Too Much to Drink for Too Long?
Question by here_lies_freedom: Too much to drink for too long?
Even though I drink the equivalent of 8 beers only at night(never during the day) in Vodka, it is a habit. I start at a certain time, and drink until i’m out. I started due to a problem falling asleep and it became a habit. Its strange because last night, I was like, “I don’t think I want to drink tonight”, I ended up drinking anyway which resulted in a heavier than usual hangover. Then tonight, I felt even less like drinking, to the point to where I waited a long while before pouring a drink(3 hours past the usual time), and when I did, I poured in incriminates instead of full a glass as if I was testing myself. By the time I reached not even my normal half way point, i vomited everything I drank, plus a bit of blood and came out of it hungry as can be and drinking lots of water.
Despite the fact that i’m now dead sober after this episode, i’m not craving a drink, in fact, its the last thing I want know. Is it possible that a person’s body can naturally intoxicate itself, starting with the mind sending a mere warning sign, “Okay, thats enough”, followed by the body itself taking more drastic measures to ensure the job is completed if the previous message is ignored. I mean, before I took a drink tonight I was to the point to where I was looking up withdrawal symptoms to know what to expect, then shortly after I took a drink, BAM, its like my body says, “Well, if your not gonna do something about it, I am!”. It does seem like i’ve been coughing up phlem stronger than usual this past week, I suppose it could be related. After tonight, to be honest, I really don’t want to have another drink for a while. Now that I think about it, it seems i’ve slowely been slowing down, as if my body has been rejecting it more and more. I await your answers, in the meantime, i’m going to go have a taco and a glass of water. Will probably need something to help me sleep as well as I suffer from insomnia which lead to drinking in the first place.
Note that I never get sick, the only time I do is if I exceed my normal limit by more than 50%. It was seriously like my body just simply didn’t “want” it.
One more thing. The only reason I decided to drink tonight was that while reading about quitting, what I read was scary. Some things said quitting without medical help can even be fatal, though a friend of mine said I didn’t drink enough for it to come to that. Despite that, after a couple hours, I had tremors, that was enough to make me say, “maybe I need to wean myself off”, which of course lead to the circumstances of this post.
Best answer:
Answer by Ron
I’m a recovered alcoholic in my fourth year of sobriety and you remind me so much of ME!
I made a similar excuse to my doctor when I was told that I drank too much “It can’t be a problem with me because I’m never ill and never get hangovers”, she just told me that my body was becoming tolerant to it and to cut down (not much use to an alcoholic).
Your liver will almost certainly be affected which will in turn affect how your drinking now affects you, a simple liver function test of your blood by your doctor will either confirm this or not.
The recommended safety limit for men is 21 units of alcohol per week with no more than four of those units a day, if for instance the beer you drink is a 440ml can of average strength beer (4.5%abv) that ONE can is equal to 2 units of alcohol, you can see how quickly you can pass your safety limit with the inevitable consequences to your liver.
http://www.patient.co.uk/health/Alcohol-and-Liver-Disease.htm
It’s good that you recognize your problem now, I now work in an alcohol rehab unit and also for AA on their 24hr telephone advice line so you are welcome to email me at any time.
Your absolutely right not to go ‘cold turkey’ it can lead to fits and death for a heavy drinker, in rehab, a client stops drinking from day one, and after a check up by our doctor they are put on a course of Librium for 10 to 14 days depending on the degree of the alcoholism, the dose is reduced to zero gradually over the course, (much like nicotine patches), the Librium mimics the effect of the alcohol and therefore weans the body off it. We also give clients vitamin B supplements as these are depleted by alcohol abuse.
Detoxing the body is only the first step for an alcoholic, it does not address the root cause of the alcoholism, many alcoholics soon go back to their old ways after a short period of time.
This is where AA comes in, also from day one we start the the AA program of recovery, it rarely fails those who stick by it, not only haven’t I touched a drop of alcohol since day one, but by the end of the program, the DESIRE to ever drink again was completely removed.
You can of course do the detox and the AA program yourself, just ask your doctor about the Librium course and if you agree that AA meetings are necessary for you then they are very easy to find.
http://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk
By the way, I was 64 when I joined AA, so it’s never too late to save your life.
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