[Kieran]

At my peak I was drinking 10-12 pints of strong lager per day (or the equivalent in whatever we were drinking), with no days off. I have been sober 9 months now though because I recognised that it was becoming a problem (I was constantly feeling regret and guilt over it, I wasn't reaching my goals, skin had become bright red and inflamed, I was getting into fights, and I was hallucinating after really hard sessions (I remember thinking that my jacket hanging on my door was a person and attacking it)).

Recently I had some blood tests done to screen for a medical trial that I was going to take part in, and I was found to be pretty badly anemic. My doctor ran tests and found that I was normal in all the typical causes of anemia (iron etc), and because of my enlarged blood cells she said the possibilities were hypothyroidism, liver damage from alcohol, or cirrhosis. Further tests found that it wasn't hypothyroidism or cirrhosis, so apparently I have liver damage from alcohol that should repair itself with time. I have to re-test in 6 months to see if there is improvement.

I'm definitely getting less girls now. Mainly because I don't go out as much (it's just not fun without drinking), and when I do, I feel like going home by midnight. If I could drink responsibly then I'm sure my liver would be fine with it, but I know that if I even have one sip then I won't be able to stop.

[Aliblahba]

(10-08-2013 04:09 AM)McQueensPlayboyRules Wrote:  

^^^Nice; going to check that out tomorrow I have to swoop up some supplements anyway.

At some point my liver will be fucked so might as well start balancing it out.

Milk thistle works. Old contractor secret. We go to the desert for six months to dry out and take a bottle of milk thistle with us. Low and behold six months later we're ready for round 7.

Someone just mentioned beet juice for liver health. Going to the store in a few hours to stock up and make some borscht and some juice.

[BadgerHut]

(10-12-2013 06:01 AM)Kieran Wrote:  

At my peak I was drinking 10-12 pints of strong lager per day (or the equivalent in whatever we were drinking), with no days off. I have been sober 9 months now though because I recognised that it was becoming a problem (I was constantly feeling regret and guilt over it, I wasn't reaching my goals, skin had become bright red and inflamed, I was getting into fights, and I was hallucinating after really hard sessions (I remember thinking that my jacket hanging on my door was a person and attacking it)).

Recently I had some blood tests done to screen for a medical trial that I was going to take part in, and I was found to be pretty badly anemic. My doctor ran tests and found that I was normal in all the typical causes of anemia (iron etc), and because of my enlarged blood cells she said the possibilities were hypothyroidism, liver damage from alcohol, or cirrhosis. Further tests found that it wasn't hypothyroidism or cirrhosis, so apparently I have liver damage from alcohol that should repair itself with time. I have to re-test in 6 months to see if there is improvement.

I'm definitely getting less girls now. Mainly because I don't go out as much (it's just not fun without drinking), and when I do, I feel like going home by midnight. If I could drink responsibly then I'm sure my liver would be fine with it, but I know that if I even have one sip then I won't be able to stop.

Wow, that's a hell of a story.

My roommate quit drinking about six months ago - he had a couple of personal incidents that cost him the respect of some people close to him, and was sort of in the mood for a life change so he quit drinking entirely and got into crossfit and works out almost daily.

I bring this up to show how drinking/not drinking can really change the things you enjoy. Now he almost never goes out at night, just doesn't enjoy being out with people if he's not getting sh*tfaced. He's getting fewer girls, but he used to get blackout bangs with randos (randas?) so I think he's OK with that on balance. He takes pride in his fitness now and knows that drinking would set him back, but it makes it hard to hang out with his friends and such because booze will always be around. He doesn't want to go on weekend getaways because the temptation to drink would be overwhelming.

Whether you're going sober or not, it pays to understand your limits...last night I had six drinks over about seven hours (a bunch of cocktails and a shot somewhere in there) and even though I drank a lot of water and had plenty of time to recover and etc I still woke up feeling like shit. So I've confirmed that over about three drinks and I'm going to feel it the next day.

[Architekt]

^ This is why green > booze

OT: I usually drink until I run out of money (and no one's buying me drinks) or I go home with someone. That being said, heading to a bar high and drinking water/juice after a workout is the bomb

[YaManBT]

Last night I had one drink before going out, and three while I was out. That's pretty much par for the course. I generally have about 2-4 drinks in a night out. When I was in my college years, it was around 4-8 drinks.

[Too_Gallus]

a lot at the minute. I find mid to end game a lot easier when sober but opening is obviously a lot easier when drunk. managing 25+ strong approaches a night when drunk, usually resulting in a pull and number from half of those, and then a notch from 1.

[Handsome Creepy Eel]

Either none, or 1-2 walnut liquor shots and 1 diet coke (never together with liquor). It depends on the mood. But my aim is to never get more than slightly buzzed, as that serves my interests and pleasure the best.

[NYJ]

(10-10-2013 01:46 PM)XYZ Wrote:  

0 to 2

Same for me. Most of the time is only 1. Being out in the burbs, I drive every where. I find I'm much sharper than the guys who have had a few and it does save $$$. I've always gone out this way so I'm used to it. I kick back more at parties or places where I know I can crash. I need to move back to the city.

[Kaizen]

(10-08-2013 12:03 AM)McQueensPlayboyRules Wrote:  

Drinks? Let's talk bottles...

A bottle generally.

This past Sat myself, Slubu and Qwest attended a polo match. I started drinking around noon and stopped Sunday around 11am.

We went through 2-3 bottles at the match alone, before hitting up a lounge, but I had to have had 30+ in 24hrs.

My liver hates my guts.

^ I wish I could still party like this. I still do on occasion, but my near 40 body would look like shit if I did this on a regular. I drink this hard only on vacation.

on a typical night, keep it under 5 drinks as best I can.

[scotian]

I must have had about 20 drinks last night, it was a big night out but not a rare occurrence, I probably had about 15 the night before. I've always been a hard drinker and can't really moderate it, 1 drink is too many and 20 isn't enough.

[loki]

3 max for me now days...no more drunken stupor for me when i go out.

getting hammered at home is ok with me though

[Akula]

I must have had 12+ drinks last Saturday. Had such a bad hangover Sunday that I had to cancel my date with a promising lead which I think was a good chance at a bang. I guess I'm all about the booze. Sucks - wish I could tone it down every time but sometimes I just go off the rails.

Drinking too much is the biggest inhibitor of my game by far.

[Kieran]

(10-13-2013 01:35 PM)BadgerHut Wrote:  

(10-12-2013 06:01 AM)Kieran Wrote:  

At my peak I was drinking 10-12 pints of strong lager per day (or the equivalent in whatever we were drinking), with no days off. I have been sober 9 months now though because I recognised that it was becoming a problem (I was constantly feeling regret and guilt over it, I wasn't reaching my goals, skin had become bright red and inflamed, I was getting into fights, and I was hallucinating after really hard sessions (I remember thinking that my jacket hanging on my door was a person and attacking it)).

Recently I had some blood tests done to screen for a medical trial that I was going to take part in, and I was found to be pretty badly anemic. My doctor ran tests and found that I was normal in all the typical causes of anemia (iron etc), and because of my enlarged blood cells she said the possibilities were hypothyroidism, liver damage from alcohol, or cirrhosis. Further tests found that it wasn't hypothyroidism or cirrhosis, so apparently I have liver damage from alcohol that should repair itself with time. I have to re-test in 6 months to see if there is improvement.

I'm definitely getting less girls now. Mainly because I don't go out as much (it's just not fun without drinking), and when I do, I feel like going home by midnight. If I could drink responsibly then I'm sure my liver would be fine with it, but I know that if I even have one sip then I won't be able to stop.

Wow, that's a hell of a story.

My roommate quit drinking about six months ago - he had a couple of personal incidents that cost him the respect of some people close to him, and was sort of in the mood for a life change so he quit drinking entirely and got into crossfit and works out almost daily.

I bring this up to show how drinking/not drinking can really change the things you enjoy. Now he almost never goes out at night, just doesn't enjoy being out with people if he's not getting sh*tfaced. He's getting fewer girls, but he used to get blackout bangs with randos (randas?) so I think he's OK with that on balance. He takes pride in his fitness now and knows that drinking would set him back, but it makes it hard to hang out with his friends and such because booze will always be around. He doesn't want to go on weekend getaways because the temptation to drink would be overwhelming.

Whether you're going sober or not, it pays to understand your limits...last night I had six drinks over about seven hours (a bunch of cocktails and a shot somewhere in there) and even though I drank a lot of water and had plenty of time to recover and etc I still woke up feeling like shit. So I've confirmed that over about three drinks and I'm going to feel it the next day.

Yeah, it really changes the things you enjoy. I'm pretty similar to your roommate in that since stopping I have fully thrown myself back into weights, running, and boxing, and follow a very controlled diet. Things that before I would have laughed at, like getting an early night, or staying in to watch a film or television series, suddenly seem more appealing than going out chasing women. I still go out, I just have to force myself to get over the inertia, and drink a lot of coffee beforehand. I can still enjoy myself if I make an effort to get in the mood, but the good mood is a lot more fragile, with any little thing like a long wait at the bar, or somebody pushing past me, ruining it.

Another thing is how quickly it changes your perspective on normal drinking. When I was drinking a lot, I really thought I was normal. I remember often being in the pub on my own at 10am on weekdays, cursing to myself that there's something wrong with people for not being there too, and being pissed off that coffee shops were busy, but the pub was quiet.

I feel a lot better health wise, but the good feeling is so much more subtle than the feeling you get from drinking, and I really miss it. If I'm honest too, somewhere deep down I feel like all of the positive things I am doing, are just so that I can come back to the drinking lifestyle but new and improved (more in shape, better clothes etc)

Nice blog by the way.

[soup]

I'm surprised that they haven't pushed to get milk thistle approved or whatever as a liver aid. There could be a huge market for that in the states. I believe they prescribe in Europe.

It's kind of like acv in the sense that I can tell if it's actually doing anything, but I take it everyday just in case. I swish some would do a real study on this stuff so I'd know whether or not I'm throwing my money away.

[Vaun]

I had 6 high end cocktails last Friday night, at a couple of cocktail bars here. I sort of went crazy with this new girl and we had a really good time. I dont generally get hangovers, but that totally ruined my Saturday. I had the most headsplitting headache when I woke up, does drinking a lot of cocktails do that to you? The next day I didnt work, I didnt workout, I didnt do the stuff I usually do. Maybe at my middle age its harder, but I cant do that anymore. I woke up swearing that I would never drink again and was so pissed that it ruined my day.

[philly22]

It also depends on the type of alcohol. If we're talking mixed drinks 4+ strong ones is enough.

Beer it could reach near 10 easily for me.