Aalcohol blackouts question

About me: Male, 23, White, slim, reasonably fit.

Firstly I am not a alcoholic, I only have about 1-2 drinks a month and sometimes none.
During my life I have had three alcohol blackouts and the last one was last night. I don't change or go mad when I have had a drink, I just act normal and I think normally.

The last two blackouts have been similar. I left the event (party or bar) and I arrived home. Last night I remember leaving, but not putting my coat on and then I think I went to the train station. I remember everything except the journey home. I was in my bedroom and that's all I know except for leaving. The second to last I remember leaving and getting to the station but not the train ride.

I believe I was awake and had all my senses during the lost time and I doubt I would do anything silly. As I said I don't go mad when I have had alcohol and I always get back in one piece with all my possessions (exc. for a jumper, but that might be in the bar) and I am never wet/dirty like I fell over or similar.

The question: Why do I only loose my memory of heading home? I remember every detail, like the drinks I had and the conversations etc of the event. Seems strange its only when I stand up and leave. Does food/mixing drinks change anything?

[rod44]

mixing drink is not a good idea....

could your drink be spiked....
talk to your GP, it may be a medical issue

Ray

[graemed]

I know mixing isn't good but blackouts occur to the speed of drinking. Doubt drinks were spikes as i was fine and can remember. Just wondering why the loss of only of the journey home?

[ibizan]

how big were the drinks?how many shots?taking any prescription medication or street drugs along with drinks?blackouts only occur with large amounts of alcohol ingested over course of evening or in short period of time.

[dominosarah]

There has to be more to this story.  Are you taking any type of drugs including supplements?  It doesnt take but a split second to spike a drink.      

[graemed]

Nope. No medicine, I hate medicine and can't even swallow it!
It was on a private floor so the only people would have been the group. There were about 20 people in the group and I know all of them. When I left the table for a few mins there were still 10 or more people at the table. So the table wasn't left unsupervised.

Drinks:
4-5 cider bottles (700 ml approx each)
1 pint of cider
Sambucca shot
Some over strange drink with spirits in.

8 pm - 00.00

Remember cider is stronger than beer and more acidic.

What I am wondering about is why the memory loss is only afterwards?

Thanks

[rod44]

Hummmm, Some over strange drink with spirits in, so in fact you dont know what you drank.....

From experence after drinking spirits you will get more drunk after hitting fresh air....

[dominosarah]

Ahh good point Rod.....the fresh air.

[graemed]

I have never had this drink before nor heard of it. It called something like a yagameisa and it contains red bull. A large glass with a shot in the middle. I remember everything from the night exc. most of the journey back. Someone text me to say i left my jumper at the bar as i thought. Nothing else was said since i remember the evening.

[graemed]

Proof the bottles of cider are Bulmers and the pint was a pint of Strongbow. English made both of them.

[graemed]

Here is the correct spelling: Jagermeister.
So that solves it i only loose memory on the way home because of the air.
Thank you all.

[rod44]

bulmers is made in Ireland and Strongbrow is English.....both very strong and popular among heavy drinkers in the UK & Ireland ....

Mixing these drinks with red bull & other spirits is foolish and you are lucky that you got home without coming to any harm...

[graemed]

I always get confused about Bulmer's since there is Bulmer's and hp Bulmer's. As I have said before I rarely drink and the only occasion is xmas drinks. I don't chose to mix, people buy shots and it ends up with everyone.

I often mix and nothing has ever happened, well exc. for memory loss for 30mins.

Till next year and I have to control myself next time as i hate the idea of not knowing about 30 mins of time. Things need to slow down next xmas and stay more to one drink.

Thanks all, mystery solved about why i only ever lose the memory of after.

[ibizan]

You are making me laugh!blackout as a result of hitting the fresh air!ho ho ho!:)jagermeister is 70 proof and VERY potent in itself and mixed with ALL u note.....lights out after!Your brain must be habituated to large quantities of alcohol to even handle all of this and still be walking after a few hours.....this is why u were fairly functional but didn't remember and friends filled u in.

[graemed]

ibizan and all, I know I am wrong and the memory loss thing will haunt me for a few days till i find out the details (if i do). There is nothing to say anything went wrong, i came back with a wallet, phone, watch, hat, scarf, gloves, shoes, keys and no lost money or anything. My clothes were clean and i was. If i fell then maybe i would have a mark or my clothes would be dirty. My parents didn't say anything so i assume i arrived back ok and alone. Soon I will be able to track my train journey online and that might tell me what happened. Tomorrow i will see the group and the secrets maybe revealed if any.

It's quite tough when you are in a group and a shot is going for everyone to refuse.

[ibizan]

my dear young man and i will call u young for at 23 u r.......when i was your age i was doing the very same thing...i thought blackouts were a very normal part of drinking... partying so to speak......i could've owned stock in Bacardi, Gilbey's etc....i was a fan of many liquors and slivovica....104 proof slovenian plum brandy!My blackouts kept increasing as did my pingponging back'n'forth tween a smorgasboard of drugs and alcohol.....AA sums it up well in a pamphlet A Merry-Go Round called Denial.....then at age 28 the light went on upstairs and my road to recovery began.I am now 54 so YES i know where u r at.....cause I been there 2...and so have the others who've posted 2 u!:)

[rod44]

I agree with ibzan, you say you came home with all your belongings but you did not come home with your memory intact, this is most certainly due to drink, you need to take responsibility for this and stop making excuses to justify it to yourself

[graemed]

Yes, I agree. There is only one chance a year for this to happen. Downstairs in the cupboard there are loads and spirits and a few cases of beer/cider (a year old). They sit there and not even once a month they are touched. Our family barely drinks, at a restaurants maybe 1-2 wines and a beer. The proper drinking is only a work xmas drinks and other club groups. Never has anything happened outside of December. My normal friends don't drink much ever and its people from clubs/work who do drink and i only go out with them at xmas.

I posted on this forum to find out why my memory goes (twice) after the event and not before. I have only lost my memory three times in four years and have only drank properly about 5-6 times in four year.

If I lost my memory everyday and it was normal I would post. But since its rare and I know something I wrong I wondered about why I can remember the event. Maybe the brain stores the event as it think it's important and not the journey back.

It's unlikely I would ever normally post as I barely drink and its only at Xmas this will happen. I just need to stop the memory loss again, it will haunt me for days. This is the third time, 1st was extremely bad (16 hours of memory gone), second was about 30 mins of train journey and this time was maybe an hour.

Who knows next time I might be busy on that day and I won't happen. Thanks all for your support, hopefully all your posts will stick with me next Dec.

[graemed]

Just called up London Underground and tracked my train usage. I entered the station at about 0.27 (think I can remember leaving the bar and going to the station next door) and exited at my station at 00.38. This means I lost about 30-40 mins of time. Now I know I went home  the way I should and nothing probably went wrong. Of course this is not ideal or good but at least I can rest assured in the period of lost time nothing went sour. Next time I have to ensure this doesn't happen again.

[broknbck]

dude, this blackout is no mystery. i am not an alcoholic either (not physically dependant) but if anyone drinks enough they will black out and it will be later , not earlier.  so you are obviously drinking too much. it is not a good feeling, is it?
trouble is the alcohol does not hit us right away after drinking it. try passing on the last drink and make it water instead.

[rod44]

I thought the purpose of this forum is to help people stop drinking, it is up to you to decide if you have a problem, if you have or think you have then you need to stop, anyone who blacks out after drink has a problem, it is not the amount you drink but the affects it has on you.

[dominosarah]

You have put so much time and effort into figuring out your blackouts.  Why not put that energy into not drinking.  You dont have to be a daily drinker to have a problem.   Alcohol abuse takes a person down a long lonely sometimes deadly road.  I know as i have been there.  sara

[graemed]

I only posted to see why it happens afterwards. I am not a alcholic and i barely drink. I dont even like whisky or beer or ale etc. I only sometimes drink sweetish drinks, some spirits and some ciders. Under once a month sometimes.

The blackout business on occurs at xmas and not really any other time.

So, thank you, hopefully all your posts about mixing drinks will be drilled into me for the next time (Dec 10).

[rod44]

Why do something if you don't like it? I did not like the taste of drink but that was not why I drank....

next time you may not be so lucky, how many asphyxiate on there own vomit because they are out of it from drink.......

[graemed]

I don't mind drink but I prefer sweeter things. I will drink some beers, have to be light and not too bitter. I only posted here to find out why blackouts happen afterwards. I knew something went wrong and i did something wrong. I didn't post her to get a lecture about what I did wrong, since I knew. I though the reply would be a pro message from a qualified doctor explaining the technical bits.

I am probably going to stop posting now since every message is a complaint and I know I was wrong.

Good bye and thanks.

[rod44]

This community is for questions and support for people with, or for loved ones of people who drink and are trying to quit. The forum covers topics ranging from Health Issues, How to Quit, Reasons to Quit, Relapse Prevention, Friend and Family Support.

[graemed]

Well, I guess I got the wrong forum topic. I was just after a single doctors reply.

Sorry all and thanks for your replies.

[madcapo12]

WOW.....

[dominosarah]

There are no doctors on this forum.......

[narla]

I have yet to meet someone who doesn't on a regular basis drink be able to drink as much as you've said and not be passed out,Yeah I could have drunk that much and not passed out but I'm an alcoholic and had been drinking for 30 yrs till 4 months ago.

[graemed]

Maybe that i was why i lost my memory because i am not used to it. I did pass out once, that is another story (years ago) and not exactly my fault.

[ibizan]

When i was actively drinking I did my share of passing out.....but it wasn't anyones fault but MINE for i do not recall anyone forcing me to drink but me!:)

[graemed]

I remember the passing out story to 10.45 pm and the exact drinks i had. Even tho it was 3-4+ years ago i remember all but after 10.45. I was drinking a few Bacardi and cokes and it turned out they were triple shots and not singles. The people who i was with were not very responsibly. Apart from this everything else was my fault.

[TJack]

I just read all of these and my mind is spinning!  Wow Unreal! Evidently Graemed doesn't have a drinking problem.  Just a blacking out problem.     That blackout falling down stuff scared me to death.  I didn't want to admit i had a problem though for a long time.  Good wishes to you all. If we want it bad enough and use all the tools given to us we can succed one day at a time. tjack

[graemed]

Only a once a year blackout problem (if that). I have been reading up on blackouts and it's not a physical problem, you don't pass out or go mad .You just loose a bit of memory. Scary yes, but I found out my steps.

[Jacker]

So if it's no big deal, why do you keep coming back to an alcoholism forum?  

Don't get me wrong- you're welcome to come here any time, but you seem anxious for the feedback.  For what it's worth, I seldom blacked out during my drinking days - I was fairly controlled, but I still turned it into an nasty habit and an addiction.  And the few times that I blacked out, it was not pleasant- scared me to death!

[graemed]

I dont really need new feedback. Just being polite, since the person took time to post so I reply. Same as emails, i never ignore.

[alexaaquentin]

OMG! Just thought I would add this to your post even though you mentioned that you had not taken any medications, in hopes that it could help someone that may have mixed Adderall (adderrall) with alcohol and blacked out.  I was prescribed Adderall (adderrall) by my doctor and had just begun taking it.....like it was my second day.  I drink on occassion and when I drink.....I can put quite a bit away without having ill  effects .....like, we go out to a club.....I can put 7-8 red bull vodka's away easily.  No, I am not driving.  I am 43 years old and in all the years I have been drinking I have NEVER had a blackout until last Friday night.  WTF!  I was actually beginning to wonder if someone had drugged me, but now after searching the internet....I do believe that it was the adderall (adderrall) in combination with the alcohol.  I had 3 glasses of wine with a full dinner...appetizers/salad/entree and then we went to a club. I had 2 red bull vodkas and my husband said I was stumbling like 20 minutes later.  He said we should go.  I remember getting our coats and walking to the car.  The last thing I remember was talking to my husband in the car and my words were completely slurring and I noticed this and said "what the hell? when did I get so drunk that my words are slurring?" this has never happened.......GoodNight!  I remember nothing else until I woke up on the bathroom floor(thank God it's carpeted) and had no idea how I got there.  My husband said I was not acting myself in the car, but I did walk in the house by my self(do not remember) got undressed by myself(do not remember) had fun with him(do not remember) and then went into the bathroom(do not remember).  I have no idea how long I was in there, other than it was only 230A when I woke up so it could not have been that long.  Wow! This has to have been the scariest thing that has ever happened to me.  Both my husband and I were convinced that someone had drugged me because, frankly, I have drank a whole lot more and been way less drunk/affected, but after reading some stuff on here and another website ************.com on the effects of adderall (adderrall) and alcohol......I know that that is exactly why I blacked out.  Wow! I thank God I was with my husband and no more alcohol for me while I am on this drug.  

And one more thing, I have new empathy for those who have been drugged because as hard as I try, I cannot remember anything and I know that I was fortunate enough to be with my husband, but can easily put myself in the place of someone being drugged and then being taken advantage of because I had sex with my husband and have absolutely no recollection of it......So scary!!!

I hope this helps somebody out there.

[alexaaquentin]

OMG! Just thought I would add this to your post even though you mentioned that you had not taken any medications, in hopes that it could help someone that may have mixed Adderall (adderrall) with alcohol and blacked out.  I was prescribed Adderall (adderrall) by my doctor and had just begun taking it.....like it was my second day.  I drink on occassion and when I drink.....I can put quite a bit away without having ill  effects .....like, we go out to a club.....I can put 7-8 red bull vodka's away easily.  No, I am not driving.  I am 43 years old and in all the years I have been drinking I have NEVER had a blackout until last Friday night.  WTF!  I was actually beginning to wonder if someone had drugged me, but now after searching the internet....I do believe that it was the adderall (adderrall) in combination with the alcohol.  I had 3 glasses of wine with a full dinner...appetizers/salad/entree and then we went to a club. I had 2 red bull vodkas and my husband said I was stumbling like 20 minutes later.  He said we should go.  I remember getting our coats and walking to the car.  The last thing I remember was talking to my husband in the car and my words were completely slurring and I noticed this and said "what the hell? when did I get so drunk that my words are slurring?" this has never happened.......GoodNight!  I remember nothing else until I woke up on the bathroom floor(thank God it's carpeted) and had no idea how I got there.  My husband said I was not acting myself in the car, but I did walk in the house by my self(do not remember) got undressed by myself(do not remember) had fun with him(do not remember) and then went into the bathroom(do not remember).  I have no idea how long I was in there, other than it was only 230A when I woke up so it could not have been that long.  Wow! This has to have been the scariest thing that has ever happened to me.  Both my husband and I were convinced that someone had drugged me because, frankly, I have drank a whole lot more and been way less drunk/affected, but after reading some stuff on here and another website ************.com on the effects of adderall (adderrall) and alcohol......I know that that is exactly why I blacked out.  Wow! I thank God I was with my husband and no more alcohol for me while I am on this drug.  

And one more thing, I have new empathy for those who have been drugged because as hard as I try, I cannot remember anything and I know that I was fortunate enough to be with my husband, but can easily put myself in the place of someone being drugged and then being taken advantage of because I had sex with my husband and have absolutely no recollection of it......So scary!!!

I hope this helps somebody out there.

[graemed]

Thank you alexaaquentin for sharing your story.
Blackouts are defiantly scary, it haunted me for 2-3 days till i re-traced my steps. Hopefully your story will stick with me and make me think next time.
Cheers.

[dominosarah]

How are you doing now?

[graemed]

Im good thanks. Hangover latest till the nexy day, not that bad and i stopped thinking about this when i found out i got back ok.