So Paddy's day is on Friday. Being Irish everyone has been asking me this week so are you going to the pub on Friday? People who can are planning o spending the whole day in the pub & of course drinking. I actually can't remember the last Paddy's Day I went out drinking. I can resist on this day. It might be to do with the last few years its fallen on a weekday & I am a weekend drinker. I know I won't drink this year either I am planning a family day with my husband & son.
I do think I will drink this Saturday though. I went all last weekend booze free & I am glad I did it. I am hoping to get my Selincro prescription on Monday & I'm thinking why abstain all weekend again??? The bad part of the plan is that if I do I intend to get a naggin of vodka the small one & drink this without my husband knowing & then have a couple of glasses of wine with him & drink them slowly. I am going backwards I know but usually I would drink a half bottle of vodka mostly in secret. It's just the prospect of another weekend without my treat seems like another battle.
Is this so wrong if I plan on taking the meds when I eventually get them? Do I need to abstain completley until then? If so why? I will be cutting back a bit & I will not drink Sunday which I normally would too. I know its the drink monster talking but knowing I will get the meds someway or another makes me think then why not?
If I felt like I could & it would be easy I would. It was hard last weekend but yes I did it. I just want something to look forward to rather than that struggle again. I think it will keep my stress levels down if that makes sense while I wait on a prescription.
You can do this if you really want to... Just think of it if you can the same way you did last nite. I am sure your husband will support you too if your honest with him as well, although again i know its hard opening up sometimes. I am the same as you and have convinced myself so many times that its ok or this is the last one. I know that its a big thing with st pats day and all that, i live in northern ireland so get ready to see many many drunk people. Im here if you want to chat over the weekend. Good luck x
I suppose to be honest posting here I am looking for someone to say it's ok have a few drinks just don't go overboard. You will start TSM soon don't be so strict on yourself until then. They are excuses I know but this week is harder than last as I thought I would possibly have my prescription but I don't & I know I don't have my Saturday night ritual to look forward to. I have no urge today to drink, tomorrow or Paddy's Day I just want that chill for Saturday it's strange just a strong strong habit I have. My Dad is very set in his ways - dinner at a certain goes to the same pub every Friday & Saturday etc. I'm not as bad as that but maybe some of that behaviour goes with my drinking- I feel uncomfortable at the thought of change.
I think with the medication you need to take it slowly & think about each drink. If you google The Sinclair Method you will find how it works.
It is planning I usually would always buy a bottle of vodka & have another in the press my husband would think I was drinking from but I would have started with the hidden bottle.
Its the secret drinking that is my huge problem. I think if had of always drank in the open I wouldn't have got to this stage.
Thanks Sharon! For some reason last night I got it into my head I can't d another weekend with nothing I will just have a few .Only buy enough for a few. I actually said to my husband last night I might have a couple of glasses of wine at the weekend - I don't need to abstain as I'll hopefully get the meds. He was ok with it but I think he is getting fed up listening about this. It's in my thoughts most of the time.
Oh I know I can imagine the amount of people nursing hangovers on Saturday lol xx
I agree with the others and think you should abstain. I have been a daily drinker (with a rare odd day or two off) and routinely drank a bottle of wine plus up to half a bottle of vodka. I am on my third day of abstinence (without meds) which I know is still early days but I am feeling stronger as each day passes. Like you, I am already thinking about this coming weekend as that is when I would really crank up my intake as I saw it as my 'treat' for working hard all week therefore this was my reward / stress reliever. This is how I have always justified it!!
You have done well so far and should stick with it. Your post sounds as if you have already decided that you're going to drink as you have several reasons in there for why you should, almost as if you are trying to convince yourself or us. I'm sorry if I sound brutal as that is not my intention but I am trying to be honest.
Alcohol is a drug and will try to lure you back any way possible! Even if you limit your intake slightly this weekend, in my opinion, you are just placing yourself at the top of the slide ready to slip back down again.
For me, the benefits of not drinking are already outweighing the 'joy' of drinking! I don't feel groggy / lethargic each day, I'm more mentally sharp and focusing on being a better role model for my son......the list is endless!
Good luck Sadie, I really hope you find the strength to make the right choice and as always, keep talking on here as there are so many good people on here ready to support and advise.
No I really appreciate your honesty. I am looking to convince myself & almost looking for someone to say it's ok go ahead.
It is like I have decided & this is what happens on the Sunday each week. I say I 'll only drink Saturday & then Sunday as the day goes on it gets me- I've decided & that is it! It's happened now & I don't know how to turn it back around? I suppose that is the strenght of the drug.
Thank you Rachel. Maybe I will try to refocus tomorrow. Try to get back into the zone I was in last week. xxx
I suggest you get a good nights sleep tonight and maybe think about planning something different to do at the weekend - a different kind of treat / reward. Hopefully you will feel more positive and focused tomorrow, I know that I definitely find it harder to be strong if I am tired!!
My weak time is 5-7pm ish every day but I am riding through this by keeping busy as soon as I get home and this is getting easier! I am preparing mentally for the weekend, especially Friday as that will be the tester for me! Am thinking that we may go out somewhere as I will drive therefore not drink (am strictly a home drinker), just to get me past my weak time.
Am happy to listen and support if you want....,am rooting for you!
I am so tempted too! I will say that excuses to drink and triggers to drink using st pats day then what will next weekends teiggers be. Look into the methods uses. Block the opiate receptors with meds. Educate yourself or contine to use this drug.
Great to hear that Sadie , look up all the medications besides Naltrexone that will block the opiate receptors. More than pills are available ,Injections that last a week and pellets under the skin that lasts for six months. Do your research find the three step program best for you. Medication, counseling and detox. Also counseling is a necessity. You cannot do this without understanding how to reset the alcohol stop button in your brain,and stop the body from dependence . It actually is better to take the meds than try to white knuckle it without medical help. It only causes the body and brain to demand more and it's beyond the brains control without shutting down the cravings with meds. Causing the alcohol cravings pleasure receptors to scream for more.
CAMPRAL another pill. Pills can be a disadvantage to some remembering to take a pill. Others do well with injections or pellets.
I have been researching the last couple of weeks. I am based in Ireland & requested a prescription for Selincro from my GP on Monday. She wasn't familar with this medication or The Sinclair Method. She is doing some research on this & will let me know this coming Monday whether she will prescribe it to me.
I would like to try The Sinclair Method rather than an implant or a medication I would need to take everyday. I don't drink everyday so I would only take the Selincro with my alcohol at the weekend & hopefully be able to cut my intake right back xxx