What do you think about this amount of drink taken?

LegacyUser · 10-08-2007 01:02PM #1

Hi,
I was out last night and had a great night. I had 3 pints and 4 red bulls with vodka and a shot or two of something.

I actually feel grand enough now today. This is usually what I would drink now on a night out. Sometimes I might start with a naggan of vodka and then have a few more vodkas as the night goes on.

Is this normal really? It's certainly normal in my age to drink that much. It's impossible not to really join in because everyone will be doing rounds. You can't just sit and the sidelines and anyways I'm often the one that initiates a new round. It's great fun and I really enjoy it. I know in two or three years though that I will calm down and focus on my health more.

But what do you guys think about going out and drinking this and smoking twenty fags on top of it. I'd love to give up the fags aswell.

trilo · 10-08-2007 02:48PM

Many people go out and don't drink.
It's hard but ya know it ain't too bad. I've done it myself a few nights as i was driving and i still ahd a great time.

Binge drinking is fairly common in Ireland along with Binge smoking. Shur i do it myself as well.

if you want to cut down you can do it, if you want to quit fags, ya can do that too. You just need to amke the committment and have the support of the people you go out with.

Anyway shur most of us drank on a night out like drink was water, when we were younger. Ya calm down as you get older i think.

and quit buying those rounds if your the one always initating it. Ya don't need to go amd all the time on a night out.

meglome · 10-08-2007 02:55PM

I can be a bit of a drinker myself at times although I've never smoked. That isn't really that much alcohol by Irish standards.
My advice
1. Give up the cigs (easily said)
2. Don't drink at all more than 3 days a week.
3. A good session no more than 2 days a week.
4. If the alcohol is affecting your life or work, cut back.

I personally don't go out much drinking any more but I still enjoy a good session.

missmatty · 10-08-2007 03:01PM

Just learning to drive at the mo, so was dessie for my mum and dad sunday night, first time in years out that i was sober and it was grand. Will do it more often! Plus funny seeing the olds enjoying themselves getting slightly sozzled

Am a smoker too but am cutting down gradually, generally don't smoke in work and try to keep it to when I'm out. I only really enjoy one after a red wine anyway.

Good luck, it's doable. Oh, and as i've found out, the older you get the more your liver aches the next day. Seriously.

BigCityBanker · 10-08-2007 03:23PM

I think you might have a problem. Have you considered speaking to somebody about it? A close friend? A family member? Doctor? Hopefully this thread will be the step that you required to help you begin the battle with you demons. I wish you good luck. You might find this link useful.

slemons · 10-08-2007 03:26PM

thatd be a quiet nite out in mine and a lot of my mates books.
usually a 6 pack at home, 4 or 5 pints in the pub, few double vodkas n a few bottles in the club, followed by a house party and a bottle a wine.
actually thats pretty much every thursday nite...
you know you're fvcked when you start to get used to it and dont even really get a hangover the next day!

matt-dublin · 10-08-2007 03:32PM

BigCityBanker wrote:

I think you might have a problem. Have you considered speaking to somebody about it? A close friend? A family member? Doctor? Hopefully this thread will be the step that you required to help you begin the battle with you demons. I wish you good luck. You might find this link useful.

You don't have a problem, o lot of my mates would consider ye a liteweight...

depending on the night out, what i've had to eat and how im feeling i would usually take in between 6-15 pints
or something like 3 or four pints followed by close to a bottle of JD with diet coke.

I wouldn't do it more than twice a week (too expensive!) unless it was a bank holiday weekend. But more recently i've been sticking to having a quiet few cans with the lads, mainly because i think im getting old and i can't deal with hangovers anymore! But a night in with cans can be anywhere between 3 and 10 cans, on the may bank holiday weekend myself and one of the lads drank a crate every night for 3 nights and didn't have a hangover mind you, probably didn't get a chance!

Bluetonic · 10-08-2007 03:32PM

BigCityBanker wrote:

I think you might have a problem. Have you considered speaking to somebody about it? A close friend? A family member? Doctor? Hopefully this thread will be the step that you required to help you begin the battle with you demons. I wish you good luck. You might find this link useful.

It's hard to tell if your being sincere or sarcastic.

OP, certainly that amount of drink is far from excessive.

seamus · 10-08-2007 03:41PM

In general, it's the company that makes the night, not the drink. I can have a great laugh on a sober night with my family, and I can have a **** night hammered with people I don't know/like all that much.

No-one else can really tell you if you're drinking too much. A doctor can tell you that it's unhealthy, but then so are plenty of things that we enjoy doing. My own feelings on it are that if you enjoy it, do it. However, if doing it affects your ability to function in the rest of your life, then you have a problem.

j0e · 10-08-2007 03:51PM

my mate recently gave up fags and weed, aswell as another who stopped drinking they both read books by allen carr prehaps it could be something u look into. Mates been off the smokes/weed for over 4months now other one off the drink for 6.
gl

I would have to say thou your drinking would be a defaults nights drinkin for me

patrickolee · 10-08-2007 03:53PM

OP, it really depends on you (and your size/sex) whether that is excessive or not and the pace at which you are drinking. Considering that you have posted this question, probably indicates that _you_ think you have a problem?

Personally for me, the amount of drink you describe seems like a heavy session, but not out of this world. I would do something similar once every 3 or 4 months probably. 5 or 6 cans once a week, over the course of a night would be normal for me, but I'm average size.

ntlbell · 10-08-2007 04:08PM

lotsofdrink wrote:

Hi,
I was out last night and had a great night. I had 3 pints and 4 red bulls with vodka and a shot or two of something.

I actually feel grand enough now today. This is usually what I would drink now on a night out. Sometimes I might start with a naggan of vodka and then have a few more vodkas as the night goes on.

Is this normal really? It's certainly normal in my age to drink that much. It's impossible not to really join in because everyone will be doing rounds. You can't just sit and the sidelines and anyways I'm often the one that initiates a new round. It's great fun and I really enjoy it. I know in two or three years though that I will calm down and focus on my health more.

But what do you guys think about going out and drinking this and smoking twenty fags on top of it. I'd love to give up the fags aswell.

try give up the aul fags, pointless habbit.

it doesn't seem like a lot of drink tho?

LegacyUser · 10-08-2007 04:34PM

Strangely, it's only when you don't drink and give up the fags you get out of that bubble and realise there are thousands of people out there who don't get ****faced every time they go to the pub and smoke their heads off.

I fairly caned it in my early 20s but quit smoking and stopped drinking for a while because I really wanted to get fit and get my health together before I did any more damage.
And my eyes were really opened.... I saw there were so many more interesting things to do and people to meet outside the piss-up circle.

Now I enjoy a few jars now and then but I'm off the fags for life. Best thing I ever did.

Oryx · 10-08-2007 06:06PM

Youre gonna get such a mixed bag of replies here. Some will say you drink to much, some too little etc. It depends on you whether your level of drinking is a problem. If you ever start to feel like you need it, or its affecting your personal or working life, then take a closer look at what youre doing. I gave up drinking socially for a few years, I drank tea

. So I know it can be done.

The ciggies are a no brainer. Give them up if you can. (but yeah, easily said....) And if youre going to look after your health, doing it in some small way now is much better than your big promise to focus on it in a few years which you may find is always a few years away....:p

PeakOutput · 10-08-2007 06:16PM

you probably drink the same amount as i would on the nights im drinking.

i have a naggan in someones house before we head out maybe 2 cans on the train in and then 2/3 pints in the place. the only way we will know if you have a problem or not is if you tell us how many nights a week you are doing this. i only drink, at the most, once a week more like once every two weeks. i still go out 2/3 times a week i jsut take the car and dont drink.

not drinking is not difficult as iv said before in threads like this and i have gone 8 months without drinking in the past while i was saving and others things were happening. your friends will slag you about it a little bit....the odd one might be a dickhead about ordering a non alcohlic drink(they dont get lifts home in the car:D ) and if you ask for a pint of ice water youll have to repeat yourself 7 times as if you are speaking a different language(like whelans for me last night) but thats the worst of it.

the fact that you took the time to make the thread means you yourself think its excessive and thats all the matters.

the_syco · 10-08-2007 07:56PM

lotsofdrink wrote:

Hi,
I was out last night and had a great night. I had 3 pints and 4 red bulls with vodka and a shot or two of something.

I actually feel grand enough now today. This is usually what I would drink now on a night out. Sometimes I might start with a naggan of vodka and then have a few more vodkas as the night goes on.

Don't worry about it. When you get older, you'll be able to drink more, and handle it.

lotsofdrink wrote:

But what do you guys think about going out and drinking this and smoking twenty fags on top of it. I'd love to give up the fags aswell.

A word of warning: it'll start with you being a "social smoker", and then one day you'll want a smoke during the week, and then... you'll be smoking all the time. Quit while you can lad.

And yeah, I smoke, but I used to "only smoke" 5 when going out drinking before I took up smoking a few days at a time. If you're on 20 in a night, when you go on them full time, the 20 a day will do you no favours, to your health, or your wallet (7*7=€49 a week on smokes).

dudara · 11-08-2007 03:59PM

The real question is what effect does that amount of drink have on you?

Do you feel hungover or queasy the day after? Does that amount of drink make you behave in ways that you normally wouldn't?

Plus, are you male or female? It all makes a difference.

What you drink doesn't seem that bad. It's fine for someone young I'd say.

Personally, I tend to go to the pub 1 night a week with 7-8 longneck bottles over the course of the night. That's it then for me. I'm getting too old to be hungover and wasting my Saturdays in bed recovering and wasting my money.

The fags should really go though. The long-term impacts of those are far more serious.

_Kaiser_ · 11-08-2007 04:32PM

In "the good ole days" (early-mid 20's) I'd drink a lot more than that (pints, Black Russians, shots etc) on a night out and (usually) not be too bad afterwards.. of course there were BAD hangover mornings too!

Nowadays (early 30's) I hardly go out at all, and when I do a few long necks does me fine. Even at that sometimes it can take me the weekend to recover (not cause of a hangover - I'm just wrecked!!

).

Enjoy it while you can OP - it all changes in your late 20s/30s

- and don't worry.. sounds like you know when to stop as it is.

LegacyUser · 11-08-2007 06:40PM

I think it depends really.

I understand that going out sober can be as boring as hell but if you find you *have* to drink A LOT then you need to look at that. It's all very well to say you'll stop when you're older but you don't know that you will.

I met two of my best friends when I went to college at 18 we all *binged* a good bit for about a year and a half, between 1 and 3 nights a week, drinking around what you said. Then I stopped as I wasn't interested anymore. They still do it now 5 years later and I'm sad to say their personalities have changed so much. They were both fairly bright when we met but now their attention spans have shortened considerably, their ambition is gone and one of them can barely put a sentence together at times, they have **** jobs which have nothing to do with what they studied in college, although neither of them graduated and all they really care about is going out and getting drunk at the weekend.

I'm not trying to be an ad for anti drinking or anything, I'm just saying what happened to my mates. Maybe that's just who they are.
I guess as long as the drink isn't interfering with your life you are ok, you just need to make sure it doesn't I guess

It's all about control really. If you're in control, you have nothing to worry about.

Mucco · 11-08-2007 09:14PM

Just because everyone on this forum drinks 20 pints before breakfast doesn't mean it's OK. Most young Irish people drink far more than is recommended, it's their choice if they want to wreck their liver.

The recommended max intake per week is 21 units for males, 14 for females. 3 pints and 4 red bulls with vodka and a shot or two of something works out at about 14 units, so it's not that bad, but the key is that you're concerned about it. Cutting down is mostly about will-power, but it can be made easier by doing things that don't involve alcohol, or, at least where alcohol is not the main thing. I have a few Italian friends who definitely know how to enjoy themselves and are very rarely drunk - they often drink over a meal, so the food is the primary focus.

11-08-2007 11:54PM

Personally I'm a little alarmed at the idea that someone starts with a naggin of vodka

But then I seem to be in the minority here...
As for the rest about "it's impossible not to join in" - no it isn't!! You do NOT have to drink alcohol when you go out! seriously. drink because you want to or whatever, not because everyone else is. and if you still feel you have to when everyone else is, stop going into those situations

seahorse · 12-08-2007 09:52AM

Personally, if I didn’t intend to drink it'd be unlikely I'd find myself in the pub in the evening time in the first place. It's different if you're having a carvery lunch on a weekend afternoon; in that case I'll sometimes find myself in a pub setting with no alcohol involved, but I just wouldnt be into the company of drunken people when I'm sober; it's no fun as a sober person watching people becoming more and more insensible till they're talking nonsense and repeating themselves over and over, and having to sit through stories that are supposed to come as a surprise to you despite that fact that you’ve already been informed of all the finer details a half an hour before. :rolleyes:

If it's an alcohol free night I'll usually be at the cinema or theatre or somewhere else where drink isn’t an option or an issue. As for the amount of drink the OP mentioned; I wouldnt consider that excessive at all as long as it was restricted to one night a week. As for "battling demons", if the OP needs to do that based on his/her drink quota I'd better check out that link and start doing some battling of my own!

carnival_joe · 12-08-2007 01:05PM

you could end up developing a physical dependance on alcohol.

Having come off a few rough months where I drank a hell of a lot, to try and block out pain, I can say that it solves nothing, it makes things worse actually, and if used as a crutch, you could be heading for trouble.

Ireland has a binge-drinking mentality, its not big, its not clever, but most of us do it. and anyone who doesn't is held is suspicion.

However, while its true that the more alcohol you consume, the higher the chance you have of developing an addiction- it is also true that its not the amount you drink, but the effect drink has on you that makes you an alcoholic.

If you are really worried, then check out aa's website. theres a questionaire thingy that you can do, to see if you're drinking is normal or dangerous, or whatever.

Drink will always be a topical issue here, and most everyone has over-indulged. Its seen as a rite of passage. Rightly or Wrongly I would defend our nation, as we are nowhere near as violent etc while under the influence as other countries. that said, we have the highest rate of binge-drinking in the world, and app we are all going to pay a huge price when we are older.

I think that what you drink is a lot for a normal night, but thats just my opinion. it mightn't be to much for you.

As has been said, you are questioning it, so you are concerned about it. If you want to talk to someone who has had a hell of a lot of experience around addiction and addicts, PM me.

luckat · 12-08-2007 01:11PM

lotsofdrink wrote:

But what do you guys think about going out and drinking this and smoking twenty fags on top of it. I'd love to give up the fags aswell.

Sounds like too much.

That kind of drinking sounds fine for a once-a-year celebration. If you're drinking that much on an ordinary night out, you're drinking to get drunk.

And do give up the fags. Very, very bad for you.

Micamaca · 12-08-2007 01:18PM

my tuppence worth...I think that's a lot. I think the important thing when comparing standards is to consider whose standards your measuring your own against. If you're measuring against low standards here, then of course you won't look so bad. But then look at how many end up vomiting at side of streets...I passed two or three vomit patches last night on way to train and was only 11pm. So if you don't end up vomiting on the side of the street, does that mean you're not drinking too much? Just an example of measuring against low standards. Doesn't work.

Binge drinking is a normal part of the drink culture here. As soon as you spend time with people in other countries, you realise the difference between how you spend time drinking with friends here and how you might spend time drinking with friends in another culture. In other countries people do not regularly drink to get drunk. They go to pubs to meet up and chat with friends and they have a drink or two or three (max) while they are there. They don't order the next drink when there is still drink remaining in the glass and they take a pause between drinks.

That aside, personally I would be worried about combining red bull and vodka, if nothing else. Chemicals in those drinks can cause serious reactions/harm in the body. Just because you're okay ten out of ten times, it doesn't mean you will always be okay. Why not take vodka with tonic, had that the other night and it was lovely.

I don't do rounds anymore, I just stay out of them as I can't keep up with them anymore and I end up drinking too much and sweating booze out of me all night...not a good feeling! Maybe try slowing down a little and see how you enjoy your night. It may suit you better and it will save you a few bob too

azezil · 12-08-2007 02:09PM

lotsofdrink wrote:

Hi,
I was out last night and had a great night. I had 3 pints and 4 red bulls with vodka and a shot or two of something.

I actually feel grand enough now today. This is usually what I would drink now on a night out. Sometimes I might start with a naggan of vodka and then have a few more vodkas as the night goes on.

Is this normal really?

That'd be a quiet night of drinking for me, have done far more, not saying its a good thing but if you can handle it and its not effect the rest of your life, why not.
The only reason I wouldn't have redbull tho is because its really bad for your teeth, generally mines a vodka and oj.

LegacyUser · 12-08-2007 02:48PM

On reflection,

I think if you all *need* to drink that much to enjoy a night out then you don't really enjoy each others company as much as you think.

lucernarian · 12-08-2007 07:55PM

heylooo wrote:

On reflection,

I think if you all *need* to drink that much to enjoy a night out then you don't really enjoy each others company as much as you think.

I agree. Why the feck do people go out to just get drunk??

OP, that amount of drinking is not disastrous, but I'd keep it to a big occasion.

LegacyUser · 12-08-2007 11:38PM

Seriously man whatever about the drink, get off the cigarettes NOW. I used to smoke like that on nights out, you can easily go through a pack of 20 in a night and that is very very bad for your health, longterm will kill you like. I'm off them over 2 years now and even the thought of smoking 1... never mind actually doing it would make me puke. ughhh smoking

matt-dublin · 13-08-2007 09:07AM

luckat wrote:

Sounds like too much.

That kind of drinking sounds fine for a once-a-year celebration. If you're drinking that much on an ordinary night out, you're drinking to get drunk.

And do give up the fags. Very, very bad for you.

high horse...
get off it...

I think its really each to one's own...
Different people think different levelf of alcohol is ok...

If you were telling us you went out every weekend drank yourself stupid and ended up either puking, fighting, passing out, stomach pumped etc etc, then i would safily assume you have a problem.

If that not the case, and you know when you've reached your limit between being enjoyably drunk and absolutly sh1t canned drunk then you're fine.

As for other users comments on smoking, i TOTALLY agree, get off them while you can. I started having the odd few when pissed, then i progressed from there, and am now on about 18 a day. Since then, my fitness level has gown downhill, i've acquired about twenty lbs due to it and I am finding it horrible to give up the smokes!

If you can, stop the smoking, its my only big regret in my life. If I knew then what i know now things would be a lot different. and also I reckon i would have an extra €3300 in my posket every year and if you wanna really get into it, after 20 years thats ofer €65,000 euro on cigerettes!

Caliden · 13-08-2007 09:36AM

That isnt a large amount of drink for a normal night out. Fair enough you'll be drunk after it but not blindingly drunk.
I agree about getting off the cigarettes. I started smoking when I was out drinking and at first the buzz was great but it slowly went away and during the week working I found myself looking forward to saturday and that first cigarette. I'm just after getting back from holidays where I smoked about 20 a day since we were drinking lots.
I promised myself on the last day of holidays that I would give them up when I got back. They just cost too much and are incredibly bad for you.

What do you think about this amount of drink taken?

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