Am I Drinking too much?
 

Hi people

I have a simple question which id like some answers to.

For the past 2 years ive been drinking 500ml of smirnoff vodka with mixed sodas once every week, usually on a friday or saturday spread over 4 hours or so.

I would like to know how bad is this?

I know its bad but i have a feeling that im lucky to be in good health.

Can someone share with me just how much harm im doing and is it life threatening and are my organs dying at a rapid rate?

Thanks

It's definitely more than you should consume in a night.

If you're worried about your health speak to your doctor they can perform tests to reassure you and will probably tell you not to drink so much on weekends. :)

:welcome to SR.

If you joined a recovery forum to ask this question, then yes you are drinking too much (I do not even have to read what and what quantity to say that).

:welcome to SR!



If you think it's bad for you why not give it up for a time, say, three months, and see how you feel then.

The easy thing to do is to just stop for a while and see if you feel better. If it's not easy, then you have a problem.

typical answer to this, as Carlotta pointed out...

"if you googled a recovery forum and posted a question, chances are the answer is: "yes, you are drinking too much". otherwise you'd be enjoying your drinks and not thinking about it twice.

Thank you for all of your advice so far and the super fast response rate!!

I guess im wondering more on how much serious harm im doing if i have been drinking this amount once a week for the last 2 years. I do actually plan to give up next week after my friends stag do

Each of us is different. Some people seem to be able to tolerate more alcohol than others before obvious damage occurs. There is no magic formula that says something like "if you drink less than x per day or y per week, you won't have any bad effects". Some people have serious effects much sooner than others.

If you think you need o stop drinking, why not do it right now instead of waiting until next week?

That is true, I think i may

Hi Lotsy, welcome to SR!!! You will find lots of great advice, support and TRUTH here, there's no BS here, we say it as we see it. My question is this: do you look forward to your vodka at the weekend? What day of the week do you start thinking about it? Normal drinkers do not think about and wait for their drinking day to arrive. If you're thinking about it and looking forward to it days before it happens, then that's a red flag. The simple answer i think would be to tell yourself you wont have it next weekend. How does that statement make you feel? If it makes you feel very uncomfortable or if you know it won't happen, then you may have a problem. I know when i told myself i would never drink again it made me VERY UNCOMFORTABLE and i knew chances were that I couldn't pull it off. BUT when I told myself I would never eat an orange again, I couldn't care less... why? Because I'm not addicted to oranges. I hope you can see this for what it is, just be very honest with yourself. Come back and let us know how you go, we are here for you if you need us.

Does it really matter the damage you are doing NOW? Who cares about NOW....seriously...alcohol messes up your body and it isn't the NOW that you are going to feel it...you are going to feel it ----- THEN...LATER....when you don't measure and keep track of how much you use anymore. Alcohol and drug abuse are progressive, incurble and fatal...stop NOW...so LATER won't be so hard....and you will have more left to live for....why quantify damage to justify continuation of a bad habit that could, someday, kill you. I have always wondered why, we as addicts need to quantify our using to address the harm it is doing? I wish I had stopped using - when I was in college....I would have a heck of lot more going for myself than I do right now.

It is over the healthy limit (i.e. the amount of alcohol you can consume without incurring negative consequences). Sometimes those consequences come quickly, other times slowly.

Welcome to SR Losty :) Do you mind me asking how old you are? In a way it doesn't matter but it will get more difficult to do this as you get older and your body starts to show more signs of wear. I drank the same amount for over a decade and although when I was younger I managed to be fine physically the damage hit me like a ton of bricks in my late 20's. Basically long term use of alcohol is going to do some damage. Generally we try to see what we can get away with but the fact is that anything over 2 drinks will cause damage of some sort.

In reply to your questions yes i do look forward to a drink on the weekend but i dont think about it before or crave it, its generally the night before if i know im going to go out the next night and then i think about drinking. When then having 35cl or 50cl of vodka in one night i guess is very harmful to me

Hi there, yes im 28 years old. Id say since 26 ive drank once a week every week around 35 to 50cl on a friday or saturday

I read a book recently that said if the idea of never being able to drink again in your life, instantly fills you with fear and dread, than consider yourself addicted.

I was going to say that if you only do this once a week and you don't have cravings, you probably don't have a problem - yet. Then I figured out that's roughly 16 oz of 80 proof, or about 10 drinks. That's a lot at one time. It probably takes your liver all week to recover and it may not after some period of time. Could you cut the amount in half?

It depends if its causing you a problem. Are you blacking out? Making bad decisions? Getting in unsafe situations? Does it affect your relationships, your work?
I'm a binge drinker and even though I don't do it daily, the amount I do drink when I do is a problem. I don't remember where I was or who I was with or how I got home.

Thanks for all the replies.

Yes i guess i could cut it down to half but then i drink on a friday or saturday to get that tipsy feeling and half the amount wont do the job so id rather not drink the bottle at all if that makes sense?

Its not causing me a problem i dont think?? Ive never had a blackout, made bad decisions, had a change in character or attitude, i run my own business and it doesn't effect that either

I drank like that, except with wine. And even less. The physical stuff wasn't bad, it was the mental and emotional stuff. I was cranky all the time. Woke up with hangovers that got worse and worse despite drinking less. And I was miserable... I had nothing to look forward to. Quit for a period of time and keep posting here. See how much better you will feel.

I also wanted to add that I do understand the part where you said you have to drink X amount to get buzzed and so if you can't have that, then why bother. That is showing a higher tolerance and is a red flag. Pay attention to it now :)