I've never been one to mince words, so here we go. First off: My parents are awesome. Nothing they did ever led me. Their drinking, like mine, was always celebratory. Now, the weekends are celebratory, mind you. I grew up being screwed from one locale to the next, until I got to Bellaire. When I was a teen, I enjoyed drinking. I also learned I wasn't the kind of guy who knew when to say when. Sadly, for the young folks, cops didn't care much back then. They'd ask where you were going, and how far it was, and typically either followed you home, or told you to park your car and take a cab. The reasoning? THEY did it themselves, as we all do on a night off. I can share dozens of crazy stories with cops back then. However, it all changed when cops profited off a conviction, which is still sad. They're hypocrites now. Back to my origins, I noticed at 21, that my upper lip would fold when I'd had too many. Quite frankly, I realized that my body would try to convulse into the fetal position. Again, we've always laughed it off, and said it was nothing special, because it happened so infrequently. Move to 2000: My ex has just remarried the day of our divorce, and is saying I'll never see my son again. While (after 1 year, and lawyers) that was untrue, I was drinking a litre of vodka every day just to get myself to sleep. I did that every day from mid-March to October 31st. I recall someone slipping me a drug, and me going "that's it." But even after that, I was still drinking 4-5 times a week. I've slowed it down to where I only go out to drink 2-3 times/week, but even then, I'm not one to stop at 1-3 glasses of wine/beer/whatever. And my convulsions are more prevalent than ever. I expect a lot of "I told you so's", and other ignorant advice. Save it. I'm not asking the people who've never drank. I can tell everyone here right now: I'm not trying to quit. In my opinion, I've seen alcoholics who wake up and drink vodka. That, to me, is an alcoholic. My problem is that once I start an evening, I tend to keep going, much to my chagrin.
I'm confused by this report. First you say you have "slowed it down" and then you say the convulsions associated with over-drinking are "more prevalent than ever." Which is it?
Quite frankly, it is both. When I drink, they seem to come more rapidly than ever. EDIT: Oh, I'm sorry. I tend to not drink during the week anymore, but when I do, it isn't a couple glasses of wine. Does that make sense now?
Odd you should say that. I'm going to see a doctor next week; heart palpitations, along with my left pinky going numb for 4 hours on Tuesday. Just to be sure. My girl had me jog with her in the park last weekend, and it freaked me out how awful I was. Seriously, my ego still aches from it. When you have a girlfriend, your confidence should always be up, and mine faltered quite a bit. So much so, that I'm joining a gym. Which, sadly has always been my punchline, considering my is "Jim." ie. "you've never really worked out unless you've been at The Jim."
i might. have a good one Fatty. I'm crashing before I drink all tomorrows rum and tequila. by the way if you like good tequila... La Fogata (sorry can't find my cell phone or I'd show you what the bottle looks like)
Fatty, Go see a doctor. I mean, you know what he'll say. He'll tell you to quit drinking and smoking, and most likely you won't, but at least you can have your liver checked. Tremors + drinking can mean the DT's. (see: Reed, Jimmy or Van Zandt, Townes). Keeping up the heavy drinking in your mid to late thirties is a way to get old and tired and very uninteresting really quick unless your name is Lightnin' Hopkins. I think Texans are prone to romanticize self-destructive drinking. We don't own a wardrobe of designer gore-tex to wear to our weekend getaway in Vermont or Aspen. We're slow to warm to the idea of seatbelts, yogurt, tai chi, or any chick rockers not named Janis Joplin. It's ok. It's part of our culture, but it doesn't scale as you get older, and when it's too late you are forced to become an old man long before you are ready, and it doesn't sound like that's a part of your plan. Here's my idea: Get a young girlfriend, and when I say young, I mean not a day over 24, preferably one that smokes weed for recreation and doesn't drink heavy. Avoid the overly tattooed, blue hair variety. Trust your instincts especially as it concerns her musical taste. Rediscover skinny dipping. She may be vegetarian, which is fine as long as she bathes regularly, shaves her arm pits, and isn't fat. Between recreational mar1juana use, and sex with young bones, you will soon discover the need to self-correct in order to keep up. With proper motivation, you'll control your bad habits rather than having them dictated to you by do-gooders, religious so-and so's, the Surgeon General, your grandmother, doctors, shrill, insecure ex-wives/girlfriends, and posters on this board that voted for your permanent exile. In my opinion, the more these people try to preach to you, the more you will feel compelled to smoke/drink/eat greasy food/hook up with women you can't stand. Stick to dry red wines, and avoid the bars you frequent. Going to the same old places prompts you to do the same old things, which prolongs and worsens the sickness. It also will mean more drunken posts that will irritate the humor-impaired. Stick a small corkscrew on your keychain for convenience. Find public places you feel comfortable drinking in, preferably close to nature. I love scotch and bourbon myself but the temptation to drink long beyond by what is good for me happens a bit too often, and if you combine that with good taste, it could spell bar tabs in a night that could equal a car payment, not to mention a hangover your older body simply won't handle anymore if you have to work the next day. Buy a really, really good bottle of something single barrel/malt you can't afford and keep it at home for the good times. Invest in a good pair of running shoes, and use them. Again, heavy drinking and smoking just become much harder to do if you remain extremely active, and sex becomes easier, and more enjoyable. I'm of the opinion that true alcoholics are extremely rare. Most people overindulge because of something psychological, to fill some kind of emptiness in their lives. The easiest way to fill it is to tank up and cut loose, but that excitement can be found in other ways that will still satisfy your urges, and just as importantly, irritate the judgmental, the boring, and the politically correct. And look it at this way, if you don't figure it out soon, you could end up one of those poor guys that can never drink again. Get high on life or you'll end up dead, or worse, 12 stepping and high on Jesus. If you don't believe me, ask this guy:
So, are you asking for advice? Tips? Suggestions? Why? The only advice you are going to follow is that which fits into what you really want to do, anyway. Drink 7 days a week. Don't drink at all. Drink only in the evenings. Or put Jack Daniels in your Post Raisin Bran. No one is going to tell you anything that you would follow for more than a few days or a week, anyway. I drank every day from 18 through 24. When I started teaching, I cut it down to 5 days a week. When I left that and started my own business, I quit for 4 months and went back- but only to once a week. Now, it's just whenever. I can tell you two things that made me stop: 1. I married someone who didn't mind when I drank, but only if it was 2-3 times a week, and nothing involving being completely drunk. 2. I started my own business, which was the first job I ever fully enjoyed, and I just didn't feel like drinking because I enjoyed what I did. But that's my story. That's not yours. I'm telling you, you're always going to want to do exactly what you want to do. If you want to drink, you're going to drink. If you don't, you won't. If you find a girlfriend that doesn't drink that much, you might cut down. But it will never go completely away. It will always be there. Always. Come up with your own plan, though. That's the only one you'll really follow. I allow myself to occasionally get hammered, but (1) I no longer get behind the wheel, at all, under any circumstance; and (2) if it hurts physically, I stop. You're too individualistic to follow anyone else's advice for any extended time- you'll figure out what's important and what's not, and you'll make the decision you want to make.
Im confused. Is your post bragging about how much you drink/can drink or are you asking for help? Doesn't sound like you are asking for help ("I'm not going to quit").
I agree with what codell wrote, but I think I understand it. It sounds to me like you are conflicted. You know something is wrong, but you don't want to admit to yourself that you might have a problem. Honestly, I don't mean to be a cliche, but 'the first step is admiting you have a problem' and it seems like you are struggling with that right now. I think you need to revisit your definition of an alcoholic and look at binge drinking etc. http://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/faqs.htm#11 Good luck.
Yes, it is ignorant to think that drinking too much can cause problems or to notice from your posting history that you have a problem. So you have tremors and other odd things. Big deal. Man up and drink some more. Is that what you want to hear? My freshman roommate (at, what, 18?) had problems when he drank. He didn't care. Then he had to go home on medical leave because his liver was shutting down or something. Maybe you should wait until that time, too. I am sure that you being much older won't make it worse.
I don't think you can exclude yourself from being an alcoholic. Nice try, though. IMO, you seem to have some self-denial going on. I'm sure you want to believe that you must wake up in the morning and drink vodka to be an alcoholic and, while some may do that, that factor alone does not exclude you. The lack of control over your drinking once you start is more telling...which would be classified as binge drinking. As far as I know, a binge drinker can easily be an alcoholic. My point is not all alcoholics go about consumption the same way. I would recommend you let a doctor assess your situation...if you really are concerned...versus letting the BBS tell you "your fine...go drink some more" or something along those lines. Your basically telling us you don't know how to drink in moderation once you get going. It seems to me that alcoholics have the same type of problem. Whether that makes you an alcoholic...who knows? I don't think you can exclude yourself just based on your preconceived notions of what an alcoholic is and we are not in the best position to assess your situation. Your body is obviously trying to tell you something...like maybe your drinking is starting to catch up with you.
i never woke up and drank. ever. your entire first post would have been very easy to pick apart, preach, and show some message board bravado, but it's not place nor anyone else's. you've called me out on this very subject in the past and i didn't respond. i will say this though, follow deji's advice. it's schity advice (ok... really, really, schity advice), but it'll definitely prove whether you're an alcoholic or not. tigercranestyle@gmail.com
Far as I know there drinking problems can be the kind that have a steady buzz, all day every day (the morning vodka drinkers you describe). Then there are binge drinkers, who don't have to drink every day....but when they do drink (in my case generally 2x or 3x a week) they drink til they are right at the point of passing out or until they actually do pass out, or they run out of liquor and the ability to get more. I have the latter problem. I have been to 12 step meetings, the thing that has kept me from taking the plunge is that, at least at the meetings I went to, the people there weren't drinking, but even sober their lives were more dominated by booze than mine was drinking. I don't have any advice to give you, because I haven't decided what to do for myself, right now drinking has brought me a lot of misery, but being sober for long stretches is kind of a miserable feeling too. I still have fun out and about town, though I think I do more "alone" drinking than you do, from the sound of it. If I do have one bit of advice for you it is to cut out the drinking and driving. I know Metro etc..doesn't make it easy but you can pay for a LOT of cab fare with what you save on a lawyer for a single DWI.
sorry man. you know you convulse when you overdrink, but you still do it. AND you're not going to quit? but you're not an achoholic? doesn't add up. you're in denial.
I will get wasted once a while for a good reason. I don't have a drinking problem, so I can't tell you much. As matter of fact, I don't even drink beer much these days fearing getting too much calorie from it. But I did have some addiction problem in the past, it's tough to deal with.
You're having convulsions -- like the shakes in the morning or are you having them after you've had a bunch of drinks? At any rate if you are having convulsions you need help.
