Binge drinking at 16 ...how much damage am i doing?

Question

I obviously know drinking damages the body and brain cells, it sort of goes without saying, but i guess I'm still typical 16 year old (i'll care when it happens to me type) and i just can't help but care more about how good my weekend is as opposed to the state of my liver in 20 years.

my typical friday night consits of 3/4 beers to get my tipsy then anywhere between 30cland a litre (generally 70cl) to get my pissed and several alcopops to keep me topped up through the night till dawn.

satuday night is exactly the same....

its becoming a bit of a regular occurance to do the friday night listed above then at 6/30 when spar opens to buy another 70cl bottle for during the day and then carrying on with saturday night.

im finding it hard to sleep alot and generally feeling quite run down all the time and im guessing the two are related.

im worried by the fact drinking 2 litres in 2 days (and the rest) is no longer a big deal infact im going boardmasters on monday and over the four days i am there i am sure i will drink a minimum of a litre a day and get no sleep (maybe 3-4 hours on days two and three at the beach)

is it possible i am really causing serious (and immidiate ) damage ?

Answer 1

The rate of your body's destruction is based on your body's metabolism rate. Overindulgence with alcohol starts to affect the kidneys and the liver. You probably won't know your liver is dying until it metastasizes other diseases to the blood, which is flowing throughout your body and causes other organ illnesses or failures. Once the liver starts to shut down, there's no stopping it except maybe a transplant. MIght want to put a little drinking money off to the side for future surgery.

Answer 2

wow umm you'll be dead in a year if u keep it up you should really cut down  

Answer 3

really dude...you sound like you know some s hite if your only 16.  Glad to see your honest.  

I dont know....i'm 24 and it's 11:30 and I'm drinking wine already...so I'm not a good role model.  

honestly though...things will taper off.  when your young, stuff is repaired quicker.  just dont let it fade into every night.  

good luck man!

Answer 4

thats a lot of drinkin and personally i think if u dont cut down the amount ur liver aint gon last much longer.

and yes ur causin serious damage but not immediate(if by immediate u mean the next few months) consequence but there can also be damage caused when ur drunk...

Answer 5

a-lot, and your children will have related syndromes if you are not careful and quit prior to to conceiving , be careful, and take care,☺

because of your youth, your still growing, and damage is not as apparent at this time, you may be ok at this time, and if you stay healthy otherwise and fit, it may not hit you as hard later in life, much like smoking to the lungs,

there may be more fun things to do on weekends, biking, canoing, windsurfing, sky diving, skiing, swimming and scuba diving, traveling around the area or world,

..

Answer 6

16 is too young, if you drink too much, it will lead to jail wether you are legal age or not-I'm an ex-alcoholic/used to drinkup to 3 times a week & sometimes everyday,-(I was thrown in jail for trying to walk home a few times & busted for public intox, other times I did things I regret that lead to jail, court, fines, etc). so I cut back really good/only drink about once or twice a month, & not too much.-I dine out before & after to avoid getting sick-I'm lucky I lost my licence from a wreck that was my fault, but never got in a wreck from driving drunk, cause I have once....

Answer 7

I understand how you are more interested in the immediate time frame rather than what could happen. That's typical of people,especially a teenager.  The fact you know it causes a lot of damage but do it anyway says something.  So what do you want me to tell you?

I'm a student nurse. I've worked on various hospital floors taking care of a wide variety of people.  I've cared for teenagers with drug and alcohol problems, and the adults many of these teens will become 10-20 years later.  It's a sad sad thing to see, and it's not a nice way to live.  Liver failure- painful way to go!  It takes years, though.  The damage you do to your brain is a bit more immediate but you may not even notice it.  Slower responses, reduced academic performance, etc.  

For your reading pleasure:

http://www.bami.us/Alcohol/AlcoholUse.ht...

I'm particularly intrigued by "Young alcohol abusers show smaller brain areas" and "Heavy drinking in 20 year olds can cause brain changes seen on MRI consistent with early signs of alcohol-related dementia"

The most concerning thing to me, though, is not necessarily the long term effects of alcohol but the short term.  The loss of judgment and inhibition.  I've seen many teenage girls end up pregnant or with serious and incurable STDs because they were having unprotected s*x while drunk.  Guys need to worry- too. Age 16 not a good age to become a parent, and it really sucks having Hepatitis or HIV.

Also, sounds like you're starting to get tolerant and "need" the alcohol.  This is sign of dependence and should be a clue that the drink is taking over.  Do you want to "need" alcohol?  Does that thought appeal to you?  When you get dependent, quitting alcohol is very very unpleasant and usually requires medical intervention.

Perhaps a change in venue is in order. If you NEED to be drunk to have a good weekend- maybe you need to rethink your view of fun.  That concerns me.  I've gone to parties, movies, camping, swimming, skiing, etc and had a blast on the weekend- never had a single drink! It's possible- and when you're ready to see that it'll amaze you!

I hope you will start to rethink some of the choices you are making and see how they are not in your best interest. You are aware of some of the problems and recognize the barriers that keep you from stopping. I commend that- it takes a lot to get that far.  I hope to push you a step further into realizing you can have fun without alcohol and see some of the immediate risks it poses and consider cutting it out of your routine.  It may take some medical assistance at this point, but as long as you're alive and well- it's never too late.

http://www.al-anon.org/alateen.html

Answer 8

I think you wouldn't be asking if you really didn't know that you're causing damage. What you want is a confirmation that you're damaging yourself, you're right.