I've Been Sober for 184 Days -- My Experience (So Far)

Shortly before my 30th birthday, I got an early surprise: A trip to the ER.

I spent 3-days in the hospital.

It was a mix of pain meds, IVs, and rest. They said I had pancreatitis and I was at risk of some very serious troubles if I hadn't come in (along with problems that would eventually spring up... like cancer).

So:

I went sober.

Those 3 days were the absolute worst.

It was a combination of shakes, no appetite, irritability, and hallucinations. I thought there were times when demons were coming in an out of my room (but turns out it was the nurses).

I got home and had long discussions with my friends, family, and girlfriend.

It was troubling.

I vowed I wouldn't drink again and here I am at 184 days. I've saved (literally) thousands -- I was easily drinking between $15 - $30 worth of cheap booze/hard alc a day then going even harder on the weekend. In total, I was downing about a full bottle every two days. A lot of the days I'd drink two large bottles of wine along with about 10-15 beers.

It was a job to stay drunk, basically.

Here's what happened when I stopped...

The first couple of weeks I could barely sleep. I'd stay up 36-48 hours because my body was super wired. Plus, every time I started to doze off I'd have terrible hallucinations and sleep paralysis. I was able to get some sleep because of the meds they provided but even then it sucked.

They put me on a vitamin regiment, too.

• Multi-vitamin
• Folic acid
• Vitamin D3
• Magnesium
• Amino acids

I also had to take Omeprazole to keep my stomach acid in check because I was vomiting like crazy + it could spur pancreatitis.

Turns out I was getting a rash around this time.

I did a bit of reverse engineering to figure out it was the magnesium so I stopped that.

Fast forward...

I was about a month in and things were going great. My energy was up. I was able to stay focused on projects. Memory was coming back. My appearance was improving. All-around, I felt amazing.

Fast forward again...

Here I am 184 days in.

I consider each day I don't drink a win.

Since then, I've taken on new projects (freelance work), got back into reading, lost a bit of weight, paid off a credit card, started back on paying down my student loans, and traveled a bit. I've even gone to parties without any troubles even with people drinking around me -- I keep thinking "If I start this it'll never just be one beer... it'll happen all over again and that's not worth it".

I drink a lot of coffee now (A LOT).

I wanted to share this because I've only kept it to my close family and a few friends. It was a demon that was on my shoulders. I was a functioning alcoholic. And I don't ever want to go back.

For anyone going through these troubles: YOU CAN DO THIS.

It gets better.

So, so much better.