Posted on 12/11/2004 5:37:20 AM PST by RobFromGa
I am glad that you were able to quit. One thing that I have noticed is how much extra productive time I have available now that I don't have to schedule "drinking time"!
Hmmmmm...that's interesting....do you believe, as some do, that alcoholism is genetic?
Bump! :-)
It helps to hear from people that have kept at it for long times. Have a Merry Christmas!
I have an allergy to alcohol....everytime I drink I break out in handcuffs.
I had 8 this past September.
Congratulations, Rob. I'm sure it's been difficult. I hope you continue on this new path. You have a lot of FReeper support for your journey.
All I can say is that my liver is presently fine, but I am sure that I was not extrending my life. I hope that I have not caused irreparable harm. I am 42 now and my body seems to be responding to the treatment!
How can you get good grades and be successful while drinking? Alcohol severely impaires judgment and slows the thinking process.
I don't know but I am proof that it can be done. People around me at the time who struggled used to ask me this. But one of the things I have learned to do is forgive myself for the past squandered opportunities. I chose to keep half my brain tied behind my back. The lost chances are gone and not to be recovered. I can only change today and tomorrow.
If you can take it or leave it, you are probably okay. I drink occcasionally, but if someone told me I could never have another drink, it would not really bother me that much.
RobFromGa - thanks for your story. I look forward to reading the next part. Alcohol destroys so many lives. I'm glad to see that you are stopping the cycle for yourself.
"I have now been sober for 14 months without a drop of alcohol. This is not a long time as compared to over 25 years of heavy drinking, but I also know something else: I am totally confident that I will never drink again. "
Theres a quote from "Godfather partIII" It goes something like...."Just when I think I'm away.It sucks me in again" Something like that.Lot of land mines out there.Been sober for 8 years. Still have to fight now and then with myself.
Don't get too cocky.You'll end up waking up asking yourself."Why?" again.
You write well Rob. Please ping me on your next.
I’m in something like your situation. Started drinking early, never recognized as a big problem, but as time passed, I could see that drinking frequently subtracted rather than added to my life. Then over the past 3-6 years it unquestionably got worse. I’d wake up telling myself this is killing me, but couldn’t resist turning into the liquor store on my way home in order to spend the evening in a buzz. I tried dozens of times to ration it like you, but it always returned in excess.
3 weeks ago everyone in my family got a stomach flue. I got it much worse, perhaps from my weakened condition, throwing up 19 times in 12 hours. Not being able to drink for a few days was the free head start that I needed. I know that I’m not out of danger yet, and never will completely be out of danger, but I know that I’ll manage it and will never drink again.
Thanks for your story.
Regarding genetics:
I think it is a huge risk factor for alcoholism.
But I do know several people who were raised by alcoholics that never touch a drop. They have been there, and don't want to return to that world.
This is a major health problem that destroys many, many families.
LOL!
You have to do things at the right time in life. That's always true; it's more obvious in extreme situations. Congratulations.
"There are some things which cannot be learned quickly, and time, which is all we have, must be paid heavily for their acquiring. They are the very simplest things, and because it takes a man's life to know them the little new that each man gets from life is very costly and the only heritage he has to leave." --Hemingway
I think that people who cannot control their drinking have something about their body or mind that is different from people who do not have this problem. Genetics seem to be involved, IMHO. I know that I will be talking with my children about this as they get older-- that they need to be extra vigilant.
I hear you loud and clear. I really do. I will write more about this tomorrow.
What an inspirational post. Good luck to you ... and BUMP!
Dear WineGuy,
"They just weren't born with that automatic cut-off switch that I was born with,..."
That's a good way to put it. My "cut-off switch" is around 2 glasses of wine, or two beers. I get into the third one and I ask myself, "Why am I drinking this?"
The way I've always thought about it is that after a couple of drinks, I lose my taste for it.
sitetest
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