where is the alcohol hidden?
 

I think my partner is a high functioning alcoholic.
He is competent and successfull in his work, but I have discovered he has been injecting oranges with vodka to suck during the day.
Where might he hide alcohol around the house and what other ways can he come up with to consume alcohol without anyone knowing?

He says this vodka and orange method is a way of controlling his alcohol intake, is this true?

Look at the back of cupboards, especially cupbaords you do not always use.
Behind the microwave
At the bottom of the laundry basket
In his gym bag, if he has one.
If you have any beds with drawers in the base, that's always a good hiding place.
Does he have a shed or out house, could be there.

Thing is though, if you do find it what will happen? It might just change his hiding place. I doubt it will stop him drinking

B
x

on top of cupbords, in his sports equipment, in the garden, in flower pots, in the flower borders, in juice cartons, in sports drinks, in the airing cupboard, behind the toilet cistern, in the toilet cistern, behind books in the shelves, under clothes in his drawers, in shoes in shoe racks, in bins, under bins.......

it's endless really. anywhere you can squeeze a small bottle.

sooo....he is INJECTING ORANGES WITH VODKA TO SUCK DURING THE DAY.

take a step back my lovely and think about that...... (believe me) I reallyknow its insanely hard when you are in the situation and you are not used to thinking that people who profess to love you would stare you in the face and swear that black is white..... but try and imagine if a sister or friend or daughter or son said that about someone they knew.....

....... are you still "suspecting" that he is an alcoholic?

me, I'm convinced already with that one sentence.

I don't think you need to look for the hidden bottles, nothing is going to be any more convincing than the oranges and vodka thing, and it can drive you crazy (did me, plus AH uses it as a thing to throw at me when he's feeling attacked, because he knows I'm ashamed of it).

so, you have the information now,
WELCOME!!

have a look around, read the stickies up the top and see if you can find some things that will help your life become better (irrespective of his choices). I am glad you found us, others will be too :)

Wow! Injecting oranges. He gets points for creativity.

I am sorry you are going through this. Please think about why you want to search for his booze, if you know he is drinking. What would be the point?

Miss

Ha. I had to laugh when I read the title of your post. Hiding bottles.
My XAH was a Master of that craft! All of the above mentioned places.

Looking for them. At times, I was obsessed in finding them. It was a quest. Why? To validate my suspicions. To prove to him I knew he was lying when I'd ask him "Have you been drinking today?" His response was a blank look, and a definite "NO". Yeah, right I'd be thinking, and the search would begin.

After a while, I stopped looking. There was no need to, but when I'd come across one it would make me angry. I'd stew. It was a constant reminder to me that he was active, and that I needed to do something for myself.

A year after he moved out, I decided to put some floor boards into our garage attic. After nailing a few boards up there, I climbed up to work further and discovered 4 plastic tote storage boxes... rather large rubbermaid containers that you can purchase to store things. Each one was full of empty bottles. There were over 50 all together. He'd drink in the garage, and then conceal the bottles in the garage attic. WOW! It was very revealing — and affirmed to me that YES, I had made the right choice to divorce him. He wouldn't quit.

They are experts at concealment, and lying. They go to all lengths to protect their addiction.

Eventually, your AH will become "unfunctional". That is the way it goes if he continues to drink.

'Least he's getting his vitamin C, huh.
Yep. If he is hiding booze, don't matter how much you find; there will always be more. You talked with him? Not to him or at him, but just tried a really non-confrontational chat?

WOW injecting oranges with Vodka, amazing. My ABF would go in the basement and drink. I would say, are you drinking down there, Nope, he would respond. But the amazing thing about heat vents, you can hear the top pop on a can. He would be 'sober' for a few months at a time, so I thought, until his Dad said, he is hiding it from you don't believe him. He would always say I had my work cut out for me if I was going to stay in that relationship, wasn't that the truth and then some. The truth comes out in the 'end' but getting to the end is the hardest part.

Good luck, welcome to SR (it keeps me sane), and keep coming back.

Welcome to SR. I'd encourage you to read around the forum, read the postings and stories, and get acquainted with alcoholism's many faces. But especially, I'd encourage you to read the Sticky posts at the very top of the forum's first page. There is a lot of supportive information there so you really know the enemy you're dealing with.

I agree with the above poster who asked why you would want to find bottles, and what you'd do if you found them.

With alcoholics, you can find the bottles, empty the bottles, berate them about found bottles, smash bottles, get into fights about bottles.....but that doesn't keep them from drinking.

The only question is whether you want to live with someone you know is an active alcoholic, and what you're willing to do to protect yourself.

Wishing you luck and peace
GL

Oh, the hiding spots are endless but eventually you will either find it by accident or find it while looking. I was just cleaning my AH's sweaters on a shelf and accidently found a water bottled filled with wine! So I wrote on it busted and put it back! Yes, it makes one damn mad but I have found that by tossing it, they just buy more.:c021:

One time, I did swap out vinegar and water for vodka just as a joke:c032:

It really does not matter where it is hidden,

Good luck and wow, never heard of the oranges thing!

Welcome!! You have found a great place for support.

Remember you didn't cause this, you can't control it, and you can't cure it.

An alcoholic will drink if they want to . they will find any means. My Ah drank mouthwash.
But enough about them, Some things that helped me in the beginning were reading/educating myself about the disease. I found the books "Marriage on the Rocks" and "Getting Them Sober" very informative. They are quick easy reads, I highly recommend them.

I also starting going to Al-anon. I was able to talk to people "in confidence" about what I was going through. It feels really good!

Also posting here helps. There is a lot of knowledge on this board and many have been through the same thing you are going through.

:ghug keep posting and reading!

If he has needles for injecting oranges....what else might he be hiding. Not a pretty thought, but maybe something to consider....

Hi, are you consulting an individual therapist or counselor?

First it's looking to "prove" that there drinking...to show it to them...and as mentioned you get the "how did that get there?" or the "where did you find that"?? After awhile, I gave up "looking", they were there. I'd open a cupboard to get the coffee pot and there was a mini bottle. THen it turns into leaving the house to go to a "meeting". Only she comes back home 45' later and says no one showed up at the meeting!! That turns into "well you won't let me drink at home!" on and on......and on....

"SERENITY NOW....SERENITY NOW......."

Anywhere and everywhere. And if he doesn't want you to, you won't find it.

I found that the best places were right out in the open. As in, things that you're used to seeing in a certain place all the time are easily overlooked.

Being a clear liquid, it's really easy to conceal. Blue food coloring + windex bottle, for example.

Wow, I agree. That's almost impressive. :)

The only place I've ever found bottles is on top of the kitchen cabinets, and those I've stumbled on. Any time I've freaked out and looked for them I never found anything.

It is so obvious when they drink, I wonder why they bother trying to hide the evidence.

Wow..The orange thing is really creative. He must be thinking long and hard about trying to conceal his addiction.

This post made me laugh too. Just yesterday I was moving some things in the garden and I picked up this old pot. Hidden inside was empty beer bottles.

A few months ago, my teenage son was cleaning my rain gutters as they were plugged. He was on the roof and called me outside. There were maybe 12 empty beer cans lined up in the gutter! This is where he had the bbq set up. I always wondered why he wanted to bbq in such a far away and hidden place.

My exah is also addicted to Rx pills. He had me hide his prescription and give him just the prescribed amount every day and no more. I hid them well. I even put a little note on them saying if he found these then he obviously has a problem....he still took them.

Indeed, your partner is into alcohol addiction. You should probably tell him to stop drinking alcohol in order not to loose the people that cares for him. Alcoholism will only destroy his health, career, and family.

I'm impressed with injecting oranges, however during my work I have had reports from families of alcoholics of numerous hiding places. The most inventive I heard was a perfect cut out of the pages of a large book/bible to fit a half litre vodka bottle. It must have taken him hours to do it to fit perfectly. They will hide it anywhere and everywhere, so there is no point looking for it, although I understand the drive to do so. There is no point whatsoever throwing it down the sink when you have found it, it is just a waste of money as they will still go and buy more. When I think of the times I questioned whether he was drinking or not, although deep down I knew he was, I could have saved hours of agonising about it.

Injecting oranges, that has to be a first I've heard of, that is for sure.

My AS just puts vodka in a water bottle, as well as hiding her main stash in closet, laundry hamper, under pillow, etc.

You know what I've come to see in many posts and Al-Anon meetings, the drink of choice seems to be vodka. Perhaps it is the "you can't smell it" legend...