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Alcohol. A sensible discussion.

  • 01-11-2014 4:19am
    #1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,745 ✭✭✭


    Anyway, so my doctor warned me about my alcohol intake recently. Basically, I've drank more than 65 units per week over the last few months or so which is apparently too high. Recommended maximum is 20 units or so, which seems very low to me. Sure three naggins and you'd be over the limit. :(Here's a calculator you can use to see how many units you consume.

    Anyway, how much do you drink, and are you worried about the implications on your health? I'll be honest, I'm not too pushed. My future health isn't a huge concern to me (for various reasons). To quote Winston Churchill - “I've gotten more out of alcohol than alcohol has taken out of me.”

    Yes, a macho bullshit quote, alcohol is hugely damaging, we know. But has it gotten you through rough times? Has it gotten you through anxiety inducing situations and onto the other side? Because, fuck yes, it's gotten me there. It's benefited me hugely in life, and sure as fuck it's been highly damaging also. A lot of relationships destroyed. Sure enough, a lot of relationships formed too.

    What's your relationship with alcohol like? Can you go without it for a few weeks? When did you first drink? Are the stereotypes true about the Irish in relation to drink? My friends/acquaintances from Continental Europe would tend to think so. They find it pretty shocking that at 13/14 getting drunk at a teenage disco was the norm. Yet, a French relative of mine would drink wine at dinner on occasion from as young as 13. :confused: Have never seen him drunk though.

    Lets have a discussion about Ireland and alcohol, with no judgement whatsoever, fire away. Yes, I've been drinking tonight.

    How many units of alcohol do you consume per week? 475 votes

    I don't drink
    0%
    Less than 5.
    20%
    VictornothingressemzAbboDoctorEdgeWildFGRJupiterKidxzantizarquonCrookedJackGenghiz Cohenmags1962WurlymetaobliviaPaddy@CIRLzero19GyalistSabre ManCliona99scudzilla 96 votes
    Between 6-10
    28%
    Lucifertony 2 tonecournionilivEwirEinforfunhardCopyCalidenLia_liajebuzLumenDiemosmathieSeanWAlquaKnasherRedXIV[Deleted User]KurtosisRealtineBlowfish 134 votes
    Between 11-15
    11%
    TheFatLa_GordybanquoKilOittermapplehunterkenmcjandmpeasantjcrowbarokedokeSierra OscarBeardySiI-like-eggs,mmmSemelehi_im_fil[Deleted User]simonwShadowHearthHeroditas 55 votes
    Between 16-20
    6%
    Fighting Irishrainbow kirbythe_barfly1Innervisionchubba1984lookseethetealshockwaveCorcaigh84eurokevFukuyamacruizer101McChubbinmy usernamemurphyebassceadaoin.bren2001suicide_circusNice MartyrFunnyonion79 32 votes
    Between 21-30
    6%
    BigConAglomeradojemelefantbikoRoanmoreM5DaeryssaOneearlyeveningSteodonnthe deftoneLemagFerris_BuellerBlut2Pudsy33[Deleted User]Sprrrattben.schlomoConstantJoePeppa Pig 33 votes
    Between 31-40
    9%
    BrokenArrowsTerrorFirmerNate--IRL--Goolayconzymuletideracso1975zegaJuliusCaesar[Deleted User]Amiranicarlmango11ireland.manJiveartistgizmo555Morzadecdrkpowerjd007Piglet85sbsquarepants 47 votes
    Between 41-50
    7%
    SandnibtrixablelocksNapoleonInRagsdos30Generic Dreadheadpq0n1ct4ve8zf5[Deleted User]JamieKTeyla EmmaganHoop66BigAl81FloatingVoterKungPaorecyclopstheglobeRDM_83 againLapindgtpolicarp 34 votes
    Between 51-60
    2%
    BatesyThe Hill BillyRossD1983idlebryanergerryg80EoinHefProp JoeOne_More_MileSmithwicks ManwilddartsheavydemonTalib Fiasco 13 votes
    Between 61-80
    2%
    MickeyDgeorgieM[Deleted User]Big Nastyteddy_303One_Armed_DwarfdarrcowsaintsaltynutscheekypupNecroAhhhhh its grandHeisenberg88 12 votes
    Between 81-100
    2%
    MonkeyTennisSEPT 23 1989Kenny Powerswe'llallhaveteaRoscommonTomValettaamorphousDublinCJMpetrolcanDavarus WalrusEoinMoranauldgrannyMacavity. 13 votes
    Over 100
    1%
    Chad ghostalSea SharpCocoonbrummytomBootsy.Makood 6 votes


«134

Comments

  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 16,761 ✭✭✭✭osarusan


    Between 11-15
    My relationship with alcohol is a can of beer or a whiskey 2 or 3 times a week, and maybe 6 cans in a friends place/6 pints in a bar about...two weekends a month (cans more regularly than pints). 6 pints will leave me on the drunk side of merry, and that's enough for me, although at the time I often want more (and have drunk more, and gotten sloppy).


    First drank when I was about 16. I don't think there has ever been a time when I depended on it, although I suppose my social life depends on drinking it to large extent.

    I'm not really worried about the effects it is having on my health, because I don't really drink too much, although I did when I was younger (too much and more regularly). These days it's something to improve my periods of relaxing watching tv or whatever.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 212 ✭✭DainBramage


    Between 31-40
    From what you say above you are drinking too much, take your doctors advice and try and cut back. Don't look for validation on a Boards poll that looks at limited demographics.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,745 ✭✭✭Macavity.


    Between 81-100
    From what you say above you are drinking too much, take your doctors advice and try and cut back. Don't look for validation on a Boards poll that looks at limited demographics.

    I'm trying to cut back (I'm not bothered about validation). :) The whole thing, however, made me question how we drink in this country. Which is why I put the poll up. I want a thread where everyone can post without feeling ashamed about how little or how much they drink. I want people's opinion on alcohol in this country and our attitude to drinking.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,593 ✭✭✭theteal


    Between 16-20
    How the times have changed. When I do get a rare night out I might put away 5-6 pints (and pay for it the next day!)but generally my weekly consumption would be a couple of bottles of beer and/or half a bottle of wine. Rock and roll!

    I have made a conscious effort to cut back for a number of reasons, the hangovers being a prime one. In saying that, from an Irish perspective I would never have been a big drinker and that's what I find fundamentally scary - there are going to be a significant amount of people developing health issues at relatively young ages. People think amount they drink is fine because they see everyone around them in the pub doing the same.

    Anyway, I'm fairly happy with my relationship with booze. I do enjoy a beer but I'd rather have 2-3 unusual ones than a belly full of the usual offenders(she calls me a beer snob). Its been a long long time since I grudgingly had to force myself to not order another drink and call it a night so I'm fairly sure that makes me not an alco.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 67 ✭✭dquinnan


    Bottle of wine maybe two weekends a month at most,maybe the odd mid-week pint if I can afford it. Have lost two uncle's to alcoholism,so I'd definitely take heed of your docs advice and attempt to cut down. Such a pointless,painful way to go,and an awful waste of money. I was a terrible drinker in my twenties, but luckily copped on and saw my drinking for what it was worth (covering worries/stresses/depression but solving none of them in my case.)

    I dunno, fair % of Irish folk still tend to associate masculinity with how much drink you can consume which is absolute bullshít.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,509 ✭✭✭ceadaoin.


    Between 16-20
    I used to drink quite a lot in my 20s (which was only a few years ago!) Definitely more than the recommended 14 units for women anyway. At the time though I didn't really think it was that much, other people I knew drank a hell of a lot more.

    During that time I was working in Ireland and the uk and showed up for work with a hangover many times; perfectly acceptable. Now I live in the US and although I'm not working, I gather that there does seem to be more of a stigma attached to being hungover at work.

    Now I maybe have a bottle of wine over a week, sometimes two. Very occasionally a bit more. I see the difference, my tolerance is a lot less than it used to be.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 7,624 ✭✭✭Little CuChulainn


    Less than 5.
    Excessive alcohol consumption is the worst thing affecting this country. It does more harm and causes more misery than anything else.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,745 ✭✭✭Macavity.


    Between 81-100
    Excessive alcohol consumption is the worst thing affecting this country. It does more harm and causes more misery than anything else.

    Yeah, sure. It's definitely a problem. But, if I'm honest, I was kinda hoping to stay away from these sort of extreme statements. Sensible discussion. :pac:


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,868 ✭✭✭✭average_runner


    Between 6-10
    To be honest, I think a lot of its to do with ur age and if u have a family.

    In my 20's I was out 3 times a week, had a great time.
    Now in my 30's with wife and kids, I would have maybe two craft beers a week. Still get out on the lash maybe once every 4 months.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,315 ✭✭✭Soft Falling Rain


    Between 41-50
    I am currently off it (only 6 days but it's a big deal for me to duck a Friday). I won't go into the gory details, only that I have a pain in my bollocks with the dent each weekend puts in my wallet, and with my behaviour when pissed.

    Alcohol is great, but I think sometimes we can all do with stepping away from it for a period if it's becoming a 'problem'. I don't believe in this binge crap doctors try to peddle (4 pints a binge? **** off), but I do believe in looking after our mental wellbeing. If alcohol is beginning to hurt that, then it's time to make a change.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,649 ✭✭✭Mehaffey1


    Between 41-50
    One week I would have 0, the next I could easily hit 50. Depends on Time off work, stress from work. The worst thing to realize is that alcohol is my only form if stress relief due to work commitments and budget.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 203 ✭✭Uncle Ruckus


    Between 16-20
    I have about 10 Coors once a week.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,865 ✭✭✭Mrs Garth Brooks


    0 units for the past two and a half years. I don't drink cause I get the hangover feeling a lot without drink due to migraines.

    Massive headache, head spinning, nausea, vomiting...that's a migraine. Its like a hangover without the good time. I don't need drink for that. Smell a bag of crisps or walk past a chinese restaurant and I'll be sick.

    I don't miss it. But I am sick of people trying to force it in my face. I'm fine with my water.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 430 ✭✭Pablodreamsofnew


    Less than 5.
    I stopped drinking nearly four years ago. I had such bad hangovers and I just thought what's the point?! My husband doesn't drink either. We save a lot of money. Sometimes I miss it but mostly I don't. I never want to go back to those scared out of my head hangovers.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,740 ✭✭✭the evasion_kid


    My experienve and observation is that alcoholism is still a big problem in Ireland,I've battled with the bottle in the past I've watched family members and friends fall to s*it from it,a bad case of alcohol withdrawal is truly horrible experience and would make you regret ever having put a bottle to your lips,anyways read a fairly good book on the subject recently called the national history of alcoholism by George valiant probably the most in depth look at factors that lead to alcoholism

    He took 600 men non alcoholics at the start and followed their drinking patterns over the course of their lives taking in background,class and other factors I found this bit interesting:

    " ethnic culture of each man was important. Among the Core City subjects, 61% of whose parents were born in foreign countries, alcoholics were seven times more likely to have Irish than Italian backgrounds."


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 5,943 ✭✭✭smcgiff


    Between 6-10
    Drinking alcohol was never as much fun as the underage pint in my local as a young fella.

    I'll go weeks without evening thinking about it. I've a group of friends that I head out with approx once a month and have 5 or 6 pints, but it's the social aspect I enjoy and the alcohol is very much secondary.

    Up to last year I used to work in the media and there were loads of occasions with free booze. It was mostly wasted on me though. Although in the three years I was there I probably turned up for work twice very much the worse for wear (as in 3 hours earlier was at a function), but it was the office culture.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,933 ✭✭✭smurgen


    I would class myself as a big drinker in the past but I'm starting to get excessive hangovers and anxiety so I cut down massively. Could easily put away 12ish pints and a few shorts on a night out.it makes me giddy and more social.I get kinda sentimental or something on the drink.me and my friends always go back on stuff that we done or happened growing up.

    Nowadays I still drink probably more than I should but it's greatly reduced and the regularity is reduced too.I simply can't do my job unless I'm feeling totally refreshed.

    As bad as drink is an I can see the pitfalls I can honestly say that some of the funniest incidents,some of the greatest stories I have with friends are drink related.some of the happiest times I've had were through drink.you can look down on me for saying it but it's true none the less.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,459 ✭✭✭Molester Stallone II


    Between 6-10
    0 units for the past two and a half years. I don't drink cause I get the hangover feeling a lot without drink due to migraines.

    Massive headache, head spinning, nausea, vomiting...that's a migraine. Its like a hangover without the good time. I don't need drink for that. Smell a bag of crisps or walk past a chinese restaurant and I'll be sick.

    I don't miss it. But I am sick of people trying to force it in my face. I'm fine with my water.

    While I'm not teetotal, I'm in the same boat as you re migraines. And unfortunately, some types of alcohol are a trigger.
    If I do go out, no spirits, and will only have 3 ales or else I'm going to suffer
    I'm quite happy to sit there all evening in a bar with a Nashs red lemonade if I'm playing it safe


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 11,128 ✭✭✭✭Oranage2


    When you have the bar owner say you drink too much I probably have a problem.


    I don't think I do, I don't be desperate for a drink and I can go out and just have one or two bottles. I do however binge drink and would do it regularly could be 3 times a week which I have cut down but still once or twice a week is too much.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,459 ✭✭✭Molester Stallone II


    Between 6-10
    Oranage2 wrote: »
    When you have the bar owner say you drink too much I probably have a problem.


    I don't think I do, I don't be desperate for a drink and I can go out and just have one or two bottles. I do however binge drink and would do it regularly could be 3 times a week which I have cut down but still once or twice a week is too much.

    This is no time to get preachy, but I'd listen to the bar owner, binge drinking is a sure sign of an issue with alcohol


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 12,687 ✭✭✭✭Penny Tration


    Between 16-20
    I drink maybe a bottle of wine and 2 beers each week.

    I used to drink a fcuking scary amount, though. Surprised I never damaged my liver.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,315 ✭✭✭Soft Falling Rain


    Between 41-50
    This is no time to get preachy, but I'd listen to the bar owner, binge drinking is a sure sign of an issue with alcohol

    Someone taking it handy during the week and then going on the lash at the weekend is not a big deal in itself. It's all about your relationship with drink, why you drink and the negative impact drinking has on you.

    The woman who goes through a bottle of wine once a week and becomes abusive to her partner has a bigger problem with alcohol than the chap who goes on a 2 day session at the weekend, but one that always ends with him causing no trouble for anyone.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,459 ✭✭✭Molester Stallone II


    Between 6-10
    Someone taking it handy during the week and then going on the lash at the weekend is not a big deal in itself. It's all about your relationship with drink, why you drink and the negative impact drinking has on you.

    The woman who goes through a bottle of wine once a week and becomes abusive to her partner has a bigger problem with alcohol than the chap who goes on a 2 day session at the weekend, but one that always ends with him causing no trouble for anyone.

    The poster said binge drinking 3 times a week, as i said, I wasn't preaching,
    relationship with alcohol eh?, that's cute.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,933 ✭✭✭smurgen


    Someone taking it handy during the week and then going on the lash at the weekend is not a big deal in itself. It's all about your relationship with drink, why you drink and the negative impact drinking has on you.

    The woman who goes through a bottle of wine once a week and becomes abusive to her partner has a bigger problem with alcohol than the chap who goes on a 2 day session at the weekend, but one that always ends with him causing no trouble for anyone.

    Yeah I think it's the relationship with alcohol too as in why do you drink.if you're drinking to cut down anxiety that's a major red flag in my opinion. I noticed it before when I was living abroad and as a result went off drink for about 6 months to nip it in the bud.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 20,775 ✭✭✭✭El_Duderino 09


    I don't believe in this binge crap doctors try to peddle (4 pints a binge? **** off), but I do believe in looking after our mental wellbeing. If alcohol is beginning to hurt that, then it's time to make a change.

    Fair play on being off the booze. I disagree on the bit about doctors and binge drinking though. Doctors aren't trying to set a reasonable limit for how much you can drink in the Irish drinking culture and have a good time. They do experiments to find out how much you can drink before it begins to have serious negative effects on your health and pass on that info.

    Feel free to ignore it but please don't pretend it's not true.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,315 ✭✭✭Soft Falling Rain


    Between 41-50
    Fair play on being off the booze. I disagree on the bit about doctors and binge drinking though. Doctors aren't trying to set a reasonable limit for how much you can drink in the Irish drinking culture. They do experiments to find out how much you can drink before it begins to have serious negative effects on your health and pass on that info.

    Feel free to ignore it but please don't pretend it's not true.
    I'm not ignoring that and absolutely accept there's a genuine concern. But I'm sorry, for me personally, saying 4 pints is binge drinking is ridiculous. Now if someone was slamming 6 pints 3 days a week then I'd maybe listen.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 4,882 ✭✭✭Saipanne


    Between 11-15
    Macavity. wrote: »
    Anyway, so my doctor warned me about my alcohol intake recently. Basically, I've drank more than 65 units per week over the last few months or so which is apparently too high. Recommended maximum is 20 units or so, which seems very low to me. Sure three naggins and you'd be over the limit. :(Here's a calculator you can use to see how many units you consume.

    Anyway, how much do you drink, and are you worried about the implications on your health? I'll be honest, I'm not too pushed. My future health isn't a huge concern to me (for various reasons). To quote Winston Churchill - “I've gotten more out of alcohol than alcohol has taken out of me.”

    Yes, a macho bullshit quote, alcohol is hugely damaging, we know. But has it gotten you through rough times? Has it gotten you through anxiety inducing situations and onto the other side? Because, fuck yes, it's gotten me there. It's benefited me hugely in life, and sure as fuck it's been highly damaging also. A lot of relationships destroyed. Sure enough, a lot of relationships formed too.

    What's your relationship with alcohol like? Can you go without it for a few weeks? When did you first drink? Are the stereotypes true about the Irish in relation to drink? My friends/acquaintances from Continental Europe would tend to think so. They find it pretty shocking that at 13/14 getting drunk at a teenage disco was the norm. Yet, a French relative of mine would drink wine at dinner on occasion from as young as 13. :confused: Have never seen him drunk though.

    Lets have a discussion about Ireland and alcohol, with no judgement whatsoever, fire away. Yes, I've been drinking tonight.

    How many pints is that, 30 to 40 per week? That does seem excessive, in my opinion.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 31,152 ✭✭✭✭KERSPLAT!


    Between 6-10
    I go on a small session once a month or so maybe having 8-10 pints, so on average about 5units per week


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,252 ✭✭✭FTA69


    I'm fighting in two weeks and as such quit drink totally for the past three months, the longest I've been off it in years. The difference it's made to my life has been unreal and has left me seriously considering staying off it for life. While I was always fit, not getting p*ssed at the weekend and losing progress has left me in the best shape of my life. I've doubled the amount I've saved every month and more; to the point that this month I booked a trip of a lifetime to Bangladesh and Nepal and still managed to put away a few pounds into the savings account.

    My biggest worry was becoming a sort of social hermit without any booze because I had always associated having fun or being in company with alcohol. If anything, the quality of time I've had has been vastly improved. I've started coaching the kids class on Sunday mornings which is hugely rewarding and I expect to have a few of them competing in 6 months. I've spent my weekends going to museums, galleries, walks etc as well as still meeting good friends for matches or dinner or whatever. My social life has never been busier and all without waking up Sunday and Monday mornings feeling like a bag of p*ss.


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  • Posts: 24,713 ✭✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    Between 41-50
    Like to have one heavy session a week, sometimes two and then there would be an odd pint here and there along the way too. So would normally be up arms around 30 units a week but could push up to 40 or 50 units if it was a heavy week and I know I've got up near three figures now and again with week long sessions on holidays, galway races etc.

    I couldn't do the "going out once a month" people talk about, I'd be very bored without a good session the vast majority of weekends (with an odd quiet one). I love going out Thursday nights too, despite the effort of working hungover on a Friday went through a phase a while back where we were out straight from work 3/4 Thursday's.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 11,835 ✭✭✭✭cloud493


    Less than 5.
    Its good to see most people see to go on the safe side of drinking.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 26,928 ✭✭✭✭rainbow kirby


    Between 16-20
    I really hate being hungover, but I enjoy a good beer or a nice wine. Rarely have more than 3 pints if I'm out these days, and I prefer when we go somewhere with good beer choices rather than forcing down crap.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 13,925 ✭✭✭✭anncoates


    Between 21-30
    Hard to say. Some weeks none. Most I'd have in a average drinking week is probably about 20 units.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 10,572 ✭✭✭✭brummytom


    Over 100
    I worked it out recently, it varied from 80-100 units a week. Aside from the actual harm of drink, that's a huge amount of money I don't have to be spending.

    Going to try and cut down in the run-up to Christmas.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 27,349 ✭✭✭✭super_furry


    Honestly I don't know. Half the problem is this unit system - make one unit a pint and I could tell you.


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 31,152 ✭✭✭✭KERSPLAT!


    Between 6-10
    Honestly I don't know. Half the problem is this unit system - make one unit a pint and I could tell you.

    Or use the simple calculator in the OP.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 13,091 ✭✭✭✭bnt


    Between 6-10
    Your size and the ABV of the beer are also factors. I'm a big guy, four pints of e.g. Becks 4% over several hours, once a month, wass not a problem - and it's been years since I drank even that much (with colleagues after work).

    Four pints of the kind of beer I now prefer could lay me out, since it tends to be much stronger and doesn't usually come in pints anyway. I still remember the business trip to France during which I discovered Affligem Blond, wondering why the glass was so small before I learned it was 6.80% ABV. The stuff is so nice I can't think "session" at all. :o

    The way I see it, drinking is a means to an end - enjoyment of company - not an end in itself. If you're drinking to get drunk, with no expectation of a positive result from it, you have a problem.

    You are the type of what the age is searching for, and what it is afraid it has found. I am so glad that you have never done anything, never carved a statue, or painted a picture, or produced anything outside of yourself! Life has been your art. You have set yourself to music. Your days are your sonnets.

    ―Oscar Wilde predicting Social Media, in The Picture of Dorian Gray



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,821 ✭✭✭fussyonion


    There was a time last year when I felt I was drinking too much.

    I'd have an alcoholic drink nearly ever night and started to look forward to the evenings when I could have a drink.
    I wouldn't drink loads, but it was getting to the stage where I felt I really had to have one.

    Now I have a bottle of wine on a Friday and a few beers on Saturday night and I enjoy my drink a lot more now. I also drink slowly so a bottle of wine would last me about five hours.

    I rarely go out but heading out tonight for a change where I'll have about five pints.

    I no longer feel the NEED to have a drink but when I do have one, I enjoy it and saving it for the weekend means I'm having an alcohol-free week, which is good.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,203 ✭✭✭moxin


    Between 41-50
    Macavity. wrote: »
    Anyway, so my doctor warned me about my alcohol intake recently. Basically, I've drank more than 65 units per week over the last few months or so which is apparently too high. Recommended maximum is 20 units or so, which seems very low to me.

    Curious, what triggered that advice from the doc? Did you feel unwell from alcohol intake or was it just a random question from the doc as part of a checkup?

    I'm averaging about 30 units a week, drink 2 nights at the weekend. Used to be higher at 50 but i've cut down in the last few months. Next step is to just drink one night a week and thats me satisfied, failed last night because of Halloween and now its Saturday :)

    When drinking at home, I do drink water between a couple of pints each consecutive time. There was one time I drank 3 litres of water with my 3.5L of beer, couldn't believe it myself until I counted it all up the day after ;)


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 6,428 ✭✭✭Talib Fiasco


    Between 51-60
    I don't know how many units I'd consume in a week. If I go out twice in a week it's two bottles of vodka plus the best part of 15-20 shots... I voted in terms of one night out a week but I really don't knnow how many units it is etc


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,691 ✭✭✭Lia_lia


    Between 6-10
    I've never been big in to alcohol. I might drink 1 or 2 nights a per month. And on the rare occasion I go out for dinner I'll have a glass of wine.

    There are a few alcoholics in my family and from seeing it growing up I just kinda think of it as "nah". I never really get drunk either because after a few drinks my stomach hurts...

    I worked in bars as a teenager/in college, and my dad owns bar. So being around drunks all the time may have turned me off it also!

    That said, I do still like some alcoholic drinks. But I don't drink them to get drunk.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 20,775 ✭✭✭✭El_Duderino 09


    I'm not ignoring that and absolutely accept there's a genuine concern. But I'm sorry, for me personally, saying 4 pints is binge drinking is ridiculous. Now if someone was slamming 6 pints 3 days a week then I'd maybe listen.

    I don't think you're listening to what they are telling you at all. they are saying over 4 pints in one sitting is classified as a binge because it is likely to begin to cause serious damage to health over time. They are not asking you to have a good time on 4 pints they are simply telling you it is doing long term harm.

    Yes some people drink 'slam 6 pints 3 days a week' and they are at higher risk of serious damage but that doesn't let the guy on 5 pint 3 nights a week off the hook.

    Why do you think they would give you faulty information? I think you mean you don't like what they are saying rather than the information is incorrect.

    If in doubt you can do an experiment to test it. Put all the scientific experiments and medical advice on one side and put your opinion on the other side. Which is worth more?


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,086 ✭✭✭TheBeardedLady


    I drank and went out a huge amount in my teens and 20s and I've no doubt I did damage to myself in that time but that hasn't been sustainable in my 30s and I'm happy enough with that although I really had a lot of fun back then.

    In the last year or two, I've cut down hugely. I don't go out every weekend anymore mainly because I was getting very bad hangovers and feeling very down the following day and I also didn't particularly like myself drunk anymore (to that extent). I didn't drink weekdays at all but drank a lot on that night I went out.

    Now I'd have a glass of wine every evening of the week (smallish glass - nothing like you'd get in Ireland) and a few more one night of the weekend, so I'd have a bottle and a half a week, I suppose.

    I'm actually going to knock the evening wine on the head as it's a bad habit I've got into since not going on mad ones at weekends but I finish work late every evening and I enjoyed going into a bar on the way home from work, getting a nice glass of wine (and wine here is soooo good) and winding down after a day of teaching and just having that time to myself. It'll be hard to not have that to look forward to as it'll be home, dinner and straight to bed. I suppose there's a dependency there tbh.

    Saying that, I went out last night for Halloween and had a few drinks. Ordered a rum and coke and felt myself getting a bit too plastered for my liking so I left it and continued to dance and didn't drink for the rest of the night. That wouldn't have happened in the past.

    Once I knock those mid week glasses of wine on the head, I'll be grand, I think.


  • Posts: 24,713 ✭✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    Between 41-50
    I don't think you're listening to what they are telling you at all. they are saying over 4 pints in one sitting is classified as a binge because it is likely to begin to cause serious damage to health over time. They are not asking you to have a good time on 4 pints they are simply telling you it is doing long term harm.

    Yes some people drink 'slam 6 pints 3 days a week' and they are at higher risk of serious damage but that doesn't let the guy on 5 pint 3 nights a week off the hook.

    Why do you think they would give you faulty information? I think you mean you don't like what they are saying rather than the information is incorrect.

    If in doubt you can do an experiment to test it. Put all the scientific experiments and medical advice on one side and put your opinion on the other side. Which is worth more?

    4 pints is not a binge, if I go out and drink 10 pints, a few whiskeys and a few jäger bombs then I say I was on a binge.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 20,775 ✭✭✭✭El_Duderino 09


    4 pints is not a binge, if I go out and drink 10 pints, a few whiskeys and a few jäger bombs then I say I was on a binge.

    LOL Take it up with the medical community. Tell them their fancy sciency business is wrong. You probably know a lad who drank a barrel of rum one time and sure he's grand. Science disproved.

    I'm not saying I stick to 4 pints or anything like it. But please don't pretend the science is wrong because you don't want to accept it.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,315 ✭✭✭Soft Falling Rain


    Between 41-50
    I don't think you're listening to what they are telling you at all. they are saying over 4 pints in one sitting is classified as a binge because it is likely to begin to cause serious damage to health over time. They are not asking you to have a good time on 4 pints they are simply telling you it is doing long term harm.

    Yes some people drink 'slam 6 pints 3 days a week' and they are at higher risk of serious damage but that doesn't let the guy on 5 pint 3 nights a week off the hook.

    Why do you think they would give you faulty information? I think you mean you don't like what they are saying rather than the information is incorrect.

    If in doubt you can do an experiment to test it. Put all the scientific experiments and medical advice on one side and put your opinion on the other side. Which is worth more?

    I don't think they're giving faulty info intentionally, but I do think that some are being lazy in what they blame alcohol on. Just using myself as an example I was ill in early 2012 and was told straightaway that alcohol was at fault. Fine says I, and I gave it up for 3 months.

    Guess what? No change after 3 months. He eventually realised that it was completely unrelated to alcohol.

    They seem to assume that if a 20 something has minor health difficulties it's due to alcohol, which is a dangerous attitude to have when you're too lazy to properly diagnose someone.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 75 ✭✭miggins


    Less than 5.
    Off the drink since 2011 due to drinking so much in the previous 15 years I physically couldn't stomach it any more even the thoughts of it makes me sick nowadays. Life for me now is so much better without it


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,936 ✭✭✭✭Sand


    Between 41-50
    I'd drink every week, but I almost never drink more than 4-6 pints on a night out. If I drink any more than that, I'm at least mildly hungover the next morning and I really hate that. I also don't like drinking to the point where you lose your common sense.

    The doctors are probably right that drinking 4 pints on a night out is binge drinking from medical point of view - but feck it, everything is bad for you and none of us are going to live forever.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,491 ✭✭✭looking_around


    Less than 5.
    4 pints is not a binge, if I go out and drink 10 pints, a few whiskeys and a few jäger bombs then I say I was on a binge.

    What you "say" is a binge, isn't official classification.

    a binge, is when something is consumed in enough quantities to cause harm.

    whether you think it causes harm or not.
    ___________
    At OP, you should be worried of your health in the future. The damage is something that's unnoticeable until it hits you very hard and destroys your liver. It also changes the shape of your cerebellum, which causes other issues.

    If you're using it deal with anxiety or depression, then it definitely is a problem and you might want to consider why you have to drink away those emotions rather than dealing with them.

    __________

    I have used the whole binge drinking to pass out years back, these days, I only drink for taste, about 10units a year.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 20,775 ✭✭✭✭El_Duderino 09


    I don't think they're giving faulty info intentionally, but I do think that some are being lazy in what they blame alcohol on. Just using myself as an example I was ill in early 2012 and was told straightaway that alcohol was at fault. Fine says I, and I gave it up for 3 months.

    Guess what? No change after 3 months. He eventually realised that it was completely unrelated to alcohol.

    They seem to assume that if a 20 something has minor health difficulties it's due to alcohol, which is a dangerous attitude to have when you're too lazy to properly diagnose someone.

    LOL you win. Your anecdote is much more powerful than decades of animal and human research. Ill inform the science community to halt all research immediately and well just ask you for medical advice in future.

    At what point does damage begin to occur Soft falling rain?


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