Alcohol drinking and hangovers. Also, alcohol poisoning.

[PeppermintPatty]

When my Mom died when I was 13 my Dad became a drunk. Married a drunk who committed suicide, then married another drunk that lasted until he committed suicide. My older brother was a drunk. I drank a lot of beer until about 50 and then quit.

You don’t drink at all Dennis? Good for you!

 

[JustDave]

I've been thinking about all the different ways alcoholics get sober. Most of the time we hear about tricks, tips, diversions, and programs, but actual statistics that compare methodology, find that the vast majority who quit do so on their own. We don't hear from those people. They don't show up in meetings or make a big deal about their sobriety. I don't know if these people are actual alcoholics, or just realized they gained little from drinking. I had a friend with 20 plus years, who simply quit. Full stop; end of story. He gave no explanations or inside information about it, even when pressed, except that he did mention he always got in trouble when he drank. One time he got shot and was subsequently hospitalized.

When athletes want to become better, they practice the skills of their sport. They strengthen the muscles they use. When astronauts want to go to space, they practice the skills they need. In thinking about myself, I practiced being sober. I thought, planned, and developed strategies to avoid alcohol. That seemed right for me, but I would never discourage others from using whatever approach they wanted, as long as it didn't involve drinking. That is the one thing that matters more than anything else, at least if your goal is to stop drinking.

 

[George1959]

There are some churches here, that disapprove of drinking, and serve grape juice during communion. Also Mormons are not supposed to drink alcohol (or coffee), although some do on their own time, but not in church.

No Alkohol, no coffee? I could never be a Mormon .

 

[gruntlabor]

Alcohol suppresses vasopressin, a hormone regulating fluid, causing excess urination, resulting in extreme thirst, dry mouth, dizziness, and headache. The liver converts alcohol into acetaldehyde, a toxin many times more potent than alcohol, which causes nausea, vomiting, sweating, and rapid heart rate.
The immune system releases inflammatory agents (cytokines) throughout the body, leading to overall malaise, muscle aches, and fatigue, similar to fighting a virus. Gastritis occurs as alcohol irritates the stomach lining and increases acid production, causing nausea and pain. Metabolism of alcohol causes hypoglycemia, contributing to weakness, shakiness, and fatigue.

The brain struggles to rebalance neurotransmitters. After being suppressed, gamma-aminobutyric acid activity drops, while glutamate, a stimulant, rebounds, causing anxiety, jitters, and a low mood. Inflammation and metabolic changes impair attention, memory, and concentration.
Acetaldehyde dilates blood vessels in the head, causing pain, which is exacerbated by dehydration. Despite passing out, alcohol prevents REM sleep, leading to profound tiredness and lack of rest.
Alcohol makes it harder for the brain areas controlling balance, memory, speech, and judgment to do their jobs, resulting in a higher likelihood of injuries. In my early 20's I quit nicotine, it would be another twenty-five years before I managed to quit the demon drink.

Yes, dehydration. Drink water for hangover.

 

[gruntlabor]

I don’t have an exact number because I never kept track, but I can imagine that in my 37 years as a state trooper, I had arrested between 150-200 DUI’s. That number includes any arrests made at checkpoints. My highest number was 3.1. I kept wondering how the man was even able to start his vehicle. When I asked him to step out of the vehicle, I think I had to tell him about 6 times. When he finally opened the door, he fell out of his truck. I remember him as being a white male, about 6 ft 2 inches in height and probably weighed between
270-290 pounds.

I called the EMT’s and had him taken to the hospital to be checked because he was vomiting at the site. When they went to draw his blood, he said he was scared of needles, or something like that, (it was hard to understand his slurring), so they sprayed the area where the needle would be inserted with a chemical that numbs the skin. The rapid test came back at 2.88, but the forensic test was 3.1, which took 2 days to get back.

My dear sister died of (I believe they said) 6.0 blood alcohol.

 

[LadyEmeraude]

I have just read every post on my topic, although I am
late in doing so. Always learn something new from each
persons postings.