I've been tracking my drinks for 2 years, first time I reach such a sober streak - and I feel really better!
this post was submitted on 06 Oct 2026
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Congrats!
Wild catch this post as I'm with ya, I just broke 24 hours. This is the worst part (3 days of anxiety, etc) , I really hope I can make it your numbers being sober.
You probably already know this but as a general PSA, don’t hesitate to seek out medical help if you’re having other symptoms or severe anxiety; alcohol withdrawal can be fatal without intervention
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/25052-delirium-tremens#symptoms-and-causes
I have been keeping tabs on my body temp and heart rate. They seem to be the first signs that you best get to the ER immediately.
Also there is a CIWA-Ar calculator. I hit pretty low when it comes to what I'm experiencing. I was tapering pretty good before I said enough is enough.
But I really appreciate your concern and taking the time to msg me about it. I did find a new concern on the page you sent, the B1 effects. God knows I have no desire to eat anything right now, but I may just have to force it.
Thanks again!
Soup, or ramen. Easy foods man. Stuff like miso soup since you can basically just drink it.
lol thats exactly I did, I had a bowl of soup not even 20 minutes ago! I got some really good ramen too in the pantry that will be next! Great advice, than you!
Also you get all the ice cream you want
Dude after I went from 10+ drinks every day to almost every day having zero, I was ASTOUNDED at how much I could eat while still losing weight. Turns out 1,000-2,000+ calories of drinks in a day translates to a LOT OF TREATS! I’ve plateaued now and never was a really huge person, but I just gorged and had treats all of the time every day after the initial hell week and lost 20% of my weight. I’m back to tiny and I still eat almost a half pint of ice cream daily heyo yeeee
Werd up
You can do it!
The hardest part is what you gave already just done, good luck!
Thank you and I'm gonna do my best, the 1st 3 days seem like the hardest. Day 1 down now just a couple more.
Then the after care, thats all new to me. But I'm sure thats easy to find out about.
Find some hobbies, books, etc., whatever you're genuinely interested in. Don't push yourself in these first few days; if all you want to do is sleep, then sleep. But in the coming weeks/months it will help tremendously to have something you can pour your whole being into, just completely immersed in. A book, a video game, hell even binging a tv series if it's all you can motivate yourself to do. Arts, crafts, woodworking, soldering, language learning, whatever it is that gets your gears spinning.
If you ever feel yourself wanting to reach for a drink, ask yourself if you're just bored. If the answer is yes, find something to do just to occupy your mind. It doesn't matter if it's something "lazy" or "unproductive." If it gets you to bedtime without taking a drink, it was worthwhile.
If it's not boredom, ask yourself if what it is. If you're tired, sleep. Frustrated, depressed, stressed, lonely? If you can identify the cause of the craving, it gets easier to find something else to do instead of reaching for a drink.
Its nice to hear this from another that knows because thats what I'm doing. I got a call from my mom and just couldn't deal with it because its sometimes like a interrogation with all the questions.
Keeping my YT/Rumble vids as non political as possible. Light interaction on Lemmy, absolutely no reddit. Fortunately (or unfortunately) not working so that stress isn't over the top. My industry is a heart attack industry so I am ok with burning up some savings to get "right".
Thank you for reaching out w/ some great advice. I will put it to work now :)
When I was first quitting I got really into listening to baseball on the radio and talking to other baseball fans about the games. Here lately I've been playing some solo journaling roleplaying games since just about anything on the internet wakes up the dread
I love listening to baseball and hockey vs watching it. You have to imagine the game, gets those electrons firing.
I definitely need the distraction tight now.
I had trouble stopping for a good while, then one day I realized it was Saturday morning and I was out for a walk on a chilly, sunny day and I felt good. It was like a switch flipped. In a flood I realized that I had trapped myself in a habit I didn't even like any more. My health had already suffered a bit from it, and the upside of having a ton of friends and family at gatherings cracking open a few had faded, friends moved on as they do, family expanded and the growing complexity of it all made alcohol an anchor rather than a buoy, and it went from a catalyst for fun to a stress factor that only had downsides.
I realized those old days were gone. My cousin wasn't going to hurl over the railing at my other cousin's wedding reception while our uncles roasted and toasted him from an open trunk. I wasn't loosening up in the hopes of talking to a cute girl at a party. I was sitting alone in my basement on a Saturday with a jug of questionable vintage, drinking because there was in that habit a faint recollection of good times past, and a compulsion that was just strong enough to keep me there, but weak enough to fly under the radar.
I love a fizzy club soda. I love a cup of mint tea. I love feeling the day as it happens, the drag of a bad time felt fully ricochets into the actual good feeling of an accomplishment, however small.
It's not a tough choice any more, because I've seen it in the light of day... But it's still there.
Also, to echo another poster, you CAN do it.
There are too many similarities in your back story that I have had. I can't wait til I don't have to cancel plans or go out to eat because I had 6 beers and counting. How may times I caught myself w/ the keys in my hand of because I was drinking so much I would forget and nearly get behind the wheel.
I cut off all my "bar friends" years ago. Too much to deal with when not wanting to drink and they are riding you "Come on just have one"
Health issues too, hopefully its not too late.
Also I have 2 restaurants owned by of close friends that I can go to. They saw how much I was drinking and banded me from ordering alcohol. I do get all my soft drinks for free, they really were worried when they said "no more". And its not like they don't a lounge full functioning drunks, they do. But for me they must liked me more than what I was spending a night at their bar. And it was a lot of money.
I'm sure there are a ton of grammatical error in my post, forgive my brain is in a state, but you know that :)
Thank you for taking the time to respond, I really appreciate it. And I have to do it, I don't think I have it in me if back slide and have to do this again...
"an anchor not a buoy" what a great way of putting it! I will remember that phrase.
The first day is the hardest part. I have full faith in you and for your next 24 hours, I'll pledge with you, IWNDWYT (I will not drink with you today). Don't worry about next week or even two days from now. Lets do another 24 hours not drinking together.
Also, not to swamp you with books but the book Allen Carr's Quit Drinking Without Willpower changed my entire mindset around alcohol and that made it much easier to get thru the cravings that happen in the first couple weeks.
I can do that pledge with you! I got some food and me and thats helped, still need to eat a bit more. My next 24 hours would be right around noon EST. I'll keep the eye on the prize and not over think what its going to be like on day 3 or day 30.
I'll look into that book. Last one I read was Russell Brands book "Recovery" its a good read. And someone sent a .pdf link on here for same recommended reading. The outpouring of support has been great, I really hope I don't miss anyone and not respond.
Thank for the encouragement and the challenge :)
The sweats get better pretty quickly, and you’ll soon be amazed how much of your dreams you remember!
Looking forward to that time :)
Right now its a light headache, stomach inst happy and go back from hot to hold every other minute. Oh and can't stop yawning, so its a ton better than 12 hours ago.
https://www.aa.org/sites/default/files/2024-10/b-7_livingsober_1-17_updated_10-2024.pdf
Not the AA Big Book, but a guide to tricks for not drinking.
I'll give it a read, I have been of and on looking good info and how to deal with this. Thank you!
It's easier to stay stopped when you hear other people's stories and realize how much you have in common with them. Good luck!
Others have said that too, next step after I hit 3-4 days it will a meeting or two. I wish I had more options, its pretty much only AA here and I have been to some really ugly meetings.
Get the Everything AA app and the Meeting Guide app.
Everything AA is a yellow background with a blue triangle and circle. Meeting guide is a white chair on a blue background. Both are free to get in any app store.
Everything AA has all the literature and connects you to 24 hour Zoom meetings. I like big city meetings because you get a diverse crowd.
Meeting Guide will help you locate meetings near you.
And I've seen people walk into meetings with less than one day sober.
I'll check out that app. And I get wanting big city meetings over what I have run into in rural area's. The infighting was nauseating. Crosstalk, threats, epeen comparing, I walked of the last one midway thru.
I hit a couple meetings in LA and San Diego (before I got bad I went to support a friend) and meetings were 100x more civil. So I seen what your saying. And like you said way diverse, I got more out of it than you know.
Again thank you and everyone else on here for taking the time to help me.
Search 'AA Intergroup [the name of the city]' The website will list all the local meetings, live and online.
I go to a 6 am Zoom meeting that gets people from all over.
Also, the bigger places usually have a variety of meetings. Men only; women only; young people; LGBTQ+; etc.
Finally, don't worry about the jargon. A lot of people like to talk about the Steps, The Program, The Big Book. It can be overwhelming, but it all comes down to one person sharing their own truth. Good luck
Will do, online is probably better option until I feel normal again. It would just be super awkward to be there IRL.
And I have seen a lot of jargon in my looking around like open/closed meetings?
'Closed' means that only people with a drinking problem can come in.
"Open" means that you can bring a friend, or that anyone with an interest in the program can come in. Anniversary meetings are usually open so people's families can come.
"Meditation" means that they dim the lights and silently meditate.
"Speaker" means someone shares their personal journey for 15 minutes or so.
"Literature" means they read from The Big Book, the Twelve Steps and the Twelve Traditions, or other AA books.
Another jargon you'll hear is 'sponsor.' A sponsor is an AA who you feel comfortable with. Some people pick a temporary sponsor at their first meeting. Other people wait until they feel comfortable. It took me two years before I got one.
Most meetings take a minute at the start to ask if there is anyone new to the meeting. You don't have to answer if you don't want to. If you're online you can usually send a private message to the host and ask for phone numbers or information.
My suggestion for you would be to find a seven day a week meeting you can get to every day. It can be early morning before work/school; or at noon on your meal break; or before you go to bed. I started out going to the same meeting every day after work and a couple of weekend meetings near me. Other people like to drop in whenever they feel the need. Some newcomers spend all day in meetings. Personally, I could only handle one a day at the start.
Ok thats what I needed, now the meetings notes make more sense.
I'll dig in tomorrow, tonight I'm still feeling out of sorts. Or maybe just listen in a online meeting. But on a brighter note my symptoms feel like they are going away. No heart racing, no fever, just feel icky w/ a very light headache and the occasional sweating.
I'll keep you posted tomorrow (Day 2) on how its going. Also I have to say it again thank you for all the help/explaining/etc it means a lot!
You can go to an online meeting. Name yourself 'Just Listening'. Most will let you leave the camera off. As long as you don't interrupt you can stay. You can also message the host if you want to know more. Each meeting is differnet, and Zoom bombers have been a problem, but generally newcomers are given plenty of leeway.
Good luck
I'll give that a go, I'm struggling a bit right now and I can't let going back happen. Hour and a half that option is gone (can't sell beer after midnight here). Until then off to see what meetings are open.
I heard this story from an oldtimer.
Back in the day, he was in a cheap hotel in Philadelphia. There was a bar in the lobby.
He spent all night holding onto the bed, because he knew if he let himself get up he'd drink.
My first few months I went to speaker meetings so I'd hear stories like that.
I feel that, it sucks I have a beer shop and a liquor story literally right next door. I just opted for funny/interesting YT vids until midnight. My version of hanging onto the bed.
I opted out of ant zoom calls as I was trying to get the thoughts out of my head. Slept terrible, couldn't fall asleep until 0400 and the most surreal dreams kept that sleep fitful at best.
I do feel better than yesterday so so thats keeping going. Need to eat more today, head feels much clearer, I think some gator-aid or the like would be a good idea too.
And thanks for taking the time to reply, its helping more than you know.
I'll try a speaker meeting asap, hearing stories like you posted will be inspiring because if they can do it so can I. And 3 hours will be the end of day 2, looking forward to starting day 3 :)
I know people who got sober while working in bars and restaurants.
I'll never say it isn't tough, because I needed a 28 day 'vacation' and constant job testing to dry out and get my feet on the path.
But with the right team, anything is possible.
Thats got to be tough getting dry when you deal w/ booze all the time.
I'm feeling it that is not easy. Craig Ferguson talks about it pretty candidly in one his monologues. I try to keep that in mind right now. If it was easy to kick there would be a single drunk on the planet...
The booziest towns have the best sobriety.
New York, New Orleans, Las Vegas, LA, San Francisco all have tons of meetings.
It's one day at a time. Sometimes, it's one minute at a time.
Search out the right meetings and get a bunch of phone numbers.
I once called a guy and told him that I was practicing making calls. He got it.
Gah I wish I was near one of those cities, I'm not to far from DC though... Thats a heck of a drie though.
I will say today has been better than yesterday. Kept busy, started taking a vitamin B complex per a lot of the big med/sobriety sites. Got out of the house for a bit, next will find a local meeting. Its slim pickin's unless I want to drive over an hour.
Now about calling, I'm terrible about that, rather an introvert when it comes to talking to strangers.
But right now its one moment at a time. Keeping everything low stress and low sensory overload. The last two falling offs was socializing too much too fast IRL. Felt great and was whats the harm in one... Then 2 two weeks later I'm back at it at the same levels.
Kinda why I'm slow on the meetings/seeing trusted friends atm.
Start with the online meetings.
Plenty of 'Zoom babies' got sober during Covid without ever meeting in real life.
https://www.nyintergroup.org/meetings/?type=active
That's just the New York ones.
Dang there are a ton of them up there!
Ok I'll give it a go and let you know how it goes after. Than you again!
There's one local group called 'Never Had A Legal Drink.' People who decided to get sober before they turned 21.
Also, the International Conference of Young People In AA.
https://www.icypaa.org/
Thats wild, none of those resources were around when I was that age.
I sat in a meeting, it was late here so I hit a west coast meeting. Nice group of folks, it was helpful hearing others talk about being sober and the issues before and after. Definitely will keep exploring as I get a better feel for the community.
Be seeing you.
You can do it! Bite its fucking head off!