I consider last week another successful week with 15 drinks.
What was interesting was that on Friday night, I had only 2 glasses of wine and was completely content. That might not sound like a big deal to many people, but my wife and daughter were out for the evening, I had plenty of vodka, wine and beer in the house, but found myself completely satisfied with the 2 glasses of wine. And, I did not set out to limit myself to only 2. I figured I would have about 4 drinks.
I have mentioned this before, but there is a big difference between drinking wine or beer and drinking shots of vodka, at least for me. I am sure I would have also been satisfied with 2 beers. Would it have been the same with 2 vodka mixed drinks? I am not sure.
On the other hand, I know that if I started with the vodka, 2 shots would not have been enough. Is it because I had a drink with me for 2 hours (the amount it took to drink the wine) and always had a sip at arms length? Is it the action of simply drinking or that a little alcohol was consumed at a steady pace? Could I possibly be morphing into a normal drinker?
Furthermore, I had a little bit of a buzz. I drank the first glass (and they were 2 measured 5 oz glasses) in about a half hour, then nursed the other over almost an hour and a half. I am sure I would not have had the same buzz with 2 shots of vodka. I guess my BAC would have been the same, but the effect was different.
Sunday night was a similar situation. I had 2 glasses of wine at a party and was completely content. I will admit, my wife was with me and that influenced my drinking, but I was OK with it. But, then like most weeks, I had a shot of vodka when I got home after the party. Why, because I was only at 14 drinks for the week and I could.
Tags: AA, abstaining, addiction, Alchoholics Anonymous, alcohol, alcoholic, Alcoholic's Anonymous, alcoholism, awareness, BAC, beer, blood alcohol content, deprived, moderation management, recovery, SMART, sober, sobriety, vodka, wine
An Alcoholic's daily Struggle 
November 2, 2010 at 11:41 pm |
When i drank Beer. for the most part i was under control.Vodka was my downfall.Beer always made me hungry.As where vodka supressed my appetite.Beer would get me full before i could get really drunk.Im convinced that had I stuck with beer.My health wouldnt have deteriated like it did when I got on vodka.Because at least on beer, I ate well.My beer drinking never got passed 12 beers a day.alot i know. but with vodka.It was a 1.75 ltter a day.Plus more drinks at the tavern
February 24, 2011 at 7:13 pm |
Up until about 6 weeks ago I drank a liter a day of Vodka a night. Within the past year i have had pancreatitis and gastrititis. I got off the Vodka over a month ago and am drinking wine now. Mentaly I feel like my old self before I started drinking real heavy. But I’m worried the wine will make me fat!!
February 25, 2011 at 9:12 pm
It all depends on how much you drink !!!
November 5, 2010 at 1:09 am |
I have recently admitted to myself that I have a drinking problem. Without going into a long story, I got a DWI, hit a parked car (thank god no one was hurt), woke up in jail with absolutely no recollection of what happened. I blew a 2.94…ouch. I have never been daily drinker, but drink at least twice a week. I would consider myself more of a binge drinker. When I drink, it is usually a 5th (750 ml) of Vodka within about a 6 hour period or 2-750ml bottles of wine in about the same amount of time. Although there are days, weekends, that I will all day. There have been several other bad events that have happened, but this last one really scared me. My problem is, I enjoy drinking and hate the thought of NEVER drinking again. I would like to be able to drink socially like you are describing and limit myself. I have tried since the latest incident, but I never seem satisfied and end up having someone drive me to get more alcohol. Any suggestions? You seem to be getting your drinking under control.
November 5, 2010 at 2:22 pm |
Everyone is different and we each must find our own way. For me, the first step I took when I felt like I had crossed the line is I went for help. Because I was a daily drinker for many years, a doctor kind of scared me into detox. The fear was that I would have withdrawals that could cause major sickness or even death. So, I checked myself into a detox facility for 5 days and detoxed under the care of a doctor and used librium. For there I went to AA and stayed sober for 3 months. Then, all physical problems were out of the way. However, like you, I could not envision a life without alchohol. So, I started drinking again on my own, and failed. I then went back to AA and went sober again for almost 8 months. Again, I went out drinking on my own and again it did not go well. Finally, I discovered moderation.org and got some help, not with abstaining this time but moderating. The key for me was to set limits on how much I can drink weekly. For me it is at least 3 sober days a week and no more than 15 drinks in a week. During this time, I also had to figure out what my triggers were and be wary of them. So far it seems to be working. I have been moderating now for 10 months. This is the short version of what happened to me and where I am now. I wish you good luck.
November 8, 2010 at 4:28 pm |
Hey ADS,
Today’s my 1-year anniversary of my last drink.
Al K Hall was kind enough to publish my “manifestive” here:
I figured you’d be interested, at least because I mentioned your blog.
Cheers!
ITSB
November 8, 2010 at 6:07 pm |
Congratulations ITSB, that is a great accomplishment. I actually feel kind of pround since I knew you while you were still drinking and have followed your progress. The post was well written, entertaining and thought provoking. Interesting, I too when I am at a party and not drinking, drift off to play with the kids, great escape.
November 9, 2010 at 4:10 am
Thanks!
I’ve found being dry to be a relatively easy thing to do, after you gain the momentum. (And get past the post-acute withdrawal syndrome.) For any given situation, no matter how stressful or how much a drink would be nice, the answer is clear cut: don’t drink.
Your situation is much harder. There are well over 15 times during the week where a drink would seem a natural thing for me. It would be hard for me to decide when it is appropriate to have a couple and when it wouldn’t be…. I admire your ability to maintain control and pass up some opportunities, if they don’t seem safe.
Cheers!
ITSB