My Struggles - Alcohol - and my plan.
 

Guys,

I have to confess, I'm a huge alcoholic and always have been, I've been sober in increments of 5 years and one other time for ten years. I recently reflected on how much I have been/was consuming. I'm completely through this time. I just can't do it anymore. I'll be honest - after this last time, I'm lucky to even be here right now.

I love you guys and promise to each of you, this is the new beginning to my life and I'm completely done with drinking.

Thanks for the ear. If anyone else is struggling. Please feel free to chime in if you wish.

Thanks for being my friend you guys

Xoxo, if you’re out of gas at the beach will totally wire you twenty bucks.

Glad to hear you are making a change... I’m sure it isn’t easy.. You need anything let me know..

it was a long and dark ride this last time. Thank you man

I believe admitting that you are an alcoholic and realizing that you are never recovered but recovering is the first step in getting sober for good. I applaude your self-awareness and wish you luck. Addiction is a heavy cross to bear.

If you ever feel like falling off the wagon and need someone to talk to, shoot me a PM. I have a long list of alcoholics in my family and I've gotten good at listening and helping them attempt to stay sober.

I'm no angel either and have certainly struggled with it myself. I have definitely harmed my body over the years for sure. I can give it up fairly easily though with no detrimental effects. I'm kind of back on the wagon myself lately, so we can do this together!

My sister died from complications directly related to alcohol abuse...it's a horrible thing.


Stay Strong Brother.

I appreciate you guys, I just wanted to cement this out there, It's 'set in stone' - I can't look back now. You all can let this die - but if any of you need help, i'm here as well.

Ty

Coming up on 9 months without a drink or a drug...if I can do it, anyone can.

Love you, SR!

I'm a friend of Bill's myself. Got clean 11 years ago and sober 8 years ago. I drank socially for a few months after 5 years, and then got sober again 3 years ago.

If you ever need anything man pm me.

Good luck SR!!!

you best check into this thread every week or I’m hunting that ass down on Facebook

Love you, too SR. Good luck on the continual path of recovery. If you have any questions about treatments, let me know.

i will plan on every month or so - it's a fine line from attention whoring - but I suppose it's a 'cry for help' at the same time. A pact or something like that.

Hey, good on you man. You need anything feel free to shoot me a PM. I'm always here

Best of luck, SR. Love you, man.

Rooting for you!

https://i.imgur.com/7NKHuyE.jpg


Just ****ing around LMAO


Good for you SR

Hi, my name is Buns and I'm an alcoholic. AA did help me for a while. SR, if you ever wanna talk, PM me please.

SR, Thanks for being bold and sharing.
I am praying for your recovery

God bless you

Good on you for battling this head-on SR. I grew up with an alcoholic in my household but the good news was that they too admitted their struggle and battled through ups and downs, but eventually conquered. One day at a time. You obviously have support here!

You're the best dude on this board - by far. Happy to help you in any way I can, as I'm sure many others are as well. You the man!

Maybe you’ll laugh at this but I wanted to stop drinking coke when I hit 35. I love that shit. So one day I decided to leave a can out in the heat for a couple hours, back deck. Popped that sucker and guzzled it. Hot and nasty.


Burned that image in my head and taste buds. I don’t ever crave it anymore thinking about that hot can of crap.

Best wishes. I've never struggled with alcoholism, but I definitely have an addictive personality. If you've had periods of 5 and 10 years you've been sober you can certainly kick it for good.

Good luck to you on your road to recovery!

You've got this. Kick it's ass.

THIS, dude. The relatives I've seen struggle with it, woke me up to the toll it can take...tackling it head on isn't easy, but it's the surest way of beat it. If you are a part of society that is genetically predisposed (as about 15-20% of the population is)...abstinence is best, and probably only way to beat it for good. Even mere psychological addiction is a bitch to overcome. Good luck, and Godspeed.

Let me guess... you woke up with billay laying next to you in bed and decided that was your rock bottom point.

This is a minute by minute journey. Best of luck, my friend.

Sending you infinite amounts of good vibes, Mahomes hugs, and Hitchens gloves, my friend.

LMAO

thank you bud, I really appreciate it.

Wish you all the best SR.

Don't think of it as attention whoring if it is one of the things that keep you on your path. Good luck to you.

Thank you for sharing SR - I wish you the best! You've always been very nice.

I don't know what kind of music you're into, but when I got clean 11 (12 in Dec) years ago I had two songs I'd listen to often.. I've always been really into music and, to this day, still turn to it for therapy of sorts.

The Virus "The Very Last Day"
It's a punk song, so not going to be everyone's cup of tea.

Still Remains "Recovery"
Metal(?) song more or less about his path to recovery, through Christ, and more or less the "prodigal son" parable. Luke 15:11-32

Love you, brother. You can do this.

Takes a hell of a man to bare it for all to see on a message board full of people you never met for the most part. If you can let it all hang out here you will have no problem whooping these demons asses. I am sure it will be difficult with many ups and downs you will get through it because your a giant of a man. Good luck SR we are all rooting for you. Hell just think of the celebration you are about to have. Your favorite football team winning its second Super Bowl and more important you are about to win the Superbowl of life.

Keep that chin up and stay Strong!

this. SR, you are the shit man, lol.
_______________________________


<— Guys, see that avatar? That’s what being an addict did for me.
YOU GUYS DO NOT want to go through what I have been.
‘03 Thanksgiving weekend, Oregon coast sand dunes, ATV accident.
In the hospital about to be checked out and was paged to see the counselor. She had set up times for me to start attending AA.
I told her I wasn’t going to any meetings
She says well your wife said you’d drink a six to half rack of beer every night?

I’m like, “So?”
Blah, blah.
So I says to her, “Have u ever been paralyzed?”
“Well...no” she says looking at me funny.
I said, “Well I have/am. I AM NEVER DRINKING again.”

Sounds like bs but I’ve done it.



Totally different BUT had you, (or you drinkers out there), continue you could end up in my shoes or worse. What if your drinking causes someone harm or worse yet someone you love.

Had the gallon jug of water by my bedside, every morning I’d wake up swearing to myself, “never again, o boy I’m done drinking....no way.”
Fast forward to 3pm-6pm and I’m constantly looking at my phone checking the time thinking, “man, we gotta hurry up. That qwikshop I use closes at 6. I’ll have to go outta the way a bit.....that’s ok, their beer is colder.”
And the cycle just continues.......


Everyone says to PM them. What are you gonna say, lol?
It’s important that we just listen and not tell them what they should be doing, etc.
Eventually, us addicts will open up.

_____

I truly meant that 1st post, don’t know you but wished we could meet somehow, lol.
Hey, if you fall off the wagon....so what. As it’s rolling away, shove a stick thru the rear wheels spokes. That’ll stop that sucker, lol.


“ALL ABOARD!!!”

the support is excellent - i thank you all.

Thanks you guys - Love you too Mike

Smoke weed instead!

The weird thing about quitting anything that's addictive and bad for you is that in your mind you think it's going to hurt. In reality in a very short time it feels really good.

Peace bro.

CP is a huge family. You've got all the support a person can ask for. One day at a time my friend. I know it's hard but it's beatable. So many of us have been together here for so many years we started out young and indestructible. Now we're at a point it's time that health needs to come first.

We've suffered through the worst years of the Chiefs. those are behind us. we get to live our golden years now with the best QB in the NFL. Life is good. Lets enjoy it together.

be strong brother. All the best...

Wish you all the best SR. You’ve always been nice to me.

You're good people, Red. Keep up the fight!

So much love in this thread! All the shit talk aside, it's proof of how awesome (and caring) the CP community is.

I was going to say replace it with another habit like pimping or something.

Best wishes to you, my friend.

Give me a ****ing break. SR gets my sense of humor.

:rolleyes:

We care about you SR. You're one of the sweetest guys here.

I hope you have the resources and community where you are to help aide you in your recovery.

Keep updating the thread and let us know how you're doing as time goes on

Yeah, I'm a fan of the "find something to replace it with" plan.

It happens. A lot of us have been there.

I was an over half a pack a day smoker for over ten years. When I found out my daughter was on the way, I quit on a dime full out cold turkey without any patches or gum or Chantix or anything.

**** was it hard, but I'm glad I did it. I still struggle with it because there are times where I think, "man, shit. A nice fresh smooth Turkish Royal would be so nice" after eating a big meal. Doesn't happen frequently but when it does it's like wow, ain't that some shit

Big thing is don't dwell on the times you've stopped and failed, how long you've been drinking or that it's going to be hard. People are great because if we're determined, dangit we'll figure something out.

Don't beat yourself up if you have a relapse. Just pick yourself up, dust yourself off and say okay let's do it again. It's always about what direction you're headed and not where you've came from.

You got it and can always PM me if you're struggling.

Main thing for me was just focusing on things that made me happy and focusing on what I wanted. Breathing is pretty cool and good, not reeking like an ashtray for my daughter was another big thing. It's also nice being sick less.

No big deal buddy. :thumb:

We’re all battling something... keep this new spirit, and you’ll be fine

SR - I dont know what your perceived level of alcoholism is but in my case I drink a lot of beer but dont feel like its a problem. I can go several days to weeks without one, I just choose not to because I love the taste. I did however quit for a couple months recently to lose weight. Knocked off 20 pounds, making no other changes to my diet/exercise. I then started drinking beer again and put 5 of it back on fairly quickly and I'm afraid it's going to keep going up unless I quit again.

I guess my point is, if you need another motivational tool to stop just think of the weight you'll lose...not that you need to of course. :D

yeah I'd like to get back down to a 33 - i am now a 36

Good luck SR. We're all rooting for you.

I love you!!!!

You got to be more decisive about your decision. If you are going to quit then do it and don't leave the door open to drinking ever again. Otherwise, as you know from personal experience, it will probably get you in a weak moment.. Might be a year from now, might be five years, might be ten-years or it might be a day but you'll probably drink again.

Good luck. You can do it bro!

Good for you. Stick with it. As you know, it's a matter of life and death. Losing this battle would be devastating for your soul. But you're going to beat it.

Just heard yesterday that a friend of mine who has alcohol issues lost it while on a bender recently, handed his 16 year old son a pistol and told him to blow his (my friend's) brains out. The kid is scarred for life now, freaked out beyond belief, and he'll never look at his dad the same way again.

Being a slave to alcohol - or anything else - is no way to live. You're better than that. You seem like a great guy, I wish you good luck.

stay strong man!

Take care of yourself SR. Find treatment if you need it. CP needs you, bro. ❤

Been there. The only thing harder than sobering up was not sobering up. Best of luck to you.

Your not a wimp or pussy nor any other negative BS. Everyone here has something they struggle with.

I’ve seen a lot of friends and family struggle with alcoholism. Every single one fell off the wagon at some point, even after years. You got this. Anything I can do, you got my contact info.

All the best, friend.

I'm in your corner, bud. You can do it.

Good luck SR. You're a good dude. We need good dudes in our lives.

Good deal SR, alcoholism is a demon you can fight, and we're all here to help.

Good on you SR. And laying it out for us means there's credibility, accountability, and responsibility. That will help.

Best wishes man. If you ever decided you want or need to do the 12 step or formal recovery thing, I actually know several really good dudes in the program in Atlanta(that’s where you are right?). They’d be more than happy to help you out.

Short & Sweet

If you've been able to quit drinking for years, then quitting is not your issue.

Be honest with yourself and try to identify the TRIGGER that pushes you back, and eventually out of control and in the same hole.

Find out what that is and take THAT to God and ask for help in defeating it.

God Knows the desires of your heart. He can and will help you.

Finally, seek His favor, rather than favor of men.( though it always helps to have the support of family and friends, no doubt!)

P..S I'm VERY confident you can achieve this.

You're my boy, Blue.

You have my number. Never hesitate to use it.

I always admired the way you were cool with everybody on the board. I have know idea how to handle something like alcoholism but I’m rooting for you to find some peace and conquer it. I’m rooting for you.

Take some extra Vitamin B complex. Alcoholics often have deficiencies in them from drinking. Better yet, get tested by a functional medicine doctor who can write a requisition for some blood work that includes a whole nutritional profile to build-up your health.

You take care SimplyRed. I understand what it's like somewhat; grandpa, an uncle and a cousin have been alcoholics.

Red, Earlier this month, things just weren't right. I was tired all the time. Then I got dizzy spells. Had a few at work and they told me to go to the ER. Turns out my Blood Pressure meds were too high and a bad mix...I was dehydrated so bad I had kidney problems...and heart issues. Long story short I have 7 blockages in my arteries...40% up to the two 70% and one 75% I am too far gone to be eligible for stints. IF I don't reverse the blockage, the only way is bypass. Eating bad, smoking and drinking like a fish all contributed to this.

I haven't smoked since the 3rd, nor drank. I am on a heart healthy diet. You are making a great decision unless you want to be 58, in a hospital for 7 days and wondering if you're gonna have to have your chest opened. I am dealing with withdrawal of nicotine AND alcohol. But I sure don't want my chest cracked open.

When they asked me how much I drank, I said, "About a gallon a week." Of what they asked. "Tequila".

Let's you and me live a lot longer and fight the good fight. I am here if you want an ear. I will be going through the same things you will. Hell, I already am. But let's do it and live a lot longer!

Damn, prayers man.

Hope you continue to recover.

Good point.

At least nobody has Haglunds

Best wishes for you and your ability to overcome your addiction the alcohol, it's a very tough battle to fight and I hope you have continuing success, all the best to you and your family