We’re halfway through the month and, according to research, a third of us doing Dry January will likely have fallen off the wagon already. One woman shares shocking photos to encourage you not to give up now
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‘I WAS DRINKING THREE BOTTLES OF WINE A DAY’
Nikki Rushin has been sober for two-and-a-half years. Follow her @ASoberLady
In July 2020, at the age of 48, I was three stone overweight. I had a swollen face that was flushed red and covered in spider veins. I sweated profusely, even in winter.
The first thing I did every morning was vomit bile or blood. Strange bruises had started to appear on my stomach, even though I hadn’t walked into anything. I later discovered that the bruises were caused by my drinking – an enormous daily consumption of alcohol that had affected the clotting factor in my blood. My blood pressure had soared to a dangerously high 190/100, and I was put on two hypertension medications.
At my worst, I was drinking three bottles of wine a day, topped up with rum. But since 16 July 2020, I haven’t touched a drop.
When I stopped, I did it ‘cold turkey’, which in hindsight was dangerous. It could have caused seizures and, at the levels I was drinking, might even have been fatal. I was lucky. And after a few days of shakiness and unsteadiness, my health began to improve.
I didn’t realise how ill I had felt until I quit. Some of the changes happened quickly, others were subtle, and I can only pinpoint them by looking at photos over time and comparing my progress.
Almost immediately I stopped throwing up and dry-heaving in the mornings. My facial puffiness started to subside over the first month and I stopped constantly sweating.
After six months my blood pressure was back to a normal 120/80, and I was able to stop one of the medications I took (the other I still need for an unrelated heart condition).
It took time for the weight to come off because I initially substituted the booze with sweet snacks. But by the start of year two I had lost 2st 7lb. The brain fog lifted and I fell in love with life again, reconnecting with my family and friends.
You don’t have to be an alcoholic to benefit from time off the booze, so whether you want to follow my example and stop altogether or just take a pause, here are my tips for staying off the drink – and sticking to it.
1 Consider seeing a GP
