Alcoholic or not?

mcast123

mcast123

mcast123

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8 Feb 2006
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My average week goes something like this...

Mon
4 pints after work
Tue
4 pints after work
Wed
no booze
Thu
4 pints after work
Fri
8 pints after work
Sat+Sun
no booze

I think that's about 40 units average per week, recommended is 25 or so. The days that I don't drink, I have a mild craving sometimes, so I reckon I'm almost an alcoholic.

Like any addiction, I just need to exercise some willpower and cut down, but does anyone have any tips to help?

How much do you lot drink, if anything?
 
I used to buy 4 cans every night of the week. I used to feel groggy in the morning and never had any money.

I decided enough was enough and cut down. I only drink at home on Friday and Saturday night now and feel much happier for it. I also joined the gym to give me something to do.

I've not been to the gym for a few weeks now due to my car having no tax or MOT so started on my routine of drinking during the week... you can really tell when the weight starts coming back :(
 
I don't drink a lot but I tried to give up for lent once and didn't last long.

Usually I will go out 2 or 3 times a week, could be any night of the week. Will have a couple of pints of ale in the pub at about 1900, sit down in a restaurant for about 2030, between two get through a bottle of white, bottle of red and a half bottle of dessert wine. Maybe a glass of port. Then afterwards will drink a few Gin and Tonics. Skip lectures next morning due to being hammered and feel fine by lunch time (as long as the wine is of sufficient quality!)
 
mcast123,

Try and go one week without any booze at all, if you cannot, you have a problem. You are a heavy drinker and I strongly recommend that you see your doctor to discuss it, at the very least cut it down a bit.
 
i gave it up, had my first pint on sunday in about 6 weeks :)

suprising how much better you feel and how much money you save

MW
 
AJ you hit the nail on the head, a week without alcohol would be difficult to do.

As for doctors, I think their only solution would be a "fight club"esque therapy group or something, unless there's a nicotine patch for alcohol :p

Time for more google searches
 
Same with smokers really, if you can manage 3 days without a cigg you can quit.

Did that myself a year ago although with a slight twist. bought a pack of 10 on a friday and said to myself if i can make that packet last until monday i can quit (used to smoke 20 a day at the time). monday morning come and i had 3 left so i binned the packet and havent smoked since, funny thing is you dont realise how much it stinks until you smoke then quit.

little more on topic, the only times i drink are at birthdays or christmas rarely drink socially rather save the money than **** it all out a couple hours later.

At the rate you consume alchohol its costing you atleast 50 quid a week thats £2400 a year or to put it in relative terms a high-end rig every year.
 
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I hardly drink nowadays, most weekends I don't even bother unless I'm going out, went through a phase of drinking every night and one day when I had no beer in the house I just stopped drinking or the hell of it. If only I could give up smoking, every time I try and quit I fail :(
 
If you are worried about how much you drink then yes, you might have a problem. AJUK gave you good advice, if you can go without for a week without any issues you should be ok.

As for how much I drink it varies on a weekly basis, in pint terms it could be anywhere from 0 to 40 probably but that would be a fairly heavy week with me going out most nights of the week. I quite often go to the pub with mates after sports or something just to relax and that is usually just a couple of pints.
 
I drink maybe once a month. When I do drink, it tends to be a lot - 10-15 sprits+mixers. If I drink at home, I can easily get through a bottle of vodka.

It would be better for me to drink a small amount regularly I'd guess.
 
The fact that you think you might have a problem is a big sign that you may very well have one. Drinking 4 out of 7 days a week and still craving a drink, even if it's only a mild craving, is not normal. There's nothing wrong with looking forward to a pint after work on a Friday if you haven't had a drink all week but what you describe isn't normal.

I suggest you go have a word with your GP, he/she will be able to tell you whether or not you have a problem and will be able to offer advice. I'd recommend you do this ASAP as alcoholism can creep up on you and turn you into a shadow of a man in a very short space of time. Take action NOW and do not dismiss a doctor because you think they'll send to to an AA meeting. Alcoholism works in many strange ways, go see a professional NOW.

Good luck :)
 
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I don't drink. I've tried it just to see the effects and certainly didn't find them desirable. A headache, dizzyness and it becoming difficult to balance; mabye it affects different people in different ways :confused: . Agree with the comments so far, you will save money if nothing else by giving it up/cutting down :D . I wouldn't say that your drinking was alchoholic though, if it were you'd need to have drink every day? If you find it hard to go without then it may be a problem though.
 
Dr.EM said:
I wouldn't say that your drinking was alchoholic though, if it were you'd need to have drink every day? If you find it hard to go without then it may be a problem though.
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That's not right. Alcoholics can sometimes go without drink for up to a week without problem but the longer they go, the craving gets bigger and they eventually give in. The longer they leave the problem by pretending it doesn't exist, the more they give in to the cravings and the cravings get stronger in shorter periods of time.
Alcoholics aren't necessarily airlocked 24/7. They might just drink a few pints a day but this can and usually does increase with time.
 
I tend to go a bit mad during the summer months - we spend a lot of weekends on the Norfolk Broads and the pubs up there are great. Between arriving on Friday night and coming home again on Sunday evening, on average I'd probably put away about 10 pints of Southwold's finest real ale. Could possibly be classed as binge drinking, I s'pose.

Some people drink that much on a Friday night alone FFS and if I'm having that much at weekends regularly, then I won't go out on the lash during the week. As it is, I can honestly say hand on heart that I don't crave a drink the rest of the week. If there's a bottle of wine in the house I might chill out and have a couple of glasses, but if not I won't go out and get one especially. That said, I've just bought a couple of books about making your own wine - although that's more to give me some sort of hobby (other than those involving a computer) over the winter! Wouldn't be any damn good if I was an alchy anyway - it needs several months of storage to be at its best!

I'm the same with tobacco - I never touch cigarettes, but if the mood takes me I'll have a cigar with a pint, if it doesn't then I won't. You could literally count on one hand the number of cigars I've smoked this year. I don't think I need to be concerned about my drinking and I'm even less concerned about my smoking.
 
I think I posted a similar thread on here a while back... was putting away maybe double of the OP a week... but it wasn't an addiction much as others disagreed - I sometimes have a week of a few pints and others the opposite - as long as you know you can live without your fine imo :)
 
not alchoholic but i used to drink silly amounts when working away , well over twice the op :( its got bad and i even lied about how much id been drinking to stop me sounding like an alchy

left my body ruined and after doctors pointing out how screwed up i could get i stopped.

only drink once on a weekend now and i feel a whole lot better healthwise
 
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mcast123 said:
I think that's about 40 units average per week, recommended is 25 or so. The days that I don't drink, I have a mild craving sometimes, so I reckon I'm almost an alcoholic.
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Congratulations. Keep up the good work and you'll be there in no time :p
 
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