To be blindsided by doctor's comments about my alcohol consumption?

[omafiet]

I am 42 and overweight. Since having my third child and injuring my back I've gained 2.5 stone. The weight gain hasn't been linear - in fact this time last year I was in reasonable shape and doing a triathlon - but I know I need to do something. Now.

I have been having some unusual stomach symptoms recently and after my friend was diagnosed with ovarian cancer I figured to be on the safe side I should get checked out. I have a great reply with my doctor and respect her advice.

After doing the physical exam she asked me about my drinking habits. I replied that I drank half a bottle of wine, two or three times a week. So, up to 1.5 bottles a week. She put her pen down and told me that this was really excessive and I needed to cut down, if not stop completely for a while.

I'm a little freaked out and have decided to do a 90-day booze-free challenge. But is 1.5 bottles a week really so bad? When I was in my twenties I'd drink that in a night . How much do you drink?

which may show markers of more heavy alcohol use.

In my case it wasn't from drinking, some ducts were blocked by stones.

I drink rarely unless I'm going out, however I don't think 1.5 bottles per week is excessive at all.
Loads of people drink that in a day!

And PP recommending people mislead their doctors, this really isn’t helpful. Doctors can not diagnose what the possible problems may be, unless people are honest about things like alcohol and smoking. They make decisions based on the history they get from the patient. These are not just “lifestyle” questions, they are risk factors for many diseases. they basically need this information in order to decide what diseases you are at risk of. So omitting this information could lead to a likely diagnosis being deemed unlikely.

But it's okay for the doctors to mislead the patient, Looking, but assuming the patient is always a liar or too stupid to know what they're drinking and so peg a likely diagnosis on information which may not be true (such as when a patient tells the truth about what they drink and the HCP doubles or triples it)? Which is it? Why is it okay for one but not the other? I'm pretty fucked off I got basically accused of lying about drinking when in fact an organ in my body was fucked up from age, sex and being 1.5st overweight. In fact, it pretty much undermined my trust in the lot of them. Not a good basis for a working relationship when you realise anything you say is going to be disbelieved, anyhow, and yourself considered too thick to understand your own body and health and it says a lot of about one's ability to critically think and make a judgement call if Everyone's a Liar and Thick is their standard MO.

people always mislead their doctors so doctors will generally double what you say you drink/smoke. OP, the doctor will therefore presume you actually drink 2-3 bottles of wine a week which is over the recommended limit which explains what she said to you. It sounds like stopping for a while/cutting down is a great idea. A lot of people drink too much alcohol and don't realise it.

It's about 6 glasses of wine and there are 7 days in the week so the GP is being a bit alarmist I think (jmo)

I probably drink about 4 - 5 units per week. Less recently. Can't face it. The first drink still goes down very cheerfully but my tolerance the next day is 2 drinks, maybe 3 if I've had a meal.

Doesn't sound like much to me. I don't drink any more due to medication but I really miss my red wine! Is it possible she's concerned in conjunction with something else? For example depression? Or use of acetaminophen? Because that alone doesn't sound like heavy drinking.

It only took 3 posts for someone to say that they sniff half a thimbleful of wine once every two years.

What's with the sanctimonious posts?

I don’t drink .... it’s easier ..: I’ve wanted to a few times ... worrier I will go over the top
I’ll stick to choccy lol
My neighbor is lovely but she has a problem ... there was a joy rider incedent outside on our street last November and she didn’t even hear it ... eventually she knocked on my door and I tried to explain what bad happened and she kept repeating herself .... it was very frustrating ... she’s totally normal usually and I hate seeing her like that ... and our other neighbour promptly gave up when she had an infection of somebody and was in hospital for 9 weeks ... I think she acutely dried out in there ... she used to be aggressive with drink .. and then suddenly nice ...
my other neighbour has had breast cancer twice ... I know it had been associated with alcohol

I’m quite random. Could go months without drinking and then get absolutely sloshed on a bottle of wine in a night. In the last month I’ve probably had a total of 2 bottles of wine, but I’ve been on holiday

I think doctors double what you've said because people notoriously underestimate/lie about their consumption. She probably thought you were on 3 bottles of wine.

^*It only took 3 posts for someone to say that they sniff half a thimbleful of wine once every two years.

What's with the sanctimonious posts?*^

Op ASKED how much people drink. Why is it sanctimonious to say that you don't drink/rarely drink?

@TapasForTwo it’s not sanctimonious; lots of people don’t drink very much. It’s just not their thing. I have friends who have only drunk alcohol a handful of times, and each time was just a couple of sips of champagne

If I drank that I wouldn’t be able to function. Have various autoimmune issues and a stomach ulcer though. I too could have drunk 1.5bottles in a night in my twenties but the truth is, it’s not good for you.

God knows I’ve got many bad habits, so no judgement. But that ain’t good for you.

Sounds good to me

Not excessive at all. I've been honest with my doctor over my consumption but she drinks similar. Far more than you. I'm an adult and know what I'm doing.

Take no notice ... I bet your doctor drinks more than you.

Ignore this idiot. They have no idea what your health is like - your doctor does. What other people can or cannot drink is irrelevant.

I wouldn't say your drinking is a lot above average but, clearly, your doctor thinks it is too much for YOU.

You are drinking about 5 units 3 times a week so slightly over the total, meeting the alcohol free days but effectively binging each time you do drink.

That's bingeing? What utter crap!

It’s half a bottle of wine approx every other day (or every third day). That’s quite a lot. Not enough to start panicking that you ought to attend AA! But enough that you should really think about cutting down, and if you are unable to/miss it loads/are preoccupied with it and craving it that would suggest cutting down was the right decision.

my other neighbour has had breast cancer twice ... I know it had been associated with alcohol

@cavalier how do you "know" this?

I'm 28 and have a drink roughly once every 2 years. I prefer tea

I drink about 3 times a year. It's completely pointless nutritionally.

There are 2 types of food. Food that poisons and food that nourishes. This keeps thing really simple.

Wow, cavalier, you just victim-blamed someone for fucking cancer.

Very rarely. I had a sip of my sil’s drink on holiday a few months ago (it was supposed to be alcohol free, waiter apologised a minute later for it). I was nursing a headache for most of the night. My tolerance is very low and I was never a drinker in the first place nor found it as a way to wind down. It was more of a social thing to me and I probably did one night out every week or every two weeks where I had small drinks and shots over a night mixed with dancing and food in my early 20s and that tapered off to a few times a year when I moved to the U.K. and to once in a blue moon after having children and it would have to be low alcohol or non-alcoholic.

YANBU and I’m laughing at some of the sanctimony on here. I don’t drink much due to medication I’m on (makes me vomit) but I do enjoy a drink and drunk much more when I was healthier.

I think, we - as society - do drink a lot to cope with life but we also overeat a lot, judging by how overweight and obese we are! I’m pretty fat, so no judgement, just passing an observation.

There has to be a happy medium. Personally, I think your alcohol intake is fine and probably tallies with what most people I know drink but cutting down is unlikely to harm you.