Am I on a slippery slope to alcoholism?

What size bottle?

you're a highly functioning alcholic...for now.

1/2 a bottle of wine is nothing. At my worst I was drinking 3/4 of a fifth of vodka a night and I was fine the next day. It sneaks up on you, OP. You need to be careful.

Can you go a few nights without the wine? How long did it take to build up to the half bottle of wine?

Yeah - I've gone stretches for a few days with no wine.

Work gets stressful and my daily workouts get me pumped and I need something to bring me down for bed.

The bottles are generally 750ml.

I have been drinking every night for the past year and a half but only a glass or two. It slowly raised up when I realized how much I love the fuzzy feeling gives me before heading to bed. I also take sleeping pills and I feel I have built a tolerance so adding the wine kind of makes the sleeping pills work again.

That's about how much wine I drink, OP, but I drink it with dinner as part of the meal. My use isn't likely to escalate -- yours could, so pay attention & don't let it get out of hand.

So, wine and sleeping pills? Shouldn't have any issues.

That's not really that much alcohol, just look out for whether you're using it as a crutch to deal with emotional issues. If you're doing that, you might want to get some therapy and see if it isn't a problem.

That'ssh jussht an aperitif!

R9 WINS!!!

Drunks are bores. Really, of all the substances to be under the influence of, there are so many that don't make you a prick. Have you tried copious amounts of pot?

That's just fine, op. My mother, now 79 years old, drinks one half a bottle of red wine each night -- and has for 48 years. That's only 2 and one half drinks, you know.

A bottle of wine is 750ml. If you're drinking half then that's 375ml.

Alcohol content of wine is around 8% so that's 30ml of alcohol per day. I doubt there is any real ill effect from that.

I guess I'm a functional alcoholic. I'm a beer drinker and down about 4-8 light beers per night. Not heavy drinking obviously, but those beers probably represents 25-50% of my caloric intake for the day. I've tried to stop to lose a little weight, but I find it almost impossible to get through the day without drinking. I don't really understand it. I'm fine until about 5:00 pm, then I just get anxious and really bored without my alcohol. A couple beers just relaxes me enough to enjoy my night.

I'm in your boat r14

If you find it impossible to get through the day without a drink, you have a problem.

If you're asking this question, you should know the answer by now.

The wine is only a problem if you can't go for stretches without it. Having 1-2 glasses a day is supposed to be good for you.

The pills are more worrisome. You're only supposed to take them to get you through a period of time, not permanently. You should get yourself off of them, and figure out another way to solve your sleep problems.

I usually have 1-2 glasses of wine before bed. I can go days without having any, but I do find it relaxing, especially after a rough day.

You can take certain sleeping pills long-term, like Lunesta. Some people need them. I think Ambien is supposed to be temporary though.

I don't dispute I have a problem, R16. I'm female, a little over 5'6" and my weight has drifted up to around 140 over the last few years. I'd like to get back down to about 125 lbs, which is a weight I was very comfortable with, but if you subtract out the beer, I don't eat hardly anything.

So far today, I've had one egg and a piece of Canadian bacon and black coffee for breakfast.

For lunch, I had a can of tuna with fat-free mayo over romaine lettuce. That's it, and a typical day for me.

For dinner, I'm going to grill a chicken breast and pair that with a salad (light drssing, no greens, cheese, or croutons). However, since 5:00 PM CST, I've had 5 light beers.

The sad part is, I'm only eating supper because I know I need to, I'm really not at all hungry, and I'd give it up before the beer.

That's how I got started, OP. but eventually 1/2 a bottle won't be enough. And then wine won't be enough. And when you consume every day drinking is no longer a treat. It's trite but "moderation in everything" is true, especially with alcohol.

And I have a feeling you're downplaying how much you consume for the sake of this post, OP.

[quote]That's how I got started, OP. but eventually 1/2 a bottle won't be enough. And then wine won't be enough.

But Dakota, surely your experiences do not hold true for everyone.

I have two large glasses (pretty much a half bottle) of wine every night and have done so for the last 20 years.

I'm not an alcoholic. I'm not a high functioning alcoholic. I'm not in denial.

Moderate alcohol consumption -- and OP, I classify a half bottle of wine a night as moderate -- is nothing to worry about. In fact, it is probably good for you.

Don't worry, we've been doing it for hundreds of years.

Well, OP, it's a complicated question. Whether or not you are a potential alcoholic is based on a lot more than quantity or frequency. For example, my partner, who is in AA, was never a daily drinker or anything like that. BUT, he was the type, who, once he started, couldn't stop. No internal "off switch." Do you have any other addictive tendencies, like food or pot? Are you possibly depressed and self-medicating? Is there a family history of alcoholism or addiction? Does your drinking ever take precedence over other activities? Have you ever gotten into any kind of trouble related to drinking? Do you drive impaired?

Do you ever think you should cut down on your drinking?

Do you get annoyed when people ask you about your drinking?

Do you feel guilty about your drinking?

Do you ever have an eye-opener (a drink soon after you wake up to start your day)

If you answered yes to 2 or more of those questions there is about a 90% chance that you meet the clinical definition of an alcoholic.

R14, with that kind of daily alcohol intake you are virtually guaranteed to develop cirrhosis.

I did about 1 and a third bottles of wine the other night. And yes, it's an emotional crutch. I am very escapist lately. And sentimental. The undertow of the past is overwhelming me.

When drunk at night, I often cry, listen to music I love, and look up my celebrity crush.

Thanks r26, you make me feel a lot better. I guess I am not an alcoholic. I can answerno to all those questions.

Are you exercising too close to bedtime? If so, try moving your workout to the morning. Doing Pilates before bed, on the other hand, always relaxes me.

Wine and sleeping pills--not a great idea to be messing with them at the same time, which on some level you know. Do one or the other, OP.

And beer drinker at R20? Switch to wine if you can't quit--the carbs in beer will make you fat and coarse.

I don't know if that much alcohol is really a problem, but mixing that much alcohol with sleeping pills probably is.

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A half of a bottle of wine is cool. Try to make it a glass and a half to relax with . You are ok as long as you don't let it get to a bottle and a glass. Best Wishes!!

A half bottle of wine a night? Fucking amateurs

I go all week without drinking rush have a bottle on wine on Friday night and Saturday night. I think as long as you can skip a few nights you're okay.

OP, what R2 said.

I adore you R9 although I am sorry to hear from friends who know you that you can no longer walk unassisted and that your days of performing are over.

In the 70's, no one came close to L.M. SHE HAD IT ALL!!

[quote]The pills are more worrisome. You're only supposed to take them to get you through a period of time, not permanently.

My psychiatrist prescribed Ambien with the instructions to take it every night.

No ill effects after two years.

[quote]Do you ever think you should cut down on your drinking?

[quote]Do you get annoyed when people ask you about your drinking?

[quote]Do you feel guilty about your drinking?

[quote]Do you ever have an eye-opener (a drink soon after you wake up to start your day)

[quote]If you answered yes to 2 or more of those questions there is about a 90% chance that you meet the clinical definition of an alcoholic.

That doesn't make any sense. #1 and #3 are practically the same question; if you said 'yes' to one, you'd have to say 'yes' to the either; by your standard that means you're almost certainly alcoholic.

I call bullshit (and I'm a teetotaler).

Why the hell did R34 bump this four year old thread?

Half a bottle per night isn't so much if you have a large frame but can have a more significant impact if you're smaller. It's only a couple of glasses which in the rest of the world is no big deal. It's only really the US who are so puritanical. I think the question is does it interfere with your life in any way? If you're OK working, interacting with people, don't drive drunk, your health is fine, are generally safe to be left alone then it's not a problem. If any of that changes then it is.

I seldom drink anymore because it doesn't mix well with medication I'm on but I used to drink in similar amounts and I went through a phase of worrying about it. I spoke to my doctor and he told me to lay off booze for a month. If I could do that without it being a problem then I wasn't in bad shape. I did it and he was right, I discovered I could take it or leave it but worrying about it was stressing me out.

Yeah drinking in moderation (up to three servings for an adult male) has more health benefits than risks to your health. It really is this mindset that it is [italtics]supposed[/supposed] to be bad.

Is the 5'5" Lesbian Beer Vacuum still around?

You idiot, r43.

Is this Jon Hamm? Is this way your doing such boring ass straight to Amazon movies and commercials?

Why. Lol. I'm drunk too.

if you have to ask, OP....

It’s not a problem at 1/2 bottle - aka, 3 glasses.. But as someone else said - be wary of escalation. I found myself drinking more in my early 40s after being a social weekend drinker for 20 years. Ended up drinking daily for over a year. Eventually stopped - but it’s a slippery slope with no clear defined lines. As gay men he rally without responsibility of kids, we have more freedom and time. It’s easy to end up drinking more.

This thread is nearly ten years old.

You all still alive?

It would be cool if OP reported back. I would have told him that he’s already an alcoholic. Some of you guys seem to have forgotten what it’s like to not be an alcoholic, if you think this is normal/healthy drinking.

Agreed r51. I find that “functional” is not a *type* of alcoholic, but merely a phase of alcoholism. Nobody can keep it up forever.

I don't drink at all, alcohol or beer, so I have no idea what is considered moderate or excessive drinking. Over the years, I only know one other person who is like me, no alcohol whatsoever.

Half a bottle of wine is 2 glasses. A 750 ml bottle of wine contains 4 servings.

I grew up with alcoholics. And I want to thank them for that. Because it made them look so pathetic. I never have been a drinker. I don't have a lot of sympathy for them. You know damn well if you're an alcoholic. If that's how you want to go out in your life, then do it.