Smelling like alcohol when you haven't been drinking - SoberRecovery : Alcoholism Drug Addiction Help and Information

goat012002 · 12-10-2008, 07:05 PM

I drink to excess, which is to say that I binge. I got a couple of days, maybe a week or two without drinking, but when I do drink I do not have the ability to stop until I'm wasted. Yesterday, my wife mentioned that I smelled like alcohol. I hadn't had a drink in about 3 days, so I told her that. Then, when she came home today, she said the same thing. Keep in mind I STILL hadn't had a drink! Now I've been binging for quite some time...ever since college, which was about 12 years ago. Is the fact that I smell like booze even having not drank for days a sign of a more serious problem?

parentrecovers · 12-10-2008, 07:07 PM

i can't answer your question, goat. but welcome! and keep posting! k

**Rowan** · 12-10-2008, 07:09 PM

Welcome. I can't answer your question either, but I would say that if you can't stop until you get wasted, and you found yourself here at a sober website ... well then, maybe you do have a problem?
Keep coming.

endzoner · 12-10-2008, 07:11 PM

the smell will in time go away It happens you were just never aware of the aroma , tho Im sure others did . Give it a lil time , no amount of soap will take it away , its almost like the bodys detoxing it im sure theres a defination for it , but that I dont know . Just give it time it will pass.. congrats on the 3 days

goat012002 · 12-10-2008, 07:12 PM

Thanks for the responses guys. I appreciate it. What I'm worried about is this...that maybe my liver (which my doc said had ,in her words, "elevated" enzyme levels lol) has begun losing the ability to metabolize the stuff and it is sticking around longer? If that's the case then I'm done drinking tomorrow LMAO! Just wondering if anyone had any insight into the medical aspect of alcoholism. Thanks for the help peeps!

**Rowan** · 12-10-2008, 07:16 PM

There is some great info here:

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...influence.html (Excerpts from "Under The Influence")

goat012002 · 12-10-2008, 07:25 PM

Alcoholics feel physically wretched during a hangover, but they also feel deeply and profoundly ashamed. From past experience, they know better, but they got drunk anyway -- why? Ignorant of the powerful workings of the addiction, the alcoholic can only blame himself. Remorse, self-loathing, and guilt therefore go hand in hand with the throbbing headache and queasy stomach ... "... the emotional pain which accompanies them -- the guilt, anxiety, self-accusation, the sense of hopelessness and despair ..." ... a very real and very painful physiological disorder.

I'd say that sums up my hangovers guys. I've been toying with the idea that I may have a "problem" for some time. I'm always "that guy" at the christmas party.....when the guys are over for hockey I'm the "bottomless beer pit"....and now about 6 months ago I had a panic attack which has turned into full on anxiety to where I take Lexapro. I'm starting to connect the dots. The alcohol use (read ABUSE) has lead to a serious psychological dilemma. Its tough to call yourself "crazy" or an "alcoholic".....but I may be at the breaking point where I'm willing to call myself one. Being able to go a week without drinking and then getting completely drubbed is, I now realize, just as much the disease alcoholism as the guy that has vodka with breakfast every day. Oy....where to start.......

**Rowan** · 12-10-2008, 07:30 PM

Start where you are, goat. Take it piecemeal, and try not to overwhelm yourself. I'm glad you are identifying with what you are reading.

parentrecovers · 12-10-2008, 07:34 PM

have you thought about trying some aa meetings, goat? or maybe talking to a counselor/doctor with experience in addiction?

does your doctor know you're drinking heavy on the lexapro? be careful with that ..

recovery is possible. admitting the problem is a big first step.

goat012002 · 12-10-2008, 07:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by parentrecovers

have you thought about trying some aa meetings, goat? or maybe talking to a counselor/doctor with experience in addiction?

does your doctor know you're drinking heavy on the lexapro? be careful with that ..

recovery is possible. admitting the problem is a big first step.

I haven't told her....nor have I told her that I drink when taking Lorazepam and alprazolam (not together lol...even I know not to take both and then drink hehe). I'm sure that's giving the old liver a real workout. The thing is I'm tooscared/ashamed to tell her I think. I dunno, I'll have to think about it. Same goes for ALANON and such.....not quite there yet Ithink....I hope

**Dee74** · 12-10-2008, 07:46 PM

Welcome Goat.

I figure it can't hurt to see a doc...and be totally honest...that way you'll know if there's liver damage or not.

The liver can take a lot, and a lot of damage can be reversible, but you have to stop drinking, and the sooner the better you know?

good luck to ya

D

goat012002 · 12-10-2008, 07:52 PM

Eeehhhh...yeah. Funny thing is....along with the drinking comes a certain level of cowardice and avoidance. I'm going to have to gather up the courage to do that. I'm also very afraid of doctors lol.

**Rowan** · 12-10-2008, 08:00 PM

You can do it! I used to mix clonazepam and booze regularly. Went to rehab 5 years ago for the pills - only then did I find out how dangerous a cocktail I had been taking.
Could have been fatal. Please be careful, goat.

Tryingto · 12-10-2008, 08:16 PM

Yup, if I can do it you can. I am going to a dr in oh lets see, thirty minutes (agghhhhhhh) to tell her about my good old problems, but also that I have a 'wee bit of a drinking problem' (why is that a thousand times easier to say than alcoholic???)
I am on anxiety meds as well.

Anyway I am not looking forward to it. I sure don't want to do this, but I just have to.
My son is coming to my appointment with me, so that is going to make me look even worse.
I am just repeating in my mind 'she (dr) will want to help me, not judge me'

Things sound easy but feel hard to do.
But once you do it, it was easier than you thought.

12-10-2008, 07:05 PM	#1 (permalink)
goat012002 Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Richmond, VA Posts: 5	Smelling like alcohol when you haven't been drinking I drink to excess, which is to say that I binge. I got a couple of days, maybe a week or two without drinking, but when I do drink I do not have the ability to stop until I'm wasted. Yesterday, my wife mentioned that I smelled like alcohol. I hadn't had a drink in about 3 days, so I told her that. Then, when she came home today, she said the same thing. Keep in mind I STILL hadn't had a drink! Now I've been binging for quite some time...ever since college, which was about 12 years ago. Is the fact that I smell like booze even having not drank for days a sign of a more serious problem?

12-10-2008, 07:07 PM	#2 (permalink)
parentrecovers P* the greenbean c*erole! Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: USA Posts: 15,243	i can't answer your question, goat. but welcome! and keep posting! k __________________

12-10-2008, 07:09 PM	#3 (permalink)
Rowan Social Network Moderator Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 11,924	Welcome. I can't answer your question either, but I would say that if you can't stop until you get wasted, and you found yourself here at a sober website ... well then, maybe you do have a problem? Keep coming. __________________

12-10-2008, 07:11 PM	#4 (permalink)
endzoner Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Wishek, North Dakota Posts: 597 Blog Entries: 12	the smell will in time go away It happens you were just never aware of the aroma , tho Im sure others did . Give it a lil time , no amount of soap will take it away , its almost like the bodys detoxing it im sure theres a defination for it , but that I dont know . Just give it time it will pass.. congrats on the 3 days __________________ Dying is easy , Its living that scares me to death ( Annie Lennoox)

12-10-2008, 07:16 PM	#6 (permalink)
Rowan Social Network Moderator Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 11,924	There is some great info here: http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...influence.html (Excerpts from "Under The Influence") __________________

12-10-2008, 07:12 PM	#5 (permalink)
goat012002 Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Richmond, VA Posts: 5	Thanks for the responses guys. I appreciate it. What I'm worried about is this...that maybe my liver (which my doc said had ,in her words, "elevated" enzyme levels lol) has begun losing the ability to metabolize the stuff and it is sticking around longer? If that's the case then I'm done drinking tomorrow LMAO! Just wondering if anyone had any insight into the medical aspect of alcoholism. Thanks for the help peeps!

12-10-2008, 07:25 PM	#7 (permalink)
goat012002 Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Richmond, VA Posts: 5	Alcoholics feel physically wretched during a hangover, but they also feel deeply and profoundly ashamed. From past experience, they know better, but they got drunk anyway -- why? Ignorant of the powerful workings of the addiction, the alcoholic can only blame himself. Remorse, self-loathing, and guilt therefore go hand in hand with the throbbing headache and queasy stomach ... "... the emotional pain which accompanies them -- the guilt, anxiety, self-accusation, the sense of hopelessness and despair ..." ... a very real and very painful physiological disorder. I'd say that sums up my hangovers guys. I've been toying with the idea that I may have a "problem" for some time. I'm always "that guy" at the christmas party.....when the guys are over for hockey I'm the "bottomless beer pit"....and now about 6 months ago I had a panic attack which has turned into full on anxiety to where I take Lexapro. I'm starting to connect the dots. The alcohol use (read ABUSE) has lead to a serious psychological dilemma. Its tough to call yourself "crazy" or an "alcoholic".....but I may be at the breaking point where I'm willing to call myself one. Being able to go a week without drinking and then getting completely drubbed is, I now realize, just as much the disease alcoholism as the guy that has vodka with breakfast every day. Oy....where to start.......

12-10-2008, 07:30 PM	#8 (permalink)
Rowan Social Network Moderator Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 11,924	Start where you are, goat. Take it piecemeal, and try not to overwhelm yourself. I'm glad you are identifying with what you are reading. __________________

12-10-2008, 07:34 PM	#9 (permalink)
parentrecovers P* the greenbean c*erole! Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: USA Posts: 15,243	have you thought about trying some aa meetings, goat? or maybe talking to a counselor/doctor with experience in addiction? does your doctor know you're drinking heavy on the lexapro? be careful with that .. recovery is possible. admitting the problem is a big first step. __________________

12-10-2008, 07:46 PM	#11 (permalink)
Dee74 Forum Leader Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: maintenance Posts: 14,336	Welcome Goat. I figure it can't hurt to see a doc...and be totally honest...that way you'll know if there's liver damage or not. The liver can take a lot, and a lot of damage can be reversible, but you have to stop drinking, and the sooner the better you know? good luck to ya D __________________ May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith. May you use those gifts that you have received and pass on the love that has been given to you.

12-10-2008, 07:52 PM	#12 (permalink)
goat012002 Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Richmond, VA Posts: 5	Eeehhhh...yeah. Funny thing is....along with the drinking comes a certain level of cowardice and avoidance. I'm going to have to gather up the courage to do that. I'm also very afraid of doctors lol.

12-10-2008, 08:00 PM	#13 (permalink)
Rowan Social Network Moderator Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 11,924	You can do it! I used to mix clonazepam and booze regularly. Went to rehab 5 years ago for the pills - only then did I find out how dangerous a cocktail I had been taking. Could have been fatal. Please be careful, goat. __________________

12-10-2008, 08:16 PM	#14 (permalink)
Tryingto Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 150	Yup, if I can do it you can. I am going to a dr in oh lets see, thirty minutes (agghhhhhhh) to tell her about my good old problems, but also that I have a 'wee bit of a drinking problem' (why is that a thousand times easier to say than alcoholic???) I am on anxiety meds as well. Anyway I am not looking forward to it. I sure don't want to do this, but I just have to. My son is coming to my appointment with me, so that is going to make me look even worse. I am just repeating in my mind 'she (dr) will want to help me, not judge me' Things sound easy but feel hard to do. But once you do it, it was easier than you thought.

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