Again, before I start I want to say that this is my opinion, and not a true diagnosis in anyway. I am only trying to help by offering an opinion, based on the situation given and treating it as a hypothetical. Advice given should be taken as advice only and in no way a professional diagnosis or assessment.
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Jesseboy
It is difficult for me to say after only just noticing it if it is a true blackout or not. It very well could be "selective memory" - I just don't have enough information at this point to determine for certain.
Unfortunately, she had never even noticed that she had "blackouts" prior to New Year's eve. I would look at it as an isolated event, but I would rather error on the cautious side. Even on New Year's Eve, she didn't notice until I pointed it out, so it wouldn't surprise me in the least if it has happened before and she hasn't noticed.
|
If the blackout was a one time affair it may not be serious but it is something to definately pay attention to and somewhat look at why she had to drink so much.
Quote:
When she does drink, she drinks typically for about three to four hours at a stretch when she goes out with me, when she goes on vacation (about once a year) she drinks non-stop for a week. When she is with me, she'll typically have a total of about 6-7 1oz servings of alchohol if we are out for four hours. When she is on vacation, I couldn't even guess - from the stories she tells, it seems like she is drinking mixed drinks/shots from the moment she gets up until when she passes out...
I'll be curious as to see if you classify her as a binge drinker after you see how often she drinks and how much she drinks...
|
Binge drinkers are just that. When they drink they drink intil they get sick, pass out, drink as much and as fast as they can, and so on.
Her vacation stories could be her bragging, thinking it would impress you. If that is how she drinks while on vacation, then there maybe a problem and yes, I would definately look into the binge drinking and talk to her about it.
Quote:
|
Again, I honestly believe that she had no idea that she was blacking out until very recently...
|
Could be she didn't know until you showed her the problem. Again any time one truly has a blackout, it is a sign of something serious, could be the drinking, could be medical, could be both and the drinking added to it.
Quote:
Agreed, and I think most of the issue stems from self esteem related problems. I try and work with her on helping that....
Well, I can say with near certainty she isn't on any other drugs, with the exception of the occassional over the counter headache medicine, allergy medicine, or Midol. As far as head injuries go, the only one that I can really think of happened when she was very young and to my knowledge was checked out by a doctor at the time...
|
I didn't necessarily mean illegal drugs. As we live in a drug culture where doctors are more than willing to prescribe, and are paid to prescribe drugs for anything and everything, that was a possibility that should be checked. Many drugs on the market affect the liver in a negative way and alcohol, especially in short fast quantities could cause a reaction.
A great example is acetominophen, 1 acetominophen (Tylenol) and a drink can shut your liver down, it's very rare in that limited quantity, but, the 2 can have very adverse effects on the liver when in the system at the same time, regardless of amount.
Quote:
|
I'm not sure if this makes a difference or not, but she typically isn't vomiting, she just has the "spinning room" effect. She does normally spend the next few hours trying not to vomit, though...
|
Not reall much of a difference, alcohol is a poison the act of throwing it up is a way of the body to expel it, however, you also get double the effect of alcohol as some of it gets back into the system as it is coming up and out. (Not to sound gross.)
Quote:
|
I suppose we could arrange couseling (providing she's agreeable) but I'm not sure as to what for... Alchoholism? Just general counseling? Please clarify...
|
I think maybe couples counseling to work on the relationship, perhaps just her for the self esteem issues you say she has. Both of those would most likely expose a drinking issue. Or if you talk and she decides to look into the drinking a SASSI, MAST or similar tests could also suggest whether there is a true problem. (I would recommend the SASSI, it is a pretty good indicator and is the one most used in the profession. The MAST is pretty basic and is open for a lot more interprtation. But that's just me, I like the SASSI, TWEAK and Burns Depression/Anxiety tests, some people swear by MAST, AUDIT, URICA and CAGE and then there's the SOCRATES and RTCQ.... those 3 are usually used for people who are later into assessment)
Actually the MAST, CAGE, URICA, TWEAK and AUDIT is online and can be printed and taken at home. The SASSI because it is copyrighted can't be.
I'll edit for links to the tests.....
URICA =
http://www.uri.edu/research/cprc/Measures/urica.htm
MAST =
http://www.projectcork.org/clinical_...html/MAST.html
CAGE =
http://www.projectcork.org/clinical_...html/CAGE.html
AUDIT =
http://www.projectcork.org/clinical_...tml/AUDIT.html
TWEAK =
http://www.projectcork.org/clinical_...tml/TWEAK.html
For a quick idea the CAGE and TWEAK would probably help. There isn't much to them and they can show if more in depth tests like SASSI and MAST are needed.
Quote:
|
As far as going for a period of time without either of us drinking, I don't think that is going to be a problem - I imagine she'll be agreeable to that. However, and this is providing she doesn't have an issue with alchoholism, I'm looking for more of a life-long solution (a change in her behavior, a change in my attitude) than a temporary fix.
|
A period without alcohol and sticking to it, even if neither has a problem, is a good thing. It is also very telling if either of you cannot make it the set time.
Quote:
|
I appreciate your expert advice very much, and I cannot thank you enough for your help. I will be interested in what your diagnosis is - I understand that it is not given with certainty, as you only know what I tell you, but it will hopefully give me at least an idea as to where she stands. If you need any additional information, please let me know.
|
No problem, I just hope I helped. If you have anything that you want to talk about or ask feel free to IM me, it's not just my job, but my life, I live to help people, whether addicted, just problemed or just curious.
Good luck, it looks like you truly care about her and I wish you all the happiness in the world.