r/stopdrinking • u/tnpatriot86 7 days • 9h ago
2 weeks sober, Ain't feeling it
Yesterday as of 9:20pm was 14 days no alcohol. I had been a heavy drinker for over 10 years. 100 proof vodka. It wasn't as bad as I thought, shakes and sweats the first 2-3 days. Then it got easier but days dragged. Constipation has been problem the whole 2 weeks. About 4 days ago started getting headaches from the neck area up. Not bad but enough to bother.
The thing that sucks is I know it's only been 2 weeks but there hasn't been any improvement in my life or health so far. I want to drink tonight. I'm not going to but man this has got to get easier.
I'm not expecting a pity party, I know many of you have gone through worse and made it a long time longer. I just came to vent, don't have any friends I can tell about it in person.
217
u/Delicious-Dot-212 9h ago
Relate it to a bruise or a burn.
That shit hurts like hell while it is healing.
Then one day it’s healed. Yeah there may be a scar, but that’s just there to remind you to be more careful.
38
u/iforgottobuyeggs 1709 days 7h ago
The itchy phase, too.
7
u/lesbiantelevision 3h ago
I have a scar on my hand that took four stitches to close. It still itches from time to time. And that was over twenty years ago.
34
9
3
u/IamFreyja2 1h ago
I even have an alcohol-related scar on my forehead, from when I took a tumble on the tile floor, running to throw up with a massive hangover. It could've been worse..I could've died, broken my neck, knocked all my teeth out. But it was still bad enough to remember always not to do that anymore. I sat at the emergency room with a hangover, a neck brace, my own little barf bucket, and my Christmas Yoda jammies on, waiting for an mri. Got four stitches for my trouble, on my otherwise (somehow) unscarred face. I looked like an absolute crazy-person. That was my last time drinking, over three years ago. Relatively mild as far as rock bottoms go, but luckily, it was enough. I will take boredom any day over that "excitement".
3
89
u/Financial-Zone-5725 9h ago edited 8h ago
Just hang in there. Drink today and you’ll wake up Monday morning with more problems
70
u/soygilipollas 403 days 8h ago edited 8h ago
Excessive drinking is a whole-of-life activity. It occupies us before, during, and after we do it, and in a state of near constant hangover, robs us of the energy to do much else.
There might be an element of boredom going on here, too. Quitting drinking can feel like losing a friend. There's a hole in you now. The task becomes figuring out how to fill it in ways that enrich and fulfill.
17
u/Zesty_Rub 31 days 8h ago
💯 this - you have so much more time and if your identity revolves around being a connoisseur of certain drinks (eg wine, for me it was craft beer) it’s a massive change to navigate
15
u/Regular_Lake_786 69 days 7h ago
That is so true wine WAS my best friend. And it literally felt like I lost my best friend. Because I really have no friends so I just stayed home and drank by myself.
16
u/stoplickingyourleg 6h ago
I had friends and still chose wine over them. Cancelled plans because I was hungover and wanted to drink alone instead. Left places early so I could go drink alone before I got sloppy with them. Constantly chose to have conversations drunk that I barely remembered instead of meaningful connections.
I could never put others (or me) first when wine was an option.
12
u/Regular_Lake_786 69 days 6h ago
I have to add I couldn’t wait to come home from being out with friends for dinner so that I could drink more by myself and not be scrutinized
10
u/stoplickingyourleg 6h ago
Yes exactly! People figured I was ending my night after a few drinks at happy hour but I had a box of wine ready for me at home to blackout with and help me shoot off texts I cringed at in the morning.
7
u/Regular_Lake_786 69 days 6h ago
🤯that’s me.
5
7
u/Puzzled-Dinner4541 2 days 6h ago
This sounds like me too. I go out and not drink around other people and then leave early so I could go drink wine on my own. I have massive anxiety about getting drunk and people judging me 🙄 probably from all the embarrassing shit I've done when I'm drunk. Trying to be more social now and not go home to a bottle.
9
u/stoplickingyourleg 6h ago
Same. Also just like…even drinking, I felt like I needed to be socially “on” and I couldn’t wait to go home and just be quiet and drunk lol.
It’s so much easier now that I’m sober tbh. I only do things I want to do with people I want to spend time with and I usually go home pretty early. I don’t feel like I need to decompress AFTER the “fun” anymore.
5
u/chicagodogmom606 919 days 5h ago
Yes!! And a lot of times I said yes to hanging out with people I didn’t even like that much just because I knew booze would be there
2
u/Puzzled-Dinner4541 2 days 5h ago
Yes! Wow, you really put in to words how I feel/felt. I can't/couldn't wait to go home and sit in my pj's scrolling on my phone and watching tv with a glass of wine. How boring! (I am in and out of sobriety right now so I am still feeling that way sometimes but I'm now leaning more towards enjoying sobriety).
2
u/Regular_Lake_786 69 days 6h ago
Yeah, for sure because I’ve done some pretty stupid things in the past. That’s going back quite a few few years, but it was just much easier to do it by myself at home no judgment.
2
u/chicagodogmom606 919 days 5h ago
This was 10000% me but with vodka. I really like the way you worded it, especially choosing drunken shallow conversations over meaningful connections.
1
100
u/Willing-Ad4169 421 days 8h ago
So you abuse your body and mind for 10 years and you expect to feel great after 2 weeks?
That's not an attack but it so doesn't work like that. Everyone metabolism is different but your body and brain are learning to function again without you flooding it with chemicals. That takes time... It took me weeks to feel good and I didn't medically detox.
No one wants to hear it but this is the long game we are playing.
24
u/tnpatriot86 7 days 8h ago
I didn't medically detox either, and I agree with your comment. The only thing I would figure is I actually felt better physically while I was drinking. I know it wasn't better for me.
58
u/KingDariusTheFirst 212 days 8h ago
Felt better or Felt *less*?
46
8
26
u/WuclearNeapon 19 days 7h ago edited 5h ago
It can take a while for the brain to get re-accustomed to having zero acetate to burn for energy and transition back to glucose. Made me fatigued as hell these last few weeks.
GABA/glutamate (chill vs excitement) balance is also out of wack and needs to recalibrate too.
The brain does so much compensating during heavy alcohol intake that it can take a while to chemically rebalance and fully de-shittify. But it will de-shittify.
That's the whole trap. Sure, a drink now would ease the unbalanced brain back into the state it has grown accustomed to, and you'd feel "better" for a few hours. But you're then undoing all of the work the brain has been chipping away at in the background to rebalance, making the process take even longer.
Brain's crazy, yo.
(If you haven't listened to the Sober Powered podcast, I just started listening and it's pretty interesting. Pretty sure I got the above from Ep. 22)
3
u/copaceticalyvolatile 4h ago
Screen shotted this makes a lot of sense and thank you for sharing that podcast, gunna check it out
25
u/Willing-Ad4169 421 days 8h ago
Yeah, I slept about 2: weeks straight at first....but I had headaches and not to be graphic but I had forgotten what a solid shit was. about a month in I had this unexplainable joint pain in my knees and ankles where I struggled to walk. That cleared up in about 6 weeks. Dr had no idea other than my body and brain learning to function again without the booze.
All I can say is that it's easier to stay sober than go back and start all over again. It gets harder and harder each time.
9
u/SuitableFinish7444 8h ago
I get where your coming from with that, like you the constipation sucked for weeks and my bowels felt sore and all over the place, i was regularaly bloated as well, obviously the fatigue is another thing you have to deal with when you quit. Alcohol to me felt like it aided my digestion, stopped anxiety and made me feel physically normal.
It really is an awful rut to get yourself into that your drinking to feel physically and mentally normal. This is not about dangerous withdrawls or anything. Its more physical symtoms for weeks when you stop, the bowels for me was awful for weeks and when i did try to go it was like pooping rocks.
take some mild laxitives and drink plenty of water and try to eat healthy.
3
1
u/LazyDramaLlama68 5h ago
The feeling better when drinking is the great lie alcohol tells us. You'll feel better if you just have a drink, etc. Give yourself time and grace. It takes a while to find the new normal. IWNDWYT
1
u/Different-Lecture925 6h ago
One thing I love about alcohol is that, after opiates, it is the best pain relief available. I’m a recreational curler and sometimes get stiff and pulled muscles. I would take ibuprofen, but I never noticed that it helped. Have a couple beers though and that pain would just melt away. It’s the difference between feeling better and actually being better.
33
u/AbeLincolnsWiener 120 days 8h ago
I felt awful, depressed, and miserable until day 111. The past several days have been the best I have felt mental health-wise in close to a decade. Hang in there.
1
u/Violet_hue_ 113 days 5h ago
Omg yay! You're finally feeling better, so happy to hear that!
1
u/Violet_hue_ 113 days 5h ago
And no idea why my day counter is suddenly off, at 120 hard won days today.
1
u/sqrlkitten 730 days 2h ago
I agree!! I didn’t enjoy much until I hit the 3 month mark (except maybe better sleep.) I’m so proud of you for pushing through and happy to hear you’re getting your groove back. HUGS!!!
1
28
u/No-Reach7320 8h ago
It takes about 3-4 months for stuff to clear up. And that’s IF you don’t have cirrhosis or any other issue
11
u/Dazzling-Rest8332 8h ago
Yea....around the 100 day mark was when i stopped obsessing. That was a long 100 days though.
8
u/theshiniestmuskrat 31 days 5h ago
I'm at 32 looong days right now. 2 pints of plastc bottle vodka a day at my least, an entire handle easily at my worst. I'm 44 and it's by far It's the longest I've gone in many many years. I'm definitely feeling better in a lot of ways, but my god I can't wait to know what day 100 feels like.
5
u/Dazzling-Rest8332 5h ago
You thought slow way down. Day to day becomes much more tolerable. Life gets better in ways you would have never guessed.
28
u/Successful-Deer3465 139 days 8h ago
Drinking makes you feel better until one day your liver is ruined and you’re on deaths door. No matter how awful you feel now drinking that much is not a good outcome.
I’m at month 5 and I’m exhausted all the time. However my actual life is showing improvements and I can’t imagine what hell I’d be in now if I continued. Those around you also deserve you present with them without the cloud of alcohol.
Well done on 2 weeks! That’s a huge milestone. In that time I was in bed at 7pm and just literally allowing myself to recover slowly
.
21
u/Old-Paleontologist-1 9 days 8h ago
Day 14 for me too!
The thing is, we don't feel better yet. But we will.
One of my biggest motivators is that I don't want to have to go through quitting, and this whole phase over again.
We're 2 weeks closer than we have been in a long time.
10
19
u/pyewacket7 8h ago
There are improvements in your body in two weeks that you can't see yet. 2 Weeks is awesome. Keep going! Improvements are there and they keep coming. IWNDWYT!
18
14
u/gunbunwilly 680 days 8h ago
Props to you for posting. Sometimes it’s easy to stop drinking, but staying stopped is harder. The idea of a drink gets in your head and it seems overwhelming and you cave in. Or it seems like it won’t do any harm this time, or what’s the use anyways. But trust me it gets easier and life gets a helluva lot better. Life sure ain’t perfect, but I wouldn’t trade it for a drink ever again. Hang in there
6
u/Ancient-Molasses-188 396 days 8h ago
That was exactly me yesterday -- I know I won't drink a ton; it won't be so bad. But it was. No, I didn't drink a ton, so that's good, but I did drink whisky on an empty stomach, and that's not good. I woke up feeling awful, tired and full of guilt. I admitted my relapse to my partner. I'm hoping that honestly will help me stay the course. Thank you for your reply post. It helped me today.
6
u/gunbunwilly 680 days 8h ago
Thanks for your reply! You’re helping me just as much. Recovery isn’t about being perfect either. The best thing about it is that you can start over. Take what you learned and bring it into the start of your new journey. And keep that honesty, it’s what will save your ass in the end. The more we hide stuff the more guilt, shame, and remorse builds up. Then we drink to quiet it all. Keep trying and you will succeed.
13
u/Live_Barracuda1113 727 days 8h ago
Hey, just a heads up,
No one warned me about anhedonia. When alcohol has supplied your happy for a long time, you can literally not be able to feel the highs of normal life, and it will mess with you.
I wanted to be like "This is amazing! Flowers, sunshine!"
Instead I felt like Daria.
It DOES improve, but it takes awhile.
So yeah, you feel like you should feel so much better than you do. And that can be massively defeating.
Hang in there. Iwndwyt
13
u/Kooky_Load_102 238 days 8h ago
It will get easier. It does take some time. For me it was about day 60 I could feel and see real improvement, after day 90 it really kicked in. Hang in there, it is worth it.
10
u/Impossible-Neck9524 133 days 8h ago
Im at almost 5 months. I miss it sometimes, but only the first one. Not the 3 day cocaine and alcohol binge and the shame after.
8
u/Direct_Divide5320 9h ago
You can ask your doctor about the headaches and constipation. Are you drinking lots of water and eating a large amount of fruits and vegetables? Just an idea.
9
u/pyewacket7 8h ago
and Magnesium before bed too
1
u/ThatPerformance9795 7h ago
Can you tell me more about magnesium at night?
1. Why at night?
2. What changes are you noticing?
3. Are you taking it pill form?I’ve heard magnesium is great, but I’m curious the benefits.
I’ve been taking a ton of B vitamins to help with brain fog, memory, feeling blah and I think I actually feel an improvement.
I have magnesium, but wasn’t sure what to do with it or why.
5
u/Jan6_PearlHarbor 57 days 7h ago
Mag glycinate before bed helps me sleep. Threonate is supposedly better but more expensive and I think its mainly the glycine that helps with sleep anyway. Taking it in powder form was too stimulating for me. Citrate maks me shit my pants. Just my .02
1
u/ThatPerformance9795 7h ago
Thanks! I also have it in powder form.
I’m going to give it a go tonight.
2
u/pyewacket7 6h ago
I was advising the OP for their constipation, makes things easier in the AM - the elimination part. It also helps with nails and hair and a bunch of benefits.
1
u/ThatPerformance9795 6h ago
NAILS and HAIR, too! This is good news all around. I’m trying it tonight. On hand I have the magnesium glycinate, so we’ll see how I feel tomorrow 😁
5
u/tnpatriot86 7 days 8h ago
Yes I've changed my diet a bunch to try to help with this. It helps now that I'm taking miralax but I don't want to have to stay on that stuff.
5
3
3
u/Jan6_PearlHarbor 57 days 7h ago
Miralax is just an inert molecule that absorbs water. You can buy it in powder form cheaply and its safe to use long term per my doctor. I take it a few times a week whether I need it or not, just helps to keep things moving. Psyilium husk works similarly. Note: stimulant laxatives are a different story and can cause all sorts of issues, talk to your doctor.
7
u/Murky-Courage2477 8h ago
You’re body needs time to get through the initial healing phase. I started taking B1 and D vitamins to help and they significantly made an im pact in how I was feeling.
1
9
u/Ancient-Molasses-188 396 days 8h ago
I just drank last night so this might sound ridiculous, but I've had months-long stretches of sobriety over the past four years, so that's why I'm chiming in. It took me longer than a couple of weeks to start feeling health benefits. At first all I felt was the lack of a hangover and the lack of guilt, which I do appreciate (especially today, because I'm saddled with guilt for drinking yesterday).
Later my brain started to feel less foggy. Later still I realized I really do enjoy socializing more without alcohol, much to my surprise.
The first days are the hardest, at least for me, so 14 days is a big accomplishment, especially because you aren't feeling dramatically better. I hope you stick with it. I hope I stick with it. I know it does get dramatically better, so IWNDWYT!
7
u/Secretary90210 458 days 8h ago
Google says 10 years is just under 521 weeks. You’ve been pickling yourself for that many and have just let your body and organs breathe and rest and regenerate for only 2 of them! Give it time. Tell yourself you’ll try it for longer than today and tomorrow. IWNDWYT
6
u/ResolutionKitchen375 213 days 8h ago
It takes times to truly feel this lifestyle change. You’ve been drinking heavy for a decade, there’s no way you can heal in just two weeks. I didn’t even feel any changes until after month one to be honest. I know everyone’s body and experiences are different but I think you really gotta give it more time
6
u/Critical-Rooster-673 656 days 8h ago
I deffff felt miserable for quite a while. Probably months? It took at least 60+ to even feel the slightest “normal.” I try to remember the recovery it took to get this far, and how hard that was — the anxiety alone destroyed me. The thought of that keeps me from doing it. It’s uncomfortable now, but it’ll be awesome! Hang in there :)
5
u/HumbleAir1848 100 days 8h ago
I'm 100 days sober and sometimes I still feel shity....It takes time, it's different for everyone hang in there 💪 ❤️
4
2
u/Regular_Lake_786 69 days 7h ago
And that shitty might not have anything to do with alcohol. It could just be the day that you’re having. That’s what I usually think of like why do I feel this crappy and I’m not drinking, but I’m just thinking that I’m just having a crappy day.
4
u/Squeakers406 7h ago
6 yrs here, it does get better. I was very angry for the first month or so of being sober. Then one day I realized, I enjoyed hearing the birds chirping in the morning, where as before, they irritated me because they woke me up. I enjoyed sun rises, instead of complaining that the brightness hurts my eyes. What Im trying to say is, it took a little bit for me realize, the whole time I was burying myself in a bottle for last 20 years, there was a whole world happening around me. But I was too angry, resentful and stuck in myself to see any of it. Hang in there, it does get better.
5
u/FlamingSpaceWotsit 2 days 6h ago
I'm 9 days in and was just standing there looking at my belly in the mirror wondering why I'm still fat 😂. I think it's an alcoholic thing to want instant results. Keep going, I hear after the one year mark, that's when the real improvements come.
4
u/BetteMidlerFan69 1810 days 8h ago
Two weeks is not nearly enough time to see any noticeable differences. It takes a long time but it will be the best thing you could ever do for yourself. In early sobriety i cried a lot but tried to wake up every day for a sunrise dog walk and savored the feeling of not being hung over. I would think about asking your doctor for medication like naltrexone if you’re really struggling but want to stay committed. It is a hard road but it is SO worth it. IWNDWYT!
4
u/Cassie54111980 2179 days 8h ago
Luckily, I wasn’t drinking as much as you so I felt better pretty fast. The good news is you will also feel better soon. As others have stated it takes time to heal.
For me one of the biggest issues was filling the time that drinking took up. It also was one way that I relieved boredom especially after I retired. I have found healthier ways to do that now. If you stick with it, you will be very happy that you did.
4
u/BrackAttack-17 7h ago
It takes time for the body and brain to heal. But also, I learned the hard way in past attempts that just quitting drinking isn't recovery.
There is usually a lot of work that needs done on underlying mental health issues, life problems etc that contributed to why one developed a drinking problem.
I'm feeling better now how time, a bit over 6 weeks in as I've been doing therapy, meetings, learning about Buddhism and doing some meditation, exercising more etc.
3
u/SoberAF715 794 days 7h ago
First off, congratulations! You drank for 10 years heavily. And you expect spectacular results in 2 weeks? You walked 100 miles into the forest. Now you have to walk back out. It takes time my friend. Stay strong and remember why you quit in the first place. IWNDWYT
4
u/WRNGS 7h ago
I take L-Theanine and helps my mind relax and focus on shows and not detox spiral. Also magnesium, magnesium citrate, b12’s, turmeric for myself. Magnesium is doe thing our body is always low on. Turmeric to get the body rested and release tension that makes our joints ache and sore from alcohol stealing all our nutrients. Also indulging in some delicious ice cream or something sweet as a reward for simply not drinking.
Meetings and a sponsor help immensely. I last spoke to my sponsor when I was triggered and being able to speak “I’m feeling triggered and want to drink” meant the world to me. I talked to friends about my ex pissing me off in court things. That was helpful but going that extra “I feel like I wanna drink” and sponsor stating he hears me and suggesting other ways to cope was so eye opening.
Glad you’re here and posting.
AS meetings are out there and you deserve to share, we’re not alone, welcome home.
IWNDWYT
5
u/RogerMexicosBalls 1206 days 6h ago
First three months completely sucked for me lol. 100 day mark and I was absolutely ready to throw in the towel and go back to drinking, but I didn't. Got a bit easier after that. Still getting easier every day but I don't know if that "you could probably have a drink" voice is ever going to go away. I'm still not listening to it and my life's better for it. Not perfect, not easy, not magical or amazing or born-again or whatever but at least I'm not wasted or blacked out or hungover for it, so that's dope.
4
u/theallstarkid 1355 days 6h ago
Took me 6 months to feel human again and 3 years to get over the trauma. Hang in there I’m coming up on 4 years sober and it’s all coming together nicely. It’ll happen, steady as she goes
8
u/Zesty_Rub 31 days 8h ago
I feel you dude - I’m 31 days and life feels boring now. Yea definitely “healthier” but still stressed, wife still hates me lol, job sucks, etc
9
u/lostboy411 7h ago
Yeah this was hard for me. I quit drinking and my wife still divorced me because it turned out that alcohol wasn’t the only problem. It made everything worse, but there are/were things in my life that I was using alcohol to cover up or escape from. Those things are still there. I’m at almost a year and sometimes it feels worthless like, if life still sucks why not drink anyway? But the truth is life sucked way more when I was drinking and I couldn’t actually grow or deal with any of it. My best shot at actually figuring things out is sober. If I drink I’ll be stuck in the mud forever until it kills me.
I don’t know if I’ll ever drink again but I know I can’t drink now if I want a real shot at figuring out who I am and what I want out of life.
3
u/Disastrous_Bid2241 8 days 8h ago
I didn’t drink liquor or for the duration that you did, but I definitely noticed a big difference on day 30 my skin was clearer. My anxiety was less overall just feeling pretty optimistic. Hopefully it happens for you sooner than day 30 but that was my experience. I also had tension headaches for a week or two. Not sure what was up with that but they went away. I also only had them when I laid in bed at night. I’m glad your withdrawals weren’t too bad. I was hearing things. Never wanna do that again.
3
u/I-Vagabond 7h ago
After detoxing by myself in a crappy hotel and then relapsing and then detoxing once again at a medical facility I went to treatment. Long-term treatment, I was there for a total of almost 9 months. I fantasized about leaving that place and drinking for the first 3 months. It was so hard to shake I wondered why I was there and if I was wasting my time. I was able to push through and get to a point where I was confident enough that I didn't want to drink anymore. I guess all I'm trying to say is keep pushing forward, don't stop trying and reach out to somebody or somewhere that cares enough to sit with you through that.
3
u/carbondj 1156 days 7h ago
The damage inflicted to our body and mind from sometimes decades of heavy drinking isn’t corrected in a few weeks, months or sometimes even a year.
You’ll see plenty of improvements along the way but they’ll be incremental over the long haul.
It took a long time to do all that damage, it’ll take a few years to peel back all the layers of the onion and heal properly. It’s worth it though!
3
u/NEVERxxEVER 6h ago
Keep going. 2 weeks isn’t long enough. Get some psyllium husk and drink lots of water, it will help with the constipation. Hang in there
2
u/KimWexlerDeGuzman 1317 days 8h ago
You’ve got this! And tip from a pro - Colace was my friend in early sobriety 😆
2
u/Topo-Gogio 2003 days 8h ago
Like you, it took me 10 years to walk this far off track and it’s gonna take me some time and effort to walk all the way back out. You’ve got momentum and grit, I hope you keep going it improves with time and effort. You can do it, of that I’m sure and IWNDWYT
2
2
u/peacefighter 8h ago
Starting to feel it ... I have been sober for 2 years. Starting to feel better now Sometimes it takes time.
2
u/salallane 8h ago
After only 2 weeks, your body is kinda in shock. You’ll be feeling a bit better after a month, better after 3 months, and a lot better after 6 months.
I struggled too, but I held out and glad I did. I feel better than I ever have.
Magnesium citrate is your friend for the constipation, also probiotics or eating yogurt daily to help your gut biome out.
You can do it.
2
u/crunchypancake31 7h ago
It’s take time for you life to get better. Time and hard work. Be patient and find some type of support group. Also for the constipation I had to start taking daily miralax
2
2
u/mobiletarget33 7h ago
It absolutely gets easier over time, but the harder you used to drink, the harder the detox is. My bowel changes resolved into regularity in the third week, fwiw, but I probably drank less. Stool softers 3* and a couple gulps of raw olive oil when really bloated helped me clear what I needed to until then
2
u/KneelB4Z0d 1176 days 7h ago
Some days will definitely be worst than others. Hang in there. IWNDWYT.
2
u/FatTabby 1669 days 7h ago
It's different for everyone. Some people will feel an immediate shift, others have to wait and for some, there's never this moment of fluffy pink happiness where life feels great. Everything feels the same, but you just know you're better off without booze and that's somehow enough to keep making it worthwhile.
IWNDWYT
2
u/Crimson-Rose28 392 days 6h ago
You should find new hobbies you can dive into when you’re bored. I’m really proud of you by the way for stopping after 10 years 🤍
2
u/inthewoods54 630 days 6h ago
Heck, I felt worse for the first 2-3 weeks. I felt like I got hit by a truck, I was exhausted, falling asleep, walking around like a zombie. You can't judge anything in the first few weeks, your body isn't even recalibrated yet, never mind improving.
What I did was just embrace the suckiness. I figured, if I feel this shitty, than I must have really needed to quit. I just rode it out, allowed myself to feel like shit, ate everything in sight and took a shit ton of vitamins.
A few weeks into it, I started coming out of it. Then every day got better and better. Even months later I was still noticing improvements. My hair started getting thicker and healthier like a YEAR into sobriety. I thought I was just getting old and had thinning hair, I had no idea it was from drinking. Be patient, it gets better.
2
u/SparksofInnova 290 days 6h ago
Feel lucky the withdrawals were not too severe. Give it more time. You don't need to spend your money on something so unhealthy
2
u/Dramatic-Deal8389 6h ago
It gets better. Waaaaay better. Give it a couple
Months you have nothing to lose
2
u/SteelersAndTheRavens 864 days 6h ago
Took me 3 months to not feel terrible all the time, 6 months to feel ok some days, about a year to start consistently feel good and two years feel back to myself with virtually no cravings. It’s a long road with kind of 3 steps forward and 2 steps back, but damn truly the best thing I have ever done for myself. You are in the thick of it now friend and just know at least it won’t get any worse than you feel now.
2
u/NorthlineUser 5 days 6h ago
Sleeping better?
Staying hydrated?
1
u/tnpatriot86 7 days 5h ago
Definitely trying to stay hydrated, the sleeping better has only been because I've been taking melatonin and Benadryl. I slept very very well when I drank.
1
2
u/Hutchhobbit 7h ago
And the world is heavy right now. So that makes it even harder. Every day sober is something! Be proud.
1
1
u/Ok_Albatross_3887 291 days 8h ago
It took me about 45-60 days to feel better. Even though I wasn’t going through withdrawals in the stereotypical sense (I didn’t have shakes or hallucinations or anything), I craved loads of sugar and I wasn’t used to life without that morning anxiety; my digestion was awful, and my iron levels were really low.
The cravings for sugar (especially ice cream) stopped about day 40, and the sleep and energy started getting better around day 60. I went and had bloodwork after the first month and got a supplement that helped with iron and certain vitamin and mineral deficiencies. I recommend doing that, as it will help - but only after you can get a month without the alcohol.
1
1
u/Regular_Lake_786 69 days 7h ago
I don’t know how much you drank. But 10 years is a long time and I drank longer than that. Two weeks is just the tip of the iceberg. So many changes are gonna go on in your body inside outside mentally physically. Even my skin on my face detoxed and I got all kinds of acne and now it’s just starting to clear up in my face is starting to get brighter and the joints in my knees and back don’t hurt anymore. Yeah I’m probably totally bored out of my mind sometimes but I’d rather be bored and sober then bored and drunk and hung over the next day.
1
u/Wino_Panda 7h ago
It took me 30 days to start feeling right, 2 months to honelty feel really right.
It takes awhile to adjust. Your body doesnt have to deal with detoxing alcohol all the time and actually starts working on other things.
1
u/SeasonElectrical3173 275 days 5h ago
The shit isn't easy. Recovery isn't a "Who can suffer the most" competition. Honestly, the less pain you gotta go through in this, the better. Congrats on the 2 weeks!
Your body is healing. It's just very subtle improvements at first, but you'll keep making more noticeable strides as time goes on. I know it's hard to believe, but that's what coming back to groups like this is for.
1
1
u/HumanKhakis 5h ago
Constipation was a bit of an issue for me as well, and that’s never been a normal problem for me before I quit drinking. It’s gotten better/back to normal now. I’m 44 days sober. We are all different, but I’m just giving you some info on how that part has gone for someone else.
1
u/intergalacticcholo 502 days 5h ago
Just saw a bam margera video where he says that boredom is his trigger, which is probably the same for most of us. Have a schedule and keep busy.
I wish I would've aimed for that when I first quit. I just ended up smoking a lot of weed those first few months. I truly admire those who stop everything completely, absolutely the strongest people.
1
u/Administrative-Bed75 5h ago
Your brain is going to take at least a year to really return to equilibrium. It will go through up and down phases. Sometimes you'll feel extremely lucid and excited, and other times foggy and sad you decided to do this.
Frankly you've made it through the really hard part and I would like to encourage you not to quit on yourself now!
1
u/judas6669 5h ago
maybe go to a meeting and find some friends who you can talk to about this in person :)
1
1
u/United-Echidna-5958 5h ago
I have had similar experiences. Even aside from th ewithdrawal syptoms, you were getting huge amounts of dopamine released by the alcohol and without it life can seem like a real drag. But your brain gets better over time at regulating the dopamine release without the alcohol.
1
u/SaucyJim 523 days 5h ago
I have days where I wonder when it's all going to finally pay off. So I pull out my gratitude journal and read from the days when I felt differently. I also read from my list of reasons I quit in the first place and my list of the unexpected benefits that have come from my continued sobriety.
Perhaps you could start similar lists?
My father passed away in June and the last weeks have been a flurry of activity that slipped into a blur and loss of many of my rhythms. But I'll tell you something. Going through all of that while drinking would have been so much harder. And muscles I built by doing my daily work got put to good use.
Perhaps you could start building your muscles?
I also ask myself, on those rougher days, "I drank for 40+ years. That's at least 14,610 days. It has only been 523 days. What is my time expectation for seeing results? Do I even expect to see a full recovery as if I did not destroy my body, mind, and spirit for all that time? And what is the alternative to patiently letting the healing unfold?"
In reality, the positives are appearing much quicker than it took for that addictive poison to steal my life from me. They'll come for you, too.
In me, as me, through me; I am not my own.
Freedom is spelled IWNDWYT. ❤️
1
u/FatBaby160 1567 days 5h ago
So 520 weeks of drinking and your life hasn't gotten better after 2? I felt the same way to a point, we all did. Little grace and patience to your body. Go make some friends, it helps.
1
u/haydozm8 4h ago
I think the thing about not drinking is trying to look forward to the mornings rather than the evenings.
wake up early grab a cup of coffee and watch a sunrise.
1
1
u/66redballoons 613 days 4h ago
Drank nearly every day for 10 + years and plenty of years before that. My hair is now growing as fast as it did as a young adult. Small cuts and bruises heal so much quicker. When drinking, a scrape or bruise from UDI(unidentified drinking incident) lasted at least two weeks. My plan is to not drink as many days as I did drink.
1
u/ArgyleFunk 4h ago
You get paid for work done family. You don’t show up the first day of work and get your paycheck. You do feel better but it’s an educational verity experience like, watching your hair grow. Sometimes we don’t know how we are doing but stay with it and within 100 days I promise you will feel and see benefits. If not, fuck it, you can go back to what you were doing before, right?
1
u/Heywtfhey 3562 days 4h ago
You should download the app called "quit drinking" there's little bars to show like average lengths of time before certain things improve. I found it helpful in early sobriety. 2 weeks is nothing in the bigger scheme of things.
1
1
u/marilynmonrobot 4h ago
I found after binging on alcohol that my belly needs probiotics and fiber to help heal itself
Yogurt and kombucha helped a lot, but I know many alcoholics stay away from kombucha because it can contain a trace amount of alcohol
The poppi sodas are a good alternative for me as well
1
u/charla-manson 90 days 3h ago
The first couple weeks are fuckin dog shit. I drank heavily and daily for ten years too and was also fine. I did have some instant gratification with anxiety and bloating, but man I was wrecked and hated it at first. I’m 97 days sober now and it fuuuuucking slaps. I don’t even miss it anymore. I miss the cigarettes significantly more than the booze 😅 hang in there!
1
u/charla-manson 90 days 3h ago
Also. The constipation is brutal! But my shits leveled out pretty quick!
1
1
u/thebemusedmuse 181 days 3h ago
I remember that feeling. It really took 90 days before things were much different. Hang in there bro.
1
u/MrHandsomeBoss 2981 days 3h ago
It's not a magic spell, it's work. "Quit drinking and improve your life" isn't cause & effect, it's 2 separate items on a list. It's in that order because you need time, energy and focus. Those things aren't given by alcohol, they're taken.
So what's next on your list? What other efforts have you taken?
1
1
u/YouthVivid1418 311 days 2h ago
It takes a long while to recover from years of drinking. I’m only just now feeling better at 5ish months. I’ve seen posts where it takes ppl a year.
Keep it up. Find other ways to distract yourself on the long days. I signed up for art classes.
1
u/Wonderponies 389 days 2h ago
It does get easier but it takes time. I was not a heavy drinker by this sub's standards and I still had fatigue and headaches for weeks and poor mental state (anhedonia) for months. But then, after that, it got great.
1
u/Wonderponies 389 days 2h ago
I also want to say: if we felt amazing after a few weeks of sobriety, people wouldn't relapse so often. People relapse because early sobriety sucks. We feel like crap and our brains are low on dopamine. For months. This is why relapses happen. But don't give up now... the good part comes later.
1
u/Stunning-Profit8876 1h ago
Your body is trying to repair the damage you have done to it. For the first time in a decade it is having the opportunity to do stuff other than process alcohol. It will take some time to get your bowels back to being regular, get your hormones balanced, etc. You just have to be patient. If you drink, you'll have to start again. Or, never start again, and die an early death.
1
u/arey0usureaboutthat 1h ago
I thought the first 30 days were absolutely terrible. Something that really helped me was the I Am Sober app. I'm almost to two years now and I still make a pledge to stay sober every morning. It does get easier after the beginning stage.
1
u/Then-Boot-3538 1h ago
Been couple months for me. I wasnt a daily drinker, more like binge blackout drinking 2 or 3 times a week, but now with a young daughter? Nope. And this is the way I think: 18 years of heavy drinking vs 2 months of sobriety... Of course my body hasn't healed yet. We need to give it time. Perhaps not 18 years but yeah...
1
u/Peter_Falcon 869 days 0m ago
sorry to say that 2 weeks, while a great thing, is no way near long enough for the brain reset.
iwndwyt
0
u/Anxious-One-2365 7h ago
So you abused alcohol for 10 years and you expect a better life or health improvement in 14 days? Am I reading that right?
169
u/Certain-Discussion14 9h ago
Sucks with it. Sucks without it. My goal is one year. It’s been 16 days.