Do you blackout often from drinking?

TeddyTedson wrote: »

If a mod sees this could you lock it for me. Thanks.
I'll do my best to never mention it in AH again.

I'd rather we didn't have it locked. I've had a few questions running around my head recently, and it has been interesting to read some of the responses here. You can tick some of the boxes on the list, and it confirms your fears!

Chin up Teddy, what I would do is listen to the concerned posters who post some useful tips and advice, and ignore the ones slating you and giving short but inevitably useless answers.

irish son wrote: »

You sound a lot like myself OP, often wake up the next morning and remembering nothing from the last few hours from the night before, I often find out after that I did or said something stupid, not fun at all. Sound like it happens from the same thing too, I go out saying I wont drink to much as I dont want it to happen again but then I feel sober and I have another and another and then I'm to drunk, I find it hard to stay in that drunken sweet spot

Do you drink your drinks quickly OP? I do and I think this is part of the problem, If you drink your first few drinks quick it's hard to slow down after that.

This sounds like me too, I love to get tipsy and then just keep it topped up at that spot, but I go passed it most times. In rounds with the lads back home I used to buy the odd inbetweener, because I drank faster, not necessarily more, just faster.

nuxxx wrote: »

On a serious note, giving up drinking last year for 6 months was the best thing I ever did. The positive effects in terms of physical and mental health and over all well being cannot be described in words, It's like a different life. Sadly I've been back binge drinking the last while, I'm going to try give it up again. The first few weeks are the hardest.

I would love to do this, I have tried before. By saying that I mean, I'd get to nearly a week and someone would invite me to a barbeque, and that's it till the next bad hangover.

I saw a signature here on boards this morning where someone had quit the fags, and it counts how many days since the last one, how many avoided and how much money saved. After I saw that I made an excel sheet that does the same for the beers, trouble is, my last bender was on Sunday for the Irish game so the numbers aren't that exciting yet, but hopefully as the digits get bigger so will the will to keep the clock ticking over...

The other problem with it is the picture of beer that the summary sheet shows looks delicious!

Anyway, I started doing my personal accounts/budget in excel to try and control my spending and increase savings and it has been working pretty well so far, so I'm hoping this one will keep my mind on the prize too.

Actually, I think excel will save my life!

Recession's officially over, then? Or has the price of drink droppeed?

Discostuy wrote: »

I wouldn't normally post in threads like these but...

Teddy,

You should go have a chat with your GP about your problem...and it is a serious problem.
Get some sensible advice and help.
There has been a huge mix bag of replies in here, most of which won't help you.

You won't get much useful advice in AH as most of the users posting (no disrespect to users)
- have never been in the situation you're in
- don't see their own blacking out/excessive drinking as a problem
- don't know or have never experienced first hand what happens someone when alcohol abuse gets bad

Cutting down, quitting for a few weeks, moderation etc won't help you. You have a serious addiction (as per you're other drink related threads) that needs serious help.

Forget what your mates say or think, you need to look out for yourself.
It will require you to make big changes in your life. Your social life/friendships will suffer but you'll be a better person for it in the end, and your mates will still be there...drinking, hungover and out of shape!

Due to the crappy drinking culture in Ireland, you'll find people questioning you for not drinking, slagging you off etc...you'll later find this stems from lack of understanding and denial about their own drinking habits.

You brush off body pains and aches, but these sound like your liver and kidneys are struggling to cope with your excessive drinking.
You need to start listening to what your body is telling you!!. The liver is an amazingly strong organ...when it hurts, something is badly wrong.

Quitting drink is tough and requires a lot of change. But a drink free life is so much better (and even if you think its not, well it couldn't be any worse than what you're living through at the moment)

I know what alcohol abuse does to people.

I drink, sometimes I drink lots, sometimes I drink in moderation, sometimes I forget a few details, sometimes I forget entire nights, sometimes I forget nothing at all.

I do not have a problem with alochol, and perhaps OP does, but maybe he doesn't, his circle of friends is just still having the alcohol based bants (sorry for using the word banter). It is cultural, and isn't good for us, but I think this is a slight overreaction.

HTML5! wrote: »

I think this is the problem with Irish culture - people see the concern in drinking to excess and not being able to stop etc. as an overreaction.

It's not healthy. It's not OK. Just because a lot of people do it doesn't make it OK.

I specifically said it's a cultural problem and that it isn't good for us.

And the previous post did not express concern, but labelled them as an addict with a serious problem.

The OP is functional without alcohol, doesn't rely on it to solve problems or whatnot, is simply a drinker who doesn't know their limits.

OP, know the one that's one too many, drink at your own pace, try a few nights where you only bring out €30 and no card, and you simply won't get sh!tfaced.

I am not condoning binge drinking or serious depressive alcohol abuse, but as long as we're replying in this thread, we're talking about OP and memory loss. Drink less. You're probably fine.

Sorry OP it was just in the first post you said "It's not good so let's not focus on the obvious there." So I wasn't getting too stuck in to "alcohol is a drug and memory loss is a side effect, you need to stop"... I wasn't sure how you were feeling about life in general and that's why I said maybe you do have a problem, maybe you don't, I just thought this was a sort of... Do YOU blackout, yes/no kinda thread. I do. And I find your last post and HTML5's last two posts to be really insightful and informative as to why you feel and think the way you do.

I think there's definitely thsi kind of mindset in your college years of WOOH! I drank more than you last night!!! I drank a whole bottle of wine and had a great night!!!! Obviously a bottle of wine is not intended for consumption by 1 person in a single evening, but it happens. If it happens on a Friday night and then again on a Saturday night and you've forgotten your weekend by the time you get back to work, maybe there's a problem.

WHY are you drinking, and why are you drinking so much? I drink to relax, I don't get to do it often, and when I do, I'll have the full bottle of wine over dinner and before I go out. I love a shot at 1am, and I know alcohol is a depressant, but it just makes me more giddy than I usually am. I like the taste of wine, I like doing a shot with friends. I enjoy it, and I don't abuse it, I don't drink TO forget, but sometimes it happens. I take €20 otu with me and no card, and sometimes I just predrink and don't take any money at all, the night revolves around the stories and memories we make, not around how much I drank and I hate waking up thinking i spent €10
on two drinks I don't remember having, what a waste!

What crazy thoughts sobering up? And what reasons for bingeing before and not now?
You don't actually have to answer those, but if we are getting into a discussion on reasons for binge drinking and Irish society's attitude to drink, they're things you need to think about, and things that will help you decide what direction you want to go in with alcohol. I have a recovering(recovered?) alcoholic, a pioneer, and something of a wine conoisseur in my immediate family, all with their own battles and opinions on alcohol... it's been really interesting reading yours and HTML5's (along with others).

Just a tad. It will bring on signs of ageing earlier than normal, but your liver will probably have packed in before you'll notice the crows feet