hypochondriac

I just had to get this out there cos it's been bugging me.

I had to tell a friend recently that I had to quit drinking for medical reasons (alcoholic neuropathy). It seemed to be the only thing that'd stop him from trying to get me to drink.

Well it worked. But one of his comments was 'I never touch the top shelf stuff myself'...like he was insinuating I had been...

Beer was my drink, and yes I have had time drinking spirits and wine but the majority of my long term drinking (12 years) was primarily just beer.

Do people out there really think that in order to be an alcoholic or to develop health problems that you have to be drinking spirits?

The not so funny side of my friends comment is that he has type two diabetes and a host of gastric health problems which, quite possibly could be caused by alcohol. But if people think that they are not an alcoholic because they don't touch the hard stuff then it is creating a really false comfort zone.

BackToSquareOne

Oh, Hell no. Alcohol is alcohol, some just switch to vodka because it has the least amount of cogeners in it.

Dee74

I think there can be a beer bias - it's sometimes seen as a lesser evil.
Nearly killed me tho.

D

sugarbear1

Just read the newby posts on here. We seem to have this idea that an alcoholic drinks in the morning, wears a trench coat, lives under a bridge, has lost everything dear to him, doesn't work, has no family or friends left, uses a paper bag to hold a bottle of alcohol in their hand......

This idea couldn't be further from the Real Alcoholic who drinks at night after a long day's work, has a wife and children, has friends, goes out to family functions, goes out with friends, hasn't lost their job, yet, and many people don't even know they drink!

Just some thoughts

~sb

BackToSquareOne

That was a great post sugarbear, you'd be suprised how many people don't get that tho. I have found that just because you can quit for periods of time it really doesn't mean a thing. Some take the Big Book's definitions and think that you can't be a "real alcoholic" just because you can put in on hold every once in a while. I really doubt tho that this was the message the authors were trying to convey.

gaffo

I worked it out that I drank almost 46,000 beers. I think the case could be made (no pun intended) that beer encouraged my alcoholic behavior because it allowed me to go all day without being falling down puking drunk. It has some nutritional value. It is everywhere. It became part of my personality. I was totally addicted because I am an alcoholic. It doesn't matter what my friends and family say. I don't plan on ever drinking again.

FBL

I drank 12-18 beers a day, every day for 10 years. It damn near killed me.

mercurial me

Never liked wine because it gave me headaches, never interested in hard stuff. When I had my first beer at 13 I was like "whoa, where have you been all my life?"

Now I'm x34, alcoholic for the past x16 years. Cirrhosis of the liver caused by beer consumption alone. Just because beer seems to be somewhat less frowned upon in society doesn't mean it can't kill you. I'm "living" proof

easyrider73

I drank a 6 pack a night after work the first three years,12-18 a day on weekends,around year 5 I was on a 12 pack a night. Towards the end is when I started the morning drinks to fight off the shakes, eventually it lead to sneaking at work.I drank beer daily for 12 years.. Nearly lost everything I owned the last year or two until one day I said I've had enough. Went over a year until I slipped up last night..

DarkDays

Hear this so many times " I only drink beer " its quite laughable .

Was out last night, I bumped into a friend who had been drinking beer for about 8 hours before I got there, he looked horrific, bloated red face mad red mad eyes . Hes 45 but looks 20 years older. Hes been drinking beer heavily for 35 years. Sad.

stillsleeping

Hey sweetie

Beer was not only my drink of choice, it was also the only drink that made me want to do coke. So it also caused and prolonged my serious cocaine problem.

Score!

Try to ignore crap like that - you know where you are, and you know where you've been. Yes, there are plenty of people that think you're not an alkie if you drink beer. You know they're wrong.

xxxx

MarriedToAddict

I would drink beer while cooking dinner every night, sometimes wine too. Once husband went to rehab I stopped cooking dinner and realized how much beer I actually consumed during the cooking process! Sounds weird but it was like I had to have a beer to cook dinner but if I wasn't cooking dinner...I didn't need a beer!

LotusBlossom

Beer was also my choice of drink since I started drinking at age 15. Quit a few weeks after I turned 27. Caused a plethora of health problems, hid a ton more.
Ethanol (alcohol) is ethanol no matter what else is with it.

However...I still get the responses sometimes of "Well you ONLY drank beer...I don't see how you had a problem."

A ton of feathers is the same as a ton of bricks - its still a ton.
Alcohol in vodka is the same as alcohol in beer - its still alcohol.

tomsteve

there is a misconception among people of what an alcoholic is. it isnt about how much we drink or what we drink. its about what happens when we drink and our thinkin.

its another message i can only try to carry.

CarolD

MarriedToAddict.....

Welcome to our Alcoholism Forum

hypochondriac

This is so true...

Thanks for your responses everyone.

Hopefully the myth will have been dispelled for any lurkers out there who might think they don't really have a problem because they only drink beer x

NoelleR

I loved the math I was taught many years ago regarding the alcohol cotent in beer vs the alcohol content in mixed drinks...........

Alcohol content in 12oz beer is 5% --- .05x12=.6
Alcohol content in 1.5oz (shot) of 80 proof (40%) in mixed drink --- .4x1.5=.6

Well, whadya know.....it's the same...............


(o:
NoelleR

HappyWithout

I will ever have..

Bump on this one!

Let's down the water now.

aborkie

Your friend is not very bright.

SonomaGal

Another beer lover (alkie) here . I never thought I'd get here, but I definitely knew that if I drank enough beer, I got just as drunk and hungover as anything else.