Monkeys Fist 38884 Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 Just pretend you went there all the time in the 80s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McFaul 35 Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 Day 11 today with nee beer :-) Day 11!!! Record in my adult life, 139 left to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christmas Tree 3997 Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 Started playing pinball yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renton 17848 Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 Day 11 today with nee beer :-) Day 11!!! Record in my adult life, 139 left to go. Seriously, well done. Think I will join you and meenzer on the wagon for a while. I'm currently suffering a two day hangover which won't shift. Nothing is worth this level of pain. Mind, I'm I. Holiday next week do abstaining isn't going to be easy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Gloom 19857 Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 i had one of those last week. bit of a bender the saturday night before last and i didn't feel human till the following thursday. been off the sauce ever since, having a second dry week ahead of m holiday next week, when it'll be boozing all week. binge drinking definitely isn't healthy, but i'm as guilty as anyone for getting on it. once i'm past the three or four drink threshold i find it difficult to stop, almost always turns into a session from that point. but if you're going to do that, the odd week or two without a drop is a good idea, i reckon. there is no doubt that hangovers get harder every year you get older though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meenzer 14095 Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 there is no doubt that hangovers get harder every year you get older though. That's been one of my most effective motivations for staying off it tbh. Obviously I've "had" to for other reasons, but remembering how bad mid-30s hangovers had become and thinking that they were only going to get grimmer.... ouch. Good work Stevie, I won't say the worst is over mentally (you'll always have that urge for a pint while you're off it, especially on a nice day or in a familiar old watering hole) but physically at least it should start getting easier. And at least you've got the carrot of a potentially fatal session of pure excess dangling in front of you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Park Life 70 Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 Body don't like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Dynamite 5941 Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 Started playing pinball yet? You not died from tonsillitis yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renton 17848 Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 That's been one of my most effective motivations for staying off it tbh. Obviously I've "had" to for other reasons, but remembering how bad mid-30s hangovers had become and thinking that they were only going to get grimmer.... ouch. Good work Stevie, I won't say the worst is over mentally (you'll always have that urge for a pint while you're off it, especially on a nice day or in a familiar old watering hole) but physically at least it should start getting easier. And at least you've got the carrot of a potentially fatal session of pure excess dangling in front of you. I'm getting close to the point where it's not worth it for me. I've got shit loads of work to do but just can't concentrate on it. Hope to God I feel better tomorrow. Also hangovers with kids are particularly unpleasant. The thought of not drinking ever again is frightening though. A few months or weeks off I can do no problem, but never drinking again is scary. Is this your situation now meenzer? Is your life better for it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meenzer 14095 Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 I'm getting close to the point where it's not worth it for me. I've got shit loads of work to do but just can't concentrate on it. Hope to God I feel better tomorrow. Also hangovers with kids are particularly unpleasant. The thought of not drinking ever again is frightening though. A few months or weeks off I can do no problem, but never drinking again is scary. Is this your situation now meenzer? Is your life better for it? The thought is still a bit daunting tbh, but it just becomes your reality. Mind, I was at a point where I wouldn't have kicked it in the first place without a bit of help, so it's a different scenario really. I get the impression it's a lot easier to be a non-drinker among drinkers than it once was, though - drink-driving was effectively stigmatised starting from a few decades ago so there's often a designated driver around anyway, pubs have loads more interesting non-alcoholic drinks so it's not just watery Diet Coke from the tap, and so on. My life is better, but it's certainly a bit less fun. Fewer peaks but also fewer troughs and a better average trend, to get all HF about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renton 17848 Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 Interesting. I'd be worried by the stigma and insurance issues of seeking medical help. Did you tell your GP? Did he prescribe anything? I'm still worried by the social stigma too, but if I'm honest some of my best nights out lately have been sober (which I'm okay with provided food is involved). What I'd love is just to have a couple of drinks and not want more. Doesn't work like that for me though which probably pretty much makes me an alcoholic. Which means I should consider complete abstinence I guess. Balls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Park Life 70 Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 I've reigned it in the last few years. Once a week and then just 2/3...Feel healthier and all that shit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meenzer 14095 Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 Interesting. I'd be worried by the stigma and insurance issues of seeking medical help. Did you tell your GP? Did he prescribe anything? I went to my GP first. Wasn't prescribed anything but she referred me to the local "integrated misuse service" (ahh, NHS-speak) where I had a couple of one-to-one meetings with an advisor and attended a couple of group sessions over about a four-week period. It would/could have been more frequent but the period coincided with a week's holiday in mid-December then Christmas and New Year, and by the time we got to January I'd been dry under my own steam for a month or so and basically no longer fell under the centre's remit (though the door was and remains open if I were to relapse or anything). Anyway, in my case I think all I really needed was to be honest and talk about it in order to start getting a grip on things, particularly since (fortunately) I wasn't actually physically dependent yet, so it was "just" a habit that needed un-learning. Also (as bad as I feel for saying as much) it also didn't hurt to experience first-hand how I could end up if I didn't deal with things - you see some sights in an integrated misuse service waiting room. Obviously it's on my medical record now, but that's hardly uncommon, it's just that there is (to use the word) a stigma that makes us believe there aren't as many people struggling with it as there actually are. Fortunately the liver is quite resilient as long as you don't fuck it up completely - I had regular (bi-monthly) blood tests for the first six months or so and I'm basically back to healthy levels in terms of most things, and the rest will come with time and/or as soon as I can stop my occasional binge Haribo-eating sessions. too. I'm fortunate in that it didn't affect my work sufficiently for it to become a problem from a performance/disciplinary point of view, though, and it definitely alarms me to think what would have happened if it had. Hadn't thought about the insurance thing either, now that you mention it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renton 17848 Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 Thanks for the information Meenzer. How frequently were you drinking, and how much, if you don't mind me asking? I can imagine working from home might be problematic. It's funny cause you never gave any impression you were a drinker. I'm moving house at the moment and think they asked about alcohol intake for the insurance. I suppose I do drink less than 21 units some weeks...... Think it would be better for me to knock alcohol on the head for the reasons you described. Easy to say this on day 2 of a minging hangover though, not so easy in 2 weeks in a bar in mallorca. Maybe when I get back..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Dynamite 5941 Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 Having alcohol problems on your medical record won't affect your insurance, that's a myth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renton 17848 Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 Really, why not I wonder. It's clearly a risk and they do ask (and can request LFTs I think). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meenzer 14095 Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 Thanks for the information Meenzer. How frequently were you drinking, and how much, if you don't mind me asking? I can imagine working from home might be problematic. It's funny cause you never gave any impression you were a drinker. I'll have been into three figures units-wise by the end. Drinking fairly consistently both daytime and night - as you say, working from home was unquestionably a problem, or at least a handy convenience. Plus (without wishing to sound like an arse) I'm pretty good at the rather limited job I do, so even doing it hungover or actively drunk I can still produce perfectly passable work. In hindsight, not an ideal combination for someone with a tendency to the addictive, I guess. It's still just a mindset shift though, at the end of the day. Quite a substantial one, but still. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renton 17848 Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 It's funny how people's drinking patterns differ. When I was on extended gardening leave I was sorely tempted to drink alone some afternoons, I think I became depressed. I know right now that a single drink would instantly cure my hangover, but I know where that would lead to (being ill tomorrow most likely). It's easy to see how alcohol can get hold of you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holden McGroin 4917 Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 What I'd love is just to have a couple of drinks and not want more. Doesn't work like that for me though which probably pretty much makes me an alcoholic. Which means I should consider complete abstinence I guess. Balls. I don't think that makes you an alcoholic at all. In fact, I reckon the majority of people get that feeling. Its hard to just leave a pub or stop drinking when everyone is merry and you're having a good time. I personally don't drink in the house at all. I split up with my missus about a year ago and I moved her out so I live on my own at the mo. The thought of sitting in on my own having a drink is depressing. Its a social thing for me but when I get out I don't want to stop. I guess there are differing levels of alcoholism of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Gloom 19857 Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 it's all about habit. i got into the habit of drinking a bottle of wine a night on my own when my wife was preggas. i realised it wasn't doing me much good and cut it out. you soon get out of the habit once you stop, though stopping isn't always easy when your body has been trained to relax by enjoying a certain substance. i always found tabs/dope had a greater hold over me than booze ever has, though i can see how the drink can get to you too. pleased to say i'm about 3 years off the smokes. still never lose the mental craving for one though, i can see what meenzer is saying there. i wouldn't say the urge to turn a few drinks into a session makes you an alcoholic either. lots of people have a social dependency on booze, i'd class myself as one of those people, but surely a full blown addict requires a drink to function? i've never been one of those that wakes up in the morning champing for a bottle of vodka, or whatever. i find benders that last several days bloody hard work, especially these days, and hair of the dog only really delays the inevitable. i'd say i have a pretty addictive personalty too. weirdly, exercise has become my new habit in my 30s. it's as addictive as boozing or smoking but obviously a lot better for you. it works in the same way as a drug though - the more you do, the more you want to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gemmill 34742 Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 I got to the point of it not being worth my bother to drink from a hangover perspective in my mid to late 20s. Barely touch the stuff now, but I've said before on here that whatever it is people get out of drink, it doesn't have the same effect on me. It's not a particularly enjoyable feeling, so it really isn't difficult to go without. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Gloom 19857 Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 i think, like most drugs, people like to drink because it can take the edge off reality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renton 17848 Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 Your hangovers you described were horrendous though. I'm beginning to appreciate what you went through. This is awful and getting worse, it's been 40 hours of misery now ffs. Never again, especially not red wine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renton 17848 Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 i think, like most drugs, people like to drink because it can take the edge off reality. It tastes nice and helps you relax completely. After a couple of weeks I also tend to crave it. I was never like that with cannabis, but then cannabis never gave me a hangover. Fucked my memory though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ayatollah Hermione 12772 Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 Your hangovers you described were horrendous though. I'm beginning to appreciate what you went through. This is awful and getting worse, it's been 40 hours of misery now ffs. Never again, especially not red wine. Had probably the worst hangover of my life after a wedding last month where I had been knocking back red wine. Quickest I've ever been sick upon waking up eyes open, straight to the toilet. I had to get my mate to hang my suit and everything up for me since I was just a daft mess. Then, last week, I was mortal and sending stupid texts to this lass which made me feel like a right prick in the morning. So, aye, I'm knocking the mental drinking sessions on the head for my own sanity tbh. I put myself through physical and mental torture with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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