heavy drinking??

[letgolaughing]

hi y'all
in an attempt to eliminate my (hopefully)irrational fear of AL withdrawal i was looking online about the odds of going thru AL withdrawal. Everything thing i read says that "heavy drinkers" are at risk of serious AL withdrawals. So, ask, what then constitutes a "heavy drinker". And now, i find that the CDC says that women that consume more than 1 drink a day are considered "heavy drinkers".
or some resources say more than 8 drinks a week for women or more than 4 drinks in one sitting.

So, i don't take much stock in the American guidelines for alcohol because i feel like we attach a moral stigma to drinking and therefore have a very low guideline.
however, i always thought "heavy drinking" was drinking a bottle of vodka everyday.

so when an article says that if you are a heavy drinker you are more likely to get serious withdrawals, are they talking about the CDC definition of a heavy drinker?

so, what do you think constitutes a heavy drinker.

by these standards i am a heavy drinker so now i'm even more scared about the AWD.

[Sunbeam]

heavy drinking??

LetGo,
I just Googled the phrase "heavy drinking" . See what I found at this link: HOW TO ASSESS FOR ALCOHOL USE DISORDERS
I hope it will answer your question.

[Eve11]

heavy drinking??

LetGo,

I know you are so worried about this. I found an article online and tried to save it for you but had a virus in the computer which subsequently crashed...so...sorry I couldn't but in a jist heavy drinking where you would need to be concerned about w/drawal is 8 drinks a day so try not to let the OCD issue bother you.

Hugs,
Eve11

[hippie37]

heavy drinking??

So, i don't take much stock in the American guidelines for alcohol

LGL. I feel the same way about the UK guidelines. The government wanted to 'move the goal posts' yet again some while ago. We get newspaper articles telling us that 2 glasses of red wine a night is good for you because of the high amount of antioxidants. Then weeks later we get other articles telling us according to the new safety guidelines this would deem us as being "heavy drinkers". Only recently a government health official was sacked here because he spoke out against alcohol and said it was worse than cannabis and ecstasy. Because he wasn't 'playing ball' with how the government wanted the guidelines and classifications on alcohol and drug misuse.

The media has a lot to answer for because it's a way of manipulating and controlling us through psychological fear. Look at all the other issues we have like obesity, binge drinking, smoking, teenagers, immigration etc etc. If I believed everything the media told me then I'd probably want to just kill myself! How may articles do you see in women's magazines about 'being comfortable with your body' etc and yet there on the front cover is a super model selling the magazine. We're told this country is a nation of binge drinkers; on who's say so? Well according to the health and safety guidelines and an article explaining the 9 types of typical drinker and a load of statistics this is what we're lead to believe. I don't doubt that the country has a problem with binge drinking but using scare mongering tactics to try to solve a problem only creates more problems.

The only person you need to listen to is you and what your own intuition is telling you. Don't try to categorise yourself according to others'. I don't know how many times in the past I approached my GP for advice on some issue that I already intuitively knew what the problem was. I more often than not went to just get some sympathy and acknowledgment and none more so than my drinking. Of course, I'm not saying this is the case in all situations. But I know I need to do more exercise say or cut down smoking or give up drinking. We all have that little internal voice; our intuition. Problem is we can tend to deny ourselves from hearing it. Either, it becomes a guilty conscience and we finally act or our minds get warped by the media bombardment till we lose sight of it altogether.

As far as withdrawals go everybody is different; as is our body metabolisms and the way we 'discard' alcohol out of our systems. I used to have withdrawals after every binge, hence why I carried on drinking to ease the symptoms until I was ready for my next binge. I was pretty used to withdrawals to be honest so psychologically I was quite hardened to my last ever withdrawal. I've known people personally to have drunk far more than me and still had no severe withdrawals at all. I think a lot has to do with your state of mind at the time. If your being panicked into thinking all these things are gonna happen to you then your going to work yourself into a panic attack. Not nice believe me as It happened to me on a few occasions. My paranoia took over big time and I made things worse for myself.

You're here for a reason LGL. You wouldn't of joined up otherwise. Focus on your intentions and not the collective ones of governing bodies. They're all as bad as one another in my eyes. Don't buy into it and listen to your inner voice.

Many Blessings
Phil

[Sunbeam]

heavy drinking??

LetGo, I think you would be more successful if you treated your OCD nonsense as a demon. Instead of repeatedly posting his threat of withdrawal and seizures, try posting something like this: "My OCD demon is telling me I will have a seizure if I stop drinking, but I know he is wrong. I am not a heavy drinker, I only drank ______ yesterday or ________ this week. I am fighting him off, I will not drink today!"

[BradyKelly]

heavy drinking??

Real Heavy drinking

Yeah, something like a Bottle if spirits a night, quickly. My personal was a dozen beers a day, normally starting in the morning. I would then pass out and wake up at 2am, agnising over how lomg that wait was until 8.30am when I cold get more.

Another guy I know used to sit at the local all day and sometimes get through a whole 5l box of white wine!

And last, but not least :H was that Germal guy who wasn't allowed to take his unopened bottle of voka into customs/barding whatever, so he downed the whole bottle on the spot. That is heavy drinking.

[newstart32]

heavy drinking??

Hmmm ... I was drinking about 1.5 - 2 bottles of wine (750ml) each night. Probably 5 nights a week. On the other nights I still drank, but maybe a little less. I tapered off a bit last week, but only because I had a cold. I was probably drinking only 1 bottle a night. On Saturday night I drank 1 full bottle. I have not had a single drink since, and have not experienced physical withdrawal. Some night sweats, but that's about it. Definitely nothing remotely as painful as my typical hangover.

I would think that 2 bottles of wine a night classifies you as a heavy drinker.

I suppose the physical withdrawal is going to be different for everyone. But don't let that be a reason not to stop. Isn't a couple of days of discomfort better than a life of getting drunk, hangovers and all that comes with it?

[BradyKelly]

heavy drinking??

newstart32;960556 wrote:

I would think that 2 bottles of wine a night classifies you as a heavy drinker.

Yes, but I wouldn't consider 1 bottle a night any concern, unless you chug it in the bathroom while nobody is looking at you. A standard bottle gives about 4 - 5 glasses. One while cooking, one or two with supper, and one or two watching TV. Once that is done, you have very little reason except a problem to open another wine.

[JackieClaire]

heavy drinking??

I'm afraid one bottle of wine at AbV (alcohol by volume) 10% contains 7.5 units of alcohol.
With the recommended limit in the UK at 14 units per week for women, 21 units for men that is way over the limit of moderate drinking at 52.5 units per week. And remember most wines these days have an AbV of up to 14.5%.

[BradyKelly]

heavy drinking??

I would rather find my own limits...

JackieClaire;960596 wrote: I'm afraid one bottle of wine at AbV (alcohol by volume) 10% contains 7.5 units of alcohol.
With the recommended limit in the UK at 14 units per week for women, 21 units for men that is way over the limit of moderate drinking at 52.5 units per week. And remember most wines these days have an AbV of up to 14.5%.
... and return to a life a healthy, fresh mornings, without alcohol interfering with my life any more. If my government isn't going to enforce such low 'moderation' figures, I would rather my doctor told me if I was drinking too much, not an impersonal document like that. However, I would get bored coming home to my bottle of wine everynight, so if I lived in England it looks like I could do that, with a reasonable AbV wine three times a week. If not for ridiculous daily limits:

# South Africa: No more than one drink (12 grams of alcohol) per day for women and no more than two drinks per day for men
# UK: An upper limit of 32 grams of alcohol per day for men and 24 grams of alcohol per day for women

[Pride before Fall]

heavy drinking??

I would like to add that the liver can only metabolize 10 g alcohol per hour (about 1 standard drink). Anything more than that is damaging.

[JackieClaire]

heavy drinking??

Funnily enough that isn't taken from government document but my own research using government guidelines and advice from my own GP that I have been seeing for over the last 8 years to beat this addiction.

[Guest]

heavy drinking??

The government health figures do vary so much and the biggest, most damaging thing they ever did was releasing "A glass or two of red per day is good for you". When they said this the health advisors meant an incey, wincey 125ml glass. Not the 175-250mls everyone decided it to be.

Instructor on the drink drive course I took likes to play a joke when buying a round for him and his wife. "I'll have a pint of bitter, and a half pint of red please". Yup the 250ml wine glasses are more or less half a pint.

Sooooo, heavy drinking which is of course slightly different to binge drinking. I'd say any amount of alcohol drunk quickly, in order to induce inebriation in the shortest amount of time is binge drinking.

Hey I like that - can I claim that definition?

Heavy drinking to me is steady over consumption of alcohol over a long period. I think further definition would be to the point where some physical, and lifestyle effect is felt by the drinker. I certainly know that when I drank wine consistently taking in around 70 units a week(which is around 1 bottle per day) I took on a slightly flushed, puffy-faced look, I gained weight despite a high level of training, some mornings my mouth was like a budgies cage and I had the odd headache. Also I was not as bright as I should have been. Yes that was heavy drinking. One other question is would you be fit to drive?social drinkers can drive most of the time, binge drinkers not for 24-48 hours after their event and heavy drinker probably would be legal to drive between 9am and 6pm assuming they stop at 11pmish and don't have any lunchtime sips.

Good old alchies, well I once didn't drive for a month. Then again I don't drive much anyway but the occasions I would have done I couldn't.

By the way 2 large glasses of wine throw the average woman way over the drink drive limit, and 175ml servings borderline.

Whilst on the government topic, the next worst ever statement they made regards health was the fruit & veg 5-a-day. Result has been over consumption of acidic fruit leading to MORE dental caries. Veggies are fine since they are alkaline.

[Litre]

heavy drinking??

Heavy Drinking

I found this site last spring, and it was very helpfull. Unfortunately, I was living with a very negative force I went 2 months Af, but daily I got verbal bashing. Eventually I tried to drink moderaterly, but I was in my bedroom with a box of wine drowning him out. I know we are responsible for our own actions, but when you are told you are an alcoholic constantly, why not be one, I did not care. There was never a let us work on this, it was either get it under control or get out. For four years I heard if I do not like it get out. So I would start in the morning, go to work and then come home and start again. It got worse the more he badgered me. Before I left he admitted to verbally abusing me. Now 4 months later I wake and decide I do not want to live like this. Two weeks ago I bought a box of wine 4 litres and it was gone by Sunday. I have had enough. I no longer need to drown anyone out, so what am I doing, so I quit. I am now AF since Jan 10/11. I also was afraid of withdrawals, but considering the amount I drank and I am not a large person, I did not have anything to concern myself with. My problem is the habit, which I will also break. I can now stay up later, wake feeling no guilt. I am proud of myself and will continue to be so. Thankyou for your time.:thanks:

[Litre]

heavy drinking??

help me I have fallen and can't get up

So I have as they say fallen off the wagon, and boy do I have bruises, not that I am taking this lightly, but I am scared and want to quit. A while ago I was brave and thought I could do it all, but now I know I cannot, please give me some pointers and help me move on with out.