No Booze Day 5

Day 5 and going strong. No night sweats for the past 2 nights, less woozy, clearer thinking and more energy....WHOOT! I've been enjoying kombucha or bubbly water (trying out several new brands) at night in my wine glass with dinner. So far so good.

I just had to turn down an impromptu happy hour with a good friend. That was really hard. I could have gone and just had bubbly water BUT I don't think I'm feeling quite that strong yet. Learning to say no in social situations is def going to be a big challenge for me. I've realized I often use booze as a way to connect with people in my life because I tend to talk more and open up more after I've had a few. I've also realized I started drinking more often as a way to try to "deal with" some stresses in my life. Didn't' really help at all in hindsight.

I'd mentioned in my last post that I was going to come up with a list of things I can do instead of drinking when the urge hits. Figured I'd share it here.


Things I can do instead of drinking booze--

Have booch or bubbly water in a fancy glass with fruit added
Try a new mocktail recipe
Take a walk
Go to garage to do some skill or mobility work
Library trip
Go visit a local park
Dance party!
Play with pups
Grab a good book and go read
Take a hot bath
Look for recipes on pinterest
Contact a support person
Journal
Put that $10 I'd spend on beer into a travel fund!

That's my quick update for now! More to come in a few days.

No Booze Days 2 and 3

Hi all. Decided to report in every couple of days on the no booze challenge.


Day 2 was fine. Nothing super exciting to report honestly. I had bubbly water in the sunshine instead of a beer. Went to bed with a headache but I'm pretty sure that had nothing to do with no booze. I also got super woozy while at the grocery store in the morning for no real reason. Annoying! Can't wait to figure out how to make this particular issue stop!


Day 3 WOW! Last night was the first night in a long time that I've had ZERO night sweats! I slept decently and dreamed for the first time in a long time as well. Woke up this morning with some pep in my step. Dinner plans include kombucha in a wine glass so I feel like I'm having a beer with my burger. :) Decided to think about what sort of things I can do instead of having a drink. Came across this and liked the ideas. I'm going to sit down tonight when I can focus and make my own personal list!

Booze Break

It's been a while since I've blogged. Lots going on so I decided to sort out my thoughts here and share my most recent journey.

I've been dealing with some health issues. I'm pretty sure my 45 year old female body is starting to deal with "the change" as some of us call it. I've been woozy, fatigued, gaining belly fat, foggy brained and dealing with night sweats. My primary dr is sending me to the cardiologist to see if my Mitral Valve Prolapse has gotten worse. Based on the way I feel and on my research, I think it's text book perimenopause symptoms. There are certain things that make the symptoms worse and sadly, they are things I enjoy. Booze, caffeine and spicy foods. I can tell you 1000% fore sure that alcohol is most certainly a trigger now. If I drink, I'm guaranteed to wake up at 2am sweating like crazy AND the next day I'm totally hit with all the other symptoms I mentioned a few lines up. I've also noticed lately that drinking is more of a habit for me than a rare occasion treat. I can't seem to stop once I get started and I don't like that way that makes me feel. I feel like it's a huge part of my life socially and in trying to connect with people in my life....but I have to STOP for my own health. So, for the next 30 days I'm going to go booze free and document my journey here. I have one event (good friends visiting from CA in a couple of weeks with a brewery stop) where I'll probably have a beer or two and that's only if I'm feeling like I really want to and know I can without going overboard. No more "oh it's sunny let's have a beer" on a Tuesday evening. It's going to be very difficult to stop...it's built into my life. Wish me luck! I'd love to know techniques you all have used to stop drinking if you too have had issues with it.


Today is day 1. I drank a bunch of beer last night...1.5 at a friend's party along with a shot of bourbon but then when I got home, I kept going. Beer in the sunshine solo then another at dinner. I woke up this morning feeling like shit and was totally woozy. My poor belly is SO bloated. I wasn't going to workout but I made myself get out there and do it anyway. Strangely enough one of the only things that helps me feel less crappy is getting a workout in. Some days I have to drag myself to the garage gym where I literally lay on my mat for 10 minutes giving myself pep talks. I'm watching hubby drink some tasty IPAs I left in the fridge for him. NO part of me wants any. I think I'm truly ready to try this challenge. This is the way it goes though. In two days I'll really be struggling to stay on the sober bus. That's just the truth.