Am I drinking seriously too much?
 

I mean, I know I am drinking too much, but is the amount I drink in a normal week likely to cause any health problems (other than it makes me fat)?

In the week - maybe six cans (500 ml) of lager, 2 evenings out of 4

Friday Night - 7 pints of stella artois

Saturday - 6 pints of guiness, 4 litres of cider

Sunday - 4 litres of cider

I mean, that was this week, and to be honest, I know it is too much, but that isnt untypical.

yeah, definitely too much.

it will probably cause longterm liver/kidney damage. the weight-gain that must accompany that will also be very hard on your heart.

It's too much. Not outrageous like some people I have known, but it is adding too much extra stress on your body. Not only the liver/kidney damage like Irate mentioned, but you will also increasingly become more fatigued during school/work as time goes on.

Also, it could easily get out of hand and a major addiction can result. You may only be taking in that much alcohol a week, but out of nowhere you will find yourself consuming more and more.

the amount your drinking would be considered "binge" drinking and a definate problem. if you can cut back to 1 or 2 a night, and then only one night of heavy drinking, that would be a lot better for you.

You know <b> Strange Famous</b>, after reading this thread and the "Question to all females" thread on Tilted Sexuality, you may want to just totally stop drinking for a while. I think you might just want to consider putting the bottle away until you make yourself happy again. Going on the wagon for a while might be the first step you need. Start up again later, but take some time away from it.

If I have read too much into these two posts, I'm sorry.

This stuff is from a recent article on drinking.

- Two alcoholic drinks a day can cut your coronary-heart-disease risk by 24.7% according to the 2001 UK study 'Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.'

- Exceeding healthy drinking guidelines is a major cause of heart disease.

- A study from Finland found that having a few glasses of beer a day reduced the odds of kidney stones developing by 40%.

- Binge drinking leaves a toxin called "acetaldehyde" in your liver. Your kidneys flush the stuff out of your system, even drawing fluid from your brain lining to do this. This causes excessive urination, resulting in short-term dehydration, and long term kidney failure.

- Over-drinking will damage liver tissue and lead to cirrhosis.

- Excessive drinking can suppress the testicular cells that produce testosterone and lead to shrunken testicles and deformed sperm growth.

The message is basically drink in moderation or you open yourself to health risks.

'Way too much. I would second hannukah harry, except that I would allow two pints a night _on the average._ If you want to drink four on Saturday, that means you cut back to one on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Drinking is a habit, like a lot of other things. Unless you've got a seriously genetic issue about alcohol, t's something people learn to do when they're bored. It's a reflex. You have to learn to substitute other thing -- although I wouldn't suggest cigarettes!

"Saturday - 6 pints of guiness, 4 litres of cider"

That would be too much even if it was just water dude ;) How can you fit it all in?

yeah, I'll agree with everyone else. That much booze will do damage.

No, I think the connection between being too fat and drinking 20 odd pints of alcohol every weak is very obvious and relevant. Thats what annoys me so much, its like I work hard all week and am relatively good, then come friday night I just cant seem to stop myself going on my usual 3 day drinking binge, and undoing any good I did.

Mmmmm cider....

And yeah, that might be a bit too much...

Yeah, definately too much. If you can bring the number of drinks down alot lower, that will help you so much in the long run, I promise.

I don't mean to worry you, but it looks as if you have a drinking problem. I think you might realize this, however, due to the fact you created this thread. Take care of this now before it gets worse. Alcoholism is a nasty thing bro, and you certainly don't want to experience it because it is a life long illness.

I second what you said Harshaw, I was thinking the EXACT same thing. That is why I posted so serious on my above post.

I'd definitely lay off too. You'd be surprised how many fun things you can do on the weekends without drinking!

<----on the wagon for 3 weeks now. Nothing wrong with not drinking. Set a date, a duration and set a drop the booze date. Then stick to it. Exercise instead of drinking. Without all those carbs you might lose some weight and feel better too. You might even see your mental health improve, thinking clearer, focusing better.

Try it. Your body will thank you.

Try exploring some aspect of your spirituality. I'm not lecturing you here and I'm not going to say one way is right and another is wrong, but speaking from personal experience, putting one's mind in those sort of places helps to tame these sort of problems.

I drank that much consistently for about six years. I was one fucked up individual by the end of it. I still drink, and sometimes even drink to excess, but not consistently like that any more. If nothing else, it will pull your moods down when you're not drinking. If I were you, I'd dry out for a month, and then make an effort to not drink more than a litre on a weeknight (and whatever you like Saturday or Sunday).

Or not. It's good that you're even concerned. Eventually, that will slow you down some. Be Well.