Is 3 drinks once or twice a week moderating?
 

Hello, it has been a while since I binged (college student), I was wondering what was everyone's opinion on drinking 2 or 3 drinks once in a while?

if it causes unanagability(excuse making,lies to others,rationalization,etc)like mine does...
well you get the picture...
chances are you didnt find sr due to having no problems with booze...

^^^

True, I had a huge problem, and had decided to stay completely sober. But since my addiction didn't seem physical (little to no withdraw), I am trying moderation, drinking a 2-3 drinks per day once or twice a week (since school can be extremely stressfull). So far, I've been fairly succesful (with only one episode where I drank 5 in the last 5-6 weeks, and posted right away), but I wanted everyone elses opinion on whether moderation is safe. I'm not exactly sure myself, and am feeling that I might be pushing the line.

i know every time i drink,i break out in a pair of handcuffs......
this disease of addiction isnt like a cold,if you have it,you have it.
i was a junkie who tried drinking with a year abstinent from dope.i was a daily drunk for 2 weeks.got so depessed i started shooting and taking pills again.
now many years later,and with the help of na,i can stand myself today,clean.
it is a mental,emotional,and spiritual disease.so it has our ass in a corner no matter how you see it.

Hey CA-
You asked for opinions, and I'll give you mine. Let me start by telling you that I am an alcoholic, and I can really relate to the stuff you've been writing. I especially relate to the desire to become a moderate drinker.

Only you can figure out whats right for you. If you want to avoid binge drinking, remember that your resistance will be down after a couple of drinks. Drinking affects decsion making. Having booze in your system will impair you judgment, and it might be easier to make bad choices about how much is too much. Having 2 or 3 drinks might be alright 9 out of 10 times. If you find that you go over your limit sometimes, you may want to consider abstinence.

Now here's something you might not want to hear.....

"Normal" or "social" drinkers don't have to count their drinks. They don't have to make a consious effort to stop at a certain limit. "Normal" or "social" drinkers don't have to ask the questions which you are asking. True "moderate drinkers" don't have to make an effort to be moderate drinkers. Moreover, these people certainly don't need to post on SR!!

You said that you "had a huge problem". In medical history, there has never been an example of someone who "had a huge problem", go back to light or moderate drinking. You can't turn a pickle back into a cucumber. The idea that one can LEARN how to drink moderatly is the great obsession of every alcoholic.

It just sounds like you don't feel ready to quit drinking yet. I'd be the last person to condemn you for that. I didn't quit untill I was ready. Keep posting, and keep working on finding a solution that works for you.

One more thing....

Alcoholism is a disease which tells it's victims that they are ok. This addiction affects the way we think, and our thinking will ALWAYS find ways to justify drinking. If you have an alcohol problem, then your addiciton is trying to convince you to keep drinking.:beerchug:

Again, I'll stress that I'm not preaching at you. I'm just giving you an opinion because you asked for it. My opinion is that you probably have an alcohol problem. You might need to do more drinking and research on your own patterns to figure out the undeniable truth: Alcoholics cannot drink at all, or they are screwed.
chip

You're looking at it in a vacuum
 

Hello Coffeeaddict:

You are looking at this in a vacuum. Alcoholism is not determined by simply monitoring the number of drinks or number of times a person drinks. It is a many faceted disease, which is why chemical dependency assessments take one to two hours to complete (sometimes longer). Would someone even have to exercise "moderation" if they could just drink moderately without thinking about it? Is this process of thinking about it (trying moderation) actually a sign that you need to look at to see what it is telling you?

Sounds like you feel you have a problem that needs handling, and you are trying some way of controlling it yourself. Do you want my permission to try to moderate your drinking? O.K., you have it. There, how does that feel? Do you feel like an alcoholic? If you are not sure, that is fine for now. Why not give your plan a try and get back to us?

But let me ask you this: if you have more drinking that you think might be more than you planned, would you have any problem asking a professional for a real chemical dependency assessment to see what their opinion is?

:c041: :a102: :a108:

Alcohol is progressive in its nature.
2-3...2-3 times per week can become 4-5, 2-3 times per week in short time.
It is just one more a day..I can handle it.
Knowing what can be....it is better to not drink at all. "if" you can moderate and never binge, you may still see a progression. Drink with care can become drinking with out caring at all. What ever your choice...know what can be and take it slow.

I could of wrote your post myself. I am 10 days sober and I used to binge excessively when I was single (every weekend) have blackouts, make an ass out of myself etc.. Now it only happens about once every 3 months were I get super drunk. The rest of the time, I am trying to control once or twice a week like yourself. 2-3 drinks however alot of the times I stop because I know I have too. I think with time it gets worse and you want to drink more and more. I think we are just fooling ourselves.. I played that game of not more than 2-3.. It works for a little while and than bang.. All hell breaks loose.. Good luck to you.
Joanne

trust your instinct.. that little voice that is telling you that you have a problem..
Joanne

Thanks for your advice everybody. I've been trying to be completely sober for some time now, but it is hard. So far, I haven't touched alcohol the day after I started this thread. After looking at the posts, I will try and make plans to try and not drink at all, or only moderatly drink on special occasians.

Your last response is contradictory. You said you are "trying to stay sober" yet you are still drinking. In addition, if you were to simply stop drinking you would not be "sober", you would be "abstinent". Please note the difference in terminology. If you desire sobriety and the quality of life that results from that, you have to do more than simply "not drink"!

Your alcoholism is still considered active and full blown if you simply stop drinking and do nothing further. The behaviors are still there and they will bleed through any facade you attempt to erect to make it look like you are "cured".

It only depends on you CA. For me, its a bad idea because I'm an alcoholic. For some other people I know, who have no alcohol problem its not an issue and doesn't become one. So which one are you? Answer that, and the rest becomes clear.

;)

If it IS "hard" you should stay far away from it.

Hi CA
I'm doing the same thing you are. I'm moderating with success (at least so far) but I'm wondering if I'm playing with fire. I'm currently on antidepressants and having a couple drinks makes me sleepy so I stop there. Honestly, if I weren't on these meds I'm not sure I could have such control. Keep posting and let us know if moderation is working.

UPDATE:

Thanks for the responses guys/girls. Here is the update as asked:

Thursday (Oct 5th): Caffieine/Ephedrine overdose!!! I couldn't believe it happened . No alcohol. I had to be rushed to the ER room. (I am going to post a new thread on this)

Friday: Decided to wean on caffeine. Shook up after overdose incident. No alcohol.

Saturday: Stressed because of lack of sleep and weaning on caffeine. Drank 4 1/2 beers in a period of 3 hours, and stoped myself before I could finish my 5th.

Sunday: No alcohol, but didn't wean on caffeine intake (but still didn't drink as much as I used to)

Monday (today): No alcohol, only had about 150-200mg of caffeine, which is a miricle compared to my previous intake. Experiencing slight withdraw as I type this.

I just read an interesting thread in the NA forum about addiction. The main message was that it's unwise to separate each and every possible thing we can be addicted to, because it weakens the most important idea that says that we're simply addicts. We can be addicted to alcohol, narcotics, food, sex, gambling, coffee, internet, and anything else. When we separate, we may have the false hope that since we are no longer addicted to whatever was our problem, that we are safe. The truth is, it's probably likely that we'll find something else to put in it's place since that's the way our brain operates.

It sounds pretty clear that you have an addictive brain wiring and that you can continue to go from one thing to another unless you stop the addictive behavior, full stop. I wish you well and hope you are able to see your pattern with clear eyes.

I heard at a meeting once "if you are controlling your drinking you're not enjoying it - and if you're enjoying your drinking you're not controlling it."

Certainly applies to me.

Once I quite booze I became addicted to

mail order catalogues
coffee
chocolate
online lotto scratchcards
goats cheese
pickled onion crisps
binge eating.

Basically, an addictive personality who cannot seem to do anything in moderation. I need to watch myself all the time.

Keep coming back here - you'll find the answer to what you have to do. It may not be the answer you want but it will most certainly be the answer you need.

Take care.
D.xxx:Val004:

Thanks for the support c'est la vie and Wee Dee :) (and again, everyone else). I never knew one could be addicted to goats cheese. I'll defintely stick around. I'm starting to believe I have an addictive personality. I guess, I've always known it, but I was in denial. Today I had no alcohol, and am still weaning, only 100 mg of caffiene. Wahoo!! I am having caffiene withdraw symptoms typing this.

Update:

Oct 12th (midnight) *sigh*today I went out clubbing and had 5 1/2 drinks (period of 5 hours). I was able to stop myself from drinking more. Im making it a goal to not exceed 6 drinks a week (didn't drink since saturday). Sorry guys, I guess I'm not ready to be completely sober:( I hope I didn't dissapoint. If I ever exceed 8 per day or 10 per week, I will consider complete soberity.

(((((((((((Huggys)))))))))) I just hope you stop before you get into trouble.