Cutting way back on wine consumption

[Anonymous]

I am an alcoholic, in recovery. I was drinking a bottle a night, and no matter what I did to try to control my drinking, or cut back, nothing worked. So I was powerless over it. OP, if you can try cutting back and do it successfully - then you are not dependent. However, if you cannot manage it through willpower alone, then it might be a situation that calls for help. Good luck. There are many others out there like myself who have found the support and relief that we've needed.

[Anonymous]

How many glasses of wine are there in a bottle? If the OP and others drink about 3-4 glasses a night is this a bottle a night? I am asking because I am a non-drinker and my husband often drinks a bottle of red a night, which I am not happy about. He says it's only about 3 glasses - is this true?? Probably not!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How many glasses of wine are there in a bottle? If the OP and others drink about 3-4 glasses a night is this a bottle a night? I am asking because I am a non-drinker and my husband often drinks a bottle of red a night, which I am not happy about. He says it's only about 3 glasses - is this true?? Probably not!

Probably true, depends on the size of your wine glass.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How many glasses of wine are there in a bottle? If the OP and others drink about 3-4 glasses a night is this a bottle a night? I am asking because I am a non-drinker and my husband often drinks a bottle of red a night, which I am not happy about. He says it's only about 3 glasses - is this true?? Probably not!

Restaurants count on getting 4-6 glasses a bottle. It used to be six, but portions are getting bigger.

[Anonymous]

Thanks 18:36 & 18:59.

[Anonymous]

I gave up all alcohol for Lent and I feel freaking amazing. I was drinking 1/2 a bottle of wine a night 5 nights a week and frankly, getting drunk on weekends at social gatherings. What has happened has been interesting. The first few days I missed the wine and felt anxious not having my glass while cooking dinner.

After that, I started to see the great effects. I actually sleep all night. For so long I thought I had "insomnia", but it was just the alcohol. My weight has dropped about 2 lbs. so far. Not a ton, but I am now thinner than I was before I got pg with my first child. I've been trying to get to this weight for years. Also, my complexion has cleared up and my eyes no longer look *as* puffy. I never have headaches in the morning and am so much more loving at breakfast time (I think even one glass of wine can give me a headache).

Good luck, try a cleanse and see what the effects are. I may stop drinking forever!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am concerned about my wine consumption which can range from 2-4 glasses over a 4 hour period every night. I usually pour my first glass around 5-6 and one every hour until 9 and then I am really tired and just fall asleep only to not sleep well. I need to stop the wine to sleep better, be healthier, and lose some weight, be more motivated.

Anyone else tried to do the same with success? I need ideas, and not go to AA. I don't think I am an alcoholic, but I think I have a habit and am bored at home as a SAHM and the evenings are hard for me as I do it all, my husband is gone a lot for work.

Thanks everyone.

You've got a problem with alcohol and could not pass a breathilizer test. This means that you are too drunk to take care of your children. Seek help and stop drinking immediately.

I think this is a bit of an over-reaction. I am tall and athletic so I metabolize quite a bit easily. One drink an hour or so is metabolized by someone like me. I rarely feel buzzed, just a more relaxed.

Take a driving test just to see how impaired your driving skills and your reflexes are after consuming this much wine I don't care if you are the Jollly Green Giant.

[Anonymous]

I hate this "I am tall and athletic" shit. So the football players on college campuses that we all knew...what is their story? They are huge and they got fucking SHIT FACED. Why? They are strong and muscle-y....

Being TALL has nothing to do with metabolizing alcohol. It is like having red hair and saying you can drink more.

People build a tolerance on their way to dependence. The body can handle more and more alcohol (usually) and it may take you longer to get blotto, but you are NOT sober. NOT NOT NOT sober. You just have to drink more than a normal person to get that "happy buzz". It is something to worry, NOT be proud of.

I don't give a shit if you drink yourself into a stupor every night while watching Bravo by yourself, but don't give us some "tall and athletic" shit. So 80's.

[Anonymous]

11:01 -- Your problem may be that you told your doctor. Your doctor probably wrote in your records. Your insurance co. probably has access to those records. Any illness you try to claim in the future could be denied because it's "related to excess alcohol consumption." Beware what you share with your doctor.

[Anonymous]

You ladies sound like my mom. She is not an alcoholic in the textbook sense, but she is definitely habituated to drinking red wine or beer most nights, and drinking more than she should.

Even though she wasn't a stumbling mess or anything, it REALLY affected my relationship with her and my perception of her. It still does, no matter how wonderful she is in other respects. I have been embarrased by her and for her. This kind of drinking, however "social" or benign it seems, creates insecurities and resentments in children. And that's if you are lucky. In other families, children end up drinking or doing drugs at a very early age because they perceive it as a normal (they focus on what their parents DO, not what their parents say or tell them not to do).

I don't have an addictive personality so honestly I can't understand my mom, but I am sympathetic. Still, I have very little respect for her in that sense because she clearly lacks discipline or self-respect when she is basically self-medicating boredom through booze combined with phone calls, etc.

Please, for your own health, your marriage, and most especially your children's happiness and your relationship with them, get your sh*t under control. You owe yourself and everyone else more than what you are describing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You ladies sound like my mom. She is not an alcoholic in the textbook sense, but she is definitely habituated to drinking red wine or beer most nights, and drinking more than she should.

Even though she wasn't a stumbling mess or anything, it REALLY affected my relationship with her and my perception of her. It still does, no matter how wonderful she is in other respects. I have been embarrased by her and for her. This kind of drinking, however "social" or benign it seems, creates insecurities and resentments in children. And that's if you are lucky. In other families, children end up drinking or doing drugs at a very early age because they perceive it as a normal (they focus on what their parents DO, not what their parents say or tell them not to do).

I don't have an addictive personality so honestly I can't understand my mom, but I am sympathetic. Still, I have very little respect for her in that sense because she clearly lacks discipline or self-respect when she is basically self-medicating boredom through booze combined with phone calls, etc.

Please, for your own health, your marriage, and most especially your children's happiness and your relationship with them, get your sh*t under control. You owe yourself and everyone else more than what you are describing.

Respectfully, most of the PPs are talking about a few glasses of wine over many hours. They're probably not technically drunk, and they certainly aren't making fools of themselves. It's very different from the picture you're painting of your mother.

How much did she drink? More importantly, what exactly did she do to embarrass you?

[Anonymous]

I had a friend in college who was on his way to alcoholism, and it seemed to me the thing that distinguished him was that he would empty a bottle while he was alone. I made it a rule that I would never drink while I was alone. I'll share wine or drinks with friends, or my spouse, but never when I'm just sitting by myself.

I actually drink very little now because I used to have a job where I had to go to receptions where alcohol flowed freely, and I found that after even just one glass of wine I would be so tired all I could do was go home and vegetate. After I quite drinking wine at these events, I found I could get home and still get a couple of hours of stuff done around the house. Now when I do drink, I feel so crappy, I quickly realize why I have mostly stopped.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:11:01 -- Your problem may be that you told your doctor. Your doctor probably wrote in your records. Your insurance co. probably has access to those records. Any illness you try to claim in the future could be denied because it's "related to excess alcohol consumption." Beware what you share with your doctor.

You're fucking paranoid.

[Anonymous]

OP, I recently cut back on my drinking by staying more hydrated.

Every time my kids ask me to give them a drink, I first fill a glass of water for me and drink it. I was amazed at how this helped me cut back how much (beer) I was drinking at night.

I also think people have a knee jerk reaction to the idea that people who drink more than a glass of alcohol a night must be addicted.

I think if you are drinking a lot (as I was) it is usually in response to something. You can cut it out cold turkey but if you don't address the reason you were drinking, you will eventually go back to it.

In my case, a big reason was just dehydration and habit. I was very thirsty by the end of the day, there was a cold beer in the fridge, I'd drink it quickly. Then another!

By adding more water, that changed that particular dynamic.

In your case, finding something to address your boredom would be a good solution.

[Anonymous]

At this early stage most alcoholics wouldn't admit they have a problem.

To test whether or not you have an addiction try to stop drinking for a month. And after you realize you can't then you have a big problem.