When I first quit alcohol I only knew one person who had achieved the same and he had been through rehab and was a member of AA. He told me he wasn’t allowed to risk any association with alcohol whatsoever which included staying well clear of food cooked in alcohol, medicines with alcohol as an ingredient, and alcohol based mouthwash. He had been told that even one sip of alcohol could turn him back into being an alcoholic and even after twelve years I know he still follows that same doctrine.
I copied his example assuming the same thing would happen to me and I still strictly avoid any food that has been cooked using alcohol. For one thing it is unnecessary so why would I want alcohol based food, and secondly on one occasion I have had a desert that I am sure had alcohol in it and it made me feel very queasy and sick – the sort of feeling I remember from my drinking days and getting about three in the morning after a few hours spent spinning in a pool of sweat in the bed and before throwing up. Not nice!
So I also tried non-alcohol mouthwash for a couple of years. I assumed the AA were worried that their members might be tempted to swallow the mouthwash and discover the delights of alcohol once more, and this notion had got into my head. Unfortunately, the non-alcoholic washes are useless in comparison so I have finally gone back to using ones with alcohol as the main ingredient.
Do I always spit out? Yes of course. Am I ever tempted to have a bottle of wine or two because I have used an alcohol based mouthwash? No, of course not. Am I tempted to swap the mouthwash for vodka? Never in life! Do I feel like a failure because an alcohol based fluid has been in contact with my mouth? No, certainly not.
It seems there is a lot unnecessary paranoia associated with alcoholism and ex-alcoholics. As I make very clear in my books, once you stop drinking forever you are no longer an alcoholic but it took me a long time to realise this! You do not need to run scared of alcohol, it is just that drinking it will no longer be part of your life. Enjoy your gargling!
I copied his example assuming the same thing would happen to me and I still strictly avoid any food that has been cooked using alcohol. For one thing it is unnecessary so why would I want alcohol based food, and secondly on one occasion I have had a desert that I am sure had alcohol in it and it made me feel very queasy and sick – the sort of feeling I remember from my drinking days and getting about three in the morning after a few hours spent spinning in a pool of sweat in the bed and before throwing up. Not nice!
So I also tried non-alcohol mouthwash for a couple of years. I assumed the AA were worried that their members might be tempted to swallow the mouthwash and discover the delights of alcohol once more, and this notion had got into my head. Unfortunately, the non-alcoholic washes are useless in comparison so I have finally gone back to using ones with alcohol as the main ingredient.
Do I always spit out? Yes of course. Am I ever tempted to have a bottle of wine or two because I have used an alcohol based mouthwash? No, of course not. Am I tempted to swap the mouthwash for vodka? Never in life! Do I feel like a failure because an alcohol based fluid has been in contact with my mouth? No, certainly not.
It seems there is a lot unnecessary paranoia associated with alcoholism and ex-alcoholics. As I make very clear in my books, once you stop drinking forever you are no longer an alcoholic but it took me a long time to realise this! You do not need to run scared of alcohol, it is just that drinking it will no longer be part of your life. Enjoy your gargling!
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