinking, if I was in the pub with friends and someone got up to leave with half a glass of wine left, or a good quarter pint I’d have a near anxiety attack.
I couldn’t understand how folk could walk away from good booze...I just couldn’t.

I’d drink anything that didn’t have brushes in...seriously. I’d clear out half forgotten bottles of baileys or some such in the back of relatives cupboards...I was a disgrace.

Alcohol free beer is just maintaining your custom for when you go back on solids. They’re a bad idea for real addicts because it’s all of your attitudes to drinking, your patterns etc. Will need to change for you to stop. If your in the pub with your pissed mates drinking beer that doesn’t get you drunk...you’ll fall off the branch for sure.

But I wouldn't be in the pub not drinking - I'd be drinking with my mates. Unless I had a good reason not to drink - driving, perhaps - I'd not be on the lime and soda.

Last year I went seven months without a drink as part of getting rid of some weight and improving my fitness and I only had 2 or 3 alcohol-free drinks over that time. I know others who have gone booze-free drink them, but I didn't really see the point. I gave some a try on a warm summer evening when, sitting out in the back garden, I just really fancied a beer for the first time in months, but was keen to keep my booze-free streak going.

I wouldn't expect to drink them habitually at all, but I did enjoy a couple of the Heineken 0s last night, when I'd otherwise have had a bottle of white to myself.

 

[sydney]

Incidentally. All of you on here with alcohol dependency. You know who you are. Then take some advice from someone who was enslaved by addiction to Alcohol and then opiates and then both...you won’t stop because someone else, your wife, girlfriend, parents, kids...you’ll promise them all you will stop...but you’ll fail. You will only ever stop for you. It’s.always only your choice.

But I stopped. I don’t go to AA or NA anymore but would if I needed to feel some fellowship. It’s not for me..I’m an atheist so no 12 step program is ever going to stick. But there are other things one can do.

You can get out without fvcking everything over but..you will lose things when you stop.

I lost a marriage, a relationship with a dad and brother in law who were confirmed boozers, friends...a lot.

But I’ve gained infinitely more than I lost.

i wouldn't have done more than 2 weeks without a drink since i was 14 ....40 yrs , you're right , you need to do it for yourself and want to do it....fair play.

 

[Bevendean Hillbilly]

But I wouldn't be in the pub not drinking - I'd be drinking with my mates. Unless I had a good reason not to drink - driving, perhaps - I'd not be on the lime and soda.

Last year I went seven months without a drink as part of getting rid of some weight and improving my fitness and I only had 2 or 3 alcohol-free drinks over that time. I know others who have gone booze-free drink them, but I didn't really see the point. I gave some a try on a warm summer evening when, sitting out in the back garden, I just really fancied a beer for the first time in months, but was keen to keep my booze-free streak going.

I wouldn't expect to drink them habitually at all, but I did enjoy a couple of the Heineken 0s last night, when I'd otherwise have had a bottle of white to myself.

Bozza...it wasn’t a dig at you mate. What you describe (I’ve read your posts) isn’t alcohol dependency but, you acknowledge , that periodically you drink too much so you cut down, stop, or find alternatives.

That’s what I’d call “being a British male over 35” what I’m talking about is THE THIRST. an uncontrollable yearning that tears at your soul, makes you sweat, feel faint, puke, shake...feel like you’ll die if you can’t soothe it with drink. A craving, a deviousness, a need to hide away from others to be alone with drink, to turn the house upside down because your wife has hidden your vodka.

It’s a demon. Not a choice any more than breathing is a choice.

 

[Lenny Rider]

I'm 191 days clean today, and like a number of posters on here AA wasn't for me. They are good people, who mean well, but each to his own, I thought I was going to get tarred and feathered when I said I liked the taste of 0% Peroni and Heineken 00.

If and when I get to 365 days and beyond I'm thinking about writing down my thoughts about my journey of the last couple of years, perhaps the most surreal moment, and please I am not mocking anyone here, its just an observation, the only AA zoom meeting I could get on one night was a 'Women and Trans inclusive' one in our fair city of B and H.

Lets just say its was an eclectic mix of people up on my screen, and something that will live with me for a long time, for a number of reasons.

To reiterate if anyone reading this on NSC has drink, substance, gambling, anxiety or any other related issues and wants to talk, please PM me and we can swap numbers.

Take care everyone.

 

[sydney]

I'm 191 days clean today, and like a number of posters on here AA wasn't for me. They are good people, who mean well, but each to his own, I thought I was going to get tarred and feathered when I said I liked the taste of 0% Peroni and Heineken 00.

If and when I get to 365 days and beyond I'm thinking about writing down my thoughts about my journey of the last couple of years, perhaps the most surreal moment, and please I am not mocking anyone here, its just an observation, the only AA zoom meeting I could get on one night was a 'Women and Trans inclusive' one in our fair city of B and H.

Lets just say its was an eclectic mix of people up on my screen, and something that will live with me for a long time, for a number of reasons.

To reiterate if anyone reading this on NSC has drink, substance, gambling, anxiety or any other related issues and wants to talk, please PM me and we can swap numbers.

Take care everyone.

worthing doesn't have its own AA group ...?? really...??

 

[Lenny Rider]

worthing doesn't have its own AA group ...?? really...??

It does, but in lockdown it was all zoom meetings.

 

[Poojah]

Bozza...it wasn’t a dig at you mate. What you describe (I’ve read your posts) isn’t alcohol dependency but, you acknowledge , that periodically you drink too much so you cut down, stop, or find alternatives.

That’s what I’d call “being a British male over 35” what I’m talking about is THE THIRST. an uncontrollable yearning that tears at your soul, makes you sweat, feel faint, puke, shake...feel like you’ll die if you can’t soothe it with drink. A craving, a deviousness, a need to hide away from others to be alone with drink, to turn the house upside down because your wife has hidden your vodka.

It’s a demon. Not a choice any more than breathing is a choice.

Wow. Brilliant, brave, slightly too poignant words. I may give you a shout some time...