I gave up alcohol after losing two close friends in two seperate accidents and then having an alcohol and stress related breakdown . It put me in in a psychiatric ward and I lost my mind for a while ... Sad time but I got it together and gave up alcohol from 2004 until 2014 . I decided after a holiday to Mexico in 2014 to have a few as after 10 years abstinence be ok,.. but now I'm drinking again . 3 days on but 4 not drinking a week.
I can stick to it without issue and when I go canada for three months I can easily go 3 months off without a problem ..
What's going on with me if I can stop for 3 months 🤐
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UktoCanada
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Been 4yrs I thought it was three when I have been in a hospital mental they for years me kids said she can't function without a drink I was only to happy to not admit it as I never got the shakes and my ADHD even now people think is she drunk as of behave so that's why I come off being told I will die if continue got the shakes then it's hard to no why but thought I'd let u no
Really sorry to hear about you losses and how you were so badly affected. Pleased you feel able to be up front about your mental health problems.
You are asking for advice ?
Reading between the lines, I think you know the answers but just want confirmation that you are ok to drink.
Nobody can give you 'permission' to drink or insist that you stop.
That is entirely up to you.
However, you do describe an intelligent and well thought out approach to alcohol. As long as on the days you do drink you don't go over the weekly recommended limits. You can find the accepted guidelines in the links below.
As you have come to a liver focused forum, it remains to say that you will have a good chance of having a healthy liver if you keep your alcohol within the guidelines, exercise regularly with a good and varied diet.
Jim u ok ur advise is always well thought out and kind as of me confusing posts . Can u imagine I read it all wrong send wrong post to hep c I ain't even got it . But thanks I'm try to educate meself
As long as you're not abusing it and have no liver issues, what's the problem? I would suggest you spread out the drinking days throughout the week so you give your liver a chance to recover rather than 3 days in a row.
I do find it strange that you went 10 years sober then started drinking again. Not judging you but I would have thought after such a long time, you would have lost the taste for alcohol.
Thank you . Yes i know ... after 10 years i had lost all taste for it , i had after the horrible withdrawal back in 2004 to be honest . We arrived in Mexico with Margaritas galore on the bar at reception and i just took one in the excitement and then another . I did enjoy it as well .
But i never had more than 3 a day during the stay .
Probably wasnt my greatest decision , but i still have 4 alcohol free days a week .
Just gotta ask yourself if your worried it will become the same problem it was 10 years ago. Maybe your concern is the fear that it will. If your staying within proper guidelines and taking 4 days off of it a week with no known health issues your fine as far as physical health goes id think. But the answers to why your able to turn it off and on and why you may be concerned it will become a potential problem is important as well.
The ability to turn it on and off is a good thing. But it seems maybe you find that more difficult to do in certain scenarios that trigger you emotionally? Its such a unique and personnal issue to address and is different for each person. Noone can say whats best for you but yourself. As KLDN says id space it our even more if possible. And make sure you stick to safe amounts. If your getting hammered on the 3 days you do drink of course damage from binging is a risk as well and at that point 4 days off is really of minimal benefit.
So ill leave you with this. If you think you have it under conteol and are safe about it. All good. But if you think you might lose that control or if you find your struggling. By all means hit us up here for support and help. Noone will judge you here. And of course if it got to that never be ashamed to tell a doctor whats going on for you. Stay healthy my friend🙂
Btw I am Canadian. Where abouts in Canada are you headed?
It sounds a lot like alcohol gave you problems, thus the need to be abstinate. To get 10 years clean and sober under your belt is one hell of an achievement, but then the old thoughts come back, I can control this, and John Barleycorn has been sitting on the side doing push ups waiting for your guard to drop. Once dropped the old habits return and we do whatever it takes to convince ourselves ( 3 on 4 off) that this is no longer a problem.i only have my experience to rely on here and I am an recovering alcoholic who is 15 years clean and sober, but have done the “giving up” on numerous occasions. Stopping is easy, it’s staying stopped that is the difficult part. The fact that you have chosen to post on a Liver forum could mean you have liver issues. If so then I would recommend a life of total abstinence. I have had to deal with the death of a parent, a failed transplant and many other things, but the thought of a drink which I know would kill me actually makes me feel sick. I would be interested to know more about you and wish you well on whatever path you choose.
Thanks for the reply . Yes it did give me problems and the mental breakdown was totally alcohol abuse caused . Once i stopped i never had any more episodes .
It wouldnt be too hard to quit again , but once more i have that nag that life wont be so much fun , which i know is completely untrue . It just seems alcohol plants that thought into you every time .
I'll have to give it some serious thought .
Hi UktoCanada,
Congratulations on the 10 years.
I can only say what my husband's liver doctor told him when the hubby asked about why keeping off drink was recommended - his doctor said there are 2 things at work - 1] if your liver is damaged more alcohol will continue to damage the liver. 2] each drink you have increases your chances to going back to "abusing" alcohol. My husband agreed with the doctor and they agreed that he could drink non-alcoholic [n/a beer and wine]. It can be hard to find places that serve booze that have n/a - at least here in the U.S.
Thank you Mary and i wish you and your husband much happiness.
I think i may need to seriously consider quitting again , i think everything is still ok but if i ever have more than 3 or 4 drinks , i do get very slight lower right side tenderness which i know is my body complaining . Liver , Pancreas or both ! I constantly look out for warning signs and check my eye whites and do the occasional urine test . All is ok but i think i would be fooling myself to think i can get away with it forever . Even drinking 3 days a week . Back in 2004 i had liver tests done after 6 months abstinance and passed with a clean bill of health . Would be a terrible shame to mess it up now .
Thank you everyone who replied , i now have some serious thinking to do .
Well done for being sober for 10 years mate. Do go to AA ? I do and its the only thing that worked. Many of us have slip ups and do not feel ashamed of it.
I have know many friends die from drinking decease they think its ok to drink again after being sober for a long time. Alcoholism is a disease and has no cure. Once an Alcoholic always an alcoholic. Be safe mate and join AA if you haven't yet.
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