lb6493

My fiance just quit drinking after drinking daily for 10 years. He drank a pint of scotch daily. He used to drink 2 scotches and then 1 bottle of wine. For the past year it has been 1 pint of scotch and maybe 1 glass of wine. I thought he would go into DT's but he didn't. He always runs 5 miles every other day and has been doing this for 20 years. It doesn't seem to bother him to stop drinking until the 5th day, he has tried to stop before and pn the 5th day he is irritable, short tempered and drinks. He is on the 7th day and seems very agitated. Is it normal that he doesn't wake up with a hangover all these years or is he lying to me that he doesn't?

Hollyanne

Hi Ib,
I would be in that category. I would drink a bottle of hard stuff every night and when I stop, no "DTs". However mentally, would be in the horrors. The agitation/ irritability IS DTs.
Because he is physically fit, he can "handle" more, but it is progressive and he could be doing lots of damage to himself right now. Get him to go to a doctor for a checkup and tell him to be very honest. Also, he may benefit from an in-house detox program.
Of course, he has to agree to all this.

justanothrdrunk

I would only get a hangover if I drank a lot for me. "A lot" for me would be enough to kill a horse though.

I've found that as my tolerance increased, so did my ability to stave off the hangover. In other words, it's all relative in my experience.

caribbean

I was another one who very rarely got any kind of hangover. When it did happen, it was because I drank something I didn't usually drink. I had maybe three or four hangovers in 17 years of drinking. Most of the time I was completely fine the next day. I used to wish I would get hangovers because maybe it would help me control my drinking!

A "hangover" for me was usually just being tired because I couldn't sleep a full night after drinking the day before.

Is it "normal" not to get hangovers? No, but being an alcoholic isn't "normal," either.

shaun00

No..with full blown alcoholism i didnt get hangovers.

part of my alcoholism is about what happens when i dont drink.....i am consumed by an obsession.

that obsession drives me nuts.......making me unpredictable ......short tempered.
miserable...... aggressive... and will get worse till i turn to the only solution i have...which will be another drink........the cycle......cant drink...cant not drink.

hope that helps.

Snarf

People have many different experiences when it comes to quitting drinking. Some get cold sweats, some can't sleep, some are just plain ol' angry. Alcohol affects you not only physically, but mentally and emotionally as well. When it's removed, it's very common for people to get irritable or cranky or angry. That's why I feel it's important that we have some type of program to help us find the proper way to identify and react to those feelings.

AA has helped me a lot, and not just the meetings. Reading the Big Book and the stories contained within always is great for me. Coming here and reading and posting and chatting with my SR friends helps a lot as well.

LaFemme

Until the last 3 months of my drinking career I never got hangovers...suddenly that stopped. So when I tried to quit earlier in my drinking days I was fine the first 3-5 days (at least physically) then the little voice would creep in and I would start weakening on my resolve and that would make me irritable...perhaps this is the case with the bf.

I once read that most (not all) alcoholics are fairly immune to hangovers, it's what allows us to get so bad. I am pretty sure that if I got hangovers like my last one 15 years ago I would have quit earlier.

Rift

What if you do get hangovers every time you drink? Does this mean that you are not an alcoholic?

-So does being an alcoholic mean:

hangovers=not an alcoholic and not getting hangovers=most likely you are an alcoholic.

I doubt this is true but just wanted to see what you guys thought. I get hangovers everytime I drank.

I guess being an alcoholic is different for everyone or that it depends on what happens to you when you drink.

kdr143

naw babe some alcoholics dont get hangovers some do
if he drank like that and is short tempered and aggitated now 7 days sober
to me he is an alcoholic too

LaFemme

Emphasis added

I should have said "many" alcoholics as well. Alcoholics can be prone to hangovers just as easily as anyone else...I was just mentioning a correlation I read about somewhere.