intention

I blackout every time I drink, even if I don't drink to oblivion and actually pass out.

I am not making any excuses for this as I know it is a problem hence the reason I have now quit drinking but I am just curious about something.

My tolerance to alcohol has gone up over time in that I need more to get drunk but my threshold at which I blackout has lowered.

A few times recently I have been out for social meals and because I am in company I only have maximum 3 glasses of wine. I know from what people have told me that I appeared fine, a little tipsy but just like everyone else but I have no recollection of anything after those drinks until I sober up a couple of hours later.

Has alcohol damaged my brain? I have been reading about P.A.W.S. and a few months ago I did 6 weeks sober and I noticed real problems with my short term memory, in that I was forgetting things from 5 minutes ago and it was really frustrating.

I ask this because I spoke to another alcoholic today who experienced blackouts really quickly after a couple of drinks and they never used to.

Any thoughts or explanations of this would be appreciated. Thanks.

barb dwyer

Intention - you might want to read the ' Under the Influence' excerpts in the alcoholism forums up in the 'stickys' part of the forum.

Second, I strongly advise you to get your hands on 'Under The Influence'.

it explains blackouts, how they happen,
and what is going wrong with your body.

it's got far less to do with how MUCH alcohol you're taking in.

it's more the problem your body is having once you've consumed ...
any amount.

jaitch

Age could be a factor.

Ghostman

Hi Intention !
I don't know weather this will be helpful or not, but I read your post and this is what I found on that subject.
It was suprising to me and made sense.
Supposedly its cause by blood alcohol levels rising too fast, from drinking too much in a short period of time.


I can post a link to the rest of this one if you like!


Binge Drinking and Blackouts
• Drinkers who experience blackouts typically drink too much and too quickly, which causes their blood alcohol levels to rise very rapidly. College students may be at particular risk for experiencing a blackout, as an alarming number of college students engage in binge drinking. Binge drinking, for a typical adult, is defined as consuming five or more drinks in about 2 hours for men, or four or more drinks for women

Dee74

This is the excerpts thread Barb mentioned, intention
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...influence.html

D

Ghostman

Oh, and here is another one that pertains to your post I think:

I hope it is helpful at least a little bit..

ALCOHOL’S DAMAGING EFFECTS ON THE BRAIN
Difficulty walking, blurred vision, slurred speech, slowed reaction times, impaired memory: Clearly, alcohol affects the brain. Some of these impairments are detectable after only one or two drinks and quickly resolve when drinking stops. On the other hand, a person who drinks heavily over a long period of time may have brain deficits that persist well after he or she achieves sobriety. Exactly how alcohol affects the brain and the likelihood of reversing the impact of heavy drinking on the brain remain hot topics in alcohol research today.

We do know that heavy drinking may have extensive and far–reaching effects on the brain, ranging from simple “slips” in memory to permanent and debilitating conditions that require lifetime custodial care. And even moderate drinking leads to short–term impairment, as shown by extensive research on the impact of drinking on driving.

A number of factors influence how and to what extent alcohol affects the brain (1), including

how much and how often a person drinks;
the age at which he or she first began drinking, and how long he or she has been drinking;
the person’s age, level of education, gender, genetic background, and family history of alcoholism;
whether he or she is at risk as a result of prenatal alcohol exposure; and
his or her general health status.[/I][/I][/I]

totfit

Same here.

intention

Thanks all for your input. I already have the Beyond the Influence book on order after seeing a recommendation on this forum so I am looking forward to when it is delivered.

I think now I am sober I am ready to learn about how alcohol really affects the body. Up until now I have never paid any attention to the medical warnings. All I really learned was that alcohol destroyed the liver but, you see, that would never happen to me because I was not an alcoholic (!)

lauraandersen4

OMG this totally happens to me too. I used to blackout only when I lost count of drinking probably about 10-15 drinks in. Now, if I have 4-5 drinks, I brownout... remembering only sporadic events during the time I'm drinking. If I have 2-3 even if I'm not feeling it, I'll leave my keys places and be generally out of it. The track of time is totally lost on me too. Odd phenomenon. I hear B complex vitamins can help with a variety of minor nervous system problems.

Not sure it's a liver issue bc it happens to me too and while my blood work in elevated MCV count etc indicated high alcohol use, and had hypertension... liver enzyme levels were still low though the ratio was skewed and I'm young so I haven't had enough time to cause extensive liver damage. Id think more supplement issue maybe? If you have any other probs, I'd ask your MD.

intention

Thanks Laura, I already take a very good multi B vitamin. I think my problem is the alcohol I have been drinking, lol.

Today I am sober and it is going stay that way as there are too many hours of my life missing. I will do whatever it takes not to drink again. Take care.

lauraandersen4

Yeah... I'm sure it is the alcohol. Alcohol depletes your nutrients and a lot of people don't care what or if they eat while drinking. This is how vit B gets depleted in the first place