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?

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!

You do realise that they are alcoholics?

Maybe she thought you meant vodka.

I'd say being an alcoholic is not only measured by consumption. It's more how you feel about how you drink chaotic, irresponsible, dangerous, guilty.

People can drink a lot and not be an alcoholic. Or you could not drink very often and be an alcoholic.

Fertile, forty, fat and female....

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

That's actually a really helpful way of thinking of it - I can be a bit black-and-white in my thinking...

Yes you are right, it doesn't mean people are alcoholics if they drink 1.5 bottles in a day. But if they drink 1.5 bottles every day, they probably are but to be fair the poster didn't say 'every day'.

Either way, if you have stomach problems and are overweight, sixty plus drinks a month is not going to improve your health in any way.

Where do you get 60+ from? It's maybe 24

60 units.

Sorry I haven’t read 14 pages ahead!

Wanted to offer a link that might help. It’s hard to explain, but kinda like an online community that helps with goal setting around drinking (less).

hellosundaymorning.org

Helped me a lot. Similar to you, needed to lose weight. Spent a bomb on 1 year of personal trainer appointments. She finally convinced me that it was the booze (not food or exercise) that was holding me back.

Cutting back, with periods of abstaining, was the only thing that made a difference. A fast difference. And I was drinking at about your level. I still miss it, but my health has to be my priority. You just can’t ‘get away with it’ past a certain age. And it’s not even middle age when that kicks in! Good luck with your new regime.

750ml bottle of wine = 10 units.
1.5 bottles of wine = 15 units.
15 x 4 = 60 units.

Most months have more than 4 weeks.

FWIW, I'm teetotal, and frequently used to get the "It's ok, you can tell me what you really drink" line.

When people tell doctors they drink X amount, they tend to think you drink more. Many are unaware of just how much they drink as units can be difficult to track over the course of a week, or month. If you want to lose weight. give up alcohol as the most pain-free way to drop calories. I lost half a stone in 3 weeks giving up red wine, with no other lifestyle change. If you want to carry on drinking, it would be wise to reduce your units a bit but you can still enjoy a glass or three if you wish. If you keep to your challenge, you may be pleasantly surprised by what the scales tell you.

I wouldn't say it was excessive but it's not negligible either. It tots up to 78 bottles per year which makes me pause for thought. Maybe it's more about warning you before you develop a habit which is easy to slip into and then extend to half a bottle 5 nights a week and more at the weekend etc.
I only really drink alcohol on 'occasions' - going out, or with friends, celebrating something. I'd never drink half a bottle on my own or for no particular reason.

What did the doctor say when you asked why she thought one unit over the 14 was excessive for you, @omafiet

My sister's GP was the same. Anything rather than actually refer her for the actual issues. Heavy bleeding at 48? Menopause, go and see an acupuncturist to relieve the symptoms. Don't drink? Well change your diet and stop eating crisps (she was losing weight), 6 over a year visits begging for a referral. The last GP visit was on 22nd December. She died on 5th August after paying for a private ultrasound and being told, after an emergency laparotomy, hysterectomy that it was too late.

GP have to assume most people underestimate what they drink. There was a study done in 2013 and it showed many people underestimated by about 40%.

I wouldn't worry about it.

lawn where does it say she did ask that??

Open Access
Short-term abstinence from alcohol and
changes in cardiovascular risk factors,
liver function tests and cancer-related
growth factors: a prospective
observational study
Gautam Mehta,1
Stewart Macdonald,1
Alexandra Cronberg,2
Matteo Rosselli,1
Tanya Khera-Butler,2
Colin Sumpter,2
Safa Al-Khatib,1
Anjly Jain,3
James Maurice,1
Christos Charalambous,1
Amir Gander,4
Cynthia Ju,5
Talay Hakan,6
Roy Sherwood,7
Devaki Nair,8
Rajiv Jalan,1
Kevin P Moore1
To cite: MehtaG, MacdonaldS,
CronbergA, etal. Short-term
abstinence from alcohol and
changes in cardiovascular
risk factors, liver function
tests and cancer-related
growth factors: a prospective
observational study. BMJ Open
2018;8:e020673. doi:10.1136/
bmjopen-2017-020673
► Prepublication history and
additional material for this
paper are available online. To
view these files, please visit
the journal online (dx.doi.
org/10.1136/bmjopen-2017-
020673).
Received 16 November 2017
Revised 2 March 2018
Accepted 5 April 2018
For numbered affiliations see
end of article.
Correspondence to
Dr Gautam Mehta;
[email protected]
Research
Abstract
Objective To assess changes in metabolic risk factors and
cancer-related growth factors associated with short

750ml bottle of wine = 10 units.

Not necessarily. If a bottle of wine is 10% it has 10 units per litre, or 7.5 per 750ml bottle. 13%, which is more usual, = 9.75. 10 is a good rough guide, not a hard and fast rule as wine can be quite variable.

Maybe it's more about warning you before you develop a habit which is easy to slip into and then extend to half a bottle 5 nights a week and more at the weekend etc.

Having watched someone slide into alcoholism I think this is a good point. "Only x amount" slowly ratcheted up. Now he still kids himself he's not alcoholic but at a minimum of 2 bottles of wine a day every day for 20 years everyone else knows he is and I'm not sure he'll be around this Christmas. The physical impact of excess drinking is immense.

BMJ study into drinking within the limits. Interesting reading.

I'm a recovering alcoholic. Towards the end of active addiction, I could kill a litre of vodka in a day. I ended up going through withdrawal seizures - that's how bad I was, I was chemically dependent and stupidly went cold turkey.

15 units per week isn't particularly excessive (I wish I'd been able to moderate my drinking to that level!). If it's a set in stone routine, and you NEED that wine, that's when you need to reevaluate your drinking habits. It's the 'quality', not necessarily the quantity, that can be problematic.

It is not hard to see why the doctor mentioned it though.

1. you have said you are overweight
2. you have said you are experiencing unusual stomach symptoms

both of which COULD be fixed - in simple terms - by not drinking alcohol.

So she is trying to get you to stop for a bit. She said it was really excessive to shock you into actually doing something that will help you to help yourself.

If she used wishy-washy language "perhaps you should be thinking of cutting down" - most people would leave thinking they could drop a drink a week easily - which is sooooo not the point she is trying to make.

(The point being - Alcohol may be a nice to have - BUT you don't need alcohol, cut it out for a bit and see if that makes you feel better, and you will probably lose weight too - own your health issues, do what the doc says and stop whinging about her telling it like it is... sorry... rant over...)

Just because you are 1 unit over the governments advice doesnt mean to say you are ok, alcohol kills. Too many women trot out the line "wine oclock" as though it is nomal to drink so much, it is not, the human body does not like to be poisoned and alcohol does just that.
I bet you feel a hundred times better in 90 days time

@omafiet A blood test for your liver will only reveal the function on the day and this can be affected by many things including routine OTC drugs or prescribed drugs. To diagnose liver damage- ie fatty liver - you need an ultrasound scan.

The suggested max units per week are a guide- some people can be fine with more, others will get liver damage with fewer in the long term.

Obesity is one of the biggest factors in all cancers. Booze makes people fat, if they have too much. Lose weight and cut back on booze.

Just because you are 1 unit over the governments advice doesnt mean to say you are ok, alcohol kills.

Where is the evidence that drinking one unit per week over the recommended limit (which isn’t based on any scientific info as far as I know in the first place) “kills”? That’s a bit hysterical.

I know alcohol is a huge problem and it’s effects are minimised by many and a lot of people do drink too much, but statements like that are just rubbish.