Thinking of giving up drinking. Pointers?

Karl Hungus · 18-03-2007 1:25pm #1

So yeah, it's probably the hangover talking... But at this stage, my hangover has lasted 2 days now. I feel so absolutely awful, sick to my stomach, and already I've taken over the course of today and yesterday, about 6 panadol, 4 alka selzer, drank plenty of water, had a shower, pretty much slept most of yesterday, and well, the hangover is really taking it's time going away.

The fact is, I enjoy drinking, but the after effects are getting so bad, I think something's just gotta give. Before, I thought simply cutting down on the drinking was enough, and I'd have enough self control to drink only a few in the course of a night, but even after having about 3 or 4 pints, I'd still feel ill the next day. The most it seems that I can manage is 1 or 2 pints while matching a movie or something without feeling the effects the next morning.

I had actually given up drink for a few months at a time before, but it's never really stuck, and I don't know if I do give it up now that I'll stay off it, but at the very least I need an extended break.

So any help there would be well appreciated.

rediguana · 18-03-2007 1:31pm

As you age, cutting down is the only option if you want to maintain a good quality of life.

I'm 27 and hangovers, like yours, tend to be two-day affairs now. I have an interview on Thursday, so I didn't go out last night as the ripples would've lasted until then.

Anyway, tip time:
-Eat before going to bed. Not fast food. Pasta or toast. Something easy. Have the food ready so it's no effort when you stagger in.
-Invest in DIORALYTE (misspelt horribly). It's a rehydration product, widely available. Take one before bed, and another in the morning. It's magic.
-I find a shower a great help.
-Sleep as much as you can.
-Give your body time to recuperate after a session.

Dyr · 18-03-2007 1:33pm

Avoid social situations where you're going to drink.I f you're anything like me all that nonsense about drinking coke or only having a few goes right out the window once you're in a boozer, it's too much fun not to. Makes life a bit boring though

Also, maybe take up some activity/sport where you cant afford to be hungover the next morning as an incentive to stay off the soup. I dont drink at weekends very often because ive just too much to get done in the mornings and i dont drink on weekdays because i cant handle going into work hungover. Sorta works for me.

tallus · 18-03-2007 1:36pm

I'm off it since the first week in January, the ads I saw on tv certainly helped "Every drink you take is doing damage" yatta yatta. I wasn't getting anything out of it anymore really, so that's what lead me to stop. I do miss it the odd time but feel so much better for not drinking, not to mention the financial aspect of it. Guy I know on irc told me he had trouble with it in the past and went to his doctor for help and found out that it takes 72 days for alcohol to totally leave the system. Found it hard to believe myself .
Best of luck stopping OP.
If you really want to it's not that hard to do.

rediguana · 18-03-2007 1:40pm

Oh yeah, I read that Alan Carr book about giving up drinking before. I didn't drink for three weeks after it (impressive for me). It's worth a read. Maybe you won't stop completely after it, but it can change your perspective. He's slightly po-faced and sanctimonious, but there are sound points beneath the prissiness.

Frank Grimes · 18-03-2007 1:42pm

I quit drinking over 2 years ago (I'm 27 now). One of the reasons I quit was to save cash for a long trip I was taking so I had some extra motivation. I hadn't really thought about it being permanent but I ended up just not missing it so I didn't go back, and I was by no means a 'social' drinker before that.

I just explained to my mates that I was serious about not wanting to drink and there wasn't any pressure from them. I still get confused and/or concerned looks when I tell new people I meet that I don't drink, but not from all though. I've no problem going to pubs, gigs etc. and drinking water or soft drinks, even if the price is a total rip off.
I found quitting smoking a hell of lot harder and I do still miss that after 3 and a bit years, drinking was no problem compared to that.

Okie · 18-03-2007 1:48pm

Frank Grimes wrote:

I found quitting smoking a hell of lot harder and I do still miss that after 3 and a bit years, drinking was no problem compared to that.

Just wondering, which did you start doing first? Smoking or drinking. Was it because you were smoking longer that you found it harder to quit?

Frank Grimes · 18-03-2007 1:50pm

Okie wrote:

Just wondering, which did you start doing first? Smoking or drinking. Was it because you were smoking longer that you found it harder to quit?

Smoking, I started that when I was about 15, drinking when I was about 16. I just enjoyed smoking more which is why I found it harder, it was more habitual for me too. I never got into the habit of having a pint on the way to the bus stop in the morning

PeakOutput · 18-03-2007 2:05pm

yesterday was my last day drinking aswell but mainly coz i wana save money for a while

i gave up for a year about 2 years ago after i ruined myselfon new years eve i didnt find it too hard.

if you drive the best thing is to take your car with you whenever you go out i refuse to even have one drink and then drive so that helped alot also if you go somewhere you dont have to pay in its a free night(friends who you give a lift in and out should buy you softdrinks)

it wasnt as hard as i thought but you will have to explain yourself at least once a night to some drunk friend you have not seen in years or whatever

good luck

JustCoz · 18-03-2007 2:13pm

I get pretty bad hangovers but I find if you drink two pints of water before you go to bed and have some bread or something, and then when you wake up have one of those rubex vitamin C tablets dissolved in water it works really well.

I have final year exams coming up so this was my last weekend of drinking for about 6 or 7 weeks and to be honest I'm delighted to have a good excuse to give it up for a while. It's just not worth the feeling the next day. Best of luck OP

Zebra3 · 18-03-2007 2:21pm

Pointer-emigrate!

Seriously, go to pubs where you can sit down. If you're standing up all night, you'll drink more. Also helps if you can hear each other talk, otherwise you'll drink more as well.

beans · 18-03-2007 2:22pm

As you age, cutting down is the only option if you want to maintain a good quality of life.

Reading this might freak you out OP, but it's not really true. I've found it's possible, even easy, to go from the lusher side of binge-drinking on social weekend occasions to zero-drink, soda-water evenings in the pub. It's weird, make no mistake, but it's totally do-able.

Explaining yourself away can be tricky without making it sound like you've got some kind of terminal disease or a raging alcohol problem (a la Henry Sellers, that RTE presenter from Father Ted).

The physical and mental rewards are there to be experienced, and the social problems inherent in saying farewell to our national passtime are much overstated IMO. Best of luck.

rediguana · 18-03-2007 2:25pm

beans wrote:

Reading this might freak you out OP, but it's not really true. I've found it's possible, even easy, to go from the lusher side of binge-drinking on social weekend occasions to zero-drink, soda-water evenings in the pub. It's weird, make no mistake, but it's totally do-able.

Explaining yourself away can be tricky without making it sound like you've got some kind of terminal disease or a raging alcohol problem (a la Henry Sellers, that RTE presenter from Father Ted).

The physical and mental rewards are there to be experienced, and the social problems inherent in saying farewell to our national passtime are much overstated IMO. Best of luck.

Yes, you're right. I was assuming he still wanted to drink a BIT. If he can cut it out completely, better again.

Or is it? People in this country just need to learn to drink properly. Done in moderation (1-2 drinks per session), it can really add to quality of life, I think.

But I completely agree. The sky won't fall down if a person stops drinking. Quite the opposite probably.

Voodu Child · 18-03-2007 2:31pm

Your fitness plays a big part (IMO). Ive trained on/off at different stages and found a pretty much direct link between my fitness and my drinking 'powers'.

I drank as much as anyone since my mid-teens and had literally NEVER had a hangover until one stage in my early 20s when i was run-down, working long hours and not getting any exercise.

PeakOutput · 18-03-2007 2:35pm

voodoo_child wrote:

Your fitness plays a big part (IMO). Ive trained on/off at different stages and found a pretty much direct link between my fitness and my drinking 'powers'.

I drank as much as anyone since my mid-teens and had literally NEVER had a hangover until one stage in my early 20s when i was run-down, working long hours and not getting any exercise.

definetely agree when i was training 5 times a week i coud go out friday night get home at 4 get up at seven probably still drunk go to work and do a full days work without getting any hangover at all

now i havnt trained in maybe two years the hangovers are getting worse and worse

faceman · 18-03-2007 3:12pm

its not an easy thing to do but as someone already said, start by cuttin down before cuttin it out completely. In the pub, trade every second pint for a coke or somethin.

I heard the allen carr book is good too.

If u feel ur drinkin is a problem then contact the AA. You'd be amazed at the age profile of some of their meetings.

pred racer · 18-03-2007 3:18pm

move to the middle of nowhere, my nearest pub is about 5 miles away, and its too much trouble to go for social pints(cant chance taking the car and there are no taxi's. So I dont drink except for occasions (weddings, weekends away etc) doesnt help the hangovers but at least I dont have them as often!:p

Pigman II · 18-03-2007 3:44pm

For home drinking replace your booze arm motion by taking up the consumption of soft drinks instead of pints (about 4litres a Fanta Tropical per session should do it). Of course you will soon become a fat-fúck as a result of all the sugar but at least you won't have hangovers.

Seth Brundle · 18-03-2007 3:46pm

As I tend to socialise in places where I need to drive home, I tend to go for long stretches without drinking alcohol. Choices are limited but if possible I will drink alcohol free beer but beware that Becks NA whilst drinkable (just about) can still give hangovers. Erdinger Alkoholfrei is lovely.
You also have the benefit of watching how people make eejits out of themselves!

InFront · 18-03-2007 4:14pm

Contrary to popular belief, Dublin can be a really cool place to go out without having to resort to drinking as well. Especially if you're out with other non-drinkers (or at least there are non drinkers in the group).

Apart from anything else though, this is your body - it's the most important thing you own; I don't know why some people don't prioritise it like that.

Collie D · 18-03-2007 4:36pm

If you're getting two day hangovers after three pints I'd me inclined to check it out, possible alcohol allergy? Not trying to scare you but that just doesn't sound right

Cake Fiend · 18-03-2007 4:47pm

Collie D wrote:

If you're getting two day hangovers after three pints I'd me inclined to check it out, possible alcohol allergy? Not trying to scare you but that just doesn't sound right

I was just logging in to post something similar - if I was getting hangovers after 3-4 drinks, I'd go get my liver checked out.

Having said that, what you drink could make a big difference. I find that I get much worse hangovers from mixing drinks, or even just from drinking the kind of beers you might expect to be full of preservatives etc (the 'popular' ones). I don't get much of a hangover if I stick to one type of decent beer or wine (depending on how much I drink of course).

Karl Hungus · 18-03-2007 4:51pm

Collie D wrote:

If you're getting two day hangovers after three pints I'd me inclined to check it out, possible alcohol allergy? Not trying to scare you but that just doesn't sound right

Oh I didn't mean to suggest that I was getting 2 day hangovers after 3 pints... Friday was a night of copious extremes. I mean to say that I do still get hangovers with just a few pints, just not to the level I'm having now.

Infront: I'm not from Dublin, I live in Galway.

18-03-2007 6:04pm

I gave up January of 2006. My problem was the total opposit of yours Karl, I could drink as much as I wanted and never get hung over. Sure I'd be hammered but once I got a few hours sleep I was fine. Woke up one morning and just couldn't be bothered drinking anymore. I've saved quiet a bit of money as a result.

My advice is to cut back on your socialising and stay in a bit more, or if you do go out got to the cinema nstead of the pub.

daiixi · 18-03-2007 6:13pm

pointers: stop buying alcohol and say no to anyone who wants to buy you a drink. worked when I wanted to quit smoking.

btw are you having food before you pop all the panadol etc? If not then they'll just eat away at your stomach making you feel worse than before you took them.

kelle · 18-03-2007 11:08pm

I gave up drinking 15 months ago, and I don't miss it one bit. Before that I enjoyed half a bottle of white wine twice weekly, in the afternoons. I decided I wanted to break that habit so when I'd get the craving I'd find something else to do like go for a walk with the kids or wash the floors! It got easier after a few days.
It's easier for me as I don't get out to the pub much (have small kids) and, if I do my husband drinks so I wouldn't like to take any chances with the new random breath testing when driving home.

Gaspode · 18-03-2007 11:48pm

Age is an awful thing. The drinking you could do in your ealry 20s - forget about it, you just cant do it any more without suffering big time. I dont however believe that giving up altogether is the best option. A little booze does you a power of good. Try to keep it under 3 pints in a session unless the sesion is over a particularly long time. Drink a pint of water during the night, and especially ast thing before you go to bed - 2 pints if you can hold it down.

Faith · 19-03-2007 9:13am

The best thing you can do is invest your time in other hobbies and activities. If you've got something else to concentrate on, it might make it easier to avoid drinking.

faceman · 19-03-2007 11:40am

http://www.aona.co.uk/help/alcohol

http://www.stopdrinking.com/

http://www.howsyourdrink.org.uk/signs.php?signs_id=1

Thinking of giving up drinking. Pointers?

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