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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

A bottle a night too much?

185 replies

brassers · 23/04/2020 12:51

Just that. It has become a habit since lockdown. A bottle of wine over the course of the evening 4-5 nights per week.
AIBU to think it's too much?

OP posts:
HollowTalk · 23/04/2020 17:55

Get some Perrier and dilute it. Once you're used to that taste, regular strength will taste too strong.

SheldonSaysSo1 · 23/04/2020 17:58

Personally I'd say its far too much. I know a lot of people do it but even a couple of bottles a week seems a lot to me. Sometimes its as much the number of days without alcohol as the amount consumed which is tricky at the moment with all things considered.

bulliedintonamechange · 23/04/2020 18:02

Fuck it!

MorganKitten · 23/04/2020 18:07

Too much

SoCockneyItHurts · 23/04/2020 18:15

I drink 2 bottles a night....loving life! :)

MrsT1405 · 23/04/2020 18:37

It's not all that much. The figures are based on what people with liver disease report they have been drinking. It's like smoking, you never say 40 a day....always 15! So people with liver disease say about a bottle a day, when they're drinking 3. I try to have periods when I don't drink for several days, but I love wine, and it's very cheap where I live.

Sansastark45 · 23/04/2020 18:37

So your drinking a bottle of wine a night whilst your kids are in bed? What the hell would happen if something happened and they needed to go to hospital? You wouldn't be able to drive them? You would be in the hospital with them over the limit? That for me would be enough of a reason not to drink !!!

Fedupandpoor · 23/04/2020 18:41

I was there 2 weeks ago op, but would start lunchtime with a few beers and a bottle of wine in the evening. I have small kids also.

My tolerance to alcohol has always been annoyingly high, and I tend to eat a lot when drinking so was never drunk. But, its far too much. It crept up over a week and after 2 weeks I was skint and felt like shit, spotty, fat and sluggish. I now buy one bottle a week and drink half on Friday and the other half on Saturday. You have to be really strict with yourself!

user1480880826 · 23/04/2020 18:45

Why are there always so many threads asking if alcohol intake is too much? The official guidance from the NHS is clear, no? Nowhere does it say that a bottle of wine every night is ok. Do you really need to come on mumsnet or could you have just googled it?

QWeRTY12340 · 23/04/2020 18:46

@user1480880826 maybe they are looking for support to give them the kick to sort it out, or hoping to see a lot of people slipping into that habit at the minutr

SuperficialSuzie · 23/04/2020 18:46

Lots of people I know are drinking way more than usual, either through boredom, stress or just because they haven't got to drive anywhere.

Yes it is way more than the guidelines but I can understand why you are doing it.

JRUIN · 23/04/2020 18:49

So your drinking a bottle of wine a night whilst your kids are in bed? What the hell would happen if something happened and they needed to go to hospital? You wouldn't be able to drive them? You would be in the hospital with them over the limit? That for me would be enough of a reason not to drink !!!

What about people who can't drive or can't afford a car? Are they irresponsible parents too?

In answer to your question OP 5 bottles a week is a bit much yes. Could you cut it down to half bottle a night or a bottle every other night?

cupcakehurricane101 · 23/04/2020 18:50

I must be an alcoholic then. I had 3 vodkas and orange last night, I'm having a bottle of wine tonight. On a night out I'd have two bottles of wine over the course of a night and a few shots.

gower4 · 23/04/2020 18:51

My question is, if you drink only one bottle of wine all week and no other alcohol BUT you drink that bottle in one go, how harmful is that?

Glitteryone · 23/04/2020 18:52

It’s so easy done! I mean a bottle of wine is just 3 glasses.

Why don’t you try to do every other night? Or weekends only?

CandyLeBonBon · 23/04/2020 18:56

I love all the calls to eat sweets and chocolate because they're healthier!!! Diabetes anyone? Cheers! 🍷😂

MimiLaRue · 23/04/2020 18:57

I must be an alcoholic then

If you cannot go a night without it then yes, I agree with you.

melmos · 23/04/2020 19:14

Hi op. I was/am the same as you but I've been doing it for much longer. I'd try to the break the habit from experience - you want wine to be a treat, not a punishment if you go without. Good luck to us both and cheers Wink

Peppafrig · 23/04/2020 19:17

Way too much it's a slippery slope.

MaudesMum · 23/04/2020 19:27

Yup, too much, but so easily done in the current circumstances. I used to drink every day, but managed to get myself back to a more normal drinking pattern of weekends only. However, in moments of stress I tend to revert, and over the last month I've been drinking most days, and (according to the recycling bin- which can't lie, when I'm not having friends round) had got myself up to 4 bottles of wine a week, and a few gin and tonics on top of that. This week I decided to get back to a more 'normal' pattern, and made it through to today without a drink. Hopefully next week, it will be Friday. Basically, this bloody thing is going to take a long time to resolve itself, so we're going to have to adapt, and too much to drink will make us less fit and more fat (my clothes are already a bit tight) and therefore less likely to cope, if we get it. That's what I'm telling myself...

Oblomov20 · 23/04/2020 19:29

Even I think it's too much, but I drink like a fish.

Most MN'ers despise a thimble of sherry at Christmas!

Sansastark45 · 23/04/2020 20:16

**What about people who can't drive or can't afford a car? Are they irresponsible parents too?

In answer to your questionOP5 bottles a week is a bit much yes. Could you cut it down to half bottle a night or a bottle every other night**

I doubt that the hospital staff would think anything bad of you if you had to call a cab to take your child to A &E because you dont have a car but I'm sure theres some sort of red flag when a child ends up in hospital and their parent who is meant to be in charge and responsible has drank a whole bottle of wine and therefore couldn't bring them in themselves

midnightstar66 · 23/04/2020 20:17

So your drinking a bottle of wine a night whilst your kids are in bed? What the hell would happen if something happened and they needed to go to hospital? You wouldn't be able to drive them? You would be in the hospital with them over the limit? That for me would be enough of a reason not to drink !!!

Eh? I live in a city and loads of people don't have cars because it's expensive and unnecessary, so can't drive their dc to hospital drink or not. Is it a whole population of irresponsible parents?

SidekickSally · 23/04/2020 20:28

I think alot of people, myself included, are in your position. It does become a habit. You know you will have to cut down, that amount of wine per week is not good in the long run, you know that really, that's why you're posting on here. I'll have to get back to having dry days Mon - Thurs too.

dontdisturbmenow · 24/04/2020 06:39

The only people who will say it's not too much are those who drink the same as you or more who are denial.

Alcohol kills much more than Covid19 will do over the years. It's a silent killer so it's ignored. It's a drug. It relaxed you but ultimately it depletes you of energy, physically and mentally.

Alcohol should ideally only be drunk occasionally for special occasions, not as a regular drug to relax.