How many drinks a week do you have?

I’d rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy.

Was speaking in general.

But I probably had 8 beers this week in Mexico.

I've got three friends that turned 40 this year, know them since kindergarten. The way they've been going theist 20 years; they all be dead before 50. My buddy's dad passed away earlier this year and I saw them all at the funeral, 10am and they looked like hammer dig chit in a suit. Sad really, some of the brightest people I know, all three had full academic rides. One to Wash-U, one DePaul and the other UT.

I’ve known 3. All successful in the business arena. All functioned well in their careers. All chronic hard drinkers after work. All appeared to be happy individuals that just really liked to get drunk. All handled their booze well. In each case their liver gave out in their early 50’s. One got a liver transplant but did not survive. All of them repeatedly disappointed or embarrassed their families due to their chronic drinking. Right or wrong, I judged each of them to be weak of mind and lacking character.

Just checking, post seemed very ominous

Not just men. I knew a very pretty successful woman in her 40's divorced, couldn't find another relationship that was good for her. She couldn't handle rejection at all and drank herself to an early exit from this world. It was very sad and mental health is a problem now days.

My BIL drank like there was no tomorrow, until there wasn't. Sad to watch

So where is the Now Drinking thread

Right above this one.

What's considered to much I drink 8 beers everyday ?

Who knows why, but when I drink (ONE...and first gin martini in hand presently), I sometimes think of poetry. 'Pretty sure I'm not Irish. None showed in the spit test. (See Yeats, Moore, Beckett, Joyce, Wilde, etcetera). Alcoholism is an awful affliction. But, the first stanza of this poem has spoken to me for many years, appearing in a daily devotional that helped get me through one of the most difficult years of my life. It applies to a lot of other things too. (I need a lot of inspiration to put up with other people's...)

Judge Not

Judge not; the workings of his brain
And of his heart thou canst not see;
What looks to thy dim eyes a stain,
In God’s pure light may only be
A scar, brought from some well-won field,
Where thou wouldst only faint and yield.

The look, the air, that frets thy sight,
May be a token, that below
The soul has closed in deadly fight
With some infernal fiery foe,
Whose glance would scorch thy smiling grace,
And cast thee shuddering on thy face!

The fall thou darest to despise—
May be the angel’s slackened hand
Has suffered it, that he may rise
And take a firmer, surer stand;
Or, trusting less to earthly things,
May henceforth learn to use his wings.

And judge none lost; but wait, and see,
With hopeful pity, not disdain;
The depth of the abyss may be
The measure of the height of pain
And love and glory that may raise
This soul to God in after days! - Adelaide Anne Procter (1825-1864)

Heartbreaking. I can go weeks without a drink. Sometimes I don't even think about it.

Counting my blessings.

Well done.

Took care of many in the ICU. The liver failure would manifest as esophageal hemorrhage secondary to the blood engorging veins as it couldn't pass through the diseased liver well enough. Look up Esophageal varices. I've had patients bleeding out, got the bleeding stopped, give them 15-20 units of blood product in the process. Build 'em up with fluid and they get to feeling better, leave against medical advice (AMA), and come back in in 48 hours bleeding out. They would usually die that time. bad death choking on blood as the lights go out.

Sounds horrible. If they had stayed, would anything have been different? Can’t even imagine witnessing that.

addictions are terrible no matter how you slice it.

Easy to throw stones till you've lived it.

My FIL went into the Air Force with his friend, (this was in the late 40's). Kid never had a drink before the Air Force and was hooked.
Once they got out of the AF his friend would ask my FIL to take him to a motel on Friday and pick him up on Monday. The guy would stay in the motel room and drink hard for 4 day in a row. He did this every chance he could.
He lived to be 29 years old.
Pretty sad.

I know there are a lot of variables and no set in stone answer but generally speaking how much drinking is too much?

Is it drinks per day, per week, per month? How do you assess it? I mean let’s take a 12 pack. If you drank a 12 pack a week that would be less than 2 a day on average. I don’t think that would be too harmful. But let’s say you drank that same 12 pack a week but you drank them all on Friday and Saturday night - I presume that is worse for you?

I would guess many of us on here drink on occasion and probably a lot fairly regularly. At what volume/frequency does one really need to start worrying?

We all have to die from something. I judge no one, except myself.

I can somewhat relate to this. It reminds me of the Dan Pena quote/video which I love.


But to the OP’s point....I have been pretty shocked at some of the folks I know who I found out drink way more than I expected. I have been lucky that I have not directly experienced this with anyone I’m personally close to or family. But I understand everyone has something that is their vice or personal struggle and some people’s demons and struggles are too much for them, so they search for an escape whatever way they can. It’s sad and I hate it for them. What JG wrote about the mental struggle turning into a physical dependence is spot on.

Every human body is different and have differing rates of metabolism. Some bodies are just weaker in their abilities to handle the toxicity of alcohol.

There are no rules but I don't see a 12 pack a weekend as dangerous. Your body has time to recovery from the alcohol toxic rush during the midweek rest. A 6- 12 pack a day is more dangerous for some. Seen it (beer) kill 2 close friends of mine.

If they quit drinking and lived healthily they might survive as the liver has wonderful regenerative abilities. I've also seen folks quit drinking long enough to qualify for a liver transplant and as soon as they are set with the new liver they destroy it too drinking.

What causes the esophagus veins to rupture (they become engorged due to venous vascular backup or congestion. So when you bleed anywhere the ideal treatment is to put pressure on it if possible so we would put a tube down their throat that sticks out the mouth and goes all the way to the top of the stomach. Well part of the tube would inflates to press against the bleeding veins. The part in the stomach would empty blood and air from the stomach. It was medieval ! The coup-de-grace was we put a football helmet and anchored the tube to the face bar. Their hands were tied and they were on regularly scheduled ativan or Valium . (benzodiazepines)

Now some liver failures don't have this problem (portal hypertension) and just get toxic from rising ammonia levels and other toxins that the liver would usually eliminate from the body. These folks go into comas .

Liver function can be tested with a simple blood test that we should all get with a yearly exam.

Could be worse. My used to be buddy moved on mostly from booze after decades to meth.

My ol man...who was a career marine of 31yrs and highly decorated WW2 and Korea vet drank himself to death at 63yo...he controlled it fairly well until he retired and then went full blown.
Same with many of his buds also....dayum shame

I agree sir