I just recently had to quit most drinking. I found out last october that I have celiac disease, which is gluten intolerance. It's found in grains...you know, wheat, barley, etc. So all beer, and all malt drinks are gone. I can still drink a lot of hard liquors/mixed drinks, but I don't even really care for those really, except some of the desert coffee type drinks. So, unless one of you can suggest me a *decent* rice beer, I'm screwed. If any of you decides to start brewing brown rice beers, you have a market in florida!

I stopped drinking a pretty long time ago, mebbe ten years? I cant remember. Like many others here, I was drinking too much, was tired of feeling ill, and realized that any fun was more than balanced out by the negative health consequences of my continued imbibing. So I just stopped, and I havent had a drink since, with the exception of one glass of champagne on NY Eve 2000.

I dont miss it, but the first coupla weeks were a little tough. In fact, I had to change the way I drove home so I didnt pass by my usual haunts or the usual liquor stores I would stop at. But once I got used to the idea of myself as a non-drinker, it took hold and I never looked back. I dont miss it at all, and regularly go out with drinking friends and dont even feel the slightest temptation to join in.

I agree with Steve's comment re: wishing I sometimes was more sociable/funny like my drinking friends, but I dont let it bother me too much. I remember what it was like back when I was drinking, and how I never woulda noticed another's mild awkwardness once I was a few drinks in, and that thought keeps me relaxed enough.

So yeah, not drinking is a fine thing to do, and not really a struggle provided your genes have been kind to you. Good luck.

Whether or not i have a drinking problem is something i spend a lot of time thinking about. I realize that a logical response to the previous sentence would be "if you're spending so much time thinking about whether or not you're a drunk....you are, pal" Well, i'm still not sure.

There have been large chunks of times in my life, years even, where i rarely touched alcohol. Then there are the times where i go for long periods of time where i often (1-3 times a week) get drunk. Generally i don't stop at the pleasant buzz. I keep plowing through until i'm slurring my speech & my motor skills are in the crapper. I've spent the better part of the last few years like that.

Like tmidgett, i've never had a bad time whilst drinking...that i can recall. I've done some stupid stuff certainly, mostly sleeping with women i meet in bars that i would have slept with 13 beers ago. There's not a drastic personality change for the worse with me. I'm not a mean or obnoxious drunk. I tend to just be a bit goofier & outgoing. I don't particularly like the hangovers, but they actually give me the incentive to go to the gym & sweat it out of my system (my apologies to whatever poor bastard has to be on the treadmill next to me).

Lately i've been able to do something i've never been able to do before, which is have 1 or 2 beers & call it a night. Sometimes i find myself fighting the urge to get totally annihilated, but i think about the hangover i'll have the next day and that seems to kill the urge. I still get annihilated but it's only about once a month nowadays.

I don't know, i'm not sure if i'm looking for answers or i'm just trying to justify my drinking. I guess i don't really feel comfortable discussing it with anyone and i'm trying to work it out by typing out anonymously on the internet.

joshsolberg wrote:Awright, it's on then. I'm now in the process of subtly telling coworkers/friends/bandmates: "I gonna be pretty much an asshole for the next few days, so you might wanna steer clear of me."

Good call.

I drink. I like drinking. I don't obsess about it. I don't have a drinking problem. I have a drinking solution. I could not fathom a 4th of July without copious amounts of alcohol and explosives, nor could I imagine fishing without a couple of beers. I think alcohol is the icing on the cake of life. There is no mental or physical dependency on alcohol. Therefore, it's not a necessity just a welcome addition to certain leisure activities and after work (stress) relief. Take this statement however you want. Cheers.

I have been sober since mid-November. Not so much for my own sake or safety but because the law actually enforces certain things. Since I have almost 3 months of clear thinking under my belt it seems like this was the law actually working to my benefit.
The run down:
1st DWI
Stopped drinking for about a week and half before I limited myself to one drink. This did not work at all.
2nd DWI
1st stint in rehab
Violated probation because I thought I could get away with it
Numerous drunk rants that many of you have read
2 days in jail
2nd stint in rehab

My brain, she functions now like a well oiled machine. Whether or not that machine makes or does anything worthwhile is another story. It has given me an edge at the poker table though. I can now remember why my wallet is full and not empty the next morning.
I call that an edge.

Angry_Dragon wrote:I have been sober since mid-November.
<snip>
My brain, she functions now like a well oiled machine. Whether or not that machine makes or does anything worthwhile is another story. It has given me an edge at the poker table though. I can now remember why my wallet is full and not empty the next morning.
I call that an edge.

A big hearty "hell yeah!" to Dragon. This post of yours? It made me feel very happy.

well done, Chris_Dragon!


regards,


Faiz

Being Irish, drinking was introduced to me pretty early, but I didn't really do any truly hardcore binging until I came to the states. Then, it was 1999 and working for a software company meant lots of parties, booze aplenty and money to waste on it.

My favourite tipple at the time was vodka and red bull. I gave it up after waking up at 7am with my heart pounding so hard that I thought it would explode.

It's funny, I've gotten very bored with drinking heavily - the lack of self-control that it imposes on me just isn't very appealing anymore. When I was 23 I loved falling all over the streets of Boston and leaving a trail of puke to my apartment, but now it's just a pain in the arse to have it happen.

Now, the only time I really get drunk is when I visit home. A lot of my old work colleagues there seem stuck in a timewarp and are drinking like it's 1999 (hehe - I just realized how different that phrase is now compared to a decade ago

i had to forcely quit drinking because i've been fined for drunk-driving on the night of New Year's Eve.
in six months time i'll have to undergo a blood test. this is to detect the amount of GPT,GOT and GMM (all liver aenzimas) in my blood, and if these are found to be higher than average i could face the possibility of not driving for one year or more. and i'd definitely lose my driving license.

basically i'm drinking water for six months.
i'm not happy at the prospect but i will oblige.