Anyone drink 4-5 bottles of wine per week and how is your health ?

[fartoobig]

Mid forties. Just wondering g if it impacts you? I enjoy wine as it brings me back to when I was really happy.
I am Going through immense stress and sadness now.
No hangovers but feel mildly better on days where I haven't had wine the night before .

'I realised I drank because I was stressed but I was stressed BECAUSE I drank. Its short term relief but actually makes everything else in your life harder to deal with.'

It's so true. It's incredibly seductive to think that if you're stressed / sad / heartbroken / struggling in some way, then relaxing with some booze is what you need. And while you're sitting with that glass in front of you, it does feel good! But what you ACTUALLY need is to be nourished and hydrated, to move your body and get as much restful sleep as you can manage. That's boring etc but it's honestly true

I started shitting blood so I stopped.

Stop now while you still can or, it will kill you.

It's that simple

I drink that amount and have done for many many years to be honest, currently mid 40s. I have stopped for periods of time, I'm not addicted and don't have any problems stopping drinking. However I genuinely don't feel any better when I stop drinking, apart from often loose weight. I don't often get drunk, but do enjoy drinking wine to relax of an evening. I am overweight and the wine is a contributory factor (lots of empty calories). When I have an cut back period I can usually loose 1-2 stone. Though I am grumpy and irritable to be around as food and wine give me pleasure and make me happy.
I don't think you will get many on here telling you that your wine consumption is normal. Though a number of people will be like you.

Spot on, drinking that much - basically where you are getting drunk pretty much everyday and not getting hangovers is because the alcohol is never leaving your system long enough to experience them. When you stop drinking long enough to experience a hangover you will experience one, which is effectively withdrawal.

Drinking in order to cope and this amount does fit the criteria for alcohol use disorder. If you can’t stop, crave alcohol when you don’t have then this is more red flags.

You can reduce or stop, and there are alternatives. Guy I work with, we went on a work trip for three days, no alcohol was available - he got very ill and had to go to hospital. Turns out it was the Delerium Tremens from alchohol withdrawal, he had no idea, he had just been drinking at 4 cans of lager and some wine every single night, more at the weekend. In our drinking culture things are very easily missed or covered up and it’s only when no alcohol is available that the problem comes up.

And you don't have hangovers because your never sober

No, I would find that amount affected me hugely. I try to keep consumption moderate and within healthy limits and can often just enjoy a single drink of an evening and wouldn't have more than a couple at home now.

When I've been on holiday or sometimes with BBQs and other things going on in summer I've been aware of drinking too much over a week so I used the Drinkaware app to track, and I'd had something like 28 units, so that would be just less than three bottles of wine in a week as an equivalent. That sort of level, more than 20 units certainly, makes me more lethargic, I'd be sleeping badly, grumpy, not wanting to do my usual exercise, making poor food choices, and start picking up bugs and just feel generally out of sorts. I feel so much better when keeping below the recommended maximum intake.

Maybe @fartoobig you should go to the website of Drink Aware.
You can do the 'quiz' and it will come up with an answer far more accurate then asking on Mumsnet.

You are clearly dependent on alcohol and may already have got some liver damage.

Kindly, if your life is tough at the moment, this amount of booze will make it worse eventually.

See your GP and maybe see about some counselling for whatever is making you unhappy.

You are grumpy and irritable because you are going through withdrawal you just don’t know it. PAWS (post acute withdrawal syndrome) can last a considerably long time often a year or longer.

One of my friends was in a fatal car crash a year ago because she suffered an aneurysm thought to be caused by her long term alcohol consumption and she lost control of the car and it crashed into a building. Luckily (!) no-one else was injured but that was a complete miracle. She wasn’t all that old either.

Her partner went into a treatment centre for 2 weeks to ditch the alcohol and cigarettes and is trying to improve his overall health. He’s managed to stop drinking but is still smoking although has cut down considerably.

You think it’s not really affecting you because you can’t see any obvious symptoms…until it’s too late. 😢

No comment on the drinking, but "I am Going through immense stress and sadness now."

Treat yourself with kindness

ifs quite a bit of wine

do you take other medication? Paracetamol? All will be hepatic and you’ll damage your liver

I had an awful relationship with alcohol when I was 18/19 after I was assaulted. I stopped drinking and was much happier. I only drink water now

Try for a few months to cut back?

My MIL was the same, drank vodka like it was tap water, was able to function normally but always needed a drink.

The term is a high-functioning alcoholic.

@fartoobig I expect you are putting on weight, your face will look bloated, you will look pasty or maybe with flushed cheeks. Your liver may well be fatty already and on the way to cirrhosis if you keep up this level of drinking.

Are you able to go to your GP or talk to Drink Aware for free advice and support?

You need a bit of a wake up call , love, before it's too late.

@User6589310

I am acutely aware of what it means.

OP and others on this post want and are seeking help.

Your opinions are not coming across as helpful. Just rude and unnecessary.

I wasn't posting for your information.

I was posting it for others.

This is AIBU so if the OP feels my posts are harsh she can come along and say so. I have said she would do better to read the Drink Aware site and see her GP.

There is no point pussy footing around when she's harming herself or you passing judgement as if you are a moderator just because you don't like certain posts.

Yes AA members- in the nicest possibly way I suggest you go along.

Have you had a colonoscopy? Because blood in stools is a defining symptom of colorectal cancer. Don't delay - ignoring it won't make it go away.

I used to drink this amount, possibly a bit more.

I stopped in January. I wanted to do a month off, but then I found I wanted to carry on not drinking. I then had maybe half a bottle of wine over Easter before giving up again.

op, you are not just drinking because you feel like crap; you feel like crap because you are drinking so much. Trust me, I have been there. The anxiety and guilt the next day were awful and the only thing that would fix them would be.... More wine that evening! It was a horrible cycle to get stuck in.

I sleep so much better, have more energy and have saved a bloody fortune.

There is help and support out there. There is AA, but also plenty of other approaches now too, plus loads of sober literature and podcasts. Lots of support on the alcohol support forum on Mumsnet too.

No judgment from me, but try to cut back a bit and see if it helps.

I'm more like 3-4 bottles a week and I feel grand tbh! I did dry January before the pandemic, didn't lose any weight, skin looked the same, life felt a bit dull, I just slept a bit better. I absolutely love the relaxed feeling of being slightly tipsy. I know it's not great for me, but I exercise a lot, eat fairly healthy and only really drink water and wine 😅 I'm up at 6am every day as I have horses, I can happily drink a bottle of wine on an evening and have a full active day the next day, slight headache and a bit tired maybe. I do give myself 2 days (usually mon and tues) with no alcohol. BUT I don't have kids, so my life is my own and I'd rather have my wine than live to 90!

Just try and cut back - 4/5 bottles is too much to be honest. And I always think it’s a worry when you don’t get hangovers as it just means our tolerance is increasing.

Aim for at least 3 nights in a row off then cut down to a few glasses on the other nights. You’ll be able to either do this and therefore current drinking just a blip or you’ll struggle and then you may have to think about a stricter approach.

Sorry you’re having a stressful time. Not much sympathy on here. Good luck!

I dont but I have a relative who is an alcoholic. Dont want to be too outing so they (to avoid giving sex) would say they are not as they sometimes drink less but in truth they hide just how much they drink. For many years they seemed to be getting away with it but they now have multiple health problems and the ones not actually caused by the alcohol are made worse by it.

You probably need to be supplementing with cobalamin. You also need to be aware of the symptoms of pancreatitis as that requires emergency treatment and will be in your future unless you cut back. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/acute-pancreatitis/

Mine has got to the point after years where I can easily have weeks like this. Over the last few years I have been making efforts to stop and cut back but I'd say it's a marathon, not a sprint.

I've read that a lot of addiction (whether that's food, alcohol, shopping, drugs, phone, workaholism etc) is bound up in trauma - see Gabor Mate's work on this. So for many of us, it isn't always as straightforward as "well just stop then". Being shamed about it doesn't help. "Doing the work" helps but I won't pretend it's always easy (but some days it's amazing!).
But then neither is the shame/guilt cycle of drinking.

The first step is having that awareness and wanting to change. Every dry day is a win, one day at a time. There is loads of great support out there: quit lit books, podcasts, instagram posters etc. Just by making this post you're doing something really positive for yourself and I hope you can find a way to manage the stress and sadness. Thinking of you x

I was drinking almost this month and was getting really anxious. I discovered that alcohol makes anxiety worse and I started having CBT therapy, it’s very early days but so far I’ve swapped my nightly wine for a bath and hot chocolate and feel good for it.

Sorry you’re having a tough time OP. I never drank that amount consistently, but I was a binge drinker for years. I used to think it was the only way I could ‘cope’ with social situations etc, and that it was a way to relax. Of course, the opposite was true in reality. I quit altogether a couple of years ago and have never missed anything about drinking apart from that very first drink to signal a celebration or an event or a nice evening etc. But I know I never ever have just one drink and use the ‘play the tape to the end’ way of thinking to put myself off even having one. I try not to be too evangelical about sobriety but it’s one of the best things I’ve ever done for myself. Hope you find a good solution.