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Can anyone relate? I need advice.

Old 08-29-2015, 05:32 PM
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Angry Can anyone relate? I need advice.

Hey all. I've posted here before about my drinking past. I am a 24 year old male who has battled with alcohol for a few years. I've never been a daily drinker, however I used to binge drink every single weekend out of the year. Just in the last couple of years my hangovers began to get really bad. Even if I have one sip of alcohol, my next 3-4 days are completely ruined as I feel empty, depressed and lethargic. I look pale in the face and experience anxiety during this period. My hangovers only used to last 1 day, then 2 days, now they last up to 3 days, with no correlation to the amount of alcohol that I drink. My body is obviously trying to tell me something. I have yet to meet someone that experiences these types of hangovers after just a sip of alcohol. I've searched the internet and found a discussion that a small group of people were having similar hangovers and had liver tests etc and nothing was found to be wrong with them.

I have cut down my drinking to about 1 day out of the month (used to be every weekend) and am slowly making my way to kicking it out of my life completely. The hangovers are kind of a blessing, because without them I would be drinking most days out of the week. But since I know that 3-4 days of my life will be down the drain I usually just decide not to drink. I was sober for 3 months at one point, and felt pretty good but thought I'd just have a beer one day and boom, the intense hangover took over again.

Logically I know that alcohol has to go. My friends are very supportive about it and I usually have no problem being around others that drink. Although I feel urges, I feel proud denying the urge and people tend to respect more for it.

I am really worried as to any damage that could've been done to my body by binge drinking in the past though. I can go without drinking but I feel like something is missing from my life on the weekends. I'm not as fun when I am out with friends. Last night I was having trouble being as social as everyone else at the bar (was at a social for my school) so I slipped up and had 1 beer. It felt great at the time and I built rapport with a lot of people who typically see me as quiet and reserved. However today I feel horrible, and I know that tomorrow I will feel worse (its always worse on the second day) and monday I will still not feel right. I am mad at myself.

Really this was more of a rant I guess. But it just doesn't seem fair. I want to be normal like everyone else and be able to have a beer. I guess I've been bouncing back and forth between denial and acceptance of my problem.

Thanks for listening. Out of curiosity, does anyone else experience the symptoms I am talking about after very little alcohol consumption?
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Old 08-29-2015, 05:42 PM
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By the end of my drinking career, alcohol no matter how small in volume made me very ill for a few a days, people used to talk about 48hr or 72hr hangovers, well I came to realise them in a very real way!!

With regards damage, the body is a fantastic piece of kit, if you've cut all the way down to drinking 1 day out of each month, I'm sure the body is getting the repair time it needs and by going completely Sober even more so, any serious concerns though should always be addressed to a Dr!!

I learnt a while ago that alcohol is not in any way the centre of the social universe, everyone doesn't drink, we only think they do, and why wouldn't we? we surrounded ourselves with people that drink, we hung out in places that have alcohol, every time we did anything socially there was alcohol, but it's a myth, the world does not revolve around alcohol.

At the end of the day we gotta accept the cards we've been dealt, people with allergies such as nuts, seafood, gluten, they don't complain about wanting to be normal, they get on with life and deal with it, and so it has to be the same way forward with an allergy to alcohol!!

You can do this!!
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Old 08-29-2015, 05:50 PM
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I've had a similar problem. I wasn't an everyday drinker, but I did definitely drink Friday-Sunday with an occasional day during the week when it was a rough day. My hangover would only last a day but I still never felt right for two-three days.

It's a rough situation trying to be like everyone else and only be able to have one or two beers especially when you're so used to just binge drinking. I've tried to manage having a beer or two but it's hard. The best way I've figured to manage it is to just cut drinking out completely. I miss my craft beers so much but I like being able to have my life back on track even more.
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Old 08-29-2015, 09:08 PM
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Withdrawal is usually the worst on the second day... you should really try to see a doctor. If you're having withdrawals after one beer, you may have developed some kind of sensitivity or condition. Quit drinking for sure, but also get medical advice!
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Old 08-29-2015, 09:26 PM
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Hangovers started lasting 2-3 for me too, but thats after a bottle of wine, it's mostly bad anxiety and feeling lethargic, swollen face a bit, body a bit bloated.
Its not nice
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Old 08-30-2015, 01:54 AM
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I was a weekend drinker as well. (Well, I would drink to excess any time I picked up the first drink - and that tended to be Fri, Sat and Sun). Any other time I popped out for couple tended to end in the same chaos though.

I was lucky (or perhaps unlucky) in that I didn't get massive hangovers. Not physical ones anyway. Often I'd be the gym doing a Body Combat class or similar the next morning - which gave my AV a fantastic argument to continue drinking. The emotional hang overs were the worst for me. Anxiety and confusion as I tried to make sense of what I'd said or done, and why I behaved that way.

I think we all go through that stage of feeling it's unfair, and wishing that we could just drink 'normally'. I tried drinking different types of drinks; drinking in different places; drinking at different times; only taking set amount of cash with me. None of it worked. The only thing that has worked for me is staying away from the stuff. Completely.

Over time I have learnt to approach my alcoholism with an attitude of acceptance. No, I can't drink like some other people. But you know what - there's worse things I could find wrong with me. Self-pity really doesn't help me, as it amplifies my alcoholic voice. 'Poor me' can all too easily turn into 'Poor me - I deserve a drink. Everyone else is having one!' and lead to actually having one.

Nowadays, when I go along to the pub with my partner, I make sure that it's at the START of his session. I know that I will be okay chatting to him for an hour or so, and then he will be on a different wavelength to me, so then I go home. I don't feel sad about going home. I see it as me walking to the beat of my own drum, being independent and that I am getting both a Saturday night in, AND a Saturday night out. BUT, I didn't just wake up one day and think that. I worked hard to get to that level of acceptance. That's what my recovery is about. Acceptance, and adjusting my perspective to live a happy and fulfilled sober life.

Early on in my sobriety I found that having an escape strategy was key to my enjoyment of any night out. I also found it handy to take breaks as drunk people are very wearing on any sober person, but especially an alcoholic. I might 'pop to the shop', or go in the garden or for a walk to 'make a call'. I soon realised, no-one actually notices when I disappear for a bit, so I could always go have a coffee and read somewhere for an extended break if I wanted. If there is live music and some dancing going on, then it invariably makes for a better night and 'breaks' aren't needed so much.

Good luck. One good thing about being a binge drinker is that tapering isn't necessary - I don't really understand what that one night a month actually does apart from make it harder for you, but then again, it's also none of my business.
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Old 08-30-2015, 02:36 AM
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Old 08-30-2015, 03:03 PM
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I've experienced similar feelings at times. It sounds like you are acutely aware of the problem(s) that alcohol creates. It could be something as simple as you subconsciously know that alcohol is not your friend and therefore the bad feelings linger for days. It sounds as if your health is intact from your test results. Anyway, just my 2 cents. I wish you luck.
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