When a doctor asks how much you drink, what do you say?

[Sheamie]

You know the usual questions when you’re at a medical appointment- do you smoke/if yes, how heavily, do you drink/if so to what extent etc.

If you drink alcohol, how do you answer, and what does your drinking pattern actually look like?

I just say ‘about 20 units’. I’ve no idea what a unit is when I’m drinking at home but it sounds like a good round figure!

I tell the truth. Which is "I might have a small drink at Christmas and I think i had a shot of something in my hot chocolate a few months ago"

I'm drunk 😁 been out with two friends to the pub, drank three bottles of wine. Marvellous!

Oh do fuck off.

No shit sherlock

The truth, because I rarely drink more than a bottle of wine or couple of G&Ts a week spread over 2-3 nights, never drink midweek.
Some weekends I don't drink at all.

One or two drinks on a Saturday evening. These might be a G&T or a small glass of wine. Sometimes nothing for a couple of weeks. A bit more at my book club (about 6 Saturdays a year) and a bit less if we are out for dinner as I am usually driving.

I remember reading somewhere a few years ago that when a doctor asks you how much you drink,they always double your answer!

We did that 12 pages or so ago.

Well, pointless being honest isn't it - if the gp's only going to double it.

DH is on statins and they don't have a negative effect if he has a drink.

He is on a high dose as he has already had a stroke.

Which statin are you on?

I do sometimes feel like these threads are magnets for people who rarely drink and want to tell everyone about it.

I get asked by a nurse at my HRT reviews. For the past year I've been drinking one or at most two drinks per month.

Prior to that I was drinking a bottle of wine a week and the nurse would lecture me every time that I should reduce my drinking. I found this pretty annoying tbh.

DH halves his intake when his doctor asks as his is significantly more than the recommended limit. His doctor doesn't tell him off and is very pragmatic about it.

Drinking alcohol in moderation has not been conclusively linked to an increased risk of dementia. If you already drink alcohol within the recommended guidelines, you do not need to stop on the grounds of reducing the risk of dementia.
My husband and his father were teetotal and both developed dementia.

@FishPie2, yes, that’s why I said heavy alcohol use.

I agree. I see plenty of threads on mumsnet from posters who admit to drinking a lot more than this.

I wish I could / would drink more, tbh. I like the taste of various kinds of alcohol. And I also like the effect of alcohol (short term).

But my life is too busy for drink and enjoy alcohol, unfortunately.
And I just can’t handle alcohol as well as I used to.

And I just can’t handle alcohol as well as I used to.

Neither can I and I think that is a good thing. My late brother in law could handle his drink - too well. It turned in to an addiction and he is no longer with us.

I lie because I have to have a brief check every few months due to medication I take. They also weigh me and lecture me on my eating. Despite the fact that my weight gain was down to a misdiagnosed course of steroids.

I can’t be arsed to be lectured. It’s not like I think it’s a health drink. But my life is stressful, and it helps. I’ve had the most awful couple of years and apart from lectures about eating vegetable they haven’t offered anything at all to help.

It makes no difference apart from ticking a box on their form.

To add this included a lecture about my unhealthy eating two days after my dad died. Who can I had told her.

Not at all, because I don't drink alcohol at all!

Probably not wrong. I doubt I’d have posted on it before I got sober. I was in denial to myself let alone the dr

The truth - no alcohol