Alcohol, hints, tips, advice etc.

[Trevor Morley's Tache]

I went to a pals funeral a week ago. Dead booze 49. A few of the old gang have addictive personalities so everything is on 100 on the dial. Drink , betting and booze, it’s always all in. One guy who had a real problem has stopped and now his thing is running but reflective of his addictive personality it’s ultra marathons and very long runs but he looks great and 11 years not drinking. It works for him .

I do 4 and 3 as don’t have that all in personality . That’s 4 days a week no alcohol and 3 alcohol allowed but rarely to the extent of a hangover but it’s good discipline and keeps it down for me.

i also think once you get to mid 40s nature takes hold and hangovers are just awful now and a whole day affair. Luckily if I do have too many I am one of those people where the last thing I want is a drink The next day. I appreciate not everyone is.

but those moderate drinkers who want to cut it back but not stop altogether , try 4 and 3 . Works for me.

those who are stopping altogether good luck to you.

I think pubs and restaurants have far more none drinkers in them these days which helps.

A few years ago now I was coffin bearer for a guy I'd worked with. 40 when he checked out. He'd failed to turn up to 2 medical appointments so his sister drove up from Manchester to find out what was going on. She found him dead in his flat; he'd probably been dead for at least a week.

I'd drank with him in the past, and he wasn't a big drinker back then. In fact he was a bit of a lightweight and we used to take this piss out of him for it. I moved to a different location, and we lost touch. His drinking escalated over the years and when he died he was drinking anywhere between 1 and 2 bottles of vodka a day. Fortunately for me I managed to curb my drinking significantly because I realised I was well on the way to becoming a problem drinker.

I very rarely drink now, and when I do it's no more than 3 or 4 pints or a bottle of wine, maybe the odd G&T. Alcohol dependence really does creep up on you and you can be in its grip before you realise it. I know far too many that have fallen by the wayside. Luckily for me I'd rather have a decent cup of coffee these days.

 

[hammocity]

Eighteen days and not one drop. Sleeping really well; feel great when I wake. Had some blood tests done and liver is not as bad as I feared. I start the company's support program when I return from holiday on the 20th. Saving a shitload of money too.

I have had plenty of opportunities to have a sneaky can whilst out and about on my own but I have resisted. I don't want to go back to lying to my family about my consumption of alcohol. Mrs Z doesn't believe me 100% when I tell her I haven't touched a drop, because I lied daily for the twenty seven years of our marriage, but I know the truth and I'm proud of it.

To anyone currently abstaining or thinking about it, be strong and be true to yourself. Help is also out there in many forms. On here too!

The blood test for liver damage is only an indicator, it’s not the full picture. It’s not as easy under the current climate but a liver scan would tell you if there’s any damage, it’s non invasive and the results are pretty instantaneous.

If there is long term damage as long as the liver is not scarred (cirrhosis which is unlikely in your case) around 6 months off the alcohol should see your liver return to something like normal.

I don’t know if you are aware but a lot of drinkers have fatty liver, this would also show up on the scan, not drinking and eating non fatty foods would also help regain a healthy liver.

 

[Zubrman]

The blood test for liver damage is only an indicator, it’s not the full picture. It’s not as easy under the current climate but a liver scan would tell you if there’s any damage, it’s non invasive and the results are pretty instantaneous.

If there is long term damage as long as the liver is not scarred (cirrhosis which is unlikely in your case) around 6 months off the alcohol should see your liver return to something like normal.

I don’t know if you are aware but a lot of drinkers have fatty liver, this would also show up on the scan, not drinking and eating non fatty foods would also help regain a healthy liver.

Thanks for the interest, hammo. I did consult my doctor and I have a scan of my liver booked for 2nd Nov.
Cheers, (whoops!)

 

[Fat Chance]

I had to break into me pals gaff 20 yrs ago and found him melted into the floor. He'd been a big smart paratrooper of a kid in his time but before his death he'd resorted to shitting himself..two things he said to me have always stuck..he held his hands out limp and shook em as if trying to dry em and said ' i am...i am...i am alcohol '. The 2nd thing he said was ' i just want to be ordinary'...

Alcohol tells you which friends you can and cant have..its a subtle demon mother.

 

[hammocity]

Thanks for the interest, hammo. I did consult my doctor and I have a scan of my liver booked for 2nd Nov.
Cheers, (whoops!)

I think that should put your mind at ease. I was worried going for mine but the Liver Doc said after the scan my liver was too light in colour but to cut back in the booze. Good luck

 

[Trevor Morley's Tache]

I had to break into me pals gaff 20 yrs ago and found him melted into the floor. He'd been a big smart paratrooper of a kid in his time but before his death he'd resorted to shitting himself..two things he said to me have always stuck..he held his hands out limp and shook em as if trying to dry em and said ' i am...i am...i am alcohol '. The 2nd thing he said was ' i just want to be ordinary'...

Alcohol tells you which friends you can and cant have..its a subtle demon mother.

That sound grim!

Alcoholism is such a debilitating disease. It's all too easy to say that alcoholics only have themselves to blame, but it's more nuanced than that. From my experience it is a mix of personality type, circumstance and culture. This is why there are a lot of military/ex-military people who end up as problem drinkers.

 

[Nebuchadnezzar]

Keep it up folks. I'm coming home this weekend for the first time in a year and considering alcohol free options when I'm out with the lads, though my opinion changes depending on how I feel. Traditionally this would have been a beer and coke bender ending at 5am with me behaving erratically but my Class A days are over, my head has been through far too much in the last 18 months to exacerbate it with a bag of god knows what.

 

[Trevor Morley's Tache]

Keep it up folks. I'm coming home this weekend for the first time in a year and considering alcohol free options when I'm out with the lads, though my opinion changes depending on how I feel. Traditionally this would have been a beer and coke bender ending at 5am with me behaving erratically but my Class A days are over, my head has been through far too much in the last 18 months to exacerbate it with a bag of god knows what.

If you have never been out with a bunch of your mates and stayed sober while they get absolutely w@nkered it really is an eye opener. ;-)

 

[blue b4 the moon]

Not a massive drinker but certainly like a few, I'll have had more than the safe amount of units most weeks but not shitfaced apart from the odd Wembley trip on the coach etc.

Sort of fell into a sort of stoptober this month for a variety of reasons, not booze related just 'life' situations.


I have had a drink it just seemed to happen....a pint after golf twice, when I realised I'd not had anything else decided to go the month. Usually drink Vodka at home but not been near a spirit since the end of September.

Certainly won't do my any harm to have a break.

For those who have bigger issues, take care and good luck.

 

[Fat Chance]

Certainly grim trev..melting to death..its alcohol..the stuff we start fires with.

Its like its got a mind of its own, when anybody goes near to what caused the sczym in its host it will attack ya...i recall an afternoon with me pal where he tried to sniper butt me, then burst into tears telling me ' but i luv you' , then tried to butt me, luv, butt, luv ,butt...on repeat..i had the jeckyle and the hyde in me grip. At that moment i understood fully what he meant when he said ' i am alcohol'.