cutting back on beer

[jim7742]

Hello, I am 34 and have been drinking for all my adult life. In the last 3 years it has gotten out of control. At the time i wanted to quit i was drinking a case a day. I have cut back little by little and now drink half that, i am not saying i have done something great or that the problem has changed. I CANT go to a facility, i have no doctor, i am in a situation where hospital type thing is just not possible. I want to stop...been cutting back but i know the AA people will jump all over me for thinking i have control over alcohol. Obviously i dont, but i find it strange that my beer drinking is almost like a lab experiment every night with the measuring and the cutting back. I was wondering if anyone else had a time like this. I am not in the US and do not have ANY other way to stop but to cut back. Any words of wisdom would be great. Jim

[ibizan]

what does your doctor say?have u tried consulting w/a certified nutritionist?

[ill13632]

so can you treat NAFLD somehow?  you can diet and cut out all the fat maybe only try to eat lean meat but that's expensive for me

[ibizan]

YES!it was most likely the beef skins,undercooked ones will do it every time!

[ill13632]

I drank 2 beers and felt nauseous and sick about 4 hours later, maybe it was the beef skins I cooked too little

[ill13632]

I don't need alcohol, but I'm always thirsty maybe from diabetes.  I think your health improves a lot and you avoid developing liver disease and diabetes and heart disease.

[ibizan]

so what happens if you completely abstain from alcohol?

[ill13632]

I've been drinking too much beer lately and some whiskey from stress.  maybe with the NAFLD or AFLD, I need to quit?  
there is some health benefit from moderate drinking, I've never drunk over 3 drinks a day

[ill13632]

I still feel nauseous after drinking one beer so I should really quit.  I worry that the liver and brain/memory will be damaged by age alone

[crash2323]

I'm sure it is especially difficult for you to quit after drinking so much for so long.  I think cutting back is the only safe way to go if you have no other options.  Suddent withdrawal from alcohol can be very, very dangerous.  You can do it--you just have to keep trying.  You may find you have some setbacks, but don't that make you believe you will not be successful.  To be honest, I have had more setbacks than I care to remember.  But I keep at it, learn as much as I can about quitting (there are hundreds of sites out there) and try to keep myself strong with regular healthy meals and vitamin and mineral supplements.  I read once that if you eat three meals a day, you won't find the need for as much drinking.  I was down to one meal or none every day.  Also exercise helps too.  Keep us posted on your progress.  And I believe any progress is good progress!

[rpooo]

Hi Jim, It's terrific you've decided its time to quit! You can do it too man! First I have to warn you that it can be very dangerous to quit drinking with out medical support. It can lead to seizures and in rare cases even death. It is possible by tapering back just like your doing.

Let me tell you a little bit about myself. I've been an alcoholic for 20 years and for the last couple of years I had been drinking 23 beers a day and spending $600 a month. Basically if I was awake then I was drinking. I would only eat once a day and somedays even forget.
When I was 38 I was diagnosed with end stage cirrhosis on 03-23-10. After talking to my doctor I knew the first thing I had to do was stop the cause of the cirrhosis so it wouldn't keep advancing and my liver could begin to heal as much as it could. This meant it was time to stop drinking.

I limited myself every night as to how many beers I would allow myself to drink. Always decreasing the amount by at least one. Finally I got to a point were I knew I had this and I just quit completely. I had a fever while I slept for a few nights but that was the only withdrawal I've ever had to deal with. Since then the idea is inviting but never tempting enough when I think about my loved ones and the damage it would do to my health. I did it though Jim and so can you!!! I see your 34, can you imagine in only four more years you will be the same age I was at my time of diagnosis.

End stage cirrhosis- Spenomegally- grade 3 varices- hepatic encephalopathy- hiatal hernia- umbilical hernia- Spider Nevi- portal hypertension- alcoholic dementia and gall stones

Oh and coming soon: Transplant

Randy

[jim7742]

Thats a good idea, and non alcoholic beer comes to mind first.  My problem is more anxiety, anger, mood swings when it comes to be about 5 in the afternoon. The first beer makes 5 symptoms go away at once. I will try to keep it together. Thanks for the response. Im holding on by my fingernails and its good to hear someone elses voice besides mine. I just got internet and just looking at forums and other peoples battles makes me more determined to quit...Jim

[sprinker]

find something to replace it with at first.  see if the urge to reach for the beer is emotional, rather than physical.  Most of it may be imprinted in your head.  I'm a wino, and I found that grape juice has been excellent.  It still comes in a wine glass, it looks the same, it has sugar and I can have 5 and still read a book.. plus, no hangover :P So maybe a nice concoction of carbonated water, and something that would have a barley-like taste?  It's a stab in the dark, but you never know.

hang in there.