How much alcohol is unreasonable?

[CrazyFoxLady]

So... I've just nearly finished my 2nd bottle of wine and wondering how unusual that is? Not a regular event but quite standard for a Saturday night.
By rights, should I be unconscious by now? Or is this something we are all doing right now?
Quite impressed that I can still type tbf... sending love and hugs to all that need it right now. Albeit slightly alcohol induced ones

The UK guideline is no more than 14 units a week, which should be spread over several days. France is similar. Finland - one of the most relaxed max limits in Europe - recommends a max of 24 units a week as a risk limit, not a safe limit.

2 bottles of wine is approximately 20 units of alcohol. So in one night, you've gone well over the UK weekly limit, and are approaching the Finnish weekly risk limit. If you know how Finns drink, this will concern you.

A substantial minority of people do drink at this level, at some points in their lives: you won't struggle to find other people on here telling you that they drink similar. But I don't think it's the norm. And no, it's not OK for your health.

@CrazyFoxLady

Tempted to say 'fuck the government guidelines' seeing as the government is a pile of shite. Not quite managed 2 bottles, but nearly. I think that there's too many other things going on in my life, and this is my coping mechanism. Right or wrong, that's my life right now. Night night again, actually going to bed this time x

I wasn’t criticising btw - I know an awful lot of people that are drinking ‘too much’ during this as a ‘coping mechanism’ - I hate the phrase btw!! - and I’m sure that once this is all over many people will drop it back to ‘normal’.

On a one off, once a week, I would say that it's probably ok. But it you're drinking a bottle of wine every day apart from blowing up on a Saturday, then you're in problematic territory for your liver. Is is just once a week that you drink?

Sorry to read that you're struggling.

Don't let the shitness of the government influence what you do though. The reason to drink less is for your own health. You are doing it for you, not the government.

I have had spells where I have drank a bottle 5/6 nights a week and during them periods it could quite often be 2 on the weekend nights. I had covid in March 2020 and now drink 2 or 3 night a a week max (1 - 1.5. Bottles top a time) i know I’m still pushing the recommended guidelines- I also
Know I’m a child of an alcoholic mum (died at 42 when I was 14) and a heavy drinking dad (died at 54 when I was 19). I have had long covid and remain very worried about my pre covid lifestyle
In terms of the effects I’ve suffered (e.g jaundice as first indicator of covid).
Do I drink more than try recommended. Yes.
Do I think you should model your drinking on strangers. No!

I feel much better for cutting down my alcohol intake, but am working ti cut it to recommended it lower as I know the danger if poses. If you’re asking, you’re worried too?

@CrazyFoxLady

I already knew the answer I think. Just how I'm feeling right now. Maybe a cry for help, I don't know? I know it's unreasonable, but thinking I have no fucks to give right now. I know I'll feel like shit tomorrow, I know it's bad for my health etc. Anyone else feel like this? 🤦‍♀️

I can't drink that much anyway but the last time I drank it was two bottles of wine. I passed out and when I woke up, vomited. I haven't drunk since . That was a year ago.

@typicalvalues yes only a Saturday night, so I know this is binge drinking on an epic scale

Thank you for your (mostly) kind words. Maybe now is the time to kick this terrible habit. I need to lose about a stone and cutting out wine binges will probably shift half of that!

I had a glass of wine, and 2 (very strong) rum and cokes last night, and I am ashamed to say I slept so deeply I didnt hear my baby beside me stir until she was crying at 3am for a feed. That's not unusual for me at the weekend.

I am feeling horrendously guilty this morning. I am thinking I need kick the habit completely.

Just fyi I mean it's not unusual for me to drink that much. It is unusual for me not to wake to the baby, hence the guilt.

No judgement here, OP. I love wine and can well understand that if you have the 'ability' to drink two bottles and not be either paralytic or ragingly hungover the next morning, then yes it's probably an easy thing to do.

Personally I can only really manage a shared bottle with dh; last time we drank two between us (with a little help from teen dds) I was sick as a dog next day, but I'm a lightweight.

When we go out out I will drink a lot more than half a bottle - probably a bottle plus extras - but I have to be resigned to the next day being a write off. It's why I sometimes choose to drive these days - the temptation to drink lots is too much!

@TwirpingBird

I had a glass of wine, and 2 (very strong) rum and cokes last night, and I am ashamed to say I slept so deeply I didnt hear my baby beside me stir until she was crying at 3am for a feed. That's not unusual for me at the weekend.

I am feeling horrendously guilty this morning. I am thinking I need kick the habit completely.

I think you need to let go of that guilt.

I used to drink harmful levels. I stopped completely. I read Alcohol Lied to Me by Craig Beck and it was like someone had waved a magic wand. I haven't drunk since and have lost the desire to.
What you drank last night was probably normal for me on a Saturday. The other nights of the week I 'only' drank a bottle. Quite disgusting when you add the units up.

2 bottles is too many for me now. I have 1 bottle on a Friday and stop at that as I do an exercise class on a Saturday morning and want to be ok for that. I have 2 or 3 vodkas on a Saturday night too but don't get drunk.

I only buy 1 bottle of wine for the weekend so I couldn't drink more even if I wanted to

I could have pre pregnancy and would have drank the equivalent of that very regularly on nights out pre pregnancy.
Since not drinking due to pregnancy and breastfeeding my tolerence is gone to shite. I had half a bottle of wine on Friday night and felt quite drunk. The more often you drink the high tolerance you will have

I'd be really drunk after 1 bottle of wine and really poorly after 2. I don't like feeling drunk so I usually stop after half a bottle.
I'd got into the habit of drinking, most nights over lockdown but found it was making me feel really depressed and weepy. I've switched to drinking once or twice a week and feel so much more positive about life.

Two would be a lot for me but I can quite easily drink a full bottle then a few gins at the weekend.

Hi OP,

I used to do two bottles on the reg And one or a bit less most other nights. I was using it to cope with my anxiety and ended up with Alcohol Use Disorder - I'm a binge pattern drinker rather than a top up drinker. Like a lot of people, I used to think the having a drinking problem was just something you were born with a predisposition towards and could do nothing about. While that can seem to happen sometimes the easiest way to develop a dependency is simply by drinking a lot of it!! The alcohol actually rewires your brain if you have enough of it regularly. If you think you're drinking too much and you'd like to stop I can recommend some super books. Start with Annie Grace, Unexpected Joy of Being Sober and Alcohol Lied to Me. It's unbelievably common so there's tonnes of excellent support out there. There are online meetings by an organisation called SMART too. No God stuff or life stories or weeping or anything, it's CBT based sobriety tips. I'm nearly ten months sober and I promise you it's grand

Used to be unusual but since lockdown started I've been drinking more. I've plans to have March off the drink which I'll be fine with. It's a bad habit

Thanks again everyone

I think my problem is I am a binger (is that a word lol) in general. Can't just eat a couple of squares of chocolate - have to eat the lot etc. I can eat so much chocolate that I feel sick, but I still keep going. I think that this is the issue I need to address.

Its easy to feel you have nothing else in your life other than wine and steam puddings.

We had 2 and a bit bottles yesterday, but that was from 3pm to about 7pm.

Last week was a shit work week for both of us and the recycling box is looking a little "healthy" with bottles.

We won't touch a drop now till Friday.

@Hangingover

>

Waves back I had tried to stop/cut down for years. If someone had said 'here, read this book' I wouldn't have believed them. Can't believe I wasted so many years when it was so bloody easy. I do find myself tutting (inwardly) when people say I only drink on Fridays/Saturdays or 'special occasions' I want to scream BUT YOU DON'T NEED ANY AT ALL. Fortunately I know to keep my gob shut.

What answer did you want from the thread, @CrazyFoxLady? Did you want to be told that pretty much all of us were drinking at a similar level, or did you want to hear that we are mostly tea-total, and you were doing something really odd by drinking?

I think it might help to identify the root of the problem, if you can decide which it was.

Hope you're feeling ok this morning