How much drinking is too much?

@SevenOhOne

A liver function test may well be normal but a more detailed liver panel would probably show raised liver enzymes if damaging drinking was occurring.

My liver damage was discovered by accident when I had an ultrasound for gallbladder stones.

I then had a full liver blood test which showed raised liver enzymes.

After 6 months off the wine and lifestyle changes my bloods were normal and my liver scan was normal.

The liver is amazing at regeneration, that's true. But you are right, there is a point where your liver can't get better and this is very scary.

There have been lots of stories in the news about women who drink wine in the evenings and think they're not problem drinkers then getting cirrhosis. Cirrhosis is irreversible and eventually, terminal.

It's very shocking. Especially as drinking, wine/Prosecco etc is so accepted and encouraged in society. You don't need many bottles of wine to be over the safe limit of drinking per week. It's even more dangerous for women than men.

And yet still not really in the public consciousness.

I usually have a bottle of wine or prosecco a week, usually spread out over Fri-Sun.

I am a child of an alcoholic parent though, so I think I'm always a bit mindful of that.

Drinking at home alone, regularly when you LO is in bed is a bad habit imo. Most drinkers completely underestimate how much they drink so I'd guess it's more than 3 bottles a week.

Just drink when out or when friends are round. Try and find other ways to relax op.

If you or anyone on this thread is interested in finding out more about alcohol which is the world's most popular and most damaging drug, there are some fantastic podcasts. I enjoy sober powered by a lovely American lady. She is a Professor of Chemistry. Or Sober stories by an equally lovely British lady. I know they both have sober in the title but they both discuss the whole process of why we drink, how much and when it becomes a problem.
Neither of them try to convince anyone to give up by the way.

If you’re asking then it’s probably too much.

and as your units are regularly at 24/25 a week, just you at home, i would say that’s a lot.

I think the fact you’re asking means you probably think you’re drinking a bit too much. I’d cut out the mid week drinking or have a G&T mid week, I guess that way you’re not cracking open a bottle and temptation then is to finish it off.

I used to drink a whole box of wine at the weekend, nothing Monday -Friday generally, unless there was something going on to justify cracking open the box early. I then got a serious health issue (not directly relevant but it can’t have helped) and stopped drinking totally for 10yrs I guess. These days I have a couple of glasses of wine over a weekend or a wine if I go out with friends and they are drinking too (prefer a soft drink with a meal). Some of my old friends still drink to excess like we did in teens / early 20’s. One friend’s alcohol intake worries me (as I care a lot about her) as her entire life revolves around drink, she’s 47 now but often posts on social media ‘on it’. Her partner has been told to stop drinking or he will be dead in a few years - he hasn’t. Cut down, and you’ll feel better for it, or just drink when you go out and not alone at home

No one is destroying their liver drinking 3 nights a week 🙄

Not good for your health or weight.
With the state of the NHS I am trying to do everything I can to stay healthy and this much drink will clearly affect your health, if not now in the future.

It depends if you feel you need it, I used to drink 2/3 glasses on my nights off which was 3x a week but then felt like I relied on it to relax, so I stopped.
I occasionally drink at home sometimes a couple of nights a week sometimes not for weeks and when I go out I drink too much not knowing my limit but don’t go out often so it’s all swings and roundabouts.
My brother as ex addict however can go months without a drink yet when he drinks, he can’t stop and doesn’t care about the consequences and will put himself in danger.
If I have a bottle of wine I’d split it over two different days.

I gave up drinking a few years ago and feel so much better for it. I love to relax with TV after my DD is in bed, but don’t see why you need alcohol to go with it. I would look for other ways to relax because it isn’t good to be dependent on it on such a regular basis.

I think I'd think about what it is your trying to replace - there's the relaxed feeling, yes - but if I think about booze there's also for me: the ritual - getting a nice glass out, maybe deciding what I want, opening it and then sitting down and ahh a cool drink.

So for me, when I wanted to cut down on alcohol - that was what I needed to replicate. So for me, a posh tonic and bitters with a choice of tonics and slicing some nice garnishes in a nice glass meets almost all those needs of a ritual.

But if your driver is different then the substitute you'll need to make is different too.

Drinking over 6 units in one session is classed as binge drinking. I was shocked when I found that out!

get a full liver panel test

Don”t bother. Liver tests very often come back normal even for people in advanced alcoholism. The liver is a remarkable organ and can often cope with a surprising amount, until all of a sudden it can’t and it’s too late.

OP, I think you need to work out for yourself what you mean by “too much”.

Is it increasing the risk of harm to your health- yes
Is it binge drinking- also yes
Will it affect your judgement- yes (the fact you think it doesn’t is part of your judgement being impaired)

On the other hand, you enjoy it, which isn’t nothing.

A good rule of thumb is that people with no issue with alcohol at all don’t tend to post on the internet about it. Again that’s not to say you have to stop, only that it’s good to be aware and make conscious decisions about the role you want alcohol to have in your life. In your shoes I’d take a month off drinking and use the time to think about what it’s adding to your life and whether it’s worth it. (NB again, 1. successfully taking a month of doesn’t mean there’s no issue. 2, Getting a week into your month off and deciding that a successful week off proves you don’t need a month off counts as a fail.)

I think you have to look at drinking in parallel with your wider lifestyle choices. If you drink that much, eat mostly processed food, are overweight, smoke and don't exercise you are compounding the risk and increasing the likelyhood of illnesses in the future.

I drink the same amount as you, but other than wine I pretty much drink water, I cook from scratch with lots of veg, I don't smoke and I exercise quite a bit. So for me the enjoyment I get from wine is worth the risk to my health. I did dry Jan in 2020 and honestly the only difference was slightly better sleep. My weight, skin etc was the exactly the same and my life just felt a bit dull, for me everything is better with a drink eg a pub after a hike, a BBQ, a meal out. I make sure my drinking isn't creeping up and I make sure I have at least 2 consecutive booze free days a week.

Maybe try either cutting down and doing a few weeks dry and see how you feel. When some people do that they realise the difference! But don't beat yourself up if you enjoy it, it's not affecting your life and its not creeping up 😊

I'd get a full liver panel test. Or an abdominal ultrasound

Alcohol consumption causes your liver to store fat. This fat can cause scarring down the line.

I have been there and I wasn't a massively heavy drinker.

Luckily for me, my liver damage was reversible and with lifestyle changes I have reversed my liver problems.

Liver issues are often asymptomatic until it's too late.

I'd urge anyone drinking at this level to research it.

fYI I don't binge drink on one day

Why are you telling yourself this when by any medical standard you are binge-drinking (more than the binge-drinking standard for either women or men) three times a week?

Just because you don't feel drunk doesn't mean it's not binge-drinking.

Just because it's a 'naice' drink and not whiskey or cheap cider doesn't mean it's not binge-drinking.

Just because you know lots of others who also binge-drink doesn't mean it's not binge-drinking.

Binge-drinking three times a month is very questionable. Three times a week is a straight up problem, and you already know this, you just don't want to stop doing it because you enjoy it.

Why hilarious ?

Yeah it’s a bit much

Anyone who has more than a thimble full of sherry at Christmas, is an abhorrent pissed alcoholic according to some on MN.

It didn't take long for that predictable response to appear.

I'm no expert, but it doesn't seem excessive.

I agree with you about balance and enjoying life, but I don't think downing a bottle of wine on your own because you're really stressed is one of life's great pleasures is it? Sounds a pretty miserable way to drink compared to, say, having a good time with friends or savouring a glass with a really lovely meal.

A single 25ml measure of spirits is one unit so a gin and tonic would only be one unit. That may be why your friend suggesting switching.

Life is also about balance and enjoyment.

This. I like to sit in the sun a couple of times a week even though it might increase my risk of skin cancer. I don't care, the benefits outweigh the risk. The same goes for moderate drinking. Life isnt just about surviving as long as possible no matter how miserable. OP you don't drink for 4 nights a week, that's more than enough to mitigate any potential ill effects

It's definitely more than I'd be happy with for myself, but the thing that sticks out to me that you use it (and vapes) for relaxation. When there are so many other ways to relax and unwind of an evening that cost you little or nothing, aren't addictive and aren't harmful to your health.

Just off the top of my head - bath and pamper session, yoga/meditation, some kind of art or craft project, a bit of gardening while it's still light, read a good book. Invest in posh herbal teas and a nice tea set as an alternative drink to accompany it.

To clarify, I think we should sorry about our diets as much as alcohol.

Not saying don't worry about alcohol just pointing out what we eat is just as important