So as the weeks fall off the calendar of 2012 I've managed to avoid alcohol this far, apart from a small blip at the end of January where I had probably 5 pints and a couple of whiskies over one weekend. At the beginning of the year I had quite intense stomach pain and other related problems. Medical advice had me taking more tablets for my stomach and these added to the pain killers I took just exacerbated things.
On reflection it occurred to me I'd been taking pain killers since leg surgery some years ago and also for my arthritic pain, the simple solution seemed to be to stop taking them completely and further medical advice confirmed my thoughts. I wouldn't say I was addicted to pain killers by any means but I'd been taking them for a good few years and sometimes in an involuntary way if I am being honest.
The latter half of January began with a concerted effort not to take any tablets at all and it wasn't as easy as I thought it would be but then after years of taking them the writing was really on the wall. A tough week ensued, gnawing headaches, inflaming arthritic pain and irritable biting urges to take tablets to get relief. I kept my resolve and self discipline and prevailed, for a whole week I took nothing and my stomach problems eased, normality was starting to return.
So here we are at the end of February and I'm feeling good, better than I have done in many a year. I avoided my strong pain killers largely, except for odd occasions and switched towards more anti inflammatory ones. As for drink? Well I was never a heavy or regular drinker, it has largely been confined to weekends for the last few years but not having any for the best part of two months has made feel much healthier.
I guess the whole experience has been an exercise in self discipline and a break for my body from certain substances. Will I still drink? Well of course, I'm a social creature after all but beer isn't as important as it once was in my youth. Will I still take pain killers? Well that's a yes also because some day's I'll just need them in order to function, arthritic pain is an ever unwanted companion and sometimes its nice to get some respite from it. The thing I will consider in future though is do I actually need them at that moment, can I tolerate it if I am say in the comfort of my home?
And what ties the pain killers and alcohol together? If I drink then I feel really tired and ache the next day or more, this adds to my arthritic pain and results in pain killer taking. The best solution I think is to just avoid alcohol as much as possible over the cold months, as I seem fine if I am abroad in warmer climates. The other obvious practicality is that as you get older even though you may drink less is that you still get hangovers (seemingly easier and on less alcohol) and a weekend on the beer takes longer to shake off.
So there we have it, a little confessional of sorts. I feel positive, I feel better within and I seem to have turned into some insouciant bohemian coffee shop 'bon vivant' in order to preserve my love of social surroundings and appreciation of pretty girls.
On reflection it occurred to me I'd been taking pain killers since leg surgery some years ago and also for my arthritic pain, the simple solution seemed to be to stop taking them completely and further medical advice confirmed my thoughts. I wouldn't say I was addicted to pain killers by any means but I'd been taking them for a good few years and sometimes in an involuntary way if I am being honest.
The latter half of January began with a concerted effort not to take any tablets at all and it wasn't as easy as I thought it would be but then after years of taking them the writing was really on the wall. A tough week ensued, gnawing headaches, inflaming arthritic pain and irritable biting urges to take tablets to get relief. I kept my resolve and self discipline and prevailed, for a whole week I took nothing and my stomach problems eased, normality was starting to return.
So here we are at the end of February and I'm feeling good, better than I have done in many a year. I avoided my strong pain killers largely, except for odd occasions and switched towards more anti inflammatory ones. As for drink? Well I was never a heavy or regular drinker, it has largely been confined to weekends for the last few years but not having any for the best part of two months has made feel much healthier.
I guess the whole experience has been an exercise in self discipline and a break for my body from certain substances. Will I still drink? Well of course, I'm a social creature after all but beer isn't as important as it once was in my youth. Will I still take pain killers? Well that's a yes also because some day's I'll just need them in order to function, arthritic pain is an ever unwanted companion and sometimes its nice to get some respite from it. The thing I will consider in future though is do I actually need them at that moment, can I tolerate it if I am say in the comfort of my home?
And what ties the pain killers and alcohol together? If I drink then I feel really tired and ache the next day or more, this adds to my arthritic pain and results in pain killer taking. The best solution I think is to just avoid alcohol as much as possible over the cold months, as I seem fine if I am abroad in warmer climates. The other obvious practicality is that as you get older even though you may drink less is that you still get hangovers (seemingly easier and on less alcohol) and a weekend on the beer takes longer to shake off.
So there we have it, a little confessional of sorts. I feel positive, I feel better within and I seem to have turned into some insouciant bohemian coffee shop 'bon vivant' in order to preserve my love of social surroundings and appreciation of pretty girls.
No comments:
Post a Comment