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Conception

TTC - good excuses for not drinking!

14 replies

MaternalMusings · 08/10/2011 13:27

Hello all,

I stopped drinking several weeks ago in order to be the healthiest I can be; as myself and DP had planned to begin TTC. We've now began TTC for our first child. The giving up drinking thing was fine because we didn't really have any social events planned and had kind of slowed down on the red wine at home already. When we had been for meals with friends (we have the same circle of friends luckily) recently, we'd been quite open about our plans... but work friends are a little bit different. I have a work friend's birthday party tonight, another party tomorrow, a meal with work colleagues next week - aswell as a conference with evening ball! There will be lots of wine and champagne flowing, and in attendance will be my boss, with whom I get on with, but obviously wouldn't want to find out I'm TTC for fear of work complications.

So not only is it a busy week - but a lot of time spent with work colleagues and alcohol. Which would also be fine if I wasn't renowned for being a little bit of a red wine lover! How have you ladies gotten around the not drinking thing? Any useful hints and tips? Or even excuses? My DP will be attending the party tonight and tomorrow and won't be drinking either - stressbox!

xx

OP posts:

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chocoBOO · 08/10/2011 13:32

Just don't say antibiotics. Dead give away!

When I found out I was pregnant I said I'd been having migraines so needed to rule out causes - worked for alcohol and caffeine.

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jenniec79 · 08/10/2011 13:37

Be the driver? It's the other unquestionable excuse for not drinking on a night out!

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MaternalMusings · 08/10/2011 13:47

Ah chocoBOO, that was my first instinct! Especially as I have lots of events this week! But what would be DP's excuse? I could definitely get away with the migraines excuse though - I always complain about headaches as the lights are so bright in my office!

Wish we could use the "I'm driving" excuse jenniec9, we don't have a car yet! We didn't need one living in London and have only just moved to Essex 2 months ago so looking for a new car at Christmas (when hopefully there'll be a sale on).

OP posts:

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MrsDobalina · 08/10/2011 13:56

At work dos I always walked around with a glass of wine and waved it around, pretended to sip it but never actually drank any. This worked even at dinner - it's amazing how little people noticed!

At bars I ordered tonic water and asked for ice and lemon so it looked like a g+t.

Shame your DP is not drinking, DH and I also used to sit next to each other at dinners and he would casually start drinking from my full glass once he'd almost finished his and I'd pretend to drink his. Worked every time except DH used to get horribly drunk. Not that he minded

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LydiaTheTattoedLady · 08/10/2011 14:40

I and my friends have all gone through periods of non drinking (detox or whatever) which had nothing to do with TTC. No one really cared when I said I was giving up drink for a few months - in fact, I got a lot of support from people (particularly the drunk ones who were feeling suitably guilty) and many comments about how "I think I should do that".
You could just say that you've been feeling a bit under par and that you're cutting out alcohol to see if it helps you feel better. If you don't make it a big deal, I'm sure they won't sniff out the real reason.

Or there's the dental infection card (having to be on antibiotics). That does work, for a short term quick solution.

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TreacleChops · 08/10/2011 15:12

Don't play the "on antibiotics" card..... It is a myth that you cant take alcohol with them.....

When prostitutes used to get STI's back in the day when antibiotics where new, Dr's used to say to women, "you mustn't drink when using these tablets", to stop them from getting blind drunk and sleeping with someone else with the infection still in their bodies. It's just never been taken off the leaflets.

You could always get a lemonade and lime cordial and pretend their is a bit of vodka/gin in it..... anyone asks- your trying to loose a few pounds and vodka/ gin has less calories (every woman knows that).

As for DP not drinking, you could always say the same as you - loose a few pounds- and have lemonade & lime.

Or he could always get a pint of black-currant and soda, and pretend that it's cider and black?

Failing those idea's just get him a large red wine and do the pretending to drink business that Dobalina suggested?!

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AuntieDoris · 08/10/2011 15:16

With most antibiotics it's true, you can drink moderately without any problems. However, there are a couple of types of antibiotics which have really nasty effects, the most noted is metronidazole - it acts like Anabuse and makes you vomit badly.

There's a perfect excuse :)

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AuntieDoris · 08/10/2011 15:17

Antabuse I mean!

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LydiaTheTattoedLady · 08/10/2011 15:31

That was the one I was on last time I had quite an aggressive dental infection. Dentist told me not to even risk a sip, as it can cause severe vomming.

Nice.

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AuntieDoris · 08/10/2011 15:44

Yup. Particularly unpleasant. Most antibiotics you can drink away without major side-effects tho.

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chocoBOO · 08/10/2011 15:53

Another one I've used is hangover - you could try that if you pretend to drink G&T one night.

Becks Blue was my friend if we were out. I or DP would insist on going to the bar and have it put in a glass.

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eurochick · 08/10/2011 17:09

It's really bad advice to post on an internet board that you can drink with antibiotics. As others have mentioned, there are some on which it is a really, really bad idea to drink as it will make you very ill.

Like many of the long term ttcers on here, I haven't stopped drinking completely. I have cut down though.

The research on alcohol, pregnancy and conception is very mixed. The current advice to stop drinking completely during pregnancy seems to have come about because the govt thought us silly women couldn't work out what a unit is so it was best to tell us to have nothing at all. But of course there is no harm in giving up completely if that is what you want to do. For me, that would have meant that my last drink was sometime last December. As someone who enjoys alcohol in moderation, that would have meant a very dull year for me, but everyone has to decide what is right for them individually.

The suggestion to walk around with a glass of something is a good one. At dinner, have a small glass poured but then just drink water. It is unlikely that anyone will notice.

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whereismywine · 08/10/2011 19:20

Agree with euro in that giving up totally was fine for the first few months, but 11 months on, I haven't had the willpower to persist with this, but I do drink a lot lot less than I used to now. I like to have a glass of wine on a Friday and one on a Sunday. And that's it. This means that there have been a lot of times when we've been out with friends (who are big drinkers)that I've had to bend the truth and have excuses. These have included -

I've got a big run/bikram yoga in the morning
I've got a nasty bout of cystitis - this shuts people up!
I'm on a detox
I'm driving
Ive got a big drive the next morning
I've got an important work meeting the next day
I have one half pint of something at the start of the night. Often no one asks after I've been seen with that. Usually give it to dh. Difficult if rounds are going.
I've got a cracking hangover.

I wish you all the best ttc. But if it does take a while, a glass of wine or two a week would be fine, in my humble opinion.

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MaternalMusings · 14/10/2011 17:46

Hello all

Just wanted to let you know I went with the tonic water over ice and lime/lemon (I alternated between lemon and lime, you know, for a bit of variety!). Nobody battered an eyelid. But thank you for all your other suggestions, I'm sure a few of those will come in handy along the way!

xx