Do breathalyzers work in keeping an alcoholic honest??
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: ft. bend texas
Posts: 179
Do breathalyzers work in keeping an alcoholic honest??
A pattern I've noticed is that they will lie about drinking and sneak it at every opportunity and you don't know whether they've been drinking or not unless you're with them every hour of every day. I thought if you keep a breathalyzer with you and require them to blow into it, it will help to keep them honest if they truly don't want to get busted and fear the consequnces.
Member
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 792
i'm not sure a breathalyzer would make a difference. they're going to drink if they really want to, even in the face of threats. if someone had me blow into something similar to determine if i'd had coffee that day, i'd blow into it and not care that i was being discovered... i got my fix and that was all that mattered... whether anyone was unhappy with me because of it or not.
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Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 5,075
Originally Posted by sad#3 
A pattern I've noticed is that they will lie about drinking and sneak it at every opportunity and you don't know whether they've been drinking or not unless you're with them every hour of every day. I thought if you keep a breathalyzer with you and require them to blow into it, it will help to keep them honest if they truly don't want to get busted and fear the consequnces.
Good luck, sad #3!
((()))
Practicing the lion's roar
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Minneapolis
Posts: 291
I bought a breathalyzer to use on my ex-A but only to determine if he was ok to drive me places. He was so good at hiding the effect (either that or he had such a high tolerance) that I couldn't tell if he should be driving or not. At least, at first. Eventually I didn't need the breathalyzer anymore because I knew he was pretty much NEVER ok to drive me anywhere. Plus, one time we were arguing and he claimed he wasn't "even drunk" so I had him use the thing and he blew a .16. Suddenly he changed from not being drunk at all to not being "THAT" drunk.
When I moved out I left the breathalyzer behind.
When I moved out I left the breathalyzer behind.
Member
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Keepin' my side of the litterbox clean
Posts: 2,136
Nothing that I know of will keep or get an alcoholic honest - except the alcoholic! Just an example, but I was watching an episode of "Cops" last night. Two Palm Beach County officers pulled over a guy who was doing about 80 in a 50 zone and he was driving on the wrong side of the road. He seemed pretty together, but he didn't quite pass the field sobriety test. They took him into the station and he blew a .25!!! That is more than three times the legal limit! The ENTIRE time he kept insisting to the police he hadn't been drinking!!
I'd suggest you forget the breathalyzer and purchase the books Denny suggested instead.
I'd suggest you forget the breathalyzer and purchase the books Denny suggested instead.
Member
Join Date: May 2007
Location: FREEDOM
Posts: 665
I never thought of a breathalyzer sad,, I figured making him breathe on me was a good indication!!!
I got a weird sense of humor, so apoligies, I'm not meaning to be sarcastic, just my attempt at humor.
The thought is the same however. Smelling someones breath, making them breathe into a machine, walking a straight line, looking for hidden bottles is DYSFUNTIONAL in my opinion.
When we get sick and tired of it, we begin to realize its about saving ourselves.
Co Dependant no More is an AWESOME read!!!
Peace
PS, My A couldn't be HONEST to save his soul when it came to his drinking.
I got a weird sense of humor, so apoligies, I'm not meaning to be sarcastic, just my attempt at humor.
The thought is the same however. Smelling someones breath, making them breathe into a machine, walking a straight line, looking for hidden bottles is DYSFUNTIONAL in my opinion.
When we get sick and tired of it, we begin to realize its about saving ourselves.
Co Dependant no More is an AWESOME read!!!
Peace
PS, My A couldn't be HONEST to save his soul when it came to his drinking.
Member
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: state of confusion
Posts: 351
My Ahusband was always so adamant about the fact he was sober ... for years and years he worked very hard at keeping his drinking a secret - and making his family's life a nightmare in the process with his mood swings and hostility. He would try not to drink so much that it was blatantly obvious and would NEVER admit to drinking as he knew that was a boundary I would not accept. He wanted to be able to live at home and DRINK ... as long as he felt could lie and get away with it, he would at any cost. I wasted too many years and hundreds of hours trying to justify why I felt his behavior seemed strange and irrational ....and dealing with his hostile, angry denials and blame in return. However, since we shared a business and kids...I had to maintain a relationship with him.
With my husband, the only time he tried to turn his life around and stop drinking, was when he actually got caught ... and I had actual proof he was drinking. I'd been trapped for too many times for years half believing his lies about not drinking ...... sooooo one day I ordered an inexpensive breathalyzer online. I knew I would probably never have to use it ... however, it stopped most of his mind games. If he was acting strange and yet insisting he was sober, instead of debating it with him ... I just told him I had a breathalyzer and all he had to do was blow into it and I wouldn't have to be concerned anymore. I knew if he got nasty and found a reason to walk out, I had my answer .. he was drinking. If he was sober, it wouldn't have bothered him. I must admit, I got quite a kick out of the situation as it was kind of funny ... and I no longer had to listen to his endless lies and play his mind games ... I'd just bring the breathalyzer up.... and out he'd go in a huff and I could get back to my other responsibilities and my life -end of discussion. Needless to say, I never even had to open up the box to figure out how to use it. I don't know about how effective it would have been about measuring his alcohol levels... but it was a highly effective Quacking Terminator.
With my husband, the only time he tried to turn his life around and stop drinking, was when he actually got caught ... and I had actual proof he was drinking. I'd been trapped for too many times for years half believing his lies about not drinking ...... sooooo one day I ordered an inexpensive breathalyzer online. I knew I would probably never have to use it ... however, it stopped most of his mind games. If he was acting strange and yet insisting he was sober, instead of debating it with him ... I just told him I had a breathalyzer and all he had to do was blow into it and I wouldn't have to be concerned anymore. I knew if he got nasty and found a reason to walk out, I had my answer .. he was drinking. If he was sober, it wouldn't have bothered him. I must admit, I got quite a kick out of the situation as it was kind of funny ... and I no longer had to listen to his endless lies and play his mind games ... I'd just bring the breathalyzer up.... and out he'd go in a huff and I could get back to my other responsibilities and my life -end of discussion. Needless to say, I never even had to open up the box to figure out how to use it. I don't know about how effective it would have been about measuring his alcohol levels... but it was a highly effective Quacking Terminator.
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Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Texas
Posts: 782
It's not the exact same, but your post made me thing of a comparative situation.
When XAH and I would go to dinner, I would play all kinds of games to keep him from ordering that 2nd, 3rd, 4th margarita. There was the shake your head at the waitress one, or there was the one where I was supposed to get it while he was in the restroom, but I wouldn't and say I did til he hopefully forgot about it while I paid. It was exhausting, and it was crazy.
Spending your time breathalyzing your husband doesn't sound like a productive use of your time, does it? I'm sure you have lots of cool things going on in your life that need your attention, or if you don't, I bet you could find some. Is breathalyzing your partner the way you envision living the rest of your life?
Not criticism here....just an understanding, I've-been-there way of thinking.
When XAH and I would go to dinner, I would play all kinds of games to keep him from ordering that 2nd, 3rd, 4th margarita. There was the shake your head at the waitress one, or there was the one where I was supposed to get it while he was in the restroom, but I wouldn't and say I did til he hopefully forgot about it while I paid. It was exhausting, and it was crazy.
Spending your time breathalyzing your husband doesn't sound like a productive use of your time, does it? I'm sure you have lots of cool things going on in your life that need your attention, or if you don't, I bet you could find some. Is breathalyzing your partner the way you envision living the rest of your life?
Not criticism here....just an understanding, I've-been-there way of thinking.
full of hope
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Oklahoma
Posts: 1,170
What I'm wondering is how do you get them to use it? My AH would never use a breathalyzer.
Of course I figured out other ways to tell if he was or wasn't.
Shoot, I BECAME the breathalyzer!
And if I couldn't tell then you were automatically guilty!
I just remembered something funny...on the days he wasn't drinking and I would come home from work he would just walk up to me and blow in my face to prove he wasn't drinking. So then on the days he didn't do that it was a dead give-away!
Not too bright, are they....said the human breathalyzer!
Of course I figured out other ways to tell if he was or wasn't.
Shoot, I BECAME the breathalyzer!
And if I couldn't tell then you were automatically guilty!
I just remembered something funny...on the days he wasn't drinking and I would come home from work he would just walk up to me and blow in my face to prove he wasn't drinking. So then on the days he didn't do that it was a dead give-away!
Not too bright, are they....said the human breathalyzer!
Member
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Jacksonville, FL
Posts: 240
Why bother? It's just another means to "try" and control the alcoholic and their drinking. I don't need the validation of a machine or his admittance. I know what I know, and that's good enough for me.
I Finally Love My Life!!!
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: New England
Posts: 648
I think there's a difference between putting someone in a position where they have to fess up and having them be an honest person.
My XABF once went to Florida to a family wedding while I stayed home in New England. He got drunk at the wedding and was so hung over he missed his flight the next morning. His entire family saw him sloshed...there was no lying his way out of this one...but he waited 3 days to tell me what I already knew...that's not being honest, that's getting caught red-handed.
The last words he spoke to me were all lies...there isn't anything I can do to make him be honest.
My XABF once went to Florida to a family wedding while I stayed home in New England. He got drunk at the wedding and was so hung over he missed his flight the next morning. His entire family saw him sloshed...there was no lying his way out of this one...but he waited 3 days to tell me what I already knew...that's not being honest, that's getting caught red-handed.
The last words he spoke to me were all lies...there isn't anything I can do to make him be honest.
rattus norvegicus
Join Date: May 2007
Location: elsewhere
Posts: 63
Hopefully I'm not too off topic...
I read a story a few years ago about an insurance company, out in the mid-west somewhere that mandated all high-risk drivers have a Breathalyzer built into the ignition mechanism of their cars, so the person driving would have to test clean to start the engine.
I don't know how effective such a system would prove to be, because it seems to me that there must have been ways to get around it.
Perhaps it could be used on the front door of your home, which would only unlock the front door if you were clean.
I read a story a few years ago about an insurance company, out in the mid-west somewhere that mandated all high-risk drivers have a Breathalyzer built into the ignition mechanism of their cars, so the person driving would have to test clean to start the engine.
I don't know how effective such a system would prove to be, because it seems to me that there must have been ways to get around it.
Perhaps it could be used on the front door of your home, which would only unlock the front door if you were clean.
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: ft. bend texas
Posts: 179
She will not drink in front of me because she fears the consequences, only behind my back, so it will be an effective deterent in helping to keep her sober. An alki can't drink while locked up in prison, so this will be the same sort of effect.
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