Alcohol, hints, tips, advice etc.

[hammocity]

I changed Doctors recently as my previous practice will not see patients face to face and as I have heart arrhythmia (since 30, now 64) I should be checked annually.

Anyway, to cut a long story short I’d not had an invite to review my medication which I was told pre Covid was unsuitable for me.

So, I changed Doctors (they’re very good) and I went for bloods and a review last Friday. First off, Blood Pressure, reading was 215/97, the Nurse said “I have to tell you, you may need an ambulance to Ashton Hospital”. She did an ECG, downloaded on a modem and after an anxious wait a person on the end of the test said my heart was beating within normal parameters.

I can’t lie, I was absolutely terrified The Doctor was consulted and I’m now on an additional med to get my BP down (need more but Kidney test required).

Here’s the relevant part (sorry for waffling on), I was grilled about my lifestyle, never smoked, bit overweight now but drink, however I have weeks off, last one was 12 weeks ending just before the FA Cup final. I’ve had a few weeks on the pop, Wembley, Istanbul, golf holiday and generally drank too much for a man of my age. I admitted this, I do struggle with anxiety and sometimes I use the drink as a crutch. I was told in no uncertain terms not to drink until after my next review on the 9th October as the alcohol was almost certainly a major factor contributing to my high BP. I was told I was a heart attack or stroke waiting to happen and I was lucky they have diagnosed this, hopefully, early enough for me to help myself.

Tbh, my aim now is to give up the alcohol and change my lifestyle completely, I’ve had one year of retirement, I don’t want it to be my last. There’s a lot of inspirational people on here, I’m going to try and use your experiences to help me through, I never want to be so frightened again.

Thanks.

 

[Grassland Blue]

I changed Doctors recently as my previous practice will not see patients face to face and as I have heart arrhythmia (since 30, now 64) I should be checked annually.

Anyway, to cut a long story short I’d not had an invite to review my medication which I was told pre Covid was unsuitable for me.

So, I changed Doctors (they’re very good) and I went for bloods and a review last Friday. First off, Blood Pressure, reading was 215/97, the Nurse said “I have to tell you, you may need an ambulance to Ashton Hospital”. She did an ECG, downloaded on a modem and after an anxious wait a person on the end of the test said my heart was beating within normal parameters.

I can’t lie, I was absolutely terrified The Doctor was consulted and I’m now on an additional med to get my BP down (need more but Kidney test required).

Here’s the relevant part (sorry for waffling on), I was grilled about my lifestyle, never smoked, bit overweight now but drink, however I have weeks off, last one was 12 weeks ending just before the FA Cup final. I’ve had a few weeks on the pop, Wembley, Istanbul, golf holiday and generally drank too much for a man of my age. I admitted this, I do struggle with anxiety and sometimes I use the drink as a crutch. I was told in no uncertain terms not to drink until after my next review on the 9th October as the alcohol was almost certainly a major factor contributing to my high BP. I was told I was a heart attack or stroke waiting to happen and I was lucky they have diagnosed this, hopefully, early enough for me to help myself.

Tbh, my aim now is to give up the alcohol and change my lifestyle completely, I’ve had one year of retirement, I don’t want it to be my last. There’s a lot of inspirational people on here, I’m going to try and use your experiences to help me through, I never want to be so frightened again.

Thanks.

Good luck.
I hope you have a long and happy retirement mate.

 

[Zubrman]

Good luck.
I hope you have a long and happy retirement mate.

Second that! Keep posting, you'll get nothing but encouragement on here.

 

[bluegirl74]

I changed Doctors recently as my previous practice will not see patients face to face and as I have heart arrhythmia (since 30, now 64) I should be checked annually.

Anyway, to cut a long story short I’d not had an invite to review my medication which I was told pre Covid was unsuitable for me.

So, I changed Doctors (they’re very good) and I went for bloods and a review last Friday. First off, Blood Pressure, reading was 215/97, the Nurse said “I have to tell you, you may need an ambulance to Ashton Hospital”. She did an ECG, downloaded on a modem and after an anxious wait a person on the end of the test said my heart was beating within normal parameters.

I can’t lie, I was absolutely terrified The Doctor was consulted and I’m now on an additional med to get my BP down (need more but Kidney test required).

Here’s the relevant part (sorry for waffling on), I was grilled about my lifestyle, never smoked, bit overweight now but drink, however I have weeks off, last one was 12 weeks ending just before the FA Cup final. I’ve had a few weeks on the pop, Wembley, Istanbul, golf holiday and generally drank too much for a man of my age. I admitted this, I do struggle with anxiety and sometimes I use the drink as a crutch. I was told in no uncertain terms not to drink until after my next review on the 9th October as the alcohol was almost certainly a major factor contributing to my high BP. I was told I was a heart attack or stroke waiting to happen and I was lucky they have diagnosed this, hopefully, early enough for me to help myself.

Tbh, my aim now is to give up the alcohol and change my lifestyle completely, I’ve had one year of retirement, I don’t want it to be my last. There’s a lot of inspirational people on here, I’m going to try and use your experiences to help me through, I never want to be so frightened again.

Thanks.

What a wise decision to change doctors!!!

Seek all the help and advice you can while the inspiration is fresh and motivation is high. Tell people now that you're choosing not to drink and the reasons why. You might need their support further down the line.

Which leads to one piece of advice from me. Don't look at it as giving up drinking (the connotations of deprivation don't help the mind, its why 1st January diets always fail) but, try and reframe it as taking control of your health or regaining your retirement years. It's much easier to stick to a positive goal or objective than it is to succeed if you're simplistically thinking that you can't have a drink.

Good luck x

 

[mrtwiceaseason]

I find it much harder to moderate drinking than I do to just stay dry.

There's a saying which is along the lines of:
When I have one drink, I turn into a different person. And that person drinks a lot...

That's me. I sort of admire people who can moderate but then I remember the effect that even a little alcohol has on me and I remind myself that it's all or nothing

What's your take on alcohol free drinks ? I personally don't want the taste in my mouth again

 

[bluegirl74]

What's your take on alcohol free drinks ? I personally don't want the taste in my mouth again

My personal take is that I don't mind them.

I was a wine drinker, or gin was my spirit of choice (a proper dry gin, not the flavoured stuff that's so popular now) and while the AF gin is a nice drink albeit insanely expensive for what's essentially cordial, AF wine is grim, even the more expensive ones.

I didn't really drink beer when I drank, but since I stopped drinking alcohol, I've found a couple that I quite like. The Corona Cero is my favourite and the FreeDam is quite nice too if its very chilled.

The true value in the AF drinks for me is that I can quite happily be out at a gig or the football or a work event or whatever, drinking an AF beer without attracting the million questions about why I'm not drinking. While I'm pretty comfortable now talking about my reasons for not drinking, I wasn't so confident at the start of my journey so they helped massively then.

I can see why some people choose to avoid them though. The sight and / or the taste can be a trigger and that's why I don't tend to post pictures of them, either here or in other sober groups I belong to.

The taste point is a really interesting one. Lots of us don't actually like the taste of alcohol. It's the buzz of the first sip, not the taste, that we really crave. Think back to the first time you tried alcohol. Did you actually like the taste or was it the thrill of drinking that hooked you? If this resonates, I'd recommend looking into The Alcohol Experient (a free online 30 course). They do a session which covers this in a lot more depth.

Typically now when I walk into somewhere I've not been before, I ask the bar staff for something interesting and alcohol free. Some places look a bit sheepish at their pathetic range but some places relish the creative challenge! One place even did me a drink pairing menu to match a 7 course tasting menu. 5 different mocktails and a AF beer. AF drinks is a huge market and growing and most places recognise that they need to tap the market.

 

[hammocity]

Thank you for all the really kind replies, I was struggling to sleep last night and thought I’d just read BM for half an hour to try and tire me out, I just thought I’d share my experience and I’m really glad I did, it’s early days but I have an inner determination this time to change my lifestyle.

Thanks to all of you, much appreciated.

 

[mrtwiceaseason]

My personal take is that I don't mind them.

I was a wine drinker, or gin was my spirit of choice (a proper dry gin, not the flavoured stuff that's so popular now) and while the AF gin is a nice drink albeit insanely expensive for what's essentially cordial, AF wine is grim, even the more expensive ones.

I didn't really drink beer when I drank, but since I stopped drinking alcohol, I've found a couple that I quite like. The Corona Cero is my favourite and the FreeDam is quite nice too if its very chilled.

The true value in the AF drinks for me is that I can quite happily be out at a gig or the football or a work event or whatever, drinking an AF beer without attracting the million questions about why I'm not drinking. While I'm pretty comfortable now talking about my reasons for not drinking, I wasn't so confident at the start of my journey so they helped massively then.

I can see why some people choose to avoid them though. The sight and / or the taste can be a trigger and that's why I don't tend to post pictures of them, either here or in other sober groups I belong to.

The taste point is a really interesting one. Lots of us don't actually like the taste of alcohol. It's the buzz of the first sip, not the taste, that we really crave. Think back to the first time you tried alcohol. Did you actually like the taste or was it the thrill of drinking that hooked you? If this resonates, I'd recommend looking into The Alcohol Experient (a free online 30 course). They do a session which covers this in a lot more depth.

Typically now when I walk into somewhere I've not been before, I ask the bar staff for something interesting and alcohol free. Some places look a bit sheepish at their pathetic range but some places relish the creative challenge! One place even did me a drink pairing menu to match a 7 course tasting menu. 5 different mocktails and a AF beer. AF drinks is a huge market and growing and most places recognise that they need to tap the market.

I agree with your taste point ,if it wasn't for the effect of the alcohol I wouldn't have touched it for the taste

 

[splinter]

Over 3 months sober...no desire to touch another drop..never felt better..

 

[N1985]

I changed Doctors recently as my previous practice will not see patients face to face and as I have heart arrhythmia (since 30, now 64) I should be checked annually.

Anyway, to cut a long story short I’d not had an invite to review my medication which I was told pre Covid was unsuitable for me.

So, I changed Doctors (they’re very good) and I went for bloods and a review last Friday. First off, Blood Pressure, reading was 215/97, the Nurse said “I have to tell you, you may need an ambulance to Ashton Hospital”. She did an ECG, downloaded on a modem and after an anxious wait a person on the end of the test said my heart was beating within normal parameters.

I can’t lie, I was absolutely terrified The Doctor was consulted and I’m now on an additional med to get my BP down (need more but Kidney test required).

Here’s the relevant part (sorry for waffling on), I was grilled about my lifestyle, never smoked, bit overweight now but drink, however I have weeks off, last one was 12 weeks ending just before the FA Cup final. I’ve had a few weeks on the pop, Wembley, Istanbul, golf holiday and generally drank too much for a man of my age. I admitted this, I do struggle with anxiety and sometimes I use the drink as a crutch. I was told in no uncertain terms not to drink until after my next review on the 9th October as the alcohol was almost certainly a major factor contributing to my high BP. I was told I was a heart attack or stroke waiting to happen and I was lucky they have diagnosed this, hopefully, early enough for me to help myself.

Tbh, my aim now is to give up the alcohol and change my lifestyle completely, I’ve had one year of retirement, I don’t want it to be my last. There’s a lot of inspirational people on here, I’m going to try and use your experiences to help me through, I never want to be so frightened again.

Thanks.

It's a much kinder, calmer life. And that's just in your own head. Watching City sober was a bit strange at first, now I wish I'd done it so much earlier. You're able to appreciate us and how we play on a completely different level. I never stop grinning when I watch us play, all I did when I drank was miss the game as I'd either be out of it or waiting for the 90th so I could run to the pub.

Good luck, always here for a chat no matter the time of day.