long term heavy drinker

I drank heavy for 30 years, only a couple of breaks of a few months.
Drinking heavy has been a major contributor to stomach problems I have had over the years.
Now due to my current living situation my alcohol consumption has been greatly curbed.
I would rather suck back a few beer every night - but that is not an option - and I have
not had a problem restricting my intake to a few shots (2 or 3 ounces) a day.

Thanks for the reply, I should have mentioned that my health has been the main reason for wanting to stop or at least take a break from time to time to let my body recover. I have bad stomach acid on a daily basis which I'm sure is as a result of drinking and recently my liver has been feeling swollen most of the time. I will take at least a week off and see how I feel, my liver is already feeling better which must be a good sign!
Overall I'm just feeling good that I have the will power to have stopped for a couple of days and hope I can continue for a few more.

If you feel good after a couple days why not see if you can go 30 days without?? Your story does sound familiar, I have heard the same thing from many people over and over through the years. For myself the longest I could ever go without drinking was a day or two then I would reward my performance by returning to my previous ways. I finally realized I was not in control of anything and got some counseling and found my way to AA. Going on 9 years sober and I still miss it and at times want to drink. I am not saying that you are an alcoholic but the place I have heard that story the most has been in the AA meeting rooms.
Our society has become so complacent to alcohol abuse that it is now the norm. It amazes me when I hear people say things like my liver is swollen, my stomach hurts and I cant sleep but I plan to continue using like I have been. Do you really hear what you are saying and do you find that just a little odd sounding?
One thing you need to realize is that alcohol is a drug and you are abusing it to self medicate yourself. Replace the word alcohol with another drug and would what you are doing still be as acceptable?

It's easy to say we have the will power, but as time goes on all the ailments start coming on! I've only been sober for about 6 weeks and in the past have tried cutting back but sadly missed it, just as I do now!...if you're feeling your liver being a bit swollen etc..if you did a few days, why not give it a treat and give it a few more days!..:-)..only a suggestion!..I too have not lost anything yet!..but do know sometimes luck runs out!..it happened to my brother who is again back on track but fell rock bottom!..AA pulled him through and he was the last person I would have thought would have tried outside support!..anyway good luck!!...

Thanks guys, It was day three yesterday and no problems. I know three days is nothing in the scheme of things but it has proved to myself that I can do it, I really don't want to be an "all or nothing" guy but I will continue to abstain for a few more days at least, give my body a break and see what happens after that. I have actually been more comfortable with it than I thought I would be which has been pleasantly surprising but I have not been in any social situations where I would normally drink.

Hi I am sober for six days. I am new to this site. I just felt I needed to read other peoples stories. I am a female and I have been drinking for 30 years with a couple sober months/weeks. In the last couple years have been really bad on and off. I have made a complete fool of myself in the last couple months so I have decided I have to stop or I am going to either kill someone else and myself. So I have to take anti buse and make myself take it everyday or I know I will drink. I am embarresed to say I am at this point AGAIN but I still have my family and job and I dont want to lose that. I am going to go to AA meeting tonight which I am again embarressed to go because I went a year ago when I got my first drunk driving and thought that would have made me quit. So tonight I am making my first meeting again and gotta walk in there with everyone looking at me but I made wrong choices and have to take it. Anyways I am just baffeled at if I dont take the anti buse I would drink and that really scares me so it really makes me wonder how people can do it with out it? Thanks and good luck for everyone out there trying to quit......

Well it's 5 days now and no problems, in fact I'm pleasantly surprised to report that it's getting easier and I'm no longer missing a drink at the end of the day. One big bonus is that I am sleeping better than I have done for more years than I can remember. Proper deep refreshing sleep which is truly wonderful (I guess this is my body thanking me for some time to repair itself!). I'm planning to keep off the booze for a month and then start again with a much more responsible attitude I.E. weekends and social occasions instead of every single day. I know some of you will probably think this is stupid but my biggest fear before was that I would not be able to stop and if I did what would I do instead, but that's proving not to be a problem so I need to find a balance that works for me.

jkent8t8t8

What you say rings so many bells with my situation, fortunately for me I don't need the pills and I don't think I could ever go to an AA meeting, but if it's working for you then I wish you well and hope you are succesful.

Good luck and keep posting to let me know how you are getting on.