Alcohol- how much is too much?

[irish girl]

I'm just wondering people opinions on this. I always thought that my drinking is fine, basically i might only go out and drink 2-3 times per month which isn't a lot, however when I do go out i tend to drink a lot.. for example on my last night out I drank 3 glasses of wine , 3 vodka and cokes and 3 bottles of beer --i don't normalyl mix that much but it was a friends bday and we were all in drinking mode, now the thing is about 2 hours of the night - in the nightclub are gone, cant remember anything, my friends say i was fine just dancing and having a laugh but it has happened maybe 3 times before aswell,

 

Basically Am i drinking way too much on nights out how much does everyone else drink, not remembering parts of the night is scary even though im with friends do I need to seriously cut down?

 

Its just all my friends drink and i would find it hard going out and not drinking at all, but i guess i could cut down .

[soccer14]

I'd say that any more than 1 drink a night is too mcuh, but my mom's an alcoholic and I relaly look down on all the drinking and stuff

[irish girl]

Sorry to hear that, my dad is an alcoholic too, a bad one, not in contact with him anymore, so i guess that im worried in the future i might end up like that, i dont think i could but its supposed to be genetic so you never know, i mean i could just as easily go without for a drink for months if i had to so i dont have any dependance on it, i just drink too much on the occasions i do drink.

[nadine_3110]

I say that if you can't remember who was there, what you did, if you had fun or not, then you shouldn't have drank that much. My rule is always drink till you're in the happy zone, past that, you won't remember much.

[HellFrost666]

I used to binge drink... Honnestly it angers me now to think of all the brain cells I killed, not ot mention the damage I did to other parts of my body as a result.

 

If you black out like this on a regular basis then you are drinking too much. It seems like you have been lucky so far. One day this will happen and you will do something you regret later.

[Slagar]

Irish_Girl, it's good to hear that you're being responsible about this

 

The reason people become alcoholics, is they resort to drinking to help them deal with life's problems, and they become dependant on it. I don't think you have that problem.

 

That said, when you do drink, there is a line between drinking responsibly, and going overboard. Since you can't remember what happened that night, you probably drank too much.

You have to find your limit. It's that place between being happily drunk, but still being aware of whether you would be okay to have another one, or whether you should stop there.

I just drink until I feel I'm approaching my limit. I make sure I don't go over it (have done before, and learnt my lesson, lol).

[irish girl]

Irish_Girl, it's good to hear that you're being responsible about this

 

The reason people become alcoholics, is they resort to drinking to help them deal with life's problems, and they become dependant on it. I don't think you have that problem.

 

That said, when you do drink, there is a line between drinking responsibly, and going overboard. Since you can't remember what happened that night, you probably drank too much.

You have to find your limit. It's that place between being happily drunk, but still being aware of whether you would be okay to have another one, or whether you should stop there.

I just drink until I feel I'm approaching my limit. I make sure I don't go over it (have done before, and learnt my lesson, lol).

 

 

Yeah I have to try to do that, I was thinking of maybe setting myself a limit of how many drinks i will have on a night out before i start drinking and just stick to it, Id love to find that limit where im just happy drunk but still aware of everything around me, i dont want any more blackouts.. does 5 drinks sound like a lot? I might try setting myself that?

 

 

 

thanks for the advice..

[laboheme]

Pacing yourself is key. One drink an hour seems to be the general rule (although I suppose it's okay to have two drinks in one hour and none the next). So 5 drinks should last you through a 5 hour night...

[Robby Housel]

yes you need to cut down, if you cant remember the night, what is the sense in doing it in the first place, hello wake up call, this is how alcoholics start. is that where you want to go with your life. how old are you, that you had to ask, you already know the answere don't you

[irish girl]

yes you need to cut down, if you cant remember the night, what is the sense in doing it in the first place, hello wake up call, this is how alcoholics start. is that where you want to go with your life. how old are you, that you had to ask, you already know the answere don't you

 

 

 

firstly If you can see my details at the side of my post you will see i am 24,

 

This is an advice forum I believe? Which is why I was asking peoples opinions on how much alcohol they would drink on a night out and if what I drank was a lot more then that, I already know that I have to do something to pace myself on a night out, I was just wondering other peoples situations.

 

As for the alcoholic thing, my dad is one, so i know all about it, he drinks from the moments he gets up in the morning until he goes to bed, every single day of the year. As not being disrespectful to you but I do think that someone who goes out a couple of times a month and drinks too much on the nghts out, and who has no desire or need for alcohol otherwise does not mean that person is on the way to being an alcoholic, if that was the case then there would be a hell of a lot more alcoholics in the world.

 

I would be more worried about being an alcoholic if i needed a drink, if i drank at home, if i drank by myself etc, none of those things are true,

 

So anyway I just hate when people come onto a thread and make you feel stupid for what you have posted, everyone is entitled to ask peoples advice and opinions, and if you dont want to give any of if you are annoyed because you dont think the person should have had to ask the questions then its easy to click a button to get you off the page.

[ImThatGirl]

for example on my last night out I drank 3 glasses of wine , 3 vodka and cokes and 3 bottles of beer

 

 

Sweetie! This is alot of alcohol. At a much younger age, I had many a nights out with the girls where it would take days for us to compile the events of the night. One night, I blacked out. I was appalled that I could barely remember everything. Appalled that I kept drinking and knew that I had to have been very much over the legal limit.

 

After that I searched for a site much like this one:

 

link removed

 

It tells you what your blood alcohol level would be depending on your weight and amount of drinks.

 

I used a weight of 120, 3 beers, 3 champagnes (no wine on list,) and 3 gin and tonics (no vodka on list) in two hours. After adding the three together, I get .21. Not sure that is accurate. Check out the site and see what you think.

 

Sure, it's fun to let lose. But I guarantee, that amount of drinks in two hours is too much for most people to have! I know that a glass of wine for me makes me VERY tipsy and two puts me close to under the table...

[ImThatGirl]

Check out this site -->

link removed

 

Female Alcohol Consumption

At 120 Pounds

 

Drinks: Alcohol Level

 

1: .04

2: .08

3: .13

4: .17

5: .21

6: .26

7: .30

8: .33

9: .38

 

And subtract .01 for each hour. (Ex: .38 - .02 = .36)

 

Definitely risky!

 

Honestly, before looking at it this way, I didn't see drinking lots as dangerous. But after seeing these sites (a very long time ago,) I realized how dangerous it is.

[itsallgrand]

Hi Irish,

 

I'd say that the fact that you are worried about your drinking is reason enough to cut down.

 

*hitting gavel, in the alcoholic parent club myself* I used to do as you do - not drink every night, but often take it overboard when I did. Honestly, I started to scare myself. There were so many reasons I decided to stop. *Fear of doing something stupid when drunk or endangering myself *Fear of becoming my mother *Feeling like a bag of crap after a night of drinking.

 

Do you even enjoy booze? Yeah, being around friends who use booze to lubricate social events and to have fun makes it a bit more difficult. Surely you have a few who are casual or non-drinkers? Spend more time with them. Plan your activities - away from bars and clubs more often.

And when you go to the club - dance or whatever you like to do. One drink is enough or none at all if you don't feel like it.

 

Being a designated driver is always an option too. Watering down drinks, or having one drink then water, etc.

 

The occasional drink or drunken night probably won't kill you. I do like wine, so once in a while I have some with a meal. About once a year, I get really really drunk and remember why I do not drink much.

 

You're nipping a potential problem in the bud if you will listen to your own instincts yelling right now "Less booze, please!"

 

tc

[irish girl]

Thanks itsallgrand,

 

After reading some of the really helpful replies on this Im really starting to realise that I need to cut back big time , and im going on a night out with friends this saturday and I actually just sent my friend a text saying illl drive that night( first time i offered to be a designated driver usually we get taxis)

 

So I think im on the way, This sat night i will more than likely have as good a time with no drink as i would if i went out and drank too much,

 

I was always in denial saying either

 

1. i only go out now and again

 

2. my friends all drink as much as me

 

3. all young people do it

 

But the reality is

 

1. just because frinds do it doesn't mean its okay

 

2. My boyfriend actually pointed out that when i drink sometimes i can be really snappy with him for no reason and thats not a nice thing

 

3. some night something bad could happen to me

 

I don't think im ever going to drink more than 4-5 drinks a night from on as I think thats about my limit, and they will be spread out,

 

Thanks for everyones advice a s it really has opened my eyes, i think part of me when i wrote the post was thinking that people would respond saying "yeah thats grand.. I drink that much its normal" but deep down iknew that wasn't the case

[itsallgrand]

Ok, where's the little jumping around excited emoticon? Yeah!

 

This week-end will be interesting for you, like an experiment. Wishing you a good time and maybe we'll hear about it in a follow up.

[ImThatGirl]

Please say you are not having 5 drinks and driving home this Saturday?

 

And I don't know how much you weigh but 5 drinks in 5 hours for someone 120 lbs still equals an alcohol level of .16.

 

I'm proud of you for realizing that binge drinking can be harmful but I think 5 drinks is still too much...

 

JMO

[irish girl]

Please say you are not having 5 drinks and driving home this Saturday?

 

And I don't know how much you weigh but 5 drinks in 5 hours for someone 120 lbs still equals an alcohol level of .16.

 

I'm proud of you for realizing that binge drinking can be harmful but I think 5 drinks is still too much...

 

JMO

 

 

oh god no, im not driving , i have never drove with even a single drink on me, not in a million years, no I meant im not gonna drink at all this weekend and see how that goes,

 

the 5 drink is was meant for a night when i am out and i am drinking.. i was just wondering would that be my limit you know..

[irish girl]

Also i will let you know how my drink free night goes afterwards, thanks for all the encouragement

[sddeaston]

Why the worries? I am a 24 yr old male...been to college, and frankly don't remember A LOT of it, seriously.....I am not saying I am typical, because I know I did a lot more drinking and other stuff, but honestly...ur ok. I have seen way worse..hell, I have BEEN way worse.

[ImThatGirl]

Also i will let you know how my drink free night goes afterwards, thanks for all the encouragement

 

 

How Did It Go????

[timlondon]

I think many (all??) cookery programmes are a waste of time as most of us haven't got the time or energy to go searching round supermarkets for ingredients.

 

What on earth does that have to do with the thread?

 

Anyway, back to the OP - it sounds like you're not happy with the amount you drank that night, so I agree you should have a go drinking less. Personally I changed from drinking Stella a while back (evil stuff) in favour of weaker beer, and since then I've had much more enjoyable evenings, and practically no hangovers, so altering what you drink might be an idea.

 

However, you're only drinking 3-4 times a month, so - despite the dire warnings about alcoholism - you're not really putting yourself at much risk. I would say the amount you drank is high but not extreme, and your total consumption is fairly low, certainly by UK standards. IANAD though