Do you blackout often from drinking?

RidleyRider · 29-01-2013 04:35AM

Yeah drinking is definitely more enjoyable when you don't go crazy. I mean everyone knows their own limit at some point after going out a few times so why go beyond it and pass out everytime you go out is beyond me.

Then again, that's the joys of it :pac:

Da Shins Kelly · 29-01-2013 04:45AM

RidleyRider wrote: »

Yeah drinking is definitely more enjoyable when you don't go crazy. I mean everyone knows their own limit at some point after going out a few times so why go beyond it and pass out everytime you go out is beyond me.

Then again, that's the joys of it :pac:

My problem is that once I get a bit drunk, I lose my inhibitions and just keep refilling the glass. Even if I go out with the intention of "I'll just have a couple", once I get a bit tipsy, I just end up forgetting about that and continuing.

RidleyRider · 29-01-2013 04:48AM

Da Shins Kelly wrote: »

My problem is that once I get a bit drunk, I lose my inhibitions and just keep refilling the glass. Even if I go out with the intention of "I'll just have a couple", once I get a bit tipsy, I just end up forgetting about that and continuing.

i'd say thats happened to all of us at some stage or another. Or those nights thats 'just a few socialables' that turns into a full blown booze up!

Da Shins Kelly · 29-01-2013 04:56AM

RidleyRider wrote: »

i'd say thats happened to all of us at some stage or another. Or those nights thats 'just a few socialables' that turns into a full blown booze up!

That was all Christmas for me. Friends calling me up, and me being like, "okay, but I'm only having a couple", and then the drink starts flowing and you're having a laugh and you just keep going.

Flaker · 29-01-2013 06:34PM

TeddyTedson wrote: »

But I'm not intending to have memory loss. It just happens. It's hard to prevent it for me at least in nightclubs. You get there after being in a taxi from the pub and start lashing them back because you're feeling good. Someone buys a round of shots, everyone buys back. Then you out drink someone you're in a round in and get yourself another. While half way through that drink they're back with yours.
As an example a few months ago I went back to a girls house who I met. We were chatting for a while and she kept pouring me wine. I can remember talking to her, dancing (ugh) with her in the nightclub.
I woke up in her bed naked the next day and still have no idea if we had sex or not. If I thought I was so drunk that I was falling unconscious I'd obviously have thought not, but I know I was reasonably ok up until a certain point.
There's some really weird stuff actually. I had another story typed out too but it's just too much.

It's like you're me - honestly! I don't go out with the intention of blacking out or even getting that drunk to be honest. I feel completely ok, just a bit merry and then, BAM, memeory is gone. It's not like I get any sort of warning and so I could slow done or drink water for a while. One minute I feel fine and the next everything is gone.

And I've done the same as you; woken up with someone beside me in the bed and thought WTF?? Did anything happen? It's actually happened me twice. Really really scary, especially as I'm female and you never know how someone is going to react when you suddenly decide to throw them out of your house....

My theory (and it's probably rubbish, but's all I can think of)is this; I never ever used to black out, but it's started happening over the last 2 or so years. Now, I used to be overweight. Not by much, probably by about 2 stone. I have gotten really fit over the last couple of years and would now have quite low body fat and work out 5-6 times a week and eat really healthily.

Do you think the lack of body fat to absorb the alcohol could have anything to do with it? The one benefit is my hangovers are nowhere near as bad as the used to be either.

I do try and watch what I drink now but it's hard. When you're feeling merry, more alcohol seems like the best idea ever. Like I said I get no warning that I'm about to tip over the edge.

Cienciano · 29-01-2013 06:56PM

I used to black out all the time. Pretty much every friday and saturday night. Same as some people here, when you're drunk and happy you tend to drink more or keep drinking to keep that level of drunkeness.
Now when I'm getting shítfaced, (you know when you slur a word, or when you walk to the jacks and realise you're locked) I just skip a round. Just slow down on the pint you're on, tell whoever is getting a round that you're not finished and nurse that pint over the same timeframe you'd normally have 2.
Another one is if you're tired a blackout seems to happen much easier. If you have the time, go to bed for an hour at around 5-6pm that day.
If you find yourself falling asleep in the pub, go home!

orestes · 29-01-2013 06:59PM

Flaker wrote: »

My theory (and it's probably rubbish, but's all I can think of)is this; I never ever used to black out, but it's started happening over the last 2 or so years. Now, I used to be overweight. Not by much, probably by about 2 stone. I have gotten really fit over the last couple of years and would now have quite low body fat and work out 5-6 times a week and eat really healthily.

Do you think the lack of body fat to absorb the alcohol could have anything to do with it? The one benefit is my hangovers are nowhere near as bad as the used to be either.

Your size does make a difference, not because of the body fat though, the bigger you are the more liquids there are in your body to dilute the alcohol. I'm not sure how substantial the difference is though, or if it's a person by person kind of thing since everybody metabolises alcohol at their own rate. .

MyPeopleDrankTheSoup · 29-01-2013 07:15PM

danslevent wrote: »

I'm in college and I'm already fed up of drinking. Hangovers just make it not worth it and all the stupidity that accompanies binge drinking.

I love having maybe a glass of wine or two or a few cans in a pub with good company. I always feel weird that I feel this way at twenty though I wish I could enjoy nightclubs and staying in bed like a slob the whole next day nursing an avoidable sickness, but it all seems so pointless

You can't handle the hangovers at 20?! Good luck having a session when you're 27, my age. And it only gets worse according to older friends!

validusername1 · 29-01-2013 09:11PM

I've blacked out once. I got to the nightclub, next few hours are totally blank. My friends had no idea where I was so I didn't even have anyone to fill me in.. What I do remember though is just when the club was finished, some random guy taking me into his car, was too drunk to know what was going on. I remember my friend trying to ring me but he kept hanging up my phone.

Don't remember how I got out of his car or anything, but a few weeks later I was messing with my phone out of boredom and went into my pictures/videos, found a video of that night. The screen was blank 'cause I must've been trying to do something else with my phone and pressed record by accident, but the video was about 5 minutes long and it was of when I was in his car, all I could hear was my seriously drunk voice saying leave me alone, I want to get out, other stuff of that sort.. got about 2 minutes into the video and deleted it 'cause it was just too hard to listen to.. Pretty sure he didn't manage to do anything to me, but that scared the absolute fuсk out of me thinking about what could've happened. I haven't gotten that drunk since 'cause I never want to black out like that again, and it was about 3 years ago. I'm lucky I remember those few minutes 'cause otherwise I think the video would have scared me even more. I don't drink much now because of that, never want to be that drunk again. Before that I was getting pretty drunk every night I was out, just never seen it as a problem until that happened.

tan11ie · 29-01-2013 09:27PM

validusername1 wrote: »

I've blacked out once. I got to the nightclub, next few hours are totally blank. My friends had no idea where I was so I didn't even have anyone to fill me in.. What I do remember though is just when the club was finished, some random guy taking me into his car, was too drunk to know what was going on. I remember my friend trying to ring me but he kept hanging up my phone.

Don't remember how I got out of his car or anything, but a few weeks later I was messing with my phone out of boredom and went into my pictures/videos, found a video of that night. The screen was blank 'cause I must've been trying to do something else with my phone and pressed record by accident, but the video was about 5 minutes long and it was of when I was in his car, all I could hear was my seriously drunk voice saying leave me alone, I want to get out, other stuff of that sort.. got about 2 minutes into the video and deleted it 'cause it was just too hard to listen to.. Pretty sure he didn't manage to do anything to me, but that scared the absolute fuсk out of me thinking about what could've happened. I haven't gotten that drunk since 'cause I never want to black out like that again, and it was about 3 years ago. I'm lucky I remember those few minutes 'cause otherwise I think the video would have scared me even more. I don't drink much now because of that, never want to be that drunk again. Before that I was getting pretty drunk every night I was out, just never seen it as a problem until that happened.

Well that's just scary, hopefully you don't let yourself get into a state like that again!

Defiler Of The Coffin · 29-01-2013 09:29PM

validusername1 wrote: »

I've blacked out once. I got to the nightclub, next few hours are totally blank. My friends had no idea where I was so I didn't even have anyone to fill me in.. What I do remember though is just when the club was finished, some random guy taking me into his car, was too drunk to know what was going on. I remember my friend trying to ring me but he kept hanging up my phone.

Don't remember how I got out of his car or anything, but a few weeks later I was messing with my phone out of boredom and went into my pictures/videos, found a video of that night. The screen was blank 'cause I must've been trying to do something else with my phone and pressed record by accident, but the video was about 5 minutes long and it was of when I was in his car, all I could hear was my seriously drunk voice saying leave me alone, I want to get out, other stuff of that sort.. got about 2 minutes into the video and deleted it 'cause it was just too hard to listen to.. Pretty sure he didn't manage to do anything to me, but that scared the absolute fuсk out of me thinking about what could've happened. I haven't gotten that drunk since 'cause I never want to black out like that again, and it was about 3 years ago. I'm lucky I remember those few minutes 'cause otherwise I think the video would have scared me even more. I don't drink much now because of that, never want to be that drunk again. Before that I was getting pretty drunk every night I was out, just never seen it as a problem until that happened.

That's a scary story, I've read before about girls that got themselves into uncomfortable situations even though they seemed happy enough to do so leading up to it. Too much alcohol can shut down your defences, gotta be careful

Abi · 29-01-2013 10:00PM

A few times, though at home rather than out socializing. I'm only putting this here in case anyone else finds themselves going down this road - get help or change something in your life fast..

I was severely depressed in the past and was on strong medication that makes you drowsy and slur your speech etc. When it didn't really numb my thoughts and anxieties I stupidly decided to take a drink with it. When a drink wasn't helping, then I kept topping up the glass till I passed out.

I combined these to numb personal pain and anxiety, which solved absolutely nothing. People I reached out to while off my face via calls or texts stopped hearing from me mid conversation and feared the worst. I actually didn't care whether I lived or died. I could see I was leaving a trail of destruction behind me, and worried the crap out of people that cared. That is more or less what turned me around, I didn't want to do that to them any more and knew I'd have to change my attitude as hard as it was.

I did thankfully, for myself and importantly everyone that cared about me. Life is good now, and while I feel a bit ashamed for nearly giving into the vicious circle I was in, I'm a very happy ducky now

Drumpot · 30-01-2013 04:24PM

Here's some warning signs for anybody wondering if they might have some sort of drinking problem:

- you blackout or consume too much alcohol most of the time you drink
- you consistently find yourself in potentially dangerous situations (or awkward situations) most of the time you drink (this includes blackouts)
- you find you can be very organised in most your life but when you drink or think of drinking you change alot
- that you are willing to change everything in your lifestyle except your drinking habits and the thought of life without drinking alcohol frightens you

Many people like to ignore their problem by saying "we'll I know somebody who is worse then me" or drinks more or drinks more frequent. There is a differance between a binge drinker and an alcoholic however being a binge drinker can lead a person down the path of alcoholism.

If anybody here really wants to know if they have a drinking problem then you would do proper research on what the definition of a problem drinker is and take it from there. I would hazard a guess that if somebody is posting on after hours for drinking advice they are just looking for people to tell them what they want to hear "sure we all do that sometimes".

Incidentally to suggest that a person shouldn't worry about blacking out every so often is ridiculous advice. We have such an unhealthy and insane misguided view towards alcohol in this country. For any other drug that makes you forget what happens in a night most people would be very concerned with this kind of side effect yet with drink its just a bit of craic. You might aswell slip a date rape drug into your own drink at the start of the night to save you having to consume loads of drink to get into the same state!

You have to be honest with yourself if you want to truely find out if you have a drinking problem and this does not involve comparing yourself to random people who may not have the exact same reaction to drink as you.

Naid23 · 31-01-2013 05:19PM

Yeah Ive blacked out a few times. I'm terrible for doing shots and never really know when to stop. Fractured my ankle on holidays before and have no recollection of how it happened.
Even at the old age of 24 - i still never learn. Was out last weekend and have no recollection of the club went to and spent 3 hours in but was up dancing for the most part of it - so good night!

Merkin · 31-01-2013 05:49PM

validusername1 wrote: »

I've blacked out once. I got to the nightclub, next few hours are totally blank. My friends had no idea where I was so I didn't even have anyone to fill me in.. What I do remember though is just when the club was finished, some random guy taking me into his car, was too drunk to know what was going on. I remember my friend trying to ring me but he kept hanging up my phone.

Don't remember how I got out of his car or anything, but a few weeks later I was messing with my phone out of boredom and went into my pictures/videos, found a video of that night. The screen was blank 'cause I must've been trying to do something else with my phone and pressed record by accident, but the video was about 5 minutes long and it was of when I was in his car, all I could hear was my seriously drunk voice saying leave me alone, I want to get out, other stuff of that sort.. got about 2 minutes into the video and deleted it 'cause it was just too hard to listen to.. Pretty sure he didn't manage to do anything to me, but that scared the absolute fuсk out of me thinking about what could've happened. I haven't gotten that drunk since 'cause I never want to black out like that again, and it was about 3 years ago. I'm lucky I remember those few minutes 'cause otherwise I think the video would have scared me even more. I don't drink much now because of that, never want to be that drunk again. Before that I was getting pretty drunk every night I was out, just never seen it as a problem until that happened.

That's just given me the shivers :eek:

jameshayes · 31-01-2013 05:56PM

I'm the same, after a few i'll lose all short term memory, I wont be messy - just a regular person on a night out but the next day I will be a blank stone

TeddyTedson · 11-02-2013 10:45PM

I've been watching some of the Des Bishop show there and think he's dead right.
I was out over the weekend and drank myself into a black out, but the next morning I woke up in a strange house and before I left without saying anything I went to the kitchen and robbed some beer for my way home.
In my mind at the time I was more than welcome to do it and that it was completely acceptable, but I just robbed from a stranger.
Then after finally getting home I could care less about food and instead went to the pub with a few people for the sport that was on Sunday.
I've spent the last hour or so trying to read about AA but my head is still suffering from alcohol withdrawal I can't concentrate well. On a sober day I could have read everything I've read in the last hour in about 10 minutes.

I'm not near to plan on going to AA or anything yet at least, but what does put me off is the tie in with bringing god into my life. I'm not anti religion, but God is just not for me and I'm not really a believer. I don't see why god needs to be involved in AA.

Praetorian Saighdiuir · 11-02-2013 10:46PM

Can we change you name to "Capt Desperate"?

Bumping your own threads is creepy Teddy!

An Coilean · 11-02-2013 10:47PM

I usually make it to a bed, so I tell myself its sleeping.

TeddyTedson · 11-02-2013 10:50PM

Stealth Recce wrote: »

Can we change you name to "Capt Desperate"?

Bumping your own threads is creepy Teddy!

I don't see how.
The reason I started the thread then is the same reason why I'm again posting in it now.
I could post in the thread about the pope retiring for the sake of it instead but I have no interest in that.
I do have an interest in this though, particularly after just watching Des Bishops show on RTÉ Player.

Cungi · 11-02-2013 10:53PM

TeddyTedson wrote: »

I could care less about food

You must be still drunk cos this makes fuck all sense

KTRIC · 11-02-2013 10:55PM

TeddyTedson wrote: »

I've been watching some of the Des Bishop show there and think he's dead right.
I was out over the weekend and drank myself into a black out, but the next morning I woke up in a strange house and before I left without saying anything I went to the kitchen and robbed some beer for my way home.
In my mind at the time I was more than welcome to do it and that it was completely acceptable, but I just robbed from a stranger.
Then after finally getting home I could care less about food and instead went to the pub with a few people for the sport that was on Sunday.
I've spent the last hour or so trying to read about AA but my head is still suffering from alcohol withdrawal I can't concentrate well. On a sober day I could have read everything I've read in the last hour in about 10 minutes.

I'm not near to plan on going to AA or anything yet at least, but what does put me off is the tie in with bringing god into my life. I'm not anti religion, but God is just not for me and I'm not really a believer. I don't see why god needs to be involved in AA.

Is there not an alternative to AA that doesn't involve religion ? Without being condescending you would really benefit from some sort of help. It's good to see you are aware of it as well.

Praetorian Saighdiuir · 11-02-2013 11:03PM

Teddy, you need help. That is all.

TeddyTedson · 11-02-2013 11:03PM

KTRIC wrote: »

Is there not an alternative to AA that doesn't involve religion ? Without being condescending you would really benefit from some sort of help. It's good to see you are aware of it as well.

I often joke to my friends that if we were in any other country the lot of us would be classed as alcoholics. Even people we see as light drinking could be seen as big drinkers in some other countries.
I don't wake up wanting a drink or anything in the mornings. I like to be out socialising during the weekends and am usually feeling great and enjoy a drink. Then I can't stop which is the problem.
They say the best way to stay off drink is to talk about it with other people with similar experiences. By Friday I won't remember the various pains I have in the side of my body and the anguish going through my head. I need to write it down or something in a personal book and read it when I finish work Friday evenings.

Merkin · 11-02-2013 11:09PM

TeddyTedson wrote: »

I've been watching some of the Des Bishop show there and think he's dead right.
I was out over the weekend and drank myself into a black out, but the next morning I woke up in a strange house and before I left without saying anything I went to the kitchen and robbed some beer for my way home.
In my mind at the time I was more than welcome to do it and that it was completely acceptable, but I just robbed from a stranger.
Then after finally getting home I could care less about food and instead went to the pub with a few people for the sport that was on Sunday.
I've spent the last hour or so trying to read about AA but my head is still suffering from alcohol withdrawal I can't concentrate well. On a sober day I could have read everything I've read in the last hour in about 10 minutes.

I'm not near to plan on going to AA or anything yet at least, but what does put me off is the tie in with bringing god into my life. I'm not anti religion, but God is just not for me and I'm not really a believer. I don't see why god needs to be involved in AA.

Allen Carr has a book called the Easy Way to Stop Drinking or something similar. Would you consider reading that Ted?

starlings · 11-02-2013 11:09PM

KTRIC wrote: »

Is there not an alternative to AA that doesn't involve religion ? Without being condescending you would really benefit from some sort of help. It's good to see you are aware of it as well.

AFAIK they talk about a "higher power" in AA, so you can interpret it as any kind of god or just the universe or life itself.

While you might dismiss AA as religious Teddy, AA members would dismiss that as a grasping-at-straws excuse.

Morph the Cat · 11-02-2013 11:11PM

I don't blackout because I'm not a 13 year old girl drinking for the first time.

TeddyTedson · 11-02-2013 11:19PM

Merkin wrote: »

Allen Carr has a book called the Easy Way to Stop Drinking or something similar. Would you consider reading that Ted?

Yea I think I'll buy that actually now!

I found it interesting when Des was alluding to the point that if you need to drink to have a good time then you don't know how to enjoy yourself.
I love been in a lively atmosphere and a few years ago there were a few times when I went out sober. It was great actually because there was another two of us and we were able to see the jokes that drunk people were missing.
He also makes that point about black out being seen as fairly normal here. Of course they're not, but it's not seen as much of a big deal. I think I started to drink at the same age as Des too. I would rob spirits from my parents and put it into a bottle and be quite drunk on my own:eek:

cavan4sam · 11-02-2013 11:20PM

blacked out more often than i remember
had nearly 5 years abroad when each weekend was a blank
still get the odd bout of amnesia after shots and top shelf
i dont drink very often now
I is all growed up

TeddyTedson · 11-02-2013 11:30PM

I can never get my head around as to why people aren't happy for you to join them and not have a drink if you don't have an excuse.
Actually thinking about it, I'll often be asked if I'm "drinking tonight?" as opposed to going out or doing anything tonight.

Do you blackout often from drinking?

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