After many years of being a daily blackout drinker, I am now on day 60 without a drink due to the help of AA meetings and members. I usually get calls daily from a few members to see how I am doing. I am 65 and woke up one day realizing what a mess my life was and decided to give AA a try and I have been getting to 2 meetings a day. I have not had a desire to drink yet but have a lot of support when or if that day comes. I detoxed at home alone which is not advised and at times my heart was racing so fast I thought I would die. There is something called Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome which may last over a year. I read up on it so I understand what my brain and body are going through. It is never too late to get sober, I used to think at 65 why bother. I am grateful for my 60 days and will keep working the program.
Getting sober
- Thread starter bvd1
- Start date
Montelores
Buckeye
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- 1,347
Although we don't know each other, please know that you have someone who is hoping and praying for your success.
You must have great inner strength to have begun this process.
I hope that your AA circle is a source of positive reinforcement.
Thank you for sharing with us.
You have my prayers, and congratulations on your incredible achievement.
Monty
You must have great inner strength to have begun this process.
I hope that your AA circle is a source of positive reinforcement.
Thank you for sharing with us.
You have my prayers, and congratulations on your incredible achievement.
Monty
contender
Ruger Guru
I can not imagine what you are experiencing.
I'm an occasional, very casual drinker. I can not touch a drop for months, and yet,, if out with friends,, have a drink or two, being social. I was raised to not let tobacco, alcohol etc control or rule my life. And, growing up,, my Dad owned a nightclub, and also was a booking agent for talent. So, the nightclub scene was one I was very familiar with.
As such, I saw many people who were like you were.
I have lived 60 years now,, and enjoy fairly good health. Yet,, I can look back on life & remember many friends & family I've lost due to either smoking or drinking, (or worse.)
With that said,, I truly want to wish you all the strength & prayers possible for you to beat this. I congratulate you for facing the demons, and fighting against them.
I'm sure many here will also chime in with their own thoughts & stories,, as I've already seen some of them here over the years.
Keep us posted,,, we do care.
I'm an occasional, very casual drinker. I can not touch a drop for months, and yet,, if out with friends,, have a drink or two, being social. I was raised to not let tobacco, alcohol etc control or rule my life. And, growing up,, my Dad owned a nightclub, and also was a booking agent for talent. So, the nightclub scene was one I was very familiar with.
As such, I saw many people who were like you were.
I have lived 60 years now,, and enjoy fairly good health. Yet,, I can look back on life & remember many friends & family I've lost due to either smoking or drinking, (or worse.)
With that said,, I truly want to wish you all the strength & prayers possible for you to beat this. I congratulate you for facing the demons, and fighting against them.
I'm sure many here will also chime in with their own thoughts & stories,, as I've already seen some of them here over the years.
Keep us posted,,, we do care.
graygun
Hunter
I stopped in April of '84 and credit AA too. However,the craving to drink went away w/o having to fight it;I believe God took it away.
Congratulations for making the right decision. AA is touted as the best route to sobriety and maintaining that state. I have worked with two different ladies that were alcoholics. Both went to AA. To try and understand them, I went to a few meetings. I have been an RN for 48 years, and have had many many patients that had all the nebulous diseases caused by alcohol. May God bless and help you. PM me if you need to talk. Good luck.
gramps
gramps
Way to go. I too am an AA member and credit it, a very strong sponsor, and most of all God, with turning my life around. I found that no matter what negative challenges life throws at me, booze will only make them worse.
nvbirdman
Blackhawk
For forty years, if I wasn't at work I had a can of beer in my hand. One day I simply quit. One day I was telling a doctor that I had quit, and he expressed surprise that I had simply quit, but if you look at the people in AA, every one of them also made the decision to quit. Yes they had support, but it is still a personal decision. Nobody is holding a gun to their heads and saying "Don't pick up that drink".
- Joined
- Apr 3, 2012
- Messages
- 10,906
Just take it one day at a time. I miss the highs, but don't miss the lows, now I'm just normal all the time.
Congratulations! No matter HOW you quit .... this is one time in life you can be proud to be a "quitter"!
March 13, 2001 was the date for me. Months later I told my doctor I had quit "cold turkey". He said I obviously wasn't an alcoholic or I could not have done it on my own. I told him I don't care if I am "officially" an alcoholic ..... I drank too much and needed to stop. Bet I went a solid 20 years drinking a 12 pack of Miller Lite each DAY. :shock:
Keep the faith. We're all proud of you.
March 13, 2001 was the date for me. Months later I told my doctor I had quit "cold turkey". He said I obviously wasn't an alcoholic or I could not have done it on my own. I told him I don't care if I am "officially" an alcoholic ..... I drank too much and needed to stop. Bet I went a solid 20 years drinking a 12 pack of Miller Lite each DAY. :shock:
Keep the faith. We're all proud of you.
ChiefMuzz
Blackhawk
I have a very close friend who has been involved in AA, counseling and recovery himself for over 25 years here in SW PA. He is highly respected in the Pittsburgh area. If you run into any problems or issues, feel free to PM me. He's helped people all over the US.
God bless you on your new journey.
God bless you on your new journey.
Good for you and congratulations! I quit on September 18, 1984, so will soon be coming up on my 34th year in a couple weeks.
I well remember being where you are, and I did two meetings a day in those days. The "senior member" of the AA group I went to at the time was somewhere in his 50s and had 15 years sobriety and we used to joke that he had "eight months more sobriety than God." :lol: The idea that I'd someday have more than twice that amount was simply unimaginable to me in those days. And yet here I am, One Day at a Time.
I was a regular AA attendee for the first 3 or 4 years--pretty much every single day--and then I met my now-wife, started my family, and drifted away from the program. I remember I got home from a Saturday morning AA meeting just in time to rush my new wife to the hospital to have our daughter.
I haven't been to a meeting in years now--maybe decades--but what keeps me going is the simple thought that I have a choice: I can drink, or I can do Everything Else in life, absolutely anything I want to do. If I drink, I soon won't even be able to do what I absolutely NEED to do to stay alive.
I don't think about it most of the time. About the only time it bothers me is at big family gatherings where everyone is enjoying a beer or wine or cocktail except me, including my three kids. Oh well, I drank all mine up 34 years ago. They're still playing catch-up. :lol:
When my Mom passed on 3 years ago, my wife, who was VERY close with her, started drinking alcoholicly, so I'm dealing with the problem from the other side now. It's better than it was at first, when she'd get falling-down drunk almost every night for about a year. It's not every day now, but she still gets a good buzz on once or twice a week. She really needs rehab. Both her parents were active alcoholics, and she definitely has the X-factor, though it was never a problem until 3 years ago. Oh well. I support her but I don't enable her in any way. But I've told her if she gets picked up for drunk driving, don't waste her phone call on me, because I won't be coming. I don't have bail money for drunks.
But enough about me. Good luck with YOUR journey, my friend. Just know that you are not alone. Many, many others have trod your path, and it CAN be done. And YOU can do it. All you have to do is WANT to. :wink:
I well remember being where you are, and I did two meetings a day in those days. The "senior member" of the AA group I went to at the time was somewhere in his 50s and had 15 years sobriety and we used to joke that he had "eight months more sobriety than God." :lol: The idea that I'd someday have more than twice that amount was simply unimaginable to me in those days. And yet here I am, One Day at a Time.
I was a regular AA attendee for the first 3 or 4 years--pretty much every single day--and then I met my now-wife, started my family, and drifted away from the program. I remember I got home from a Saturday morning AA meeting just in time to rush my new wife to the hospital to have our daughter.
I haven't been to a meeting in years now--maybe decades--but what keeps me going is the simple thought that I have a choice: I can drink, or I can do Everything Else in life, absolutely anything I want to do. If I drink, I soon won't even be able to do what I absolutely NEED to do to stay alive.
I don't think about it most of the time. About the only time it bothers me is at big family gatherings where everyone is enjoying a beer or wine or cocktail except me, including my three kids. Oh well, I drank all mine up 34 years ago. They're still playing catch-up. :lol:
When my Mom passed on 3 years ago, my wife, who was VERY close with her, started drinking alcoholicly, so I'm dealing with the problem from the other side now. It's better than it was at first, when she'd get falling-down drunk almost every night for about a year. It's not every day now, but she still gets a good buzz on once or twice a week. She really needs rehab. Both her parents were active alcoholics, and she definitely has the X-factor, though it was never a problem until 3 years ago. Oh well. I support her but I don't enable her in any way. But I've told her if she gets picked up for drunk driving, don't waste her phone call on me, because I won't be coming. I don't have bail money for drunks.
But enough about me. Good luck with YOUR journey, my friend. Just know that you are not alone. Many, many others have trod your path, and it CAN be done. And YOU can do it. All you have to do is WANT to. :wink:
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I've added bvd1 and snake45's wife to my prayer list.
Pat-inCO
Hawkeye
Been there, dun that.
The single largest item to keep you going is not all the extra help; It is the
guy in the mirror each morning. He is the one you need to keep in touch
with. If going to meetings gives him some extra incentive, keep it up.
Do what ever works best for you.
The real way to stay sober is to make the decision ON YOUR OWN! Many
of the people in the meetings are there because someone else pushed
them into going. They will have a FAR harder time staying sober than you
will. Thus, IMO, the more time you spend with them, the closer you are
to what you are trying to avoid. Any of them that have maintained, without
stumbling, for multiple years, are people that understand. What happens
is that those that are doing this because they WANT to are the most likely
to succeed.
Repeating, I quit . . on my own . . because I believed it was the thing that
I WANTED! Are-there/will-there-be times when a drink is very
tempting? Sure will. Those are the times to think about how terrible you
felt for the first week. Then think about the alternatives. What do YOU
want?
I also suggest you find something that you like to do and let that occupy
any spare time you have. Sitting and watching TV is far less effective.
Hang in there and good luck.
The single largest item to keep you going is not all the extra help; It is the
guy in the mirror each morning. He is the one you need to keep in touch
with. If going to meetings gives him some extra incentive, keep it up.
Do what ever works best for you.
The real way to stay sober is to make the decision ON YOUR OWN! Many
of the people in the meetings are there because someone else pushed
them into going. They will have a FAR harder time staying sober than you
will. Thus, IMO, the more time you spend with them, the closer you are
to what you are trying to avoid. Any of them that have maintained, without
stumbling, for multiple years, are people that understand. What happens
is that those that are doing this because they WANT to are the most likely
to succeed.
Repeating, I quit . . on my own . . because I believed it was the thing that
I WANTED! Are-there/will-there-be times when a drink is very
tempting? Sure will. Those are the times to think about how terrible you
felt for the first week. Then think about the alternatives. What do YOU
want?
I also suggest you find something that you like to do and let that occupy
any spare time you have. Sitting and watching TV is far less effective.
Hang in there and good luck.
December 15 1985
Best decision I ever made!
Wishing you well on your decision,
Terry
Best decision I ever made!
Wishing you well on your decision,
Terry
Slyk Willy
Single-Sixer
I'm so glad for you. Taking action is important for the rest of your life. As a son of a drunk I know first hand what devastation excessive alcohol can do to a person and their family. I'm sending you my best thoughts and prayers for a long time sober. All the best.
I was fortunate to find the program of Alcoholics Anonymous at a relatively young age. I began drinking at the age of 14. I was hanging around with my older sisters friend (she is 4 years older than I). They would sneak me in the clubs. Once I got a drivers license I started slipping around going to them by myself (back then legal age was 18 & I was kind of big for my age). I drank, dabbled in other things, & spent a lot of time in all the wrong places with all the wrong people. The person that led me to the program was a girl I was trying to help. She was addicted to crystal methamphetamine & used needles. While living with her & her associates life got very intense. It wasn't just my insanity messing me up then I was dealing with others that were more progressed in their disease than I was in mine. Finally she told me she wanted to go to detox. I took her. They kept her a week & put her out telling her to go to meetings. I took her to the meetings. While sitting in the meetings & listening I realized these people were a lot like myself, maybe too much. After a few of them & her continuing to screw up I kicked her out & went back to a meeting for myself. I actually stopped drinking a week before I took my white chip but I count my sobriety from the day I took it. That was February 7, 1988. Over the years I worked with more than one sponsor & made lifetime friendships. I was active in meetings the first 16 years, After then I got married & had kids (they are now 13, 11, & 5). I do not drink though I do make it a point to seek God daily. I seem to go to a meeting probably once every 6 months to a year just to see some people.
If you do find yourself having a hard time with having a desire to drink . I would suggest seeking God. Prayer has always helped me. Whenever I was having a problem accepting something that was going on in my life helping others always helped me. I had a sponsor that pushed us to do service work. I am very grateful for the people that helped me. Sorry if I have rambled too much.
If you do find yourself having a hard time with having a desire to drink . I would suggest seeking God. Prayer has always helped me. Whenever I was having a problem accepting something that was going on in my life helping others always helped me. I had a sponsor that pushed us to do service work. I am very grateful for the people that helped me. Sorry if I have rambled too much.
Tough road you are traveling right now... but I'm like the others here... proud of you. keep it together and let AA help.
I congratulate you on your decision and action to go sober. You the other others who have quit and posted on this thread have my respect. I am fortunate that I never developed that addiction but understand the challenge of remaining sober. Best wishes to you.
I don't drink at all, i just don't like the taste of alcohol. However, i think we all know someone who has, or has had, that problem. I have first hand experience with loved ones who battled it, but can't bring myself to discuss it. I will just say don't give up your fight, trust in the Lord, and remember that when you do defeat it, you do it not just for yourself, but for everyone who knows and loves you. God bless you, you will be in my prayers.
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Very brave decision. Takes guts to look in the mirror and say "you're a mess." The good part is you made the decision AND took the necessary steps to folllow through on that decision. Decision is nothing without action. Oh, btw, my everyday job is substance abuse counselor. Prayers for you in your continued sober life, one day at a time.
Rick Courtright
Hawkeye
Hi,
Congratulations to all of you who've quit and managed to stay sober whether it's been just a short time so far, or many, many years. And a prayer comes for all of you in the process. For myself, a six pack of beer is close to a year's worth. OTOH, my father was an alcoholic who "didn't have a problem." Sound familiar? He never did get completely sober that I know of: we had nothing to say to each other the last 30+ years of his life. He "sorta did" for about a year after he'd piled up yet another car, until the judge's order expired when he got his drivers license back, then returned to the same old behavior. He's gone, and now I have a nephew who's going thru the pain of trying to quit again--he made five years, then some family implosions were too much for him to avoid a backslide. He goes to at least one meeting a day, two whenever he can, and without AA, I don't know where he'd be, except it would be a very bad place. It's gotta be a tough road to travel.
Best of luck to all of you!
Rick C
Congratulations to all of you who've quit and managed to stay sober whether it's been just a short time so far, or many, many years. And a prayer comes for all of you in the process. For myself, a six pack of beer is close to a year's worth. OTOH, my father was an alcoholic who "didn't have a problem." Sound familiar? He never did get completely sober that I know of: we had nothing to say to each other the last 30+ years of his life. He "sorta did" for about a year after he'd piled up yet another car, until the judge's order expired when he got his drivers license back, then returned to the same old behavior. He's gone, and now I have a nephew who's going thru the pain of trying to quit again--he made five years, then some family implosions were too much for him to avoid a backslide. He goes to at least one meeting a day, two whenever he can, and without AA, I don't know where he'd be, except it would be a very bad place. It's gotta be a tough road to travel.
Best of luck to all of you!
Rick C
Tallbald
Buckeye
We don't know each other, but I have a habit developed in childhood of praying for others. Family, strangers, people I read about in the news. I too will pray for you and your continued success. My daddy was an alcoholic but until I became a Registered Nurse and had some experience under my belt, I didn't really recognize it. Then things began to add up. Never a violent drinker or a "drink up the mortgage payment" man, I think my beloved and often missed Daddy was nonetheless running from something. He died back in '78 at age 46 of heart disease related to childhood rheumatic fever. I like to think that had Daddy lived he too would have chosen your brave and arduous path. My wishes and prayers for your strength and continued success. And I salute you for your journey. Don.
Well done. Stay strong.
We can only travel the right road, by taking the correct steps in the right direction. I'm proud for you and glad for you. Fought the battle myself long ago. Not a problem asking for help. AA and we are here for you. Prayers.
Selena
Hunter
- Joined
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- A long way from heaven and far too close to Chicag
I admire you for the decision and your strength in getting this far. I will keep you in my prayers.
Congratulations, I hope you continue with the progress!
CGDustDevil
Buckeye
bvd1 said:
You are bravely tackling an incredibly difficult task. And it's the best decision you'll have ever made. PAWS is a real pig to get through.
The program really does work, and there are tons of people who will help you in any way they can. Sounds like you got the tiger by the scruff of the neck, and you have your AA support structure close to you... I wish you good success! It's NEVER too late to untangle yourself. You came by your agent of change in the most honest way a human can do it - Just waking up and deciding "Enough!"
I love hearing your story... I'm here if you should need.
Best regards,
Pete
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