Alcohol, been sober for 10 monthes ok to drink in moderation? - Page 3

jguy3348 · #21 01-05-2005, 01:42 PM

Have treated people for 30 years. So I have a ton of thoughts. Simply, when a person takes a drug, any drug, that drug does what ever it pleases. You have no control as to what the drug does to you once ingested.
It can take control and it can hurt you. If you have experienced problems with drugs/alcohol, you are going to have problems. It does not have to be an all day every day thing. Drive drunk one time and kill someone, you will have life long problems! (Moderation is not an issue) Generally people experience, health, legal, family, work, friend problems. This sounds like a DWI to me? If drugs/alcohol have caused problems then it is a problem. You have already experience this otherwise you wouldn't have quit of for 10 months. Add in denial, and I do not mean the river, and loss of control, the destuctive behavior can go on for a long time and the damage can be severe.

The sure cure is don't do it no more!

You must want to drink and it is important, If it wasn't you just wouldn't be posting this question? Now why is this? Well here we go with treatment! Not today [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

If you quit stay QUIT!

The Man takes a drink, the drink takes a drink, the drink takes the man.

good luck

jguy3348

WSOPWinner2005 · #22 01-05-2005, 01:48 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I dont know if im an alcoholic, I've quit for 2 and 4 monthes at a time in the past, and then started up again. This 10 month stretch has been the longest sober time. My life has been dull, boring, and feeling down lately. Maybey a drink or 2 will make me feel better during the day, and maybey increase my life expectency. I noticed in the past one or 2 drinks doesnt hurt my poker game much, it might improve it, it might make me feel better in general during the day, it might improve my life, but I dont want it to get out of hand again. This is a serious post, and thanks for the responses.

[/ QUOTE ]

I am going on 27 now, although I have an addictive personality I see alot of myself in your comments. From 14-20 or so I had no problems and used purely recreationally.. Whatever was around mostly alchohol and weed.

When I turned 20 I noticed I would go on "binges" such as waking up in the morning hungover and still start planning the next night of drinking (that night) because the night before was the most fun I had in a while.. Repeating the process for days in a row.

I quit for a few months and every time it got worse. And I do mean EVERY TIME. This last round I went over a year and never went more than a few days without a 12 pack I can think of. January 1st was my first day of sobriety this time around and I plan on sticking to it.

Trust me on this much, it will keep getting worse as you sound like you are in the exact situation I was in. The last few days have been funeral related family events (and my family DRINKS) with kegs at everyone and even the 17/18 year olds drinking, you can imagine how tough that was.

Last night I had my first SERIOUS spurt of DT, and trust me it was not fun. I barely slept at all last night.

Do yourself a favor, don't even take so much as a sip again until you have at least undergone counseling for this and make sure you are not an alchoholic.

I too, always said "I can have just a couple drinks tonight" or "I'll just drink TONIGHT not tomorrow". Want to take a wild guess at how many times I was right?

mmbt0ne · #23 01-05-2005, 01:59 PM

Don't do it.

Post this in the psychology forum for some more professional reasons why.

CLC · #24 01-05-2005, 02:19 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I've read on the internet that alcohol is good for you in moderation, about 1-3 drinks per day. I'm thinking about trying that. Is this ok?

[/ QUOTE ]

Good for your health???? --- I DON'T THINK SO!!!!

[ QUOTE ]
Will it hurt my game?

[/ QUOTE ]

Don't know, that depends on how the alcohol affects you. I seriously DO NOT think it would help you game!

[ QUOTE ]
Will it F*ck up my life again?

[/ QUOTE ]

ALMOST CERTAINLY. If you had problems before, you are likely to travel there again.

Having said all this, I too have had similar problems in the past with alcohol. I have not been able to quit, but I have reduced the amount consumed by 80-90%. I am happier, my wife is happyier, and that makes me happier still. I am not against alcohol but it MUST be in the realm of reason.

steamboatin · #25 01-05-2005, 03:20 PM

When you get really thirsty for a beer, get some grapefruit juice. I don't know if it is the acid or some kind of protein that helps with the beer thirst.

pzhon · #26 01-05-2005, 03:42 PM

If you are serious, your question suggests that you have deeper problems than just the decision of whether to start drinking again. Your judgement must be skewed to ask it as a serious question. The answer should be obvious to you: That's not close to a good enough reason to start drinking again.

Since this is a poker site, let us think of the risk/reward tradeoff.

[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]What is the probability you will keep your drinking under control? Put a number on it. My guess is that you will come up with a number between 20% and 80%.

[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]What is the value of the benefit in case you control your drinking and drink the right sorts of drinks in the right quantities? My guess is that you should come up with a value in the thousands or tens of thousands. After all, how long would you be willing to stay in the gym for the same benefit? How much would you pay for a pill with the same benefit?

[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]What is the cost if you fail to control your drinking, ruin your health, and lose control of your life? My guess is that you should come up with a value in the hundreds of thousands or millions.

For you, drinking is clearly -EV.

By the way, it will mess up your poker game, too.

JudoGirl · #27 01-05-2005, 03:49 PM

you should direct this question to your sponsor. don't have one? then call your local AA chapter and get one!

jguy3348 · #28 01-05-2005, 04:49 PM

This post is on Poker Theory also? There has been 440 viewers to this thread in a couple of hours. We are not even talking poker!! Now this says something about addiction and poker players. Let us draw our own conclusions.

Doc JS · #29 01-05-2005, 06:06 PM

[ QUOTE ]
What I think you are refering to is the old "Glass of wine with dinner" debate. Drink Water!!!

[/ QUOTE ]

Big Steve,

There is very good data to show that one four once glass of red wine does raise HDL (the good cholesterol).

Now, I don't think the guy that started this thread should drink. Nor do I think any alcoholic should try to drink in moderation. They're only kidding themselves. But if you need to raise your HDL, I frequently suggest the four onces of red wine to my patients...

Doc JS

Doc JS · #30 01-05-2005, 06:23 PM

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I dont know if im an alcoholic.

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I don't KNOW if you are or not...but as a practicing physician for the past twenty years, I STRONGLY SUSPECT THAT YOU ARE!!!

A couple of suggestons that have already been given are excellent and I strongly suggest you follow them:
1. Don't drink
2. Join AA

Good luck!

Doc JS