Answered questions(17)
Women in Sobriety
I was just on the women for sobriety website. Some of their steps are: I have a life-threatening problem that once had me. I now take charge of my life and my disease. I accept the responsibility. Problems bother me only to the degree I permit them to. I now better understand my problems and do not permit problems to overwhelm me. I am what I think. I am a capable, competent, caring, compassionate woman. Happiness is a habit I will develop. Happiness is created, not waited for…this is very different from the 12 steps program and that appeals to me. I am a long time heavy drinker. I have been to AA meetings before. Are you familiar with women for sobriety? Is this an effective program to get involved with?
Read answer →Alcoholism: It's a Brain Disease!
Most nights my I wake up at 3 or 4 in the morning. I feel really anxious and shitty and my mouth feels like Velcro. Sometimes I am in my bed next to my wife still in my work clothes and sometimes I am on the coach or on the floor. Every night I go through this same painful realization about the booze I drank last night and I try to piece together what I did and I feel such self loathing it’s hard to explain. It hurts so much. It is the worst feeling I know. Why isn’t this enough to keep me from getting drunk again the next night? I hate myself. I do not understand.
Read answer →How much is too much?
How much is too much? My husband drinks a significant amount each day, and has admitted to as much as 15-30 cans of beer. Typically i think it's a minimum of 10 up to 15. How much longer can it last until he has some serious health issues? He's probably been doing this routine for as much as a year. Prior to that it was similar, but not as high of a daily number.
Read answer →Late Stage Alcoholism
My dad is an alcoholic. He is only 68 but he has osteoporosis from drinking and he broke his hip and when he fell down the front steps one some ice. He is not too sharp from all the years of drinking but he doesn’t need nursing care. Is his alcoholism going to be a problem if he moves into a senior’s living home? One of those places that provides meals and services but no nursing care? He is not a violent drunk or anything like that but he will fall asleep in the lounge and pee on the sofa, for example. I don’t know what to do with him.
Read answer →Nyquil and recovery
Should recovering alcoholics use nyquil? There is something in that medicine that makes me want to go out and get loaded and it just feels a little too nice...it almost makes me want to get sick so I can have a little more.
Read answer →Healthy Drinking
If drinking alcohol kills neurons in the brain is there any such thing as healthy drinking? If a person drinks 2 glasses of wine a day for 40 years that adds up to almost 30 000 alcoholic drinks by the time a person is 60, assuming they started drinking alcohol at around 20 years old. Wouldn’t having 30 000 alcoholic drinks be pretty bad for your brain by the time you got to the age at which you might start to have to worry about dementia and Alzheimers?
Read answer →Drinking and memory problems
My husband has been a heavy drinker for his whole life but has always been good at his job. He is in sales and there is a lot of wineing and dining and socializing with clients and unlike most people he is actually expected to go and get drunk at work, if that is what the client wants (not that my husband has much of a problem with this) I do not think he is an alcoholic but he is very dug into his set ways and he does drink every day. He is always good to me and he is always very responsible though so his drinking has never really been a major issue in our marriage. Lately though, I have noticed he is having lapses in his memory. He forgets people names, which he never used to do and he seems to sometimes have difficulty keeping his train of thought while talking. Could the drinking be causing his forgetfulness and if he stops drinking will his memory come back to normal?
Read answer →Life seeming worse during abstinence
I thought everything was supposed too get better when I got sober. I have not had a drink in 87 days and now all that I have is being able to see clearly just how bad things are in my life and with my family and not having anything to take the edge off of bad feelings at the end of the day…
Read answer →Genetic link makes you 4X at more risk
Both my mom and dad are alcoholics. I swore I would never drink alcohol or be like them but now that I am away from home and living with some friends I find that I enjoy a few beers every once and a while. I know that alcoholism is a genetic disease though so if my parents have it I will also probably get it. Is this true? Is it safe for me to drink alcohol occasionally?
Read answer →Which is better?
Lets say a man is going to have 10 drinks in a 24 hour day. Is it better for that person to have 10 drinks at night and then wake up hungover and recover until the evening when they start again or is it better for the person to have a drink starting right from the coffee in the morning and then slowly all day long so they keep their blood alcohol level low and steady rather than crashing up and down. Someone I care about does this but they do not believe they have a problem because they never get drunk and the damage to the body comes from drinking enough at once to get drunk.
Read answer →Artistic needs as a reason for substance use
What do you say to someone who is becoming an alcoholic that is a musician and a poet and writer and who is really talented who claims that they need drinking and drugs as part of their creative process and that most great artists use substances to uncork the mind....his words not mine? It is my brother and he idealizes this tortured artist persona but I think it is more like he needs to drink so he uses his art as a way to do that. He is very talented but he is not making a living with it. He lives with my parents and he is 32.
Read answer →Minimizing Effects of Alcohol
Assuming a person is not willing to stop drinking or even reduce their drinking by much. Is there any harm reduction techniques that they can do to minimize the physical and mental damage that is associated with alcoholism. IE: diet or nutrition strategies, certain supplements or medications that cleanse the liver etc. etc.
Read answer →What do blackouts mean?
I have been drinking on the weekends for 15 years. I am 32 now. All of a sudden, just over the last few months, I am starting to have blackouts where I don’t remember anything for hours of time from when I was drunk. I know this is happens to people but why its just starting to happen to me now? I am not drinking any more or any differently than I used to but now it is affecting me in such a different way. Does this mean I am becoming an alcoholic? I almost never drink more than a beer or 2 during the week. On weekends I will have about a 12 pack both nights.
Read answer →Alcoholic Shuffle
My uncle is an alcoholic. He has started to walk sort of funny, even when he is not overly drunk (he is always at least a little bit drunk). He takes these short steps and he is kind of leaned over sideways. It’s sort of like he was walking on a boat. My aunt has been enabling him for the past 30 years and she says it’s just because he is getting older. She is blind to the truth. He will never stop drinking. Assuming that the alcohol is causing this, is there anything other than stopping drinking that can help him? He is a really nice guy and it is hard to see him in such rough shape.
Read answer →Daddy's Disease
Dear Friend, I am a psychotherapist in South Jersey. Two years ago one of my clients in recovery struggled with how to explain alcoholism to his young daughter. He was concerned that she would hear from neighbors and family members that Daddy was a "drunk". After an unsuccessful search for the perfect children's book to help him and his daughter he asked me to write one. "Daddy's Disease" is the result. “Tommy doesn’t know why his father doesn’t show up for dinners, or soccer games or why he acts funny sometimes. Tommy thinks it’s because his father doesn’t want to be with him, that he hasn’t been the best boy he can be, that he should try harder. But, Mommy tells Tommy that Daddy has a disease called “alcoholism”. She helps Tommy, and his faithful dog Murphy, understand what this disease is and how it affects Daddy, and the whole family. She teaches Tommy that he is not responsible for Daddy’s behavior and that gives Tommy the peace he needs to foster a healthy childhood.” In an easily understood, beautifully illustrated style, "Daddy's Disease" helps families to navigate the difficult waters of alcoholism. It is my hope that you will consider making this information available for the many children and adults who have been struggling with this devastating disease. Please feel free to contact me at 856-296-3775 with any questions. I thank you for your time and consideration and for all the good work you do. Best, Carolyn Hannan Bell - www.alcoholismhurtskids.com
Read answer →Alcohol problem?
My crew go out for beers most day after clocking out. Just a couple of beers we are not getting wasted. I think about those beers a lot like right from after lunch break I am dreaming about them and I think about them all day. Apparently this is not normal and this is a sign of alcoholism. I do not get drunk very often but I drink every day and I drink about 30 to 40 beers in an average week. All my friends drink more than I do but I think most are alkies. Does this sound like an alcohol problem?
Read answer →Cirrhosis risk
I never knew you could get chirrhosis from being overweight. I am about 300 pounds and I drink on the weekends with friends. I am 36 and I have been drinking like this since high school. I usually have about 15 or 20 beers a weekend. Should I be worried about chirrhosis?
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