am I?
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Northern California
Posts: 7
am I?
I usually drink 3 to 5 beers in the evening, during dinner, and watching TV. On the weekends I'll drink up to 8 beers in a day - more than that makes me sick and I'll have a hangover the next day. Last week I didn't have any beers... in the evenings for the first couple days I REALLY wanted to have a beer in the evenings when I got home from work which is the time I usually have some - I made myself tea and drank that instead. Having a few beers in the evening does seem to give me a little energy boost and enables me to stay up when I should be going to bed.
Hard alcohol makes me sick... I can only really stand to have 1 drink of anything hard... it tears up my stomach and I'll feel horrible the next day. I can only have about 2-3 glasses of red wine before it puts me to sleep.
My wife is currently detoxing from opioids with suboxone and she is fairly irritable (i.e. raging crazy angry bitchy). We had a fight last night because she wasn't taking her medicine correctly and as prescribed - she said I was being a control freak, etc.. During this exchange she said I was a "raging alcoholic". I don't think I'm a raging alcoholic, but I'm thinking that maybe my life would be better off right now if I didn't drink.
Thoughts?
Hard alcohol makes me sick... I can only really stand to have 1 drink of anything hard... it tears up my stomach and I'll feel horrible the next day. I can only have about 2-3 glasses of red wine before it puts me to sleep.
My wife is currently detoxing from opioids with suboxone and she is fairly irritable (i.e. raging crazy angry bitchy). We had a fight last night because she wasn't taking her medicine correctly and as prescribed - she said I was being a control freak, etc.. During this exchange she said I was a "raging alcoholic". I don't think I'm a raging alcoholic, but I'm thinking that maybe my life would be better off right now if I didn't drink.
Thoughts?
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Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 1,697
Originally Posted by alpinex 
I don't think I'm a raging alcoholic, but I'm thinking that maybe my life would be better off right now if I didn't drink.
I could not stop no matter how bad life was.
Now, if you try and find you cannot, there might be cause to take a closer look at the possibility that you are alcoholic.
Forward we go...side by side-Rest In Peace
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Serene In Dixie
Posts: 36,740
As you said....your wife is not in her best mood.
What do you think?
This is from the NIAAA site
10. How can you tell if someone has a problem?
Answering the following four questions can help you find out if you or a loved one has a drinking problem:
Have you ever felt you should cut down on your drinking?
Have people annoyed you by criticizing your drinking?
Have you ever felt bad or guilty about your drinking?
Have you ever had a drink first thing in the morning to steady your nerves or to get rid of a hangover?
One "yes" answer suggests a possible alcohol problem. More than one "yes" answer means it is highly likely that a problem exists. If you think that you or someone you know might have an alcohol problem, it is important to see a doctor or other health care provider right away. They can help you determine if a drinking problem exists and plan the best course of action.
Please check this out
http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/FAQs/Genera...sh/default.htm
Blessings to both of you
What do you think?
This is from the NIAAA site
10. How can you tell if someone has a problem?
Answering the following four questions can help you find out if you or a loved one has a drinking problem:
Have you ever felt you should cut down on your drinking?
Have people annoyed you by criticizing your drinking?
Have you ever felt bad or guilty about your drinking?
Have you ever had a drink first thing in the morning to steady your nerves or to get rid of a hangover?
One "yes" answer suggests a possible alcohol problem. More than one "yes" answer means it is highly likely that a problem exists. If you think that you or someone you know might have an alcohol problem, it is important to see a doctor or other health care provider right away. They can help you determine if a drinking problem exists and plan the best course of action.
Please check this out
http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/FAQs/Genera...sh/default.htm
Blessings to both of you
Member
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Cleveland Ohio
Posts: 290
I don't want to diagnose... I can tell you why I think I am an alcoholic.
When I drink I cannot predict how much or for how long I will drink. Once I have one I get an overwhelming urge to drink more and more. The urge does not go away after a few drinks. I still want more.
When I drink I cannot predict how much or for how long I will drink. Once I have one I get an overwhelming urge to drink more and more. The urge does not go away after a few drinks. I still want more.
Member
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: some where / no where
Posts: 1,019
Welcome Alpinex
I hope you can find the answers you need in your life right now. I'd pay close attention to the questions which Carol poses in her post. There are many diagonstical "quizes" one can do to get answers as well. The important thing here is honesty. Only you can say if you are an alcoholic or not.
best wishes,
chip
I hope you can find the answers you need in your life right now. I'd pay close attention to the questions which Carol poses in her post. There are many diagonstical "quizes" one can do to get answers as well. The important thing here is honesty. Only you can say if you are an alcoholic or not.
best wishes,
chip
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Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Fredericksburg, Va.
Posts: 9,730
Welcome to SR alpinex, there is no way we can say you are an alcoholic or not, that is a decision you need to make on your own. The AA website has a 20 question test that can help you determine if you are or not, there are many others including the one that Carol mentioned.
I will say this, alcoholism is a progressive disease, when I was a teenager out of those 20 questions at the AA site I would have answered at least 4 with a yes which basically says I was an alcoholic even then, but very early in my diseases progression, when I finally quit years later I could answer yes to almost every one of those questions and if I had drank for just one more year I am sure I would have aced that test!!!
What I am trying to say is if the test determines you are an alcoholic even though you have not answered a lot of the questions with a yes, you need to first understand that if you are an alcoholic as long as you keep drinking things are going to keep getting worse and NEVER better. You need to take a good hard look at your life up until this point and decise whether or not you should keep on drinking.
I will add 2 things to this:
1. People who do not have a drinking problem do not seek out boards about alcoholism for them selfs.
2. People who do not have a drinking problem do not try and control how much or how often they drink.
I will say this, alcoholism is a progressive disease, when I was a teenager out of those 20 questions at the AA site I would have answered at least 4 with a yes which basically says I was an alcoholic even then, but very early in my diseases progression, when I finally quit years later I could answer yes to almost every one of those questions and if I had drank for just one more year I am sure I would have aced that test!!!
What I am trying to say is if the test determines you are an alcoholic even though you have not answered a lot of the questions with a yes, you need to first understand that if you are an alcoholic as long as you keep drinking things are going to keep getting worse and NEVER better. You need to take a good hard look at your life up until this point and decise whether or not you should keep on drinking.
I will add 2 things to this:
1. People who do not have a drinking problem do not seek out boards about alcoholism for them selfs.
2. People who do not have a drinking problem do not try and control how much or how often they drink.
Member
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 410
imo, whether you are a "heavy drinker" or an "alcoholic" can be splitting hairs. If you feel that your drinking is taking over, or your days are centering around drinking, or like CarolD said, you feel any guilt over it...
Then you should address it. You don't exactly have to label it, just take care of it.
I don't know how old you are, but I used to drink like you... no hard alcohol... didn't even touch wine (wine coolers from time to time). It didn't get better with age, it got rediculus... So start cutting back now, and answer the questions proposed above (be honest
and then and see how you feel.
Then you should address it. You don't exactly have to label it, just take care of it.
I don't know how old you are, but I used to drink like you... no hard alcohol... didn't even touch wine (wine coolers from time to time). It didn't get better with age, it got rediculus... So start cutting back now, and answer the questions proposed above (be honest
and then and see how you feel.
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 773
No you are not a alcoholic. You are just a "heavy drinker." You want to look into a program called Moderation Management. Drinking 3-5 drinks a night might be a tad excessive. I believe doctors recommend 2 drinks a day for men.
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Northern California
Posts: 7
Thanks for the responses. They were very helpful.
I don't ever find that I can't stop drinking. I'll go out after work with some friends and say I'll have "a beer", and I have "a beer". I don't feel it is "taking over" or anything. I'll get home and have a beer or two with dinner and one or two more while watching TV or checking my e-mail. It feels almost more habitual than anything, I can easily rotate in hot tea or a 7-up instead. I never "black out".
I don't have any guilt over drinking, except my wife called me a "raging alcoholic", it made me think... am I?
She's detoxing from opiates, so maybe it's just one of those hurtful things people say when they are in detox. I'm very paranoid about becoming addicted to anything, especially after seeing what my wife is going through. That's why I asked you here.
3-5 drinks a day is "heavy". I think I'll cut back to 0-2/day.
BTW, I'm 31. I didn't touch beer until I was 22. Before that I thought it tasted awful.
I don't ever find that I can't stop drinking. I'll go out after work with some friends and say I'll have "a beer", and I have "a beer". I don't feel it is "taking over" or anything. I'll get home and have a beer or two with dinner and one or two more while watching TV or checking my e-mail. It feels almost more habitual than anything, I can easily rotate in hot tea or a 7-up instead. I never "black out".
I don't have any guilt over drinking, except my wife called me a "raging alcoholic", it made me think... am I?
She's detoxing from opiates, so maybe it's just one of those hurtful things people say when they are in detox. I'm very paranoid about becoming addicted to anything, especially after seeing what my wife is going through. That's why I asked you here.
3-5 drinks a day is "heavy". I think I'll cut back to 0-2/day.
BTW, I'm 31. I didn't touch beer until I was 22. Before that I thought it tasted awful.
Member
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Colorado Prairie
Posts: 1,417
While your wife is detoxing you should stop. If you don't have a drinking problem or an addiction it should be easy. Your wife is unstable at this time and you show be supportive of her condition. Put the stuff away for a while while she's going through this. Maybe you can answer your own question.
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