Nikkipoo

Today I am 3 weeks sober! Yeah!!! It seemed easy last night to say NO to wine that was being served at a ladies group meeting I was attending, but I know there will be times that it won't be quite so easy.

The program at the meeting was on organ donation. The husband of woman #1 donated his liver to the son of woman # 2. It was very moving/emotional story and also cleared up several misconceptions about organ donation. At one point a member of audience asked about alcohol use and new liver transplants etc. A governing board has to determine if recipient is committed to no drinking before the transplant takes place so they require those waiting for a new liver to attend AA meetings so they "understand" what happens. Only then can they be added to the waiting list...

Both women were very intelligent, but the mother of the recipient said at one point that people who drink beer are less likely to be alcoholics! It wasn't the appropriate time to challenge that, because this group has no idea that I am struggling with alcohol myself. My gut tells me that her comment on beer can't possibly be true, and I am looking for your responses to that statement and maybe some research that has been done on this subject.
Thanks everyone!
Nikkipoo

suki44883

Alcohol is alcohol, regardless of whether it is consumed through beer, wine, whiskey, or vodka. The liver doesn't differentiate where the alcohol came from, only that it is trying to process alcohol.

Nikkipoo

Thanks Suki! I understand that the liver doesn't differenciate about the source of the alcohol.

I think she was generalizing to say that as a group, few alcoholics chose beer to drink to feed their demons. That they chose hard alcohol or wine more often as their poison.
It would be the old: "wine is fine, but liquor is quicker" . I disagree with her. But I
I am wondering if anyone has done a study on this. I am a alcoholic and I drank red wine. I really don't like the taste of beer.

suki44883

I was a beer drinker. My father was a beer drinker. My father died from cirrhosis of the liver. The beer joints are full of of beer drinkers. I would venture to say that many of them are alcoholics. Your friend doesn't know what she is talking about.

Nikkipoo

Thanks again. That's what I thought!!!

SASA

I know alcohol is alcohol, just was wondering, if I take 1 shot of Vodka I take in a high concentration of alcohol that is then absorbed in the stomache. I would expect the high concentration to be more toxic to the endothelial cells in the stomache lining then if I would drink a beer? It would then be diluted by the blood of course and go to the liver, but the concnetration would still be higher in the shot of vodka wouldn't it, so just wondering if there is any research out there. Are there any statistics that people get more dependent if thay are hard liquor drinkers vs beer? Just curious.

SASA

meaning olive oil in vodka dissolves more then if I put olive oil in beer does that make sense? Therfore since our cells have fats in the memrbane the vodka would have a harder effect?

Sugah

It doesn't matter how you drink it. The alcohol metabolized by the liver is the same per "serving." The rule of thumb is that a 12 oz. beer = a 5 oz. glass of wine = a 1.5 oz. shot of liquor.

Although I tended towards harder liquor, my father was a beer drinker. A typical drinking day saw him putting away a case of 16 oz. cans of beer. That's 32 12 oz. servings. Putting it into perspective, there are 17 shots in a fifth (750ml) bottle of liquor. So, he was drinking the equivalent of almost two fifths a day.

With all the kind of family education it sounds like she's received, it's interesting that a woman who's son just received a liver is so misinformed. It's also interesting that the governing board requires transplant candidates to attend AA. The meetings I go to are less about drinking than they are about living sober.

Peace & Love,
Sugah

jamdls

That seems like a strange meeting to even be serving alcohol. I always said I wasn't an alcoholic because I only drank wine I was "just" a wino; but when I burned a hole in my liver from a prescription drug overdose I was denied a liver transplant due to "evidence of alcohol abuse", the liver doesn't discriminate. (fortunetly they were able to repair the hole in my liver)

TenNinetySix

Ha! I used to play that game with myself all the time: "Well, all I drink is BEER so I can't be an alcoholic... if I switch to vodka, THEN I'll know I have a problem..."

Doesn't work that way. My friends, family, Employer, etc will all vouch for it.

And I'm stunned that wine was served at a meeting/program with liver transplantation being the topic. Wow.

CarolD

According to the U.S.. center for Disease Control
It does not matter what type of alcohol you use
or if you mix them ...they all do damage
That's true for all drinkers..not only alcoholics.

I'm kinda surprized that a group that is discussing organ
donations and how to live healthy ....would serve wine.


Yes my AA home group has had people come in to get
their papers signed in order to get on the transplant
list. They are just as welcomed as anyone who
is interested in sober living....

There were other requirements not just the AA attendances.
Most did not stay after they completed their required time.

As far as I know...only 1 man went back to drinking and
died from liver failure within 2 years. Sad ending.

I've been an organ donor for years ...even now as an old
lady with worn out parts...I know my skin can be useful
to burn patients.

Also on going research needs organs to study and teach with.
Transplants are not always where the need is.

Please my fellow SR members think about this final
gift you can give someone who needs it.

Dee74

Beer enslaved me for years and very nearly killed me, so I also disagree with this woman, NP.

Alcohol is alcohol.

D

TheTinMan

I bought 3 bottles of liquor last year. I drank masssive amounts of beer. Always a beer drinker and yes, an alcoholic.

justdave

I was a hardcore bourbon drinker until around 2003 when I lowered my standards and switched to beer gradually. I couldn't afford bourbon anymore as my problem with alcohol was escalating rapidly and getting expensive.

Until I quit drinking, I was drinking 10-12 beers/night and a case per day (sometimes more) on weekends. Yes, I am an alcoholic. Hard liquor, wine, beer - its all the same in the end.

Creekryder

Beer was always my DOC and I guarantee I am an alcoholic. I drank hard liquor on a few occasions but drank beer every night.

MsCooterBrown

I too am having a hard time wrapping my mind around why in Gods name they would serve wine at a ladies group meeting discussing liver transplants..kind of like when a friend died choking on his own vomit..a bunch of people from work gathered at the bar to have a beer for him..THAT IS WHAT KILLED HIM! I also know someone who downs a case of beer or close to it a night. BUT he doesn't have a problem..after all..it is BEER! Me..I did beer..when it wasn't enough I enhanced it with whiskey backs. Same damage..whiskey just got me there faster. And I paid hell for it too. All of it is slow suicide in my book.

Nikkipoo

Okay, Okay! This meeting wasn't a drunk fest! It was a Roberts' Rules of Order kind of meeting. We always have a program after the regular meeting is closed. The program was on organ donation. In this particular case, it was a liver. The recipient was NOT an alcoholic, but was in end stage liver failure. The reason for the failure was never determined. After the program ended, refreshments and cookies were served. Wine was available for those who cared for some, but non-alcoholic beverages were readily available as well. My friend was obviously ignorant about beer and alcoholism. I plan to let her know in private when the situation is right.
Everything else she had to say about the organ donation process rang true. Did you know that even though your drivers license may say that you are a donor, that survivors such as the spouse or children of donor must still agree to transplant? So talk to your families about what you want! Most medical conditions dont prevent one from being a donor including cancer survivors! You can donate to age 80!

Nikkipoo

The program presented was about how 2 families connected through organ donation and what a powerful effect that had on all their lives. They did not discuss alcohol in their presentation because that had anything to do with this man's transplant. After they were finished, members of the group asked a few questions. One questioner asked about whether the recipient could drink alcohol now. The answer, of course, was no. That in turn led to the requirement that the potential recipient needed to attend a number of AA meetings.

Stang

I'm an alcoholic and yea beer was my drink. An old friend is losing his motor skills and his speach is slurred. He has probably drank enough beer to float The USS Ronald Reagan! I remember his ex wife commenting that he didn't have a problem because he only drank beer....gimme a break!

thequest

The beer drinker here likes to boast he only drinks beer and is an experienced drinker who knows what he's doing with beer. Yet I've seen him stumbling drunk and stinking like a brewery. Stinking like a brewery happens alot which tells me his body can't handle and is trying to expell it anyway it can. It almost sounds like a rationalization for drinking beer as compared to other alcohol.

Mix in other drugs, substances and habits beer will stil stir up a crap storm. And that includes putting on excess weight for some which in turn can increase blood pressure, stress the heart and joints of the body. These problems affect overall health which inturn might lead to the temptation to self medicate.