I became very ill and bled internally. I was in hospital for 3 weeks.

I don't consider mine a bad story. I was desperate. I needed to do something to stop drinking. I was drinking from before sun up to after sundown. I was drinking all day at work. I would keep a small buzz going all day long. Then at quiting time it was time for serious drinking. My wife and my life had all blown up in my face. I was miserable, and fixing to blow up . I went to my first AA meeting. I drank about 4or5 beers before I went just to keep from jumping out of my skin. I then found DS. I started cutting down, and I quit drinking during the day. I was shaky, anxious,pissed off, paranoid about everything like my job, my friends, and my sanity. I finaly cut myself down to 10 beers a night. Sunday 7-13-08 I quit drinking. I felt like crap and walked around with a crap attitude. I was scared I was going to blow up like my wife did. I had 5 emergency beers in the fridge, just in case I started to freak out. I posted on DS, when am I going to crash? I got a lot of advice, and support. My AA group was there to help me, and boy howdy I was needful. In 5 days I was physicaly Ok. Mentaly I was still anxious and felt like some thing bad was going to happen to me. I did not feel like me. I felt like I was looking through some one elses eyes. I started working the steps and reading the book in earnest.I went to meetings, I listened, and then with 14 days sobre the serenity prayer hit me. Let me accept the things I cannot change. That phrase lifted about 3/4 of the weight off of me. I am not angry all the time now, because I know I cannot change these things , and worrying won't change it either. I have a very long way to go, but I have direction and hope for a better way of life than I had. My name is Randy and I am an alcoholic

I could'nt get any sleep till I got on my knees Handed all my fear,insecurity,ambition,resentment,shame and general emptinedd over to god whom I do understand is capable of doing for us that which we cant do for ourselves-
An action to take and test perhaps!

I got my last DUI and had nowhere else to go as I was about to lose my job and was about to lose my home. I had no choices left but to look at getting sober so, I came to AA crying. AA told me to "Keep coming back" and it had been a long time since anyone had told me that. I have been doing just that since Feb 1987.

I became physically dependent outside of social drinking. I was self medicating for another illness. It took a long time but finally, I found an answer. LOL! That answer is still very hard to deal w/!

for me it has just been coming for years....i can think of countless bad stories but I just turned 30 and told my self this has to be it....I do not want to continue to ruin my life and push everyone I love away....i just want a better life.....

I nearly lost my 2 daughters, Husband and grandchildren, but thank God I tried and am still trying to stay sober. I'm thanfull I got helped before it was too late and I lost everything precious to me.

What got me sober was moving to a new village where I thought life would be perfect because of course, it wasnt me that was the problem, it was where I was living! haha Thats what my disease would have me believe!

Within a week I was waking up in a police cell with no recollection of what happened to get me there (I was out with my parents the night before, we had gone out for a meal and 'few' drinks!). Luckily, this time, I had money on me to get a taxi home.

My parents were staying with me and when my Mum opened the door to me, for the first time ever I noticed how old she was....I saw the pain/love in her face. It was the wake up call I needed.

The next day I went to my first AA meeting. The next week I admitted I was an alcoholic and broke down in tears. It took me over 3 months of 'keep coming back' to get sober (to realise I had to be there for me and not just for my mum).

I don't think this is a bad story, it is how I got where I am. There have been some good times along the way, but some ruddy awful too. Now, in sobriety, I am having awesome times :)

April 1, 13 years ago, i had been drinking all night long and my ex too my daughter who is now 16 was 3 at the time, and my ex had been drinking all night too - the only thing i do remember about that night is that we ran out of gas coming home about 2 stoplights from the house - a cop actually drove us home, instead of jail, amazing - and when i awoke the next day, that's all that i could remember, is that it could've been jail. In addition to drinking life up to that night, which is way to long to explain, i decided this is was not a life for myself or my daughter. i also got physically ill each and every time i drank - severely ill - so i decided not to drink anymore and i haven't - 13 years now, no alcohol, no cheat, no fall off the wagon, no nyquil, no vanilla extract, no mouthwash, no food cooked with alcohol, including bbq, no nothing. I am Lutheran and we only have real wine at communion, but i pray before and after communion and i drink from the common cup so i can truly sip, less than sip, other than have to drink the whole amount in the individual cup. i asked my pastor about this and he's prayed with me on numerous ocassions - about the real wine - it has never affected me or jump started into a binge - i feel that' it's because it's blessed and not intended for harm but for good -normally i just allow the wine to touch my lips - the sip i take comes from licking my lips - that's how much i control it as i don't want to dispute my faith, as without my faith I would not be sober, and our belief in communion - i need communion as much as I need sobriety. Lutherans like Catholics have communion weekly. 14 years drug free and 13 years alcohol free. My now ex was also an alcoholic and he never stopped drinking, still has not - so gaining sobriety with an alcoholic spouse was very difficult but it was important to me and my child (I now have 2) so i did it!