Being BIC and still a member, drinking alcohol has never been a big part of my life. I didn't touch it until I was 18, and have only been really drunk a dozen times in my life (I'm 29). As a consequence, I never developed the ability to drink much without getting quite drunk, and can't have too much without frequently requiring the facilities in the little boys room.

My dad was an adult convert, and tells me of the days he could easily drink 8 UK pints (about 20% more than a US pint) in an evening, and only pee once or twice. It was socially unacceptable to be too drunk back then (1970s) and so drinking was generally about staying as sober as possible whilst drinking large amounts of alcohol - i.e "holding your drink". I am lucky if I can drink 3 pints without running to the loo, and would be pretty pissed after 4 or 5 pints. I have the odd drink today, but as I am still a Mormon, and married to a TBM, the opportunity doesn't come around too often. It would be embarassing if I was out with work colleagues, having a few pints, and I was obviously more drunk than everybody else, especially considering I am quite a large man - 6 foot and over 200 pounds.

So I wonder, especially for those of you who didn't start drinking until well into adulthood, whether this was ever an issue for you? The human body can adapt to being frequently given alcohol, but it does take some time.

I used to be a very cheap drunk. I am not now nor have I ever been Mormon, but I didn't drink much until I got to college. It now takes a lot to get me drunk. I'm sad to admit it. I have alcoholic genes and probably shouldn't drink at all, but it's something I enjoy. Now... though I can drink a lot before I start getting wasted, I do have to pee a lot. I pee a lot in general, though.

I need to pee now. And I pee A LOT when I drink. And my tolerance is stupid high now, but I drank heavily as a child.

Higher tolerance just means you're more dependent/alcoholic.

um...no. I go for months without drinking. I have no need for it. Sometimes I enjoy the buzz but mostly it is social. But using alcohol most of my life has made it so more alcohol is needed to affect my cognitive and motor skills.

It really pisses me off that people make the assumption if you use, you abuse.

Tolerance is what you build up by drinking. It doesn't mean you are less of an alcoholic, but it could mean you are becoming more of one.
People are all proud of how much they can drink before it affects them. That just proves you've been drinking enough to build up a tolerance.

This is my last post because I do not want to hijack the thread. Badgirl. You are still calling me an alcoholic. Alcoholism is a serious disease that is a chemical dependency. I drink. Huge difference.

to addiction and alcoholism.
I drink too. Point?

I don't think that's necessarily true. Everybody's different and the effects alcohol has on a person has a lot to do with their size, gender, and metabolism. People who don't get drunk easily are not necessarily alcoholics. However, having a high tolerance can be one of the signs of alcoholism.

But I don't think ADAPTING to drinking alcohol is necessarily the same as being ADDICTED to alcohol. An addiction indicates that a person has a "need" to use a substance in order to feel normal. People have different thresholds for addiction. I have a friend who was very susceptible to it. Took his first drink at age 18 and within a year was a full blown alcoholic who needed to drink to feel normal. On the other hand, I have known people who have enjoyed alcoholic beverages their entire adult lives and are not alcoholics.

A person can certainly become more tolerant of alcohol and then eventually develop an addiction. But simply developing a higher tolerance to drinking doesn't necessarily indicate addiction.

It's not a bad thing. Look at it this way, you can save a lot of money by being a light weight, since it takes you less to get where you want to go. Your body is like the Prius of alcoholism. Wait, that last analogy might not be helpful, I'm sorry.

pee a lot--A LOT, but I have never been drunk, though I have tried to get drunk. I detest the taste of alcohol so much that I have to force myself. I haven't even been tipsy. I've always wanted that little whatever it is my boyfriend and sister and brother talk about--taking the edge off. Never had it.

I don't drink anymore unless I'm politely asked to enjoy a drink with someone like my boyfriend. Last time I drank was at his parents' home in September.

I'm 5 ft tall and 100 lbs. I'm gone after 1 glass of wine (if that). Lucky me :) and no I can't hold it.

I can drink vodka like water. Hehe:)

Anything else gets me hammered incredibly quickly

Now, my mid-40s liver just doesn't like it much. I can do 3 or 4 beers, but that's about it. Being drunk is still fun, but the next morning just isn't worth it. Even if I don't get hungover, the sapped energy is just a day-long drag.

Moderation is the key for me these days.

On a plus side, I've never had a hangover :)

Do you find that different drinks get you more or less drunk, even after allowing for different alcohol content?

I find an equivalent amount of wine (alcohol wise) gets me drunk faster than beer. But I am pretty good with spirits.

I believe beyond any shadow of doubt that different booze acts differently, depending on your familiarity. Nowadays, I have to drink at least one bottle of wine to get a good buzz, but 3 beers puts me right there. 15 years ago, when I was in the height of my beer geekdom, it took a 6-pack to get me buzzed, and 2 glasses of wine to do the same.

Hard alchohol hits me about the same either way.

When I was still in my 20s, a couple of years after my apostacy, I was dating a woman who had grown up in Czechoslovakia. I was pretty proud of my newfound ability to drink and hold it well, and would occasionally let my girlfriend know of that pride. She'd just give me one of those sly Eastern European smirks and change the subject.

One night, feeling especially cocky, I picked up a liter of Absolute (Vodka) before picking her up from work. When she got in the car, I showed her the bottle and announced that we were going to go back to her place and drink until the one of us passed out.

She looked at me and said, "yeah, we could do that, or we could just f*ck all night instead"

I'll never forget her wise words.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/02/2012 08:03PM by jaredsotherbrother.

If you could pass out on half a litre of vodka, then you're not Eastern European :)

I know that now, she did then.

To this day, I've never passed out on booze. I did once (many years after the above referenced) drink about 9/10ths of a liter of Absolute over the course of a few games of Trivial Pursuit. I didn't pass out, didn't puke either, although I later wished I'd done both. The next day, I could barely walk.

I can drink quite a bit to no ill effect-- I don't get drunk easily, I don't get hung over, and I don't puke. My friends call me "The Iron Stomach". My sister is the same way, as was my grandfather. I don't drink all that much or that often, but whenever I have gotten "out of hand" with my drinking, I've not suffered any for it, though my friends will have been badly hungover.

I've been fall down drunk before, but I have never been hung over. I think a lot of this is because I carefully drink a lot of water when I am drinking heavily, but I am thinking it might also be genetic.

All the "aforementioned" certainly apply when we are discussing tolerance. Body weight, food in the stomach, previous drinking "experience," etc. I also know that altitude is a factor. I climb several 14,000 ft. peaks every year. I experiment almost every time with different types of alcohol. It's amazing what a small amount of alcohol can do at that altitude. Plus, factor in dehydration, etc. I'm surprised no one mentioned illicit drugs. Consume some methamphetamine or cocaine and you can drink for days! Someone mentioned a hangover? A good IV saline solution will clear you out and sober you up! But all in all, show some respect for your liver!

I'm out since the fall of 2007 so I'm not an experienced drinker. It about a year before I could appreciate alcohol. But in the 3 or so years since, I haven't been drunk at all.

I don't usually drink a lot. In winter, maybe one whisky every other week and a beer on the weekends. It's more in the summer because then I like to sit outside and smoke a cigar which goes great with rum, whisky, specialty beers and/or espresso.

At parties, I can drink all afternoon and evening and not get drunk. At most, my cheeks feel flushed. I think it has to do with my drinking tempo. I cannot down a beer in one gulp, it usually takes me about half an hour. That naturally limits my intake while still enjoying drinks with friends at a party.

Enjoying drinks with friends at a party - what Mormon even knows the meaning of any of these words, let alone the phrase...

People who pop into the pub with colleagues after work in the UK make, on average, 17% more than their tee-totalling colleagues?

Moran, J. (2007). Queuing for Beginners. The story of daily life from breakfast to bedtime. London: Profile Books Ltd., p. 136.

That doesn't surprise me at all. The price of drinking in the UK at pubs is obscene, so you need to be earning 17% more to afford it!

I'm holding one right now, though with all this lightheadedness, the glass is starting to get all wobbly.