To those who have packed in alcohol.

[Dave7]

My last drink was at the end of May. Prior to that, when at home you could always find me sipping a (cheap) whisky with lemonade.
There is rarely a day when I don't get a twinge or the feeling that "only a whisky would hit the spot" but fortunately that feeling only lasts moments.
Strangely I have not had stronger withdrawal symptoms than that.

I have read that it will be some months before the 'feelings' disappear completely.

 

[Dogtrousers]

I stopped in 2007 I think, or 2008. I think of it as my great escape.

Those twinges are just habit I imagine, not alcohol specific. It'll just take time to erode them.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

My last drink was at the end of May. Prior to that, when at home you could always find me sipping a (cheap) whisky with lemonade.
There is rarely a day when I don't get a twinge or the feeling that "only a whisky would hit the spot" but fortunately that feeling only lasts moments.
Strangely I have not had stronger withdrawal symptoms than that.

I have read that it will be some months before the 'feelings' disappear completely.

Well done
I used to drink a bottle of wine every night (plus a bit) - unless I needed to drive when I just wouldn;t drink

I stopped for good reasons - massive headache thingy that wouldn;t go away for several weeks
followed by gout
both of which are not good with alcohol

that was quite a few years ago and after the health problems stopped I just decided not to do it anymore - seemed like a good time to do it

mostly I have replaced it with tea and water in the evening - and diet coke when I am cooking



in the evenings I still sometime feel like a beer but generally the feeling goes away quickly and I often find that actually I am just thirsty and it is just that a beer would sort it - but so will a glass of water while waiting for the kettle to boil

I do still drink
just often only once a month or less - I sometimes think "I've have a drink tonight" then remember 2 weeks later!!


That is what worked for me - but people vary!

 

[All uphill]

I gave up six years ago. I didn't enjoy alcohol any more so it was easy.

Very occasionally I've thought I'd like a glass of red wine, but it passes in seconds.

I have had one glass on about three occasions during the six years; I hated the effect of the alcohol each time.

My life is much better without alcohol.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

I probably shouldn;t say
but when I read things on the papers and see things on the telly about giving up alcohol
then they have people saying all the amazingly wonderful things that will improve when you go from drinking too much every day
to drinking nothing - or close to it

I have seen none of those

I'm not saying I regret it - I am much better off without it
but it annoys me that people say how wonderful the sunny uplands WILL BE if you cut down

and I can imagine some people giving up and seeing the same fields they saw before under the same sky
and it is so far below what they were told would happen that they just go back

sorry - but that was me - same sky - same fields - just going to bed sober rather than drunk every night
felt the same in the mornings as well!

 

[si_c]

Not given up entirely but I rarely drink - I'll have a beer or two now and again, but month to month I don't consume alcohol at all. Don't miss it really.

I think the twinges you have @Dave7 are the habituations that you get from doing something. I had the same with smoking, the physical cravings only lasted a few days but breaking the long established routines in my head took much longer.

 

[Dave7]

I have to smile when I go past the alcohol section** at Aldi and even more so when I see my much reduced bill at the checkout.
**I can honestly say I am never tempted. As I said, it's just 'twinges' the come from nowhere.

 

[numbnuts]

I packed up in 1980 while in Aussie as I was becoming an apprentice alcoholic as I was having a beer with everything.
and now I can take it or leave it, not had a drink this year, but I do like a G&T, Sloe Gin or ever a Southern Comfort,
but only one small glass, if I go out I'll just have a tonic water.

 

[Dave7]

I packed up in 1980 while in Aussie as I was becoming an apprentice alcoholic as I was having a beer with everything.
and now I can take it or leave it, not had a drink this year, but I do like a G&T, Sloe Gin or ever a Southern Comfort,
but only one small glass, if I go out I'll just have a tonic water.

Tried tonic water but couldn't get into it.
At home I start 1st thing with a cuppa then I go onto milk or cordial.
If I go to a pub I will have a J2O.

 

[Drago]

It took me a couple of years for the cravings to go. Now I have a nice San Pellegrino when I fancy a "drink".

 

[Sharky]

Have been almost tea total for over 30 years and have tried alternatives.

Of these ...

In the news today are the "Trip CBD drinks".

I like them, but their claims that they have relaxing benefits have been banned by the advertising authorities.

Trip drink advert banned for claiming it makes you calm - BBC News https://share.google/VQGBvydomjmAIEgHV

 

[wafter]

As it happens tomorrow marks a year off the sauce for me.

I do still get the occasional desire for a drink - the taste a Guinness or cold lager on a hot day, the desire for a bit of social lubricant when I'm not feeling the mood when out or the drive to get shitfaced when miserable, although thankfully they're all very manageable compared to other cravings (carbs and tobacco being the big two).

On top of that thanks to fortuitous lifestyle changes I'm now living so much more cleanly at the moment (load of cycling and strength training, pretty decent diet) that the potential threat alcohol poses to progress in this area is another incentive to leave it alone.

Finally in the year I've "had off" I must have saved in the region of two grand given what I was spending on booze before I stopped. This is another massive incentive since my income is limited and that sort of spend is both very significant compared to my other expenditure and objectively sh*t value - a single pint now being half the price of what one might spend on a modest meal out, or more than half a day's spend on domestic food..

 

[Electric_Andy]

I gave up drink on Jan 1st this year. It was very easy for me, as I'd just grown tired of drinking. Had I been forced to give it up on health grounds for example, I guess it might have been harder. I've had no physical or emotional side effects from stopping. The odd "I fancy an Ale on a hot day" but those thoughts quickly go and I soon remember that the experience is never as nice as it seems in your head

 

[Psamathe]

Can't say I've given up alcohol, just these days I rarely drink alcohol, maybe less often after I've known 3 people who have gone alcoholic and I see the impacts (on themselves and others) as well as prospects.

But I did give up smoking from 20+ a day for over 20 years and without medical encouragement and without assistance. My experience from that is that is you genuinely want to give something up for yourself or your own reasons then it helps a lot. When I stopped smoking it was associated with my deciding I wanted to retire early and the financial considerations. Decided, 5 mins later all remaining cigaretts in the house soaking in a bowl of water before transfer to the bin and "done".

Giving something up in response to persuasion from others must be a lot harder.

Ian

 

[Electric_Andy]

give something up for yourself or your own reasons then it helps a lot

yes agree. I quit smoking because I was genuinely sick of it. Sick of standing outside, disposing of the butts, how it made my hands and clothes smell, and how the taste lingered in my mouth all the time. I still had to use gum and patches but I succeeded. With alcohol I guess I wasn't physically addicted so it was easier.

My partner grew up in pubs; her Dad was a builder who regularly drove around different pubs drinking in the 80s. She then joined the Navy, so drink has been a big part of her life. Funnily enough as she's been forced to quite for a while post-surgery, she suggested the other day that she may not be drinking at a wedding we're going to in November. This is the first time I've heard something like that from her, so if it's a serious thought then it would be amazing. She used to drink a few times a week but is quite an annoying drunk, and a bit of a lighweight, and it has caused many arguments over the years with her family and now with me