Being a blackout drinker
 

Hi,
I've been drinking for ten years and had to stop because I had more and more blackouts (at work, during family dinners, at the airport, etc).

I had a few relapses since I stopped. But each time I relapse, I would just have a few drinks and then blackout.

Last time I relapsed, I remember drinking one beer, buying some rhum.. and waking up 36 hours later (seemingly I went to the church on a motorbike in between).

Does anyone have that kind of reaction when drinking. It's pretty scary..

I did and there are chunks of time I will never recall. That scared the crap out of me and it's one of the reasons I quit.

I urge you to join me. Things will not get better until you put the bottle down. You will hurt yourself or someone else if you don't.

I never really blacked out till my last bender, where I blacked out for a week. I apparently paid bills because my bank account showed it. I also drove to repeatedly get more alcohol and remember none of it. Scary stuff.

It's horrifying! The last blackout drunk I had in 2006, I woke up in jail. I ran into the back of a parked jeep, totaled my car, but, thankfully, no one was hurt. After all this time, I still only have bits and pieces of what happened.

Unfortunately, it took me two more years to finally get the help I needed to stop drinking once and for all.

I used to drink to blackout every night, for years. A good night was when I remembered going to bed the next morning, and there weren't many of those. Frequent blackouts are a pretty good sign it's time to quit drinking. :)

Yes - I have had blackouts. So incredibly terrifying and definitely a huge reason I want to remain sober.

Sounds like your body is telling you to just stop drinking.

Yes. I had many blackouts and they scared the living daylights out of me. It was just like a scene out of a movie when I would wake up with my face pressed against the floor, not recalling anything from the night before and slowly piecing it together during the day.

I have had hundreds of those mornings. Thank God I don't have to worry about that anymore.

Hi and welcome lesuisse :)_

Yeah, I think a lot of us know intimately the situation you're describing.

The really good thing is you'll never blackout if you commit to being sober :)

You never have to feel that way again...

D

Thanks for the replies.
I know I cannot drink anymore (I've been sober for 8 months now).

It's just a weird feeling, like being on probation. One drink and it could be the apocalypse.

I am a binge closet drinker and I too black out, well I did when I drank, I honestly have weeks of drinking where I have maybe 5% memory if that, constant blackout. What was explained to me in Detox and in Emerg it's the final stages of alcoholism, and what follows is Seizures then death, harsh reality but in my case a wake up call.

All the best
Andrew

my last blackout drunk- 4/21/05- was one of a thousands i had over the years. the terror,bewilderment, and horror i felt while hearing what i did and said the night before led me to get help.

I have blacked out most of my late teens and 20's. My Brother and Sister remind me of things around that time, and I do not have a clue. my memory has gone. Lucky enough to have part of my 30's and the remainder of my life to enjoy.

I had to change my thinking from thinking of sobriety as a punishment, like you said probation, and to think of it as a second chance to live my life as I was originally meant to. Blackout drinking is a sign of brain damage and the body's inability to process alcohol like it earlier was able to. I was able to wrap my mind around this and it helped me solidify my acceptance that alcohol would kill me. I have too much to live for today.

ditto
 

It's definitely a weird feeling and I know exactly what you're talking about. We just have to remember one drink is never just one and that it really does change us. I never realized until being sober for a while...that even one drink really does affect you.

Stay strong buddy

Me too, I have had countless blackouts. My last drunk was kind of a "brownout", where I remember a few things but there are chunks of time I don't recall.
Never again! Way too scary and dangerous.

Woah!
 

Blackout for a WEEK?! I can't begin to imagine how that must have felt like...how does the body / mind achieve this. It baffles me.

It makes me wonder how many other times I may have done it, without realising...

I black out almost every time too
For hours

My constant blackout issues forced me to start writing lists, a good habit that I still have. I remember being somewhat proud that my "blackout doppelgänger" was at least a decent guy who didn't get in fights. Man oh man I do not miss blackouts, they rank right up there with hangovers on the list of terrible side effects from being a drunk.