Gave Up Drinking - Now I Cannot Drink At All!

[KunMatt]

You mean Dr terrythai was wrong!!!!! Perhaps we should chip in for a second opinion!

And suddenly the OP has gone from "over 3 months " to "5 months", alcohol free (not that it makes any difference, but shows a tendency to lie) so now I do not believe a word he has said on here.

And how did you know my occupation mums boy?

Very mature to start with the insults just because you were wrong!

As I have clearly stated, I gave up drinking on New Year's eve and was alcohol free for over 3 months. Then I stated I have had a handful of occasions after that 3 month period where I have had a couple of drinks. Then finally I stated that I been "laying off the booze" for 5 months. It is now the end of May so New Years to end of May is 5 months of which I have been laying off the booze considerably.

I never said or implied I was totally alcohol free for the entire 5 months because, as the point of this thread suggests, I have had a couple of drinks recently. So what I said is true and you are wrong yet again (3 in a row, well done!).

Just because you make wrong assumptions does not give you any right to call me a liar. Maybe you should read the thread more carefully instead of jumping to wrong conclusions all the time.

Edited May 24, 2013 by KunMatt

[poanoi]

It might be age related, i started to suffer horrendously at about age 40,

so bad so i voluntarily cut down several-fold.

Pick another hobby, boomsing/bodybuilding/whatever,

and give it another try after half a year

[robblok]

Why all this talk about alcoholism?

And the most absurd, "accept the thing I cannot change".

One who controls the mind controls the life.

The OP was just talking about quiting for a couple of months, not asking for advice on how to quite from the alcoholics.

I quite for long periods of time all the time. After the first nasty Singha I quite drinking beer for a couple of months. Just hit the scotch once or twice a week.

I agree with the other poster, a couple of pints a day is healthy.

Unless it leaves you with a headache, then don't drink it. Check please.

There is no such thing as a drinking problem. It's not being able (weak) to control your impulsive urge to want to drink excessively.

Let's see. The forum is called "I Drink Too Much". I'm wondering why anyone is perusing through and posting in a forum with that name... unless they're wondering themselves.

I also wonder why people without a drinking problem occasionally stop drinking- just to prove they can.

And I gotta kind of wonder why someone would get so defensive and react so strongly to comments not even directed at them.

I won't bother to respond to that last sentence except to say that, if drinking is causing problems in my life, then I have a drinking problem. Period. Full stop. Alcoholism? Maybe maybe not. Only the OP can judge that for himself. And isn't it great that he/she can get input from all kinds of folks here that have, perhaps, walked further down some different paths?

I stopped drinking because it interfeared with my training and health goals. It was quite easy for me, but i never liked the tast of any beer or alcohol. I just drank to get drunk.

If i start drinking again there will be no problem besides the obvious hangovers and days you feel less then perfect. Its just not worth it. My liver has been checked many times and even when i did drink it was never in any problems. But i did not drink every day, maybe 1 time a week or so but then i did drink 1/3 a bottle of vodka or so maybe 4 / 10 th something like that.

There are plenty of people who can drink and have no problems and they just stop because their priorities change. I have done xtc in the past back in the Netherlands stopped with it as it was not worth the hangovers.

Some people get addicted to stuff easier as others.

[onthemoon]

stress is the number one killer in the world

drinking lowers stress

your honor i rest my case

Alcohol is a depressant.

Do you mean that in the sense that you get depressive (which I cannot confirm) or that it calms you down, so that you can sleep well (which I can confirm)?

[onthemoon]

Got my blood test results (see attached if interested). My liver is in shockingly good health. 5 months of laying if the booze must have done it a world of good.

I still have the remnants of a hangover from that 1 beer a couple of nights ago though!!

Thanks for the warning. I won't be laying off the "booze" (just beer in my case) for such a long time then. I was off beer for two months when I had to take anti-biotics but did not experience any problems when I got back to normal. I wouldn't fancy a hangover lasting for days.

Somebody said he was drinking too much for a while just to get drunk, not because he liked the taste. Well, I like the taste of beer. Back in Europe, I even drank alcohol-free beer when going out with friends if I still had to drive. Here in Bangkok, taxis are so cheap that I don't take a car when I go out in the evening.

[KonKorat]

drink 2 glasses of water before sleeping,this does the trick for me.

[partington]

stress is the number one killer in the world

drinking lowers stress

your honor i rest my case

Alcohol is a depressant.

Do you mean that in the sense that you get depressive (which I cannot confirm) or that it calms you down, so that you can sleep well (which I can confirm)?

The post that said alcohol is a depressant is a misunderstanding of the pharmacological use of the word "depressant'. It does not mean "make you sad".

When doctors say alcohol is a central nervous system 'depressant', it means it suppresses or diminishes (depresses) some brain functions, which control excitability or anxiety. Some of the higher brain functions it blocks are the ones that control judgement, rationality and caution. So when those are blocked you indulge in more reckless behaviour, your social anxieties can be diminished and you behave more extravagantly. You experience this as pleasurable usually.

It does not mean you are "made sad".

However this is complicated by the fact that if you are 'depressed' in the layman's non-pharmacological sense of being sad or unhappy, you can feel happier if you drink alcohol, and this self-medication is temporarily effective. But when the alcohol wears off you feel worse in emotional state than if you had not drunk in the first place, because of rebound effects. So then you are tempted to drink more, and end up feeling worse, and so a cycle begins, that can end in alcoholism.

So alcohol is not a good response to pre-existing depression because it can make it worse (when the alcohol wears off).

But this is NOT what it means when doctors say "alcohol is a depressant" - this means it acts to diminish levels of excitability and arousal in your brain leading to more calmness.*

*unless you are a tattooed Englishman

Edited May 26, 2013 by partington

[onthemoon]

stress is the number one killer in the world

drinking lowers stress

your honor i rest my case

Alcohol is a depressant.

Do you mean that in the sense that you get depressive (which I cannot confirm) or that it calms you down, so that you can sleep well (which I can confirm)?

The post that said alcohol is a depressant is a misunderstanding of the pharmacological use of the word "depressant'. It does not mean "make you sad".

When doctors say alcohol is a central nervous system 'depressant', it means it suppresses or diminishes (depresses) some brain functions, which control excitability or anxiety. Some of the higher brain functions it blocks are the ones that control judgement, rationality and caution. So when those are blocked you indulge in more reckless behaviour, your social anxieties can be diminished and you behave more extravagantly. You experience this as pleasurable usually.

It does not mean you are "made sad".

However this is complicated by the fact that if you are 'depressed' in the layman's non-pharmacological sense of being sad or unhappy, you can feel happier if you drink alcohol, and this self-medication is temporarily effective. But when the alcohol wears off you feel worse in emotional state than if you had not drunk in the first place, because of rebound effects. So then you are tempted to drink more, and end up feeling worse, and so a cycle begins, that can end in alcoholism.

So alcohol is not a good response to pre-existing depression because it can make it worse (when the alcohol wears off).

But this is NOT what it means when doctors say "alcohol is a depressant" - this means it acts to diminish levels of excitability and arousal in your brain leading to more calmness.*

*unless you are a tattooed Englishman

I don't know about tattooed Englishmen, so I will ignore that remark.

As for the rest of your posting, you sound very theoretical. My practical experience (which may not be transferable to the general public) is that alcohol makes me tired rather than aggressive. But then, I am quite happy with my life and don't get excited about petty things any more; and I won't discuss important things when inebriated.

[Kalbo]

You probably have got pancreatitis. The symptoms suggest it.

I seriously doubt it. Alcohol induced acute Pancreatitis is extremely painful, and once it starts, even drinking water will make the pain worse.

[HerbalEd]

Why pressure your body into drinking if it clearly does not want it? Alcohol, like almost everything, is a poison if taken in sufficient doses. You don't say how much you used to drink, but the fact that you suffered no overt symptoms when drinking too much before does emphatically NOT necessarily mean it was not damaging your body. Having de-conditioned your body with a layoff of three months you should not now expect to resume where you left off without reaction.

If I were you my first step would be to have a complete physical to see if anything is causing your body's reaction to moderate levels of alcohol. Incidentally there are plenty of people, some Asians in particular, who have an allergic reaction to ingesting any alcohol. If the physical proves you are OK, and you really insist that you need to drink again, (and this is a course I do NOT necessarily recommend) reacclimatise yourself in small steps.

He said he drank 8 pints per day.

[kriswillems]

I have another problem. I never in my life felt good or happy after drinking alcohol.

I can drink alcoholic drink and enjoy (only) the taste, but drinking too much doesn't have the effect on me that it has on other people.

I see almost everyone becomes more happy and talkative after drinking a few glasses.

I've tried to drink alcohol to get the same effect. I feel I get drunk and loose control, but I also feel dizzy and pretty bad. It never had any positive effect. I can't sleep after drinking alcohol. I also feel nervous, afraid that something bad will happen because I loose control. I really honestly don't understand why anyone would voluntarily drink more than 1 glass.

Another thing is that some alcoholic drinks (about 30% of them), even after I drink only one tenth of a glass (about sipping one time) make my eyes swell and I loose the (skin) feeling in my face.

Edited May 28, 2013 by kriswillems

[ajarnpot]

yeah kris this is my feeling on it too not a =ve thing to say about it

[onthemoon]

I have another problem. I never in my life felt good or happy after drinking alcohol.

I can drink alcoholic drink and enjoy (only) the taste, but drinking too much doesn't have the effect on me that it has on other people.

I see almost everyone becomes more happy and talkative after drinking a few glasses.

I've tried to drink alcohol to get the same effect. I feel I get drunk and loose control, but I also feel dizzy and pretty bad. It never had any positive effect. I can't sleep after drinking alcohol. I also feel nervous, afraid that something bad will happen because I loose control. I really honestly don't understand why anyone would voluntarily drink more than 1 glass.

Another thing is that some alcoholic drinks (about 30% of them), even after I drink only one tenth of a glass (about sipping one time) make my eyes swell and I loose the (skin) feeling in my face.

The first part is about you not enjoying alcohol. Don't drink it then.

The second part is about a physical reaction. You might be allergic to alcohol.

My Thai friend is not allergic, but he does not enjoy the effects of alcohol either. That's not a problem, and we still have great fun together at parties though.