Meenzer 15234 Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 At the risk of prompting the following: ...I'm finally dealing with being an alcoholic. Seven weeks clean and getting the help and support I should have done years ago. Sobriety is a peach of a weight loss technique too. Anyway, as you were. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trophyshy 7066 Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 At the risk of prompting the following: ...I'm finally dealing with being an alcoholic. Seven weeks clean and getting the help and support I should have done years ago. Sobriety is a peach of a weight loss technique too. Anyway, as you were. PUFF. Well done, respect what you've done there and that you've shared it. I should consider cutting down mesel. :/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewerk 29923 Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 I wasn't too sure if you were being serious. Though if so then congratulations. You and J69 can have jackets made. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meenzer 15234 Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 You and J69 can have jackets made. Why d'you think I didn't mention it sooner? But aye, very much serious. Been wanting to get on top of it for a long time (obviously) but things have actually fallen into place this time, touch wood. *raps Fish on his ample forehead* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewerk 29923 Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 Excuse my ignorance on the subject but is it a case of then being sober for life or are there those in recovery who can eventually learn to control their consumption and have the odd drink? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fish 10588 Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 Great Martin, make me feel bad about the Moaning Myrtle dig, you feckless shitbag. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christmas Tree 4567 Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 Well done you! Seriously, well done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkeys Fist 41635 Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 Hats off Meenzer. Best of luck mate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ayatollah Hermione 13709 Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 Well done, Meenz. Owt like that takes considerable willpower, good going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howmanheyman 32301 Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 At the risk of prompting the following: ...I'm finally dealing with being an alcoholic. Seven weeks clean and getting the help and support I should have done years ago. Sobriety is a peach of a weight loss technique too. Anyway, as you were. Do you think your drinking was helped or hindered by the excessive Eurovision fixation you have? Good luck, mate, stick with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meenzer 15234 Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 Excuse my ignorance on the subject but is it a case of then being sober for life or are there those in recovery who can eventually learn to control their consumption and have the odd drink? Varies from person to person, I guess. When I first went to the clinic they asked straight away what I was looking to achieve there and then - total abstinence, controlled drinking, "just" a reduction in consumption to start with, etc. I'm a stubborn bastard so it was abstinence or nothing. But no, in all seriousness, I've tried to kick it on my own often enough to know I'm not capable of drinking in moderation any more, it's excess or nothing at all - so while there might be a time in the future when I feel I can control it again, that's not really on my mind right now. That said, I've been fortunate enough (if that's the right phrase) to catch this while it's still in mild-to-medium dependency territory, so I haven't needed to do a regimented detox, any withdrawal symptoms have been controllable and so on. I've got to know people who've been in and out of community and inpatient detox for years and are still struggling with it every day, so while I wouldn't downplay my drinking past by any means, I think I can count myself lucky to have got this far, with the help of friends and obviously the fella too (I'd been hiding it from him - with varying degrees of success - for years and he's still standing by me, the silly bugger). It's actually kind of embarrassing more than anything. I feel all socially awkward and English about making any kind of deal about it, like I've just served up a bad salmon mousse at the end of a Monty Python film, but you've got to get over yourself before you fuck yourself up too badly I guess. And not that this wasn't my view already, but gawd bless the NHS and all who make her go round, really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meenzer 15234 Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 Great Martin, make me feel bad about the Moaning Myrtle dig, you feckless shitbag. Oi, fuckface, you were one of the first people I told. You're just jealous I've taken the shine off your dry January "heroics". Do you think your drinking was helped or hindered by the excessive Eurovision fixation you have? Hindered, massively. Everyone's a pisshead when the Belarusian embassy's dishing out free vodka. Oh, and thanks to everyone else for the support. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catmag 336 Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 Martin, I genuinely had no idea you felt like that and that it was so seriously a problem. I'm so proud of you (Even if you were drinking that sugar cane stuff at Tilley's!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meenzer 15234 Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 (Even if you were drinking that sugar cane stuff at Tilley's!) I will never again ask a barmaid the question "Do you have any interesting soft drinks?". Lesson firmly learned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken 119 Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 Varies from person to person, I guess. When I first went to the clinic they asked straight away what I was looking to achieve there and then - total abstinence, controlled drinking, "just" a reduction in consumption to start with, etc. I'm a stubborn bastard so it was abstinence or nothing. But no, in all seriousness, I've tried to kick it on my own often enough to know I'm not capable of drinking in moderation any more, it's excess or nothing at all - so while there might be a time in the future when I feel I can control it again, that's not really on my mind right now. That said, I've been fortunate enough (if that's the right phrase) to catch this while it's still in mild-to-medium dependency territory, so I haven't needed to do a regimented detox, any withdrawal symptoms have been controllable and so on. I've got to know people who've been in and out of community and inpatient detox for years and are still struggling with it every day, so while I wouldn't downplay my drinking past by any means, I think I can count myself lucky to have got this far, with the help of friends and obviously the fella too (I'd been hiding it from him - with varying degrees of success - for years and he's still standing by me, the silly bugger). It's actually kind of embarrassing more than anything. I feel all socially awkward and English about making any kind of deal about it, like I've just served up a bad salmon mousse at the end of a Monty Python film, but you've got to get over yourself before you fuck yourself up too badly I guess. And not that this wasn't my view already, but gawd bless the NHS and all who make her go round, really. I think I'm the same as you tbh. I can't do moderation. I'm either clean living or I'm drinking 2 bottles of wine a day - yes it has gotten to that stage now where I'm not satisfied unless I drink that much. Arranging dinner to suit what I fancy to drink is at the end of the day just an excuse to get stuck in and a sign of a problem, aside from needing 2 bottles to be satisfied. I'm in my detox/fitness mode atm, been at it for 10 days, so I can stop in phases , but it is just a phase and not permanent and that is the concern. Last time I had a blood test the doctor told me my liver was in the state of a hepatitis sufferer, and that was last October. Christmas/New Years has come and gone and I dread what state it is in right now. Getting to the stage now where I must consider permanent sobriety - there are no in-betweens for me. Congrats on you taking charge with it btw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fish 10588 Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 Oi, fuckface, you were one of the first people I told. You're just jealous I've taken the shine off your dry January "heroics". As if anything could. Jokes aside I've nothing but admiration for the strength of character it takes to admit privately you've got something to address, let alone doing so on an open forum like this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Dynamite 6922 Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 I haven't been able to wear my contact lenses longer than a day for 2 months for some reason. Really should go to the eye hospital this week I also have a bizarre thing happening over the past few days where I get a 5 second sensation of warmth on the outside of my left ankle. No pain but it happens about 20 times a day!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Dynamite 6922 Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 Just seen the Meenzer stuff. There seems to be a lot of folk on here packing in the drink recently. I know I used to be rather more vocal about my choice not to drink but it's also interesting to note other people's changing attitudes towards this. There was very much a 'normal blokes drink, non drinkers are a bit odd' vibe from certain posters Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meenzer 15234 Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 I think I'm the same as you tbh. I can't do moderation. I'm either clean living or I'm drinking 2 bottles of wine a day - yes it has gotten to that stage now where I'm not satisfied unless I drink that much. Arranging dinner to suit what I fancy to drink is at the end of the day just an excuse to get stuck in and a sign of a problem, aside from needing 2 bottles to be satisfied. I'm in my detox/fitness mode atm, been at it for 10 days, so I can stop in phases , but it is just a phase and not permanent and that is the concern. Last time I had a blood test the doctor told me my liver was in the state of a hepatitis sufferer, and that was last October. Christmas/New Years has come and gone and I dread what state it is in right now. Getting to the stage now where I must consider permanent sobriety - there are no in-betweens for me. It is a proper mental leap to make, and it'd be wrong to play that down, just like there's no point in denying the simple facts that (for most people anyway) alcohol is A Nice Thing and social drinking is fun. The mere act of being on the wagon doesn't stop that from being true, and not being willing or able to embrace the abstinence option (yet) isn't something to self-flagellate over - none of us have any control over the way we're wired, after all, we just have to deal with it. For me at least, every time I tried to kick the habit myself or own up to it to others, this big "OMG YOU'LL NEVER BE ALLOWED TO DRINK AGAIN"-shaped monster kept looming and that wasn't something I was prepared to fight with at the time. Partly from a fear of missing out on the pub culture/social drinking thing - which, of course, has proved to be absolutely fine*, even if I'll probably become a diabetic from all the sugary drinks I'm consuming - and partly the aforementioned English embarrassment of not wanting to make a fuss about something that you feel you "ought to" be able to control, e.g. (in my case) "secret" drinking. And if your alcohol consumption is excessive from a medical advice point of view but it isn't having a practical impact on the cornerstones of your life yet - your ability to work, your relationships, your ability to look after yourself, whatever - then you tend to think you're doing fine with it. If you really do want to make a change, it might be the case that circumstances collide and something happens to flick the switch - that's what happened with me - or you might just get to that point gradually, as it sounds like you've been doing for a while now anyway. As you say, blood tests and the like are often the real eye-opener. My liver function's only started properly deteriorating in the last year or two, and of course I'd been deflecting the questions at the doctor's every time - why no, I'm not consuming any more alcohol than usual, I wonder what the problem could possibly be? All I can say is, if nothing else, it's a relief to have the simple facts on my medical record and to be able to actually talk about it with people, and you might find that too. Or you might not! That all being said, I have no intention of becoming an evangelist for sobriety - I think booze is brilliant, I'm just not allowed it myself right now, but that isn't going to stop me from buying my dad an indulgently expensive bottle of whisky for his birthday or getting the beers in on a night out. Except when the Fish takes us to some wanky place in Clapham where they "appreciate his presence at the bar", in which case he's on his own. * it helps, of course, that none of my good friends are of the 'normal blokes drink, non drinkers are a bit odd' breed described by the esteemed poster above Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fish 10588 Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 Just seen the Meenzer stuff. There seems to be a lot of folk on here packing in the drink recently. I know I used to be rather more vocal about my choice not to drink but it's also interesting to note other people's changing attitudes towards this. There was very much a 'normal blokes drink, non drinkers are a bit odd' vibe from certain posters In most cases I think it's as much an age/weight loss thing, rather than a "Straight Edge*" kind of thing. I know I'm teaching granny to suck eggs, but alcohol dependency isn't the same as either of those. *I'm just using the term as a handy catch-all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Dynamite 6922 Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 If I wasn't abstinent before I started my current job I definitely would be by now. Sunderland has the highest alcohol related mortality rate in the country, and you can't half tell by some of the states that end up in A&E. It's like night of the living dead in there most days Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Dynamite 6922 Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meenzer 15234 Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 If I could be a moderate drinker I would be. Fuck that straight-edge shit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewerk 29923 Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 I was a teetotaller before it was cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ayatollah Hermione 13709 Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 If I could be a moderate drinker I would be. Fuck that straight-edge shit. Just realised, I asked if you fancied a pint the other week sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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