ok truth time... i have been drinking every night for about a year now.. usually 9-12 beers/drinks.. on the weekdays and depending on the weekend i may drink till i just pass out... it all started when i lost someone close to me.. but that is neither here nor there at this point.. my problem is now i want to quit and don't know how to go about even doing it.. nightlife seems boring to me now without booze so i know there is a problem.. i feel no urge to drink during the day..

i have heard from ppl that i can't just quit cold turkey or i run the risk of bad effects.. ( don't know how true it is ) i tried to not start drinking tonight but mentally i could not do it.. pretty much 50/50 id say because of the fear of having issues from alcohol withdraw.. and a mental addiction to it.

i really want to quit badly.. and i think i would like to try it on my own before i go to an AA meeting..

any tips,websites, on quitting would help me tons..

Hy punk I don't have any tips or anything but just wanted to give you a and say I support you and admire you for your courage.

I'm a bit like Shelley I'm afraid... no advice but as much support as you could possibly want.

Hopefully one of our regulars here on this forum will be along shortly to provide the information that I can't give.

Keep talking to us while you do the "give up thing" .....'cos we'll be here to support you all the way through!

Well.... there have been many members that had to go off their pain medications cold turkey due to various reasons.
They felt like they had a really bad case of the flu for a week or 2, but they survived it.

So if you want to try it you could just stop and see how it goes..
Can you have "it" in the house without the urge to just drink it, just because it is there? Then if you do start feeling bad from withdrawal then you drink a little bit and slowly wean your self off???

I guess it really depends on how much you want to stop, and if you can wean your self down slowly? on your own?

PS-
are you taking vitamins? a good multi vitamin at the very least.
booze flushes out many of the water soluble ones -usually less attention is given to nutritious meals when someone is drunk.

Just my thoughts on it.. but I'm no detox pro by any means

First, good show on admitting to yourself that it's time to make a change.

I see you have MS in the mix so you might consider a chat with your doctor. Sure, lots of folks go cold turkey and get through with no bad effects. Then there are those whose BP shoots sky-high, or get seizures. So the prudent move here may well be to do this with medical supervision.

As to doing it alone before going to an AA meeting, your call. Your chances of making a lasting change go up with some kind of recovery plan and support base. Hey, I did the same thing when I sobered up. I wanted to try it on my own (didn't know the medical dangers) and I lasted a day before I hauled ***** to a meeting. Heck, I checked into treatment when I'd been sober for ten weeks.

Start with your doc? Why take a chance...you already have the MS to contend with and some medical input could smooth the way and prevent a flare, or worse.

Keep us posted. We care. I care.

Jeff

Congratulations on coming clean, admission and the want to quit, great first steps. One thing you really should do is contact your doctor and let him know what is going on and what you plan to do. Alcoholism is a bit of a different ball game when it is quitting time especially if you have other health issues. In your case you say it has only been a year so going off may not be "as bad" but you still have the other issues that this may aggravate. Another thing, the keeping in the house and titrating down, never works, one sip leads to another and another, I know I have been there too many times to count. A big thing is your evenings, you are bored, you have developed a habit, now without your drinking to fill it you have no plan to fill that time. My mother use to be the same only now she is retired and drinks whenever the mood hits. That is why meetings would be so useful for you. Trying on your own, very noble idea. Is that because you are too embarrassed to go in front of others and admit, too ill to get around, just don't like the idea? You can find a meeting almost all times of the day and evening. That's what I did, go to evening meetings and by the time I got home it was time to get ready for bed. I was filled with the feelings left over from being at the meeting and they kept me sustained for what was left of the evening. You have got to find a way to fill that time. Not many make it without the program though some do.

I hope you find a way to make things work for you and congratulations.

Hi PunkDizzle .First admitting you're problems is a great step ahead .As per the withdrawal symptoms some get them some don't feel them to much
Mild to moderate psychological symptoms:

* Feeling of jumpiness or nervousness
* Feeling of shakiness
* Anxiety
* Irritability or easily excited
* Emotional volatility, rapid emotional changes
* Depression
* Fatigue
* Difficulty with thinking clearly
* Bad dreams

Mild to moderate physical symptoms:

* Headache - general, pulsating
* Sweating, especially the palms of the hands or the face
* Nausea
* Vomiting
* Loss of appetite
* Insomnia, sleeping difficulty
* Paleness
* Rapid heart rate (palpitations)
* Eyes, pupils different size (enlarged, dilated pupils)
* Skin, clammy
* Abnormal movements
* Tremor of the hands
* Involuntary, abnormal movements of the eyelids

Severe symptoms:

* A state of confusion and hallucinations (visual) -- known as delirium tremens
* Agitation
* Fever
* Convulsions
* "Black outs" -- when the person forgets what happened during the drinking episode

Source: National Institutes of Health

for me i wen't for a 28days therapy paid by the employer .Had drinkink + drugs problems.So I can't not tell you about the symptoms because for the first week They put me on trankalizer .You should try the AA better with someone else than alone.I've been sober for 24 years and still sometimes its hard like they say :''One day at the time'' Good luck and as other mentionned see your doctor .bye Richard

Just popping in to offer support for you, PunkD! I think your post was very brave and I hope you keep coming here to post your efforts. We are all in your corner.

Take care.

thanks all..

oh i am not at all ashamed to go to an AA meeting.. i guess i just want to try and beat it on my own.. but from the sound of it ... it is a pretty rough thing to try and do..

my real issue is that the AA meetings in my neck of the woods are in a not so nice part of town.. but meh ill get over it...

i have lots of support from my wife and i wonder if they would allow her to come with me? even though she doesn't have a problem...


honestly talking to my DR. is a little bit of a problem for me because i am on xanax daily for anxiety/OCD and i have this fear they will take it away from me if i let them know i have a drinking problem.. ugghhh... why did i ever do this to myself..

yeah i really should talk to my Neuro though about the drinking and MS.. i really do not want to throw myself into a flare or worse..

ill keep everyone updated on my walk through getting sober.. i really have a good feeling about it.. and i know with support i can beat this..

Any meeting listed as an "open" meeting is ok. "Closed" meetings are for AA's only (or those who know or think they have a problem with booze).

You can check out http://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org and find meetings most anywhere you go. Online meetings too. Check with your central office or intergroup.