Health Risks and Drinking

[Farmrush]

Hello. I thought this was the most appropriate place to put this. If there is a more suitable forum, please feel free to move this, or direct me there.

Backstory: I am currently 22, almost 23. I started drinking when I was around 16-17. It started out as only the weekends, but things progressed from there as I ran into problems (unrelated to drinking), which fueled my consumption. This eventually culminated in an incident where I was charged with a DWI (driving while impaired), although I was not actually charged with this. Anyway, this caused me to immediately cease my consumption for a period of several months. Gradually, I began drinking again, although my binges were increasingly far apart. Now, I am in university. I don't want to jeopardize my grades, so I abstain from alcohol during my time at school (weekdays, and weekends). I drank at a friend's party before I left for school, and about a month after that, still before school, drank at my grandparent's anniversary. I have since had one beer in four months. Dependency is not really an issue, and I can exert self-control if necessary. Before, I had trouble stopping at three, four, five, twelves drinks; however, this is not longer really a problem for me and I can, and have, stopped easily.

My questions are:

1) Is it possible that I caused irreparable damage during my youth? I drank quite heavily, although infrequently for the most part. There are several periods where I wouldn't drink for months.

2) I am still interested in drinking, although school takes priority and I am concerned about potential health risks. The obvious answer would be just to not drink, however I still enjoy the taste, effects, and atmosphere around my beers! Would binging (4-7) beers, once per YEAR, have affect my health negatively in the long run?

3) In addition to the previous question, would having a casual beer (one a month?) affect my health negatively in the long run?

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Thank you for your answers. I expect some lectures on alcoholism, however please keep in mind that I no longer drink very often, nor do I drink in huge quantities. And, I haven't had any trouble as the direct result of alcohol since the aforementioned DWI (~2 years ago). Alcohol is no longer a problem in my life, but I would like to know whether it is safe to continue extremely occasional drinking.

[Westguy1003]

Alcoholism is not about how much you drink or how often you drink. It's about when you continue to drink despite the negative consequences your drinking creates. There are heavy drinkers who are not alcoholics and there are people who are light drinkers who are. It's not about how much or how often, although heavy drinking is never a good thing for your health and neither is binge drinking.

If you can drink, get a buzz going on, but not drink until you pass out, throw up, or make bad decisions, then by all means enjoy alcohol responsibly. But be honest with yourself. Can you really do that? Or are you trying to convince yourself that you can?

It's a little unlikely that you caused yourself any irreprable harm but it's not impossible so a visit to the doctor would definitely be in order for you to get checked out. Be honest with him/her about your concerns and they can run the appropriate tests to see where you're at physically.

College is definitely a time for experimenting with the drink but it's not a requirement. Parties are fun but you are there to learn first and party later. I think it's a good idea to focus on your studies before anyhing else but certainly don't neglect the social aspect of college. If you can enjoy the parties and the drinking without the negative consequences then just be responsible and safe about it.

But I'm not telling you it's "okay" to drink, understand. I'm saying you have to find out for yourself and be honest with yourself about what your limitations and behaviors are. If you find yourself drinking more frequently, drinking when you should be studying, or neglecting your classes then yes, you certainly shoudl consider the fact that you may have a problem with drinking.

But for now you should have some medical tests to check your health and do some real soul searching about your relationship with alcohol. One thing we DO like to say here, and it's not 100% accurate for all people but it's an indicator is: A person who is not an alcoholic does not wonder if they have a problem. It's just not a thought they have.

I can't know what's in your mind or heart but you DID come onto an alcoholism forum looking for guidance. Which means you took the time to seek out a location you thought would be able to help guide you. And another bad sign is asking "how much is too much? a few beers a year? a month?" There's no real answer to that question. There's no magic number of drinks that, if you go over, you start doing harm.

One thing IS certain though, there is no upside to heavy drinking and binge drinking. You WILL suffer health problems down the road if you start drinking heavily for an extended period of time. It may takes months, years, or decades, but you WILL do damage to your body. Over time heavy drinking will negatively impact every major organ in your body: heart, brain, kidneys, liver, skin, pancreas, etc.

I say this not to scare you or to admonish you because trust me, everyone on this board knows what I'm talking about, but rather to give you some perspective on things. Drinking is cetainly fun, we all enjoyed it at one time or another.

But be honest with yourself about your relationship with alcohol and what you can and cannot handle. The doctor is a good place to start.

[Jacker]

I can't give you permission to drink or not to drink.  Normal drinkers drink one or two and then stop.  I'm not naive though- I realize that many college kids cut loose and have a few extra on the weekends.  In my view, if you were to go to a Friday night party and drink yourself to a pleasant buzz, it's not the end of the world.  But that does not mean drinking until you black-out, throw up, or get a DUI.

Drink slow, eat some food while you do it.  If you find that you're getting completely blasted, then you may have deeper issues though,

In terms of physical damage, no one can say for sure.  But one really bad night can really mess you up.  This can include things like alcohol poisoning.  One time in college, I drank a fifth of vodka and I was only 140 lbs. I think I'm lucky I didn't die (and I was not alcohol dependent at that time).  Just a good example of where you can go over the line.  

[Punkinhead75]

Hi Farmrush,

One beer a month doesn't sound like anything to worry about.  I've heard doctors say that a glass of wine a day is actually good, provided the person isn't alcoholic.  As far as any real facts and figures I don't have any.  Heck, I don't even have any personal experience with only having one a month.  Thanks for making me think about that, I don't think I looked at it that way before. LOL!!!  Keep your priorities in order.  It sounds like you are doing ok. Best of luck with school.

[ibizan]

i don't think any of us regular posters here give lectures on alcoholism......we are in recovery and our drinking and drug use started early and progressed thruout the years. what advice ppl will give u is factual and from their own experience.