Page 11 | No benefits when stopping alcohol

Gem2J · 2025-01-08T22:14:54+00:00

Hi Everyone I hope you are all well. For 5 years now i have drunk 4 pints of beer a night. I really don't want to do this and would prefer to stop drinking all together. I am not as addicted as I thought I was, because my new years resolution was to slowly cut down. I have my four pints once every other day:) and I find it easy. But now I have decided to go back to my 4 pints a night, because for me the benefits of drinking alcohol every night far outweigh the negatives. And please don't read this if you are suffering from alcohol dependence, cause i do not want to encourage anyone, because alcohol is bad. I am just writing this cause just want to make sense of it all, and get your thoughts? I am very weight conscious. and work hard for my slim figure, and i am not willing to put on weight, no matter what the cost to my health. I have been overweight before and it ruined my life and self esteem. So anyway you might think that if i cut down alcohol i will lose weight, but i have gained weight! And i am not eating pizzas and chocolate, on my days of not drinking alcohol i eat chicken, lots of veg and for desert I have an orange. But I eat until I am satisfied. On my beer days i have 4 pints and a potato. So really i can't cope with the weight gain and have decided to go back on the beer. Also to buy all this healthy meals like chicken, veg and fruit it costs me double! and i am already on the verge of food bank and so it is cheaper to buy 4 pints of beer and a potato from Morrisons, and i would rather have that extra money to feed my kids. I am never violent when I drink and it does not affect my day to day life, I work full time. But now after being made redundant I have found a new job that requires me to be awake at 5am for a 6am start. I suffer from insomnia and if i wasn't on the booze I don't go to sleep till 8am. And even if i take sleeping pills and drink no alcohol I still feel rough the next day. Also i am a very LAZY person by nature. not working but at home. I have always been like this and on the days when I didn't drink alcohol well the house would be trash, alcohol enables me to keep on top of housework and pursue my online business dreams. If I stopped then i would be in bed 24/7 and a fat lazy slob But I don't know how this is right, surely i should stop alcohol for my health? but I honestly don't see any benefits

FLOWER1982 · 09/01/2025 16:16

Have you tried alcohol free beers? 4 of them will fill you up if you’re worried about gaining weight. although you really need to eat more nourishing foods. Honestly I can’t believe you don’t feel better. And if you don’t you need to do it for longer. Look after yourself.

Ukholidaysaregreat · 09/01/2025 17:47

Hi OP, I really wanted to comment on your thread this morning but I didn't have enough time. I hope the nasty comments haven't put you off. I think you might be making yourself quite ill drinking 4 pints and only a potato. Your children are young adults now and it is time to start putting yourself first. I think you might be putting on weight with healthy food cos your body is so pleased to receive nourishment. I wonder if you should read up about the ACEs of childhood trauma and The Body Keeps the Score and see if any of that resonates with you. Therapy or AA may help you. With alcohol and previous ED and other things to consider you are a complex case but you have being doing a really great job to bring up your kids and hold down a job. Good Luck with all this stuff.

Missmarplesknittingbuddy · 09/01/2025 17:56

Jklow1254 · 09/01/2025 16:01

This is wrong - we would never advise a patient drinking this amount that they would be safe to just stop. I’ve seen patients drinking less who have tried to stop and get awful withdrawals. Also look up the kindling effect - repeatedly stopping and starting increases risk of seizures over time. The OP needs professional advice on reducing safely.

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I clearly stated that the OP, or anyone , should see their GP and I do know what the Kindling Effect is , but there is nothing to suggest that this would apply to the OP who hasn't repeatedly quit drinking .
Can I ask which area of addiction support you work in, as where I work, unless there is suspicion of someone under reporting their drinking or previous history of withdrawal symptoms the decision to taper or not , is very much unit based. Not doubting you , just curious how advice varies throughout the NHS .

lynnepartridge · 09/01/2025 18:32

Hope you are okay op. No matter what I loved my Dad, life is hard, I understood why he did what he drank but I wish he hadn't. Good luck with everything.

Jklow1254 · 09/01/2025 18:35

Missmarplesknittingbuddy · 09/01/2025 17:56

I clearly stated that the OP, or anyone , should see their GP and I do know what the Kindling Effect is , but there is nothing to suggest that this would apply to the OP who hasn't repeatedly quit drinking .
Can I ask which area of addiction support you work in, as where I work, unless there is suspicion of someone under reporting their drinking or previous history of withdrawal symptoms the decision to taper or not , is very much unit based. Not doubting you , just curious how advice varies throughout the NHS .

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I work in a specialist substance misuse service, it is not NHS.

You said “the professional viewpoint ( if OP is being candid about her intake ) is that it would be safe to stop, un- medicated apart from some supplements and maybe some short term support to sleep .”
We are simply saying that is dangerous advice, as you don’t know this person at all, and as you say, could potentially be underreporting.

Also I mention Kindling as we don’t know how many times the OP has stopped and started drinking. Trying to quit without any psychosocial support would likely lead to relapse, and she may end up in a vicious cycle and increasing her risk.

lynnepartridge · 09/01/2025 18:37

Jklow1254 · 09/01/2025 18:35

I work in a specialist substance misuse service, it is not NHS.

You said “the professional viewpoint ( if OP is being candid about her intake ) is that it would be safe to stop, un- medicated apart from some supplements and maybe some short term support to sleep .”
We are simply saying that is dangerous advice, as you don’t know this person at all, and as you say, could potentially be underreporting.

Also I mention Kindling as we don’t know how many times the OP has stopped and started drinking. Trying to quit without any psychosocial support would likely lead to relapse, and she may end up in a vicious cycle and increasing her risk.

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Agree, withdrawing on his own killed my Dad.

Missmarplesknittingbuddy · 09/01/2025 19:13

Jklow1254 · 09/01/2025 18:35

I work in a specialist substance misuse service, it is not NHS.

You said “the professional viewpoint ( if OP is being candid about her intake ) is that it would be safe to stop, un- medicated apart from some supplements and maybe some short term support to sleep .”
We are simply saying that is dangerous advice, as you don’t know this person at all, and as you say, could potentially be underreporting.

Also I mention Kindling as we don’t know how many times the OP has stopped and started drinking. Trying to quit without any psychosocial support would likely lead to relapse, and she may end up in a vicious cycle and increasing her risk.

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Thanks for your update. I currently work in an adult NHS service which includes those with addiction and also those who are abstinent but unfortunately waiting for transplant . I am also qualified to prescribe for patients with addiction , following our protocols and policies .l totally agree the OP needs support , as I stated in my first post, as she is clearly psychologically addicted and has disordered eating and rationalisation.

Missmarplesknittingbuddy · 09/01/2025 19:19

@Gem2J , Hi OP, I don't want the debate about tapering to derail your thread . Hopefully you are still reading . You know deep down you are an unhealthy path that will not only ruin your health but the looks that you so care about . Of course there will be friends who drink more than you but you just need to focus on your health and wellbeing . Could you see your GP as a first step ? .

lynnepartridge · 09/01/2025 20:34

This reply has been withdrawn

This message has been withdrawn at the poster's request

AlwaysRight1985 · 09/01/2025 21:30

Also to add to my previous comment, it's interesting to see how many people equate alcohol abuse to a slow lingering death...

My dad had alcoholic cardiomyopathy. No symptoms, no prior warning, absolutely nothing at all to suggest anything was wrong. We'd been on holiday and he'd likely picked up a virus/cold/flu on the plane home and didn't feel up to getting out of bed the next morning.... by 6pm that evening he was dead - aged 41. Now imagine how I at 13 and my mum, a widow at 40, tried to cope with that.

I'm not saying slow and lingering is preferable to sudden and not knowing anything. But there will always be people left behind who have to pick up those pieces.

Original poster

Gem2J · 09/01/2025 21:33

bloody hell, what shit did I type last night lol! Sorry I had had a drink. Of course I have got to stop drinking, there is no excuse. I am going to the doctors tomorrow for my sleep problems. I am starting a new job on Monday and it requires me to be up at 6:30 but fingers crossed (because of my insomnia) I will be up. If not , then sacked again! I never used to drink but I was sacked from a previous job, and it was lack of sleep fault. I kept making mistakes in work , i really can't function without sleep though and have been sacked multiple times due to insomnia, so tried drinking to get to sleep instead and it worked!
No more disciplines! and I do a great job! I hate being out of work. It certainly isn't the right time to stop though, because I have started a new job. My first day is Monday and I pray that i will be up at 6am, apart from my kids, having a job becomes a priority. (and why have i ever got myself in this situation in the first place?)
Insomnia runs in the family and most of my family don't sleep and don't work because of it.
because how can someone function on 1 hour sleep a night? No wonder I keep getting sacked! But I NEED a job to be happy and that's why I turned to alcohol.

I feel sorry for myself also that I need to drink to lose weight, maybe I have an eating disorder, because if i feel that i have eaten too much, I do take laxatives, but I will never feel comfortable being a bit weighty. It's sad. But I still will stop alcohol. Maybe I will cut out a carrot lol.

I have never had any self esteem, being bullied by my parents, bullied at school, bullied at work etc etc i used to drink alcohol because i also don't care about myself. But I care about my kids though!

And alcohol is no excuse! Going docs tomorrow for help with insomnia. one step at a time

OP posts:

BlueSky2024 · 09/01/2025 21:38

Gem2J · 09/01/2025 21:33

bloody hell, what shit did I type last night lol! Sorry I had had a drink. Of course I have got to stop drinking, there is no excuse. I am going to the doctors tomorrow for my sleep problems. I am starting a new job on Monday and it requires me to be up at 6:30 but fingers crossed (because of my insomnia) I will be up. If not , then sacked again! I never used to drink but I was sacked from a previous job, and it was lack of sleep fault. I kept making mistakes in work , i really can't function without sleep though and have been sacked multiple times due to insomnia, so tried drinking to get to sleep instead and it worked!
No more disciplines! and I do a great job! I hate being out of work. It certainly isn't the right time to stop though, because I have started a new job. My first day is Monday and I pray that i will be up at 6am, apart from my kids, having a job becomes a priority. (and why have i ever got myself in this situation in the first place?)
Insomnia runs in the family and most of my family don't sleep and don't work because of it.
because how can someone function on 1 hour sleep a night? No wonder I keep getting sacked! But I NEED a job to be happy and that's why I turned to alcohol.

I feel sorry for myself also that I need to drink to lose weight, maybe I have an eating disorder, because if i feel that i have eaten too much, I do take laxatives, but I will never feel comfortable being a bit weighty. It's sad. But I still will stop alcohol. Maybe I will cut out a carrot lol.

I have never had any self esteem, being bullied by my parents, bullied at school, bullied at work etc etc i used to drink alcohol because i also don't care about myself. But I care about my kids though!

And alcohol is no excuse! Going docs tomorrow for help with insomnia. one step at a time

Don’t forget to build some kind of exercise into your routine, it’s good for sleep, anxiety and loosing weight ….good luck

Anothernamechane · 09/01/2025 21:42

Op there's over 200 calories in a pint of beer. So if you have 4 pints and a potato (wtf?) you're definitely consuming more calories than if you were eating chicken and veg. Probably more than 900 calories. Chicken and veg will be lhalf that. If you indeed put on weight in just 8 days it's for some other reason. Sounds like you just want an excuse to keep drinking and aren't educated on a non disordered way to keep weight off.

IcedChristmasTrees · 09/01/2025 21:44

Gem2J · 09/01/2025 21:33

bloody hell, what shit did I type last night lol! Sorry I had had a drink. Of course I have got to stop drinking, there is no excuse. I am going to the doctors tomorrow for my sleep problems. I am starting a new job on Monday and it requires me to be up at 6:30 but fingers crossed (because of my insomnia) I will be up. If not , then sacked again! I never used to drink but I was sacked from a previous job, and it was lack of sleep fault. I kept making mistakes in work , i really can't function without sleep though and have been sacked multiple times due to insomnia, so tried drinking to get to sleep instead and it worked!
No more disciplines! and I do a great job! I hate being out of work. It certainly isn't the right time to stop though, because I have started a new job. My first day is Monday and I pray that i will be up at 6am, apart from my kids, having a job becomes a priority. (and why have i ever got myself in this situation in the first place?)
Insomnia runs in the family and most of my family don't sleep and don't work because of it.
because how can someone function on 1 hour sleep a night? No wonder I keep getting sacked! But I NEED a job to be happy and that's why I turned to alcohol.

I feel sorry for myself also that I need to drink to lose weight, maybe I have an eating disorder, because if i feel that i have eaten too much, I do take laxatives, but I will never feel comfortable being a bit weighty. It's sad. But I still will stop alcohol. Maybe I will cut out a carrot lol.

I have never had any self esteem, being bullied by my parents, bullied at school, bullied at work etc etc i used to drink alcohol because i also don't care about myself. But I care about my kids though!

And alcohol is no excuse! Going docs tomorrow for help with insomnia. one step at a time

My advice is set a goal, one that you will stick to no matter what you feel (e.g I have to stop drinking this much for 1 month).
After time it will become your new normal and you will gradually be able to taper off.
It's not easy, you might have the odd day where you slip up, but the thing is to write it off and get back on the horse and not let it stop you.
Funnily enough my new years resolution was to cut back on the drink for at least 1 month as I drank a lot over Christmas, so far I haven't touched a drop since new years eve.

Missmarplesknittingbuddy · 09/01/2025 21:52

Gem2J · 09/01/2025 21:33

bloody hell, what shit did I type last night lol! Sorry I had had a drink. Of course I have got to stop drinking, there is no excuse. I am going to the doctors tomorrow for my sleep problems. I am starting a new job on Monday and it requires me to be up at 6:30 but fingers crossed (because of my insomnia) I will be up. If not , then sacked again! I never used to drink but I was sacked from a previous job, and it was lack of sleep fault. I kept making mistakes in work , i really can't function without sleep though and have been sacked multiple times due to insomnia, so tried drinking to get to sleep instead and it worked!
No more disciplines! and I do a great job! I hate being out of work. It certainly isn't the right time to stop though, because I have started a new job. My first day is Monday and I pray that i will be up at 6am, apart from my kids, having a job becomes a priority. (and why have i ever got myself in this situation in the first place?)
Insomnia runs in the family and most of my family don't sleep and don't work because of it.
because how can someone function on 1 hour sleep a night? No wonder I keep getting sacked! But I NEED a job to be happy and that's why I turned to alcohol.

I feel sorry for myself also that I need to drink to lose weight, maybe I have an eating disorder, because if i feel that i have eaten too much, I do take laxatives, but I will never feel comfortable being a bit weighty. It's sad. But I still will stop alcohol. Maybe I will cut out a carrot lol.

I have never had any self esteem, being bullied by my parents, bullied at school, bullied at work etc etc i used to drink alcohol because i also don't care about myself. But I care about my kids though!

And alcohol is no excuse! Going docs tomorrow for help with insomnia. one step at a time

@Gem2J , that's a really positive update. Be completely honest about everything when you do see your GP , there is nothing to be ashamed of .
Insomnia is awful , I speak from experience, but alcohol takes more from us in the long run than it ever gives back and has a huge negative effect on mental health . Your GP may prescribe some vitamin supplements/ thiamine while you are trying to stop / reduce your alcohol intake and improve your nutrition.
Take no notice of the scarastic replies on this thread , they haven't lived your life .

Good luck and keep us updated .

RossGellersCat · 09/01/2025 22:21

Hyperbowl · 09/01/2025 04:46

Sorry OP but I find it remarkably sad that you’d rather be slim and die younger than you should than change your lifestyle so your children can have adequate time with you.
That’s one of the most selfish things I’ve ever read on here to date.

It’s also sad how you argue fact about things you clearly have no idea about and use it as a reason to justify your behaviour. It’s simply not fair on your children to watch you do this to yourself. You obviously have a lot of issues stemming from childhood abuse and I think it’s distorting your logic and reasoning. I say that as no insult but a genuine concern. As PP have said, with your diet you will be malnourished. There is absolutely no way on this earth that you have gained 2lb of body fat in eight days by eating veg, chicken and oranges. It takes an excess of 3000 calories per week to gain a pound. Bearing in mind your BMR will sit typically above 1200-1300 calories per day if you did absolutely nothing but breathe and sit around all day, not move a muscle or burn off anything excess due to exercise. You said you get plenty of exercise so you’d need more calories naturally anyway.

You’ve spent years with the best part of your diet being alcohol, the weight gain you will be experiencing will be water retention whilst your body tries to work out basically what’s going on because you’ve drastically changed your diet. Your body will be working in fight or flight mode because it’s not used to getting any proper nourishment or knowing where it will get its next meal from. It will temporarily hold onto what it can because you’ve trained your body to starve essentially. If you ate sensibly for a few weeks you would see it even out again. The worst you will do is not put any body fat on but allow your body the chance to function properly and gain much needed muscle.

Weight fluctuates normally throughout the day for various reasons so it’s helpful to only weigh yourself once a week in the morning on the same day to get an accurate reading. 8 days is nowhere near long enough to get an accurate picture of what your weight will look like. You can have a healthy diet, eat the right amount of calories and still be slim. The body needs foods from all different food groups for good reason. You need to educate yourself on how the body uses and metabolises calories because your thought process and facts are all wrong, sorry to say.

Most of all you need to focus on your mental state rather than physical at the moment because your disordered thoughts around eating will be a continuous harm to your body and the amount you’re drinking long term will likely have huge effects later on down the line if it’s not already. I say this with no hint of flippancy but carry on as you are and you will be as slim as you like because you will be dead. Surely your life and the happiness of your children is worth more than your own skin deep appearance regardless.

Edited

My thoughts were essentially every word of this.

OP, you said you'd rather not have an extra 10 years of life but keep the alcohol. What do you think your children would say they'd want for you? For them?

Compash · 09/01/2025 22:33

lynnepartridge · 09/01/2025 18:37

Agree, withdrawing on his own killed my Dad.

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I'm so sorry to hear that. 🤗 I'm sure you've helped people here by passing that information on.

RebeccaBunchh · 09/01/2025 22:40

Gem2J · 09/01/2025 21:33

bloody hell, what shit did I type last night lol! Sorry I had had a drink. Of course I have got to stop drinking, there is no excuse. I am going to the doctors tomorrow for my sleep problems. I am starting a new job on Monday and it requires me to be up at 6:30 but fingers crossed (because of my insomnia) I will be up. If not , then sacked again! I never used to drink but I was sacked from a previous job, and it was lack of sleep fault. I kept making mistakes in work , i really can't function without sleep though and have been sacked multiple times due to insomnia, so tried drinking to get to sleep instead and it worked!
No more disciplines! and I do a great job! I hate being out of work. It certainly isn't the right time to stop though, because I have started a new job. My first day is Monday and I pray that i will be up at 6am, apart from my kids, having a job becomes a priority. (and why have i ever got myself in this situation in the first place?)
Insomnia runs in the family and most of my family don't sleep and don't work because of it.
because how can someone function on 1 hour sleep a night? No wonder I keep getting sacked! But I NEED a job to be happy and that's why I turned to alcohol.

I feel sorry for myself also that I need to drink to lose weight, maybe I have an eating disorder, because if i feel that i have eaten too much, I do take laxatives, but I will never feel comfortable being a bit weighty. It's sad. But I still will stop alcohol. Maybe I will cut out a carrot lol.

I have never had any self esteem, being bullied by my parents, bullied at school, bullied at work etc etc i used to drink alcohol because i also don't care about myself. But I care about my kids though!

And alcohol is no excuse! Going docs tomorrow for help with insomnia. one step at a time

I say this with all the love possible: talk to your doctor about your alcohol consumption. Yes, about your insomnia sure, but 100% about your alcohol intake.

My partner is in rehab and the amount of people well into their 50s and 60s in there for alcoholism is insane and usually simply because they finally lost their families. Don’t wait that long.

Miloarmadillo2 · 09/01/2025 22:45

Thanks for updating @Gem2J and hope you get some help from your GP. They may be able to offer some support for self esteem/mental health issues as well as the alcohol, it sounds like you have a lot to unpack. You are punishing your body and you need to start nourishing it. Good luck with the new job.

Compash · 09/01/2025 22:45

OP I'm glad you're thinking seriously about this, it sounds like you've had it tough, no wonder you look for outside factors like drinking and weight control to affect how you feel about life! 🤗

If it helps, I found that stopping drinking REALLY helped my insomnia, but it takes a few weeks - ditto the weight - if you can hang on for a couple of months while your body finds its equilibrium, you'll find the weight drops off naturally. It's true!

Good luck!

Compash · 09/01/2025 22:46

And right back at the beginning, you said something about your body 'punishing' you by putting on weight? Darling, your body is not your enemy! It has no interest in punishing you - it's your friend and it's trying its best to keep you balanced and healthy! Get some help and you can begin helping it back!

Original poster

Gem2J · 09/01/2025 22:58

you are right, and no i don't want this, will seek help

OP posts:

Original poster

Gem2J · 09/01/2025 23:07

kate592 · 09/01/2025 09:22

OP your dad normalised drinking 4 pints a night to you and now look what you do. You will have normalised drinking 4 pints a night to your children too and while they might not drink yet what about when they hit times of stress - their mum and their grandad turned to alcohol and they were fine, right?

If you don't like the taste and are only drinking it to fill you up then why not drink something non alcoholic? Drink non alcoholic beer or something else - 4 pints of anything is going to leave you feeling pretty full!

I think you will find any excuse under the sun though as to why you can't change to drinking something else - and at the end of the day the reason for that is that you are an alcoholic.

you are right

OP posts:

Original poster

Gem2J · 09/01/2025 23:12

Jklow1254 · 09/01/2025 08:14

Hi I don’t normally post much but I am a nurse working in the substance misuse field. A large part of my job is working with clients who are drinking, assessing if they are drinking dependently and helping them detox if that’s what they want/need.
I don’t know if you are being honest when you say there are no benefits to stopping drinking but please read up on alcohol liver disease, liver cirrhosis, alcohol related dementia. You say you don’t mind losing 10 years of your life, but I have seen people die from liver disease, and it’s one of the worst ways to go (sorry but it’s true). Also you say you don’t have shakes etc now, but drinking daily WILL eventually end in physical dependency, and then you are at risks of seizures, wernicke's encephalopathy (again please Google if you’ve never heard of it)

But anyway, there are plenty of benefits of not drinking, which I think you know. Obviously your issue here is your eating disorder and your fear you will gain weight - please try and get some support with this! Also you have a lot of trauma from your childhood which needs addressing. I would encourage you to see your GP, and also reach out to your drug and alcohol service (they don’t just help you to stop if you don’t want to, they can help to reduce and work on the psychological reasons behind why you drink).

Thanks for the information, i will be going to the doctors tomorrow, alcohol isn't worth it and i don't have time for alcohol. lots of Stephen King books to get through lol

OP posts:

Original poster

Gem2J · 09/01/2025 23:21

poppymango · 09/01/2025 08:25

This has to be trolling. No way this nonsense is real.

yeah, sorry it is real. i am pathetic, stupid and sad. it is real. i am a cleaner because you don't need an interview , they will take anyone. i am so stupid that even my posts are hard to believe as real. As what kind of person would believe this nonsense? No wonder I drink. This nonsense is real, people who are pathetic actually do exist

OP posts: