How much is too much?

khaldrogo

I did the majority of my drinking in the 10 yr period from 13 to 23. Nothing crazy, just the usual cans and naggins at the weekend until we could get served in the pubs, then it was just pints of lager. 4-6 on a Friday and Sat. The same as most I'd say. Since then I would not be a big drinker. I could go months without even thinking of a drink. In the last few yrs I'd have fits of a few weeks where I would drink one type of drink every weekend and then get bored and not drink for weeks/months again. Wine one time, beer another. For the last few months I've been getting a bottle of Bourbon from aldi every Friday and its gone by Sunday night. I have large glasses that take a 330ml can of coke and I top it off with 3 measures of the whiskey. This drink could last me 1-2 hrs, then I get another. I'll have 2/3 of an evening and the next morning I'd be grand. I really don't feel this is excessive but because its liquor should I be worried? Its not every week but most weeks for the last while. I don't drink during the week and if I don't have it I don't miss it but when I do have it I enjoy it. Would you be concerned?

Stigura

Khaldrogo; My name's Stigura. I'm an alcoholic.

The fact that you're voicing your concern is a Red Light. That's one thing.

That said? I drink beer. Seven or eight pints a day / night. (See how much better I am now! I was dry for fifteen years. Prior to that, I was five pints of strong beer. Then come home and neck two litres of 'White Cider'! :eek: I'll spare the club any further details of the result .....)

My point is; I also have three shots worth of Jameson, after my daily meal. I like it. It tastes nice. The experience gives me pleasure.

The beer I drink, from afternoon till the early hours, is to stop me falling apart. The Jameson is much more of a treat.

You appear to be treating / seeing this Bourbon as a pleasurable treat? But, you're voicing your own concern .....?

Gypsy's warning.

NinetyTwoTeam

The way you repeatedly try to downplay your drinking (at least 4x in the one post) is quite telling tbh. And also the way you know exact amounts of everything you drink, how long it takes to drink x amount, have a set 'plan' of what you will get to drink.

In some ways it's a very Irish thing to be very specific about quantities drunk but I find alcoholics have this need to 'keep score' more than normal social drinkers. Not saying you are an alcoholic, just that it's a trait I noticed from my time in AA that alcoholics tend to have, for what it's worth.

If YOU are concerned, and it sounds like you are, is what really matters.

Has drinking had any serious negative consequences in your life? If it has, and you continue to drink, then you have a problem. You don't have to drink frequently to have a problem, it's also about how alcohol affects you, does it cause you to behave badly, etc. Are you unable to stop after a reasonable amount or do you always get blotto and pass out. Do you get blackouts. Has it affected your work, relationships, caused legal trouble or injuries/accidents.

I would say you are probably right to be concerned, maybe it's not a big problem yet, but it could head that way. Keeping a tally of what you drink is an indication that you are concerned about your intake increasing. But it is also good that you are aware that it could be a problem. Alcohol is an easy to get, socially acceptable drug, so forming habits with it is very easily done. The Aldi fiver wine is extremely big seller with women who tend to drink at home more thn men. Bourbon is serious stuff too.

Just my two cents. Like i said, if you yourself are asking the question, there's something behind it. People who drink 'normally' don't tend to have this inner conflict so much. They just enjoy it and leave it at that. It's hard to enjoy it if you have a notion or fear that it's becoming a problem, though, isn't it?

The way they say in AA to diagnose yourself is go to a bar and try to drink a few and stop abruptly. if you can, you're in the clear supposedly. i don't think it's that cut and dry though. maybe in your case just try and break the friday aldi bourbon bottle routine and see if it is easy or hard for you to that.

there's a reason they always put it in that last aisle, it's a psychological trick.

khaldrogo

Thanks. I didn't know the exact measures until I decided to post this thread.
Drink has not affected my life or family other than the odd hangover.
I'm off out tonight for dinner and a movie and no drink will be involved. I'll probably have one tomorrow night.
I really don't feel there's an issue.
I'll keep an eye on it

TerrorFirmer

Talks of alcoholism, poor behavior, and negative life consequences are radically and completely OTT in this case.

Is it too much? From a health POV, sure. No more than every other aspects of the average persons diet, though, and in terms of actual alcohol consumed it'd be very similar to an enormous percentage of the Irish population who'd have drinks on Fri/Sat.

Your post might as well have been 'is sitting down and eating two tubes of pringles on a Friday night too much'? The simple answer might be yes, but it's not exactly setting off warning bells and from your post, your general relationship with alcohol sounds pretty healthy.

Obviously, if it suddenly turned into drinking a bottle of bourbon on Friday and another on Saturday that's an issue....but it's also a completely different argument and nothing suggests it's going that way either.

Right now some people above seeming to be putting 1 and 1 together to get 3.

H3llR4iser

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

Talks of alcoholism, poor behavior, and negative life consequences are radically and completely OTT in this case.

Is it too much? From a health POV, sure. No more than every other aspects of the average persons diet, though, and in terms of actual alcohol consumed it'd be very similar to an enormous percentage of the Irish population who'd have drinks on Fri/Sat.

Your post might as well have been 'is sitting down and eating two tubes of pringles on a Friday night too much'? The simple answer might be yes, but it's not exactly setting off warning bells and from your post, your general relationship with alcohol sounds pretty healthy.

Obviously, if it suddenly turned into drinking a bottle of bourbon on Friday and another on Saturday that's an issue....but it's also a completely different argument and nothing suggests it's going that way either.

Right now some people above seeming to be putting 1 and 1 together to get 3.

But the problem is, if he said he was getting takeaway 3 times a day every day each week end, or that he "didn't smoke" but went through a carton of cigarettes every Fri-Sun, everyone WOULD be saying it is too much and unhealthy AND it would lead to consequences.



It's always a bit of a double standards situation when alcohol is involved - and while it IS a typically Irish thing to do to play down drinking related concerns, it is by no means exclusive - for example ask an Italian or French person about the fact they drink two bottles of wine a day and they'll reply "it's not a problem, it's just wine - not beer or something" :D:D


OP, what happens if you just DON'T buy the Bourbon?

skallywag

I think that there are two ways to look at this.

First, from the health perspective, an average 700ml bottle of Bourbon is going to come in at ca 28 units of alcohol, which is a bit above the currently promoted 'safe weekly level' for a man (which is I believe currently 21?). So from that perspective your doctor may raise an eyebrow, albeit I do not think they would be overly concerned either.

The second angle is more from the dependence perspective, and how likely it may be to elevate to a level where the man is no longer taking a drink, but rather the drink itself is taking a drink. I think the best definition of alcoholism that I have come across is someone who continues to drink regardless of the fact that there is definite proof that doing so is causing them damage, be it via health, family life, work, etc.

To conclude I do not see any real cause for concern with the way things are right now.

.......

This post has been deleted.

skallywag

....... wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

I think this is a valid point, the 'full bottle of spirits' over a weekend definitely has a bad ring to it, even though it would sound a lot less offensive if translated into pints spread over the weekend.

skallywag

skallywag wrote: »

I think this is a valid point, the 'full bottle of spirits' over a weekend definitely has a bad ring to it, even though it would sound a lot less offensive if translated into pints spread over the weekend.

this would be my take, as someone who enjoys a glass of whiskey every now and again at home

ive a shelf full of different bottles but id only replace a bottle maybe every three or four months

khaldrogo

H3llR4iser wrote:

OP, what happens if you just DON'T buy the Bourbon?

I don't drink

q85dw7osi4lebg

1 bottle = 24 units. 10 pints = 24 units. 5 pints, 2 nights a week / weekend doesn't sound as bad.

Typically we associate spirits being heavy / a night cap / special etc, but ultimately it's the units and alcohol content that counts.

If you don't need to / want to drink Mon - Thurs I wouldn't be concerned. More than anything it sounds like the drink itself is possibly causing you a bit of guilt, which could / could not be a different problem altogether.

Canyon86

Hi All

Late comer to this thread, I work a Monday-Friday Job

My typical week usually involves binging Friday and Saturday and the cure Sunday
Usally 4-5 pints friday
7+ Saturday
2-3 Sunday

Pyr0

Canyon86 wrote: »

Hi All

Late comer to this thread, I work a Monday-Friday Job

My typical week usually involves binging Friday and Saturday and the cure Sunday
Usally 4-5 pints friday
7+ Saturday
2-3 Sunday

As another poster has said already, I wouldn't say you were an alcoholic but like anything else, it certainly won't be healthy for your body over a long period of time and could potentially develop into a bi-daily or daily occurrence. It wouldn't hurt to knock at least once of the heavy drinking days on the head.

ittakestwo

An alcoholic is a person who has the capacity to be addicted to alcohol. In Ireland there is obviously a strong drinking culture so many people will drink a lot but that does not mean they are addicted to alcohol..... probably have nothing better to do than go to the pub for a few pints. If you are not drinking Monday to Thursday/Friday then I would say you are probably not an alcoholic.

Words are beginning to be water downed to non existence lately. If you wake up in the morning and decide you shouldn't have slept with that person the previous night you can claim you were raped, and every Catholic is homophobic 2018.

hasdanta

Your drinking doesn't seem excessive to me. My parents always said that as long as it doesn't cause you any problems (like missing working, getting physical etc.) you're grand.

Stanford

Can I please cut through all the "do I /Don't I have a problem with alcohol. The standard tool for resolving this on an individual basis is the CAGE questionaire, if you answer Yes to one or more of the questions then you need to address your drinking.

https://psychology-tools.com/cage-alcohol-questionnaire

dastardly00

Stanford wrote: »

Can I please cut through all the "do I /Don't I have a problem with alcohol. The standard tool for resolving this on an individual basis is the CAGE questionaire, if you answer Yes to one or more of the questions then you need to address your drinking.

https://psychology-tools.com/cage-alcohol-questionnaire

That questionnaire says '2 or more “yes” answers may indicate a problem with alcohol abuse.'

c.p.w.g.w

Stanford wrote: »

Can I please cut through all the "do I /Don't I have a problem with alcohol. The standard tool for resolving this on an individual basis is the CAGE questionaire, if you answer Yes to one or more of the questions then you need to address your drinking.

https://psychology-tools.com/cage-alcohol-questionnaire

The first question in that, if answered honestly would mean everyone is an alcoholic.

I was on holidays a few weeks backs, had about 3 nights were i had a few drinks
1st Night 3 pints
2nd Night 6 pints
3rd Night 2 pints

When i got back home, i was like ok thats was about a months worth of drinking over my few days away, i'm going to cut back for the next few months...But i'm certainly not an alcoholic

Stanford

Yes, the CAGE and AUDIT questionaires have proven to be sensitive screening tool for possible alcohol dependancy

https://www.mdcalc.com/cage-questions-alcohol-use

https://www.mdcalc.com/audit-c-alcohol-use

RocketRaccoon

Am I reading that right? You're having 2-3 drinks on a Friday and Saturday evening and you think you have a problem?

Stanford

Firstly they are not my questions, they are screening questions used by US addiction counsellors.

Secondly they are meant to access long term drinking habits and are US based, most US based councellors would describe our average weekend drinking as serious binge drinking which would not be the view of the average guy.

Thirdly you will notice that the questions do not ask about quantities drank, they are really designed to explore people's attitude to drinking and whether is is causing them concern especially with interacting with others.

positron

I am not much of a drinker so feel free to ignore my thoughts, but three cans of coke is absolutely brutal for your body. That's a ton of sugar that your body absolutely can do without.

If you really enjoy whiskey perhaps try it neat / on the rocks, so you get more satisfaction from 'drinking' without getting addicted to Coke. Of course, not drinking regularly would be even better.

Stanford

positron wrote: »

I am not much of a drinker so feel free to ignore my thoughts, but three cans of coke is absolutely brutal for your body. That's a ton of sugar that your body absolutely can do without.

If you really enjoy whiskey perhaps try it neat / on the rocks, so you get more satisfaction from 'drinking' without getting addicted to Coke. Of course, not drinking regularly would be even better.

All carbonated drinks (water excepted) contain large amounts of sugar as you rightly say which accelerates their absorption into the gut and hence the blood stream and thats why shorts are mixed with soft drinks to get a more instant "hit". Drinking undiluted shorts can cause gastric bleeding if not diluted.and hence are hard to absorb

lawred2

khaldrogo wrote: »

I did the majority of my drinking in the 10 yr period from 13 to 23. Nothing crazy, just the usual cans and naggins at the weekend until we could get served in the pubs, then it was just pints of lager. 4-6 on a Friday and Sat. The same as most I'd say. Since then I would not be a big drinker. I could go months without even thinking of a drink. In the last few yrs I'd have fits of a few weeks where I would drink one type of drink every weekend and then get bored and not drink for weeks/months again. Wine one time, beer another. For the last few months I've been getting a bottle of Bourbon from aldi every Friday and its gone by Sunday night. I have large glasses that take a 330ml can of coke and I top it off with 3 measures of the whiskey. This drink could last me 1-2 hrs, then I get another. I'll have 2/3 of an evening and the next morning I'd be grand. I really don't feel this is excessive but because its liquor should I be worried? Its not every week but most weeks for the last while. I don't drink during the week and if I don't have it I don't miss it but when I do have it I enjoy it. Would you be concerned?

A bottle of whiskey every weekend?

Doesn't scream alcoholic but it does sound excessive

positron

Stanford wrote: »

All carbonated drinks (water excepted) contain large amounts of sugar as you rightly say which accelerates their absorption into the gut and hence the blood stream and thats why shorts are mixed with soft drinks to get a more instant "hit". Drinking undiluted shorts can cause gastric bleeding if not diluted.and hence are hard to absorb

I suspect OP is addicted to Coke, not whiskey. If he tries 3 shots of whiskey on the rocks on night, he might just give up drinking whiskey altogether.

khaldrogo

positron wrote:

I suspect OP is addicted to Coke, not whiskey. If he tries 3 shots of whiskey on the rocks on night, he might just give up drinking whiskey altogether.

OP does not drink Coke. I drink Diet Coke and I only really drink it with the whiskey. I don't drink it in work or out and about. I mainly drink water.
I have drank whiskey neat many times. Its OK but I prefer it with diet coke tbh

khaldrogo

lawred2 wrote:

Doesn't scream alcoholic but it does sound excessive

As I said, its not every weekend. This weekend I only had a naggin. Last weekend nothing. Weekend before nothing. Its been about a month since my last full bottle and I didn't finish the whole thing over the weekend.

I know I don't have a problem but I'm still curious about how bad it is to drink a bottle of whiskey over a weekend versus a load of pints or a few bottles of wine.

Canyon86

I have cut down to one day a week a week drinking feeling proud lol

helimachoptor

This is an interesting question.

First thoughts "OMG bottle of whiskey", but as said above 10 pints is the same amount of units.

I;d have 10 pints (i'd be in bits) but the next day affect would mean i wouldn't be doing that again for months. I can go weeks without drinking, but I would know exactly what i drank, like you.

imo, you probably need to look at this over a period of time, say 3/6 months and see how much have you actually drank.

LegacyUser

I drink one 500ml bottle of beer every night Monday - Thursday, 2 every friday, 3 on a saturday, 2 on sunday, so 11 pints a week, it doesn't affect my daily life but would ye say I'm an alcoholic? I love craft beer and think about what ones I'll that evening or weekend, I don't drink spirits, I do love having a pint in the evening after work, what do ye think?

Shanotheslayer

Drink_Man wrote: »

I drink one 500ml bottle of beer every night Monday - Thursday, 2 every friday, 3 on a saturday, 2 on sunday, so 11 pints a week, it doesn't affect my daily life but would ye say I'm an alcoholic? I love craft beer and think about what ones I'll that evening or weekend, I don't drink spirits, I do love having a pint in the evening after work, what do ye think?

You're not relying on the alcohol so no you're not an alcoholic. But it's more unusual to drink 7 nights a week

the_syco

An alcoholic can't function without drink. One before work, one at lunch time, and some after work. Possibly a few sneaky sips during the day from a hip flask.

Ex-alcoholics often view any alcohol as too much alcohol, as they often can't stop after one or two.

khaldrogo wrote: »

For the last few months I've been getting a bottle of Bourbon from aldi every Friday and its gone by Sunday night. I have large glasses that take a 330ml can of coke and I top it off with 3 measures of the whiskey. This drink could last me 1-2 hrs, then I get another. I'll have 2/3 of an evening and the next morning I'd be grand.

Doesn't sound like that much. Perhaps check out different bourbons, though? For example, some rums I'll have 1:3 of rum to mixer, whilst other rums would be 1:5, as the other rum is a stronger taste.

Dial Hard

the_syco wrote: »

An alcoholic can't function without drink. One before work, one at lunch time, and some after work. Possibly a few sneaky sips during the day from a hip flask.

That's the common conception of an alcoholic but unfortunately it's not the case. You don't need to be drinking morning, noon and night to be an alcoholic, there are plenty of problem drinkers out there who "only" drink at evenings and weekends. Indeed, the idea that you have to be having vodka in your orange juice every morning and sneaking into the jacks in work during the day is a large part of the reason why a lot of people who functioning alcoholics think they're fine.

Dial Hard

Dial Hard wrote: »

That's the common conception of an alcoholic but unfortunately it's not the case. You don't need to be drinking morning, noon and night to be an alcoholic, there are plenty of problem drinkers out there who "only" drink at evenings and weekends. Indeed, the idea that you have to be having vodka in your orange juice every morning and sneaking into the jacks in work during the day is a large part of the reason why a lot of people who functioning alcoholics think they're fine.

There's too much eagerness to put labels on stuff. For a while I thought I was an alcoholic but I didn't, I just relied on it instead of other stuff. I didn't have withdrawal, I had boredom. I haven't had a drink in a good while and don't intend to but I wasn't an alcoholic. Even people who make money out of treating alcoholics said not to use that label.