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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To be surprised at people who say they get drunk on 1 small glass of wine?

83 replies

cantbearsed1 · 18/03/2019 14:04

Just that really. Even when I was a teenager and had a drink about once a year, 1 small glass of wine had no effect on me.

OP posts:

VeronicaDinner · 18/03/2019 14:05

I don't drink very often and I can get very silly on a glass of fizz.

MythicalBiologicalFennel · 18/03/2019 14:07

It depends how often you drink and whether you are drinking it on an empty stomach or not. On an empty stomach a small glass drunk relatively quickly would go straight to my head.

crazycockerlady · 18/03/2019 14:07

I probably have one glass of wine a year and it gets me very tipsy.

April241 · 18/03/2019 14:07

I used to drink a bottle of wine and be fine, now a glass of wine gets me tipsy and gives me a right bad hangover.

I stick to cider, lager shandies or gin now.

Twotinydictators · 18/03/2019 14:07

I rarely drink and can definitely feel the effects of one small glass - wouldn't say I got silly on just one though.

BoundByBriars · 18/03/2019 14:08

I think there’s a lot of factors involved in how you react to alcohol (weight/constitution, stomach contents, liver/kidney efficiency, underlying sensitivity to ingredients etc), so it’s not really surprising.

yanboo · 18/03/2019 14:09

Since I gave up due to pg my once mighty tolerance has collapsed and I do get tipsy on one glass of wine.

Oblomov19 · 18/03/2019 14:09

Mn'ers drink nothing practically, or only a thimble at Christmas.
Or the other extreme, of loads of us trying to do Dry January.
I can drink tonnes, I always had a worryingly huge tolerance, even at Uni, and never get hangovers.

PlatinumBrunette · 18/03/2019 14:10

I can't drink wine - even two mouthfuls gets me pissed. And I'm not exaggerating. I used to drink spirits with little to no effect. I guess I'm allergic to it or something.

Thingsdogetbetter · 18/03/2019 14:10

The more i age, the less i drink and the more it affects me. I have friends who still drank a lot and can now very quickly drink me under the table when in the past I could match them.

The less frequently you drink, the more it effects you. So someone who drinks once is a blue moon would probably get tipsy off one glass of wine. White wine in particular has been documented to affect some women very quickly and very badly.

FrozenMargarita17 · 18/03/2019 14:11

I drink maybe once every six months and I feel the effects almost straight away

NannyR · 18/03/2019 14:12

People have different levels of tolerance - I don't drink much at all and a glass of wine (especially the big ones you get served in bars) does have an effect on me, not very drunk but happy. I wouldn't drive after a glass of wine, even though technically I would be below drink drive limits because I know my reaction time wouldn't be safe. Someone else would probably feel perfectly safe to drive after a glass of wine.

caughtinanet · 18/03/2019 14:13

YABU to be surprised, I have a couple of friends like that, no one can help how their body reacts to alcohol, you must know that some people have a much higher tolerance than others.

NoParticularPattern · 18/03/2019 14:14

I wouldn’t be drunk, but I’d certainly feel the effects of a small glass of wine. I was never very good at wine anyway but I’ve not had a drink for about 3 years now (babies mostly!) and I know I’d feel it if I were to have a glass. I’d hardly be rolling about on the floor unable to stand, but I’d certainly not feel sober.

Tinty · 18/03/2019 14:15

One small glass of wine makes me giggly, two make me fall asleep. .

I drink a small glass of Baileys at new year and that is it. Never built up any alcohol tolerance.

Original poster

cantbearsed1 · 18/03/2019 14:16

I totally understand how people can develop a higher tolerance to alcohol. I guess I must just be born with a higher tolerance as a small glass of wine has never affected me.
But physiologically why would one person have a higher tolerance than another if they both only have 1 small glass of wine a year?

OP posts:

elliejjtiny · 18/03/2019 14:16

I was ttc, pregnant or breastfeeding for 12 years without a break so I didn't drink more than the odd sip at a wedding then. Now my tolerance for alcohol is virtually zero and I can feel very merry on half a glass of pimms.

atbobbyshouse · 18/03/2019 14:16

Well it's not that surprising, different people have different tolerance levels.

I very rarely drink (we're talking maybe once or twice a year), so one small glass makes me very tipsy indeed.

atbobbyshouse · 18/03/2019 14:17

But physiologically why would one person have a higher tolerance than another if they both only have 1 small glass of wine a year?

Body weight. Race, as well. I'm half asian and we have a notoriously low tolerance for alcohol.

picklemepopcorn · 18/03/2019 14:19

There's a psychological element to alcohol response as well. Hence some people appear to be less drunk (though their judgement is still impaired) and others appear more drunk.

We are literally socialised to get giggly and silly, or belligerent, or whatever model we saw.

M3lon · 18/03/2019 14:25

you know how people have totally different ....erm...everything from one another? Like, pain tolerance, hair colour, eye colour, intelligence, insulin production rate, blah blah blah blah.

Alcohol tolerance is a thing. It therefore varies wildly from one person to the next.

I had a completely different tolerance for alcohol before and after being pregnant. That's pretty common, alongside having a totally different tolerance for caffeine.

BarkandCheese · 18/03/2019 14:25

Different people are just....well different, that’s all. What I think the difference is between getting drunk on one small glass of wine and a larger quantity of alcohol is is the duration of the feeling of being drunk.

I’ve been both a fairly heavy drinker and virtually tea total and when tea total and felt drunk on a small quantity of alcohol I’ve easily sobered up by the end of the night if that’s all I’ve drunk. On a large amount of alcohol in my drinking days I would have felt the same, but it would have gone on and on, sometimes into the next day.

Original poster

cantbearsed1 · 18/03/2019 14:27

I didn't know Asian people had a lower tolerance.

picklemepopcorn TBH that is what I always suspect. I know how people are thought to react to alcohol varies from culture to culture. And I still remember kids swaying as if they were drunk after drinking half a can of 0.5% shandy when I was a kid. I do suspect there is a large psychological element as well.

OP posts:

Tinty · 18/03/2019 14:32

Hi OP you say that one glass of wine had no effect on you as a Teenager, whose opinion was that?

My friends when they drank as teenagers so only just starting out in drinking terms would be giggly and talk a load of rubbish after a glass or two of wine, but always insist they weren't drunk. I was always designated driver so I didn't drink (I don't like the taste of most alcohol), they always claimed to be completely sober, when I reminded them of the things they said the next day they were always surprised.

BertieBotts · 18/03/2019 14:34

Definitely affects me. I start to feel woozy and a bit like one of those weeble people and I get silly/clumsy and giggly.

Yes like Bark says if it's one small glass it just wears off very quickly, whereas if I have lots to drink I'll be drunk for ages, into the next day usually. I don't drive but when I was doing lessons I had to be really careful and watch what I had the night before in case it was likely I was still over the next morning or even afternoon.

I'm quite slight, always have been and I assume that's why. Going by the chart here, I'd say a small glass of wine is sometimes enough to push me into the 0.03% level:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_alcohol_content

Presumably for you, it doesn't, but a larger quantity of alcohol would? I don't think it can go just on weight.

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