reprimand

I have been hearing that two drinks a day is the upper limit for drinking without a high risk. Let's take that as a rule of thumb. I mostly drink vodka (80 proof). I buy 750ml bottles and drink every night. I like drinking but am a bit worried about whether I am crossing my allowable upper limit. Considering that the two drinks thing is correct, what does that imply in case of drinking vodka? I am specifically interested to know many days at least should I take according to this rule to finish a 750ml vodka bottle? Your reply will be much appreciated.

MelindaFlowers

Well, there's about 26 ounces in a fifth I think so that's about 17 standard drinks. So a fifth should last you 8.5 days if you're drinking a "normal" two drinks a night.

I drank about 20-22 ounces of vodka a night so all that math is meaningless to me!

I don't drink at all now. Even thinking about it gives me a headache!

Most people I know a fifth would last a month? I know people who would take a year to finish it. They are not alcoholics, obviously. It sits in their cupboard like nutmeg, only used on special occasions.

I was so sick of always doing the math and then forgetting to count after the first four or five drinks.

Any and all plans to moderate failed every time.

reprimand

Damn it. Last few weeks, I am finishing a bottle in exactly four days. So I am having four drinks a day. Quite worrisome I would say, given that last year it took above a week. But what I don't get is how one takes a month to finish a bottle of vodka if he appreciates drinking vodka. That is like drinking only during the weekends. Thanks a lot for your answer!

MelindaFlowers

All my friends are normies. They may drink three times a week, sometimes one night a week. Heck, they may not drink at all one week because it never crosses their mind.

Mostly, they go to happy hours and have two beers and don't keep any at home. They buy beer when they have company over and they will bring a six pack to a party to SHARE with others. Random story but I went to a Halloween party after I stopped drinking and there were 12 beers in the house for six people. Are you sitting down? There were two or three, unopened, on the counter when everyone said their goodbyes. I felt like I was in a twilight zone episode. Who were these people?!?!

I have a sixth sense for counting/sensing how much alcohol is at a party. Like the secret service checking out a hotel room before the president stays there, I always took inventory of how much booze there was at any given party. Thank god cars have trunks or else I would have had to bring my fifth of cheap vodka into the party and set it on the counter rather than going out to my car to "get something" throughout the evening. I wonder if anyone ever thought it was weird that I forgot my phone charger in the car six times in one evening?

I still can't wrap my mind around how people would have one drink, genuinely enjoy it, and go on with their evening happy as a clam. Truly baffling.

Serenidad

The fact that you are questioning how much you are drinking & are on a website called Sober Recovery should answer your question. Normal drinkers think about drinking about as much as they think about having a glass of lemonade on a hot summer day. (For me that's never because I hate lemonade! Haha)

My husband is a "normal" drinker & he has had the same bottle of flavored vodka in the trunk of his car since last June. It's only half gone. He has a drink with his fellow team mates after his weekly soccer games,

I, on the other hand, would drink the entire bottle in a few days. I am am alcoholic.

Good luck to you! Stick around. You'll figure it out. :-)

Mountainmanbob

Normal people don't spend time thinking about how much they drink or how often they drink.

The warning signs are often thought about by the alcoholic.

MM

reprimand

To be clear, I was not concerned about alcoholism, and I don't think my lifestyle is affected in any way that I should. I don't see how my current level of drinking is going to affect my lifestyle, work and productivity either.

The reason I got worries is because a Facebook post today reminded me that there is this 2 drinks thing still around which I have long forgotten and also that 3 drinks a day can likely cause liver cancer. It would be disappointing if I feel like I am doing fine but all of a sudden I get liver cancer. Just being cautious about health. This is the first forum showed up for my search on alcohol drinking. I apologize if entering in this forum without having alcoholism concerns was a bad idea.

mystified

I'd say to leave the opened bottle out on the counter. If you 'can't' make it last 9 or more days before going to buy more, perhaps you're in the right place after all.

For me, I 'cant' leave an opened bottle of wine in the fridge (or an unopened one (or two, or three) for that matter) for ANY length of time. It became problem drinking for me as I was drinking daily so I quit.

Just my 2 cents.

Fluffer

Reprimand,

I don't think drinking four drinks every evening is healthy or normal, and then you have to consider the trajectory of your daily intake, which you said has been increasing. Nobody is calling you an alcoholic yet, but I'd bet that lots of the people who end up drinking a fifth every day drank four drinks a day at an earlier point in their drinking career. Read some of the desperate posts on SR by people who have reached that stage. Do you really want to risk ending up in that situation?

Dee74

The 2 drinks a day thing ideally includes rest days with no drinking at all as well... so there's some food for thought there.

Best of luck with whatever you decide. If you ever decide to stop, you'll find a lot of help and support here

D

Serenidad

No worries. I wasn't trying to be rude. I just saw a few red flags. I've been there, trust me! I consider myself an alcoholic but I have NEVER drank every day. Never before 4:30 p.m. I only drink at bars a few times a week. It's not how much I drink, it's what happens when I drink. Drinking makes me miserable. When I am not drinking I often think about it (which isn't normal). I also use it as a coping mechanism often. I have a husband, kids, nice house, 2 cars, pets, great job, college degree etc. Again, I decided that I didn't like how preoccupied I was getting with alcohol among many many other things. It started not being fun anymore....it started to be hell!

Am I an alcoholic? A heavy drinker? A problem drinker? A binge drinker? Who knows what my "label" should be. I guess I don't care. I just despise alcohol! It was screwing up the person I wanted to be.

I'm definitely not saying you're alcoholic or even a problem drinker. Only YOU can decide that. I just worry because I was saying the same exact thing you said in your post several years ago and it got much worse and caused a lot of pain in my life. I would hate to see that happen to you.

I'm glad you are asking questions and keeping an eye on it! Your welcome here on this site anytime! You don't have to be an alcoholic to come here. Again, sorry if I was too blunt. It was from a place of love and concern. Hang in there. Post anytime!

reprimand

You gave me a perfect excuse for buying a new bottle . Joke aside, I am not having a problem right now. But as so many of you are warning, maybe it is a good idea to be cautious about it in addition to the health concern as well. In order to reduce the risk of getting liver cancer, 9 days a bottle is the challenge now. Will get back to you guys on my progress!

Serenidad

Best of luck to you! We all really care about you! (((Hug)))

reprimand

I already felt your concern but was just worried whether I am awkward being here. And your heartfelt reply assured me it is not the case at all .

By the way, is there anything like two drinks per day with some rest days for life? Or does it have to be either be an occasional drinker or end up being a heavy drinker or quit forever?

If the latter are the only options, then the right choice would be to stop buying them. But I doubt that it is the case.

Dee74

I don;t really know how normal people drink. But I know counting my drinks was always a part of my madness.

I really think folks with no alcohol problems dont need to count their drinks or have deliberate rest days - my best mate has a bottle of vodka he's had in his freezer for two years, and he will almost always leave his drinks unfinished..

That amazes me.

D

Soberwolf

I used to drink Vodka started off with half bottles progressed to 750ml bottles that progressed to drinking a litre of vodka a day sometimes more

My point is your asking how long should a 750ml last as your driinking it every night

Your saying im buying 750ml vodka every day and not realising thats a MASSIVE amount trust me i know i was the
exact same i was oblivious

Are you ready to accept that my friend ?

mystified

I'm not sure the op is buying and drinking 750ml vodka *every day*. I read the post as them buying 750ml bottles and wanting to know how long the bottle *should* last if having 2 drinks a day.

Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Grungehead

I would consider my parents normal drinkers and they both usually have two drinks daily (dad 2 light beers, mom 2 glasses of white wine). The thing is they aren't restricting themselves to 2 drinks, that's just all they tend to drink. They just enjoy sitting out on the deck in the evening while having a drink or 2. They are 84 and 83 and I can probably count on one hand the number of times I've ever seen either of them reach the point where I would consider them inebriated.

endlesspatience

The other point here of course is that those of us who have addressed our drinking open and honestly have often found that's the first step in an extremely rewarding process whereby we examine all kinds of other things, such as smoking, relationships, exercise and food. If I'd not chosen to take seriously the issue of my drinking I wouldn't have addressed a lot of other areas of my life which needed attention and have now improved. So in a sense, the question as to whether you drink safely or not most of the time is not the best one to ask. It's better to say what would my ideal life look that and why do I think I need to drink four drinks of vodka a night to reach that ideal?

anattaboy

If I purchased my vodka at 6-7am, I could make a 5th last till about 4pm moderating. Busy days like lawnmowing killed it by 2 (and yes, gatorade is a suitable hydrating mixer). Next question?