Sarah's neurologist told her no more than 5 oz of alcohol in a 7 day period.

We have pretty much given it up completely. I had a beer to celebrate the biggest sale in our company history this week. I might even have a scotch and a cigar this weekend as a continuing celebration. After that, I might have one or two drams of scotch every month until the bottle is gone. Gone are the days of having multiple selections of scotch, wine, beer, available at any time.

https://medium.com/thrive-glob...eration-25879432164a

I was never much of a drinker but I'm close to zero consumption these days.

Even really small amounts of alcohol have a really negative effect on me. It knocks me out almost immediately, I tend to wake up in the middle of the night and can't go back to sleep, and I feel really drugged and low energy the day after. And that's from like a 4 ounce glass of wine or an ounce of distilled spirits.

I really enjoy the flavor, but I feel so lousy when I imbibe that the cost/benefit just isn't there anymore.

I can’t really drink red wine anymore. I do not feel well the next day and it often triggers a migraine. I do ok with Prosecco, though I hardly ever drink that (Christmas and thanksgiving). Beer and spirits don’t trigger migraines like the wine does, but I still don’t do well with more than one, and try to stick to only on the weekends.

As anyone who read my party-etiquette thread might remember, Mr. SK and I don't drink at all and never have, so these new findings don't impact us. But on the occasions when someone tries to convince me to have some wine (which happens now and again), maybe I can whip out this article and tell them to leave me alone.

quote:

alcohol is pushed so very hard that it becomes really hard to ignore or say no to it.

This is definitely true in a lot of contexts. I got through HS/undergrad without drinking by tying my stance to my identity, probably not unlike what vegans do. But there was a lot of pressure (esp. in college) to drink, and had I not been the badass stubborn person that I am, I might not have been able to withstand it.

Japan in many ways is worse. There is so much pressure to drink, and it actually gets worse after people begin their careers, because of expectations that people will go drinking with colleagues and supervisors, and because of other traditional activities in which alcohol plays a big role.

By the time I went to Japan, I was very "settled" into myself as someone who doesn't drink, and I'd already fought off the peer pressure in college. So I just continued to do so, and managed to get through ok. I've had Japanese friends joke that, in Mr. SK, I found the only man in Japan who also doesn't drink. That's probably not true of course, but the fact that it is a joke I've heard a lot and from different people tells you something.

I have family members who drink too much. They seem like pretty functional people (though as they age, I think it really isn’t helping them). They drink every night, enough alcohol to put me under the table. I am pretty sure it would be difficult for them to just “not drink” one night, so that’s got to mean they are addicted. It used to not bother me, but it makes me pretty uncomfortable now.

Unlike in California, in Nevada it is legal for Trader Joe’s to give free wine tasting samples. Little white paper cups the size of a thimble generally.

I now have two or three of those a month.

I think even with whatever new guidelines there are, that will still be considered moderate…

This was interesting. Mr. Nina drinks a single something (often prosecco) perhaps twice a year, and rarely finishes it. I will drink a bit more (maybe one drink a month) but, like Jodi and wtg, it often disagrees with me. No migraines though, thank heavens.

It is true that almost every bad, preventable thing that has happened in my family, to my friends or acquaintances has all been alcohol-related. Virtually all of it. I'm very wary of alcohol, and suspect more people are, if not addicted, then at least dependent on alcohol.

Yes, maybe dependent is the better word. But I wonder if forced to quit they would suffer withdrawl symptoms.

Yes, going back in my brain to college, I think "withdrawal symptoms" are one of the key indicators of addiction. (As in, physical withdrawal symptoms.)

The other thing I've learned over the past few years is the concept of a "functional alcoholic." In movies and on TV (and in some ads) the picture of an alcoholic is someone who staggers around, slurs their words, throws things, acts drunk, etc. That's one flavor, but there's also the one who has no real outward signs of "being drunk," but is nonetheless unable to function without alcohol.

There's also a growing amount of research to indicate that alcohol consumption before your late 20s (particularly binge drinking, but not only) actually inhibits neural development, particularly in the prefrontal cortex, the area responsible for higher-level cognitive, emotional and social functioning. Hmmmm.

Alcohol messes with your triglycerides, so I think I've had one drink in six months. Afterwards, Mary Anna said to me, "you only did that because it was a business thing, right?" Right.

I'm really not surprised by the findings. I've been away from my occaisional glass of red for a month now, because it doesn't mix well with pain killers or gastritis, and I do miss it. I cannot handle spirits and I dislike beer, so I've never been much of a drinker. But it's nice to have a cognac or a tawny port on a raw evening, or a "light" gin and tonic on a hot night (can count on one hand how many of those I've had in the past decade). I didn't grow up in a family with alcohol issues, so I don't have strong feelings one way or the other.

But heavy drinking is a huge problem in Montana. Any group you are in here, there are going to be people who don't drink because they are recovering alcoholics. I've never seen that disrespected by the drinkers in a group--and my husband is one of the teetotalers.

About two years ago, I started getting terrible acne whenever I had any alcohol.

This was a significant problem.

It sure took the fun out of a martini to know I would have acne for five weeks.

I went to two different dermatologists. Nothing worked. Hundreds of dollars in co-pays and deductible for visits, prescription creams, ointments, face washes. I decided I would just have to be a lady who drank an occasional mimosa who also has bad skin.

Then I got sick in December -- not a cold, nothing really debilitating, but a horrible cough that went on for weeks. Finally I went to urgent care to get an Xray, which was clear. The doc gave me a basic antibiotic (Zpac), which I took.

Get this: I can now drink. No zits. Something has changed because of that antibiotic.

It's a Christmas Miracle!!

quote:

Originally posted by Cindysphinx:
About two years ago, I started getting terrible acne whenever I had any alcohol.

This was a significant problem.

It sure took the fun out of a martini to know I would have acne for five weeks.



I went to two different dermatologists. Nothing worked. Hundreds of dollars in co-pays and deductible for visits, prescription creams, ointments, face washes. I decided I would just have to be a lady who drank an occasional mimosa who also has bad skin.

Then I got sick in December -- not a cold, nothing really debilitating, but a horrible cough that went on for weeks. Finally I went to urgent care to get an Xray, which was clear. The doc gave me a basic antibiotic (Zpac), which I took.

Get this: I can now drink. No zits. Something has changed because of that antibiotic.

It's a Christmas Miracle!!

Surprising
Medical science has a lot to learn.

Felt bad for three days. Then had 5 minutes of feeling very achy all over. The ache was worse in my stomach.
Could not dring dairy after that.
Started bits of zinc tablets and sips of milk at random times.
Can have dairy now. No problems.

That was the third time I have lost lactose intolerance.
Learned that lactose bacteria must have zinc somewhere online.