Has my husband got a drink problem????

Question

My husband normally works 4 nights a week. The other 3 he always has a drink, usually a bottle of vodka and beers. He has just had to change to working to day shifts for 2 weeks due to work training and then had a weeks hol. During these 3 weeks he has drunk 11 bottles of vodka (litre bottles) plus some beers. He dosent drink during the day, dosent drink before work or drive after drinking but i am still worried about this. Do you think he may have a problem ?

Answer 1

Sounds like a lot to me.  Boy, that is expensive, too.  Good that he doesn't drink before work or drive after drinking.

Answer 2

Blimey, if I drank like that I'd be too stoned to do anything !!!

Answer 3

Yes, he is going to have some bad health problems creeping up on him - stomach throat and liver, maybe already has and it hasn't shown up yet.   This is bad news, as people don't normally find it easy to 'cut down', and you don't normally quit all together until things have become very serious.

Giving up for a week is not a good test of an alcoholic.  You can do that.  The real test is always having a couple of beers every night - no more, no less - for a month.  

If you can do that you are not an alcoholic.  AA is not for everyone, some people do much better to avoid it, they tell you and your family you are 'always an alcoholic' - but if you are sober you are not an alcoholic.  Same as a relative of mine was given an opiate addiction when in hospital for chronic illness years ago.  When you come off - the doctors wouldn't claim you would 'always be a junkie'!

Having said that, any way of stopping is better than none if you have developed a tolerance of the sort your husband has.

Answer 4

No. It sounds like he is very good at drinking.

"During these 3 weeks he has drunk 11 bottles of vodka (litre bottles) plus some beers."

Answer 5

i think this is the start of a drink problem he hasnt got it bad yet but u need to help him before it gets worse

Answer 6

I would say he has a big problem.

Answer 7

Yes he does, and if he drinks a bottle of vodka in the evening he is still well over the driving limit in the morning.

Answer 8

Yes he has a problem. It's not how much we drink it's what it does to us. It doesn't matter if he is old, young, smart, cute, etc. alcoholism hits many people. He is living in a bottle because he is unable to face reality and doesn't like to feel. You need to go to alonon meetings. It's AA meetings for people who are involved with love ones that drink. You need to take care of yourself. You can not save him or make him stop drinking or see the light. I'm a recoverying alcoholic and it will get worse as alcholism is a progressive diease. Seek help now. Do not try to make him do anything. Protect yourself and your feelings. After you go to a few meetings you will start to understand what you are dealing with and if you want to continue to live with the insanity. Good luck.  

Answer 9

yes my dear he has a serious problem.and only you can help him.just be careful how you approach it or go and talk to someone first to get some help for you as well.cause he aint gonna like the subject being brought up.its gonna wreck your life as well as ya families and whats to say he wont start drinking every night?? good luck

Answer 10

Yes, I think your husband has a problem.

I wouldn't call him an alcoholic, because he doesn't drink every day, but it sounds like he can't stop after having one.

I would call him a drunk.  Does he get abusive in any way when he is intoxicated?

Answer 11

Yes he does, tell him go to AA meetings

Answer 12

Very much so. I would say that mental health problems are not too far away either

Answer 13

You obviously love your husband a great deal. He certainly seems to drink a lot doesn't he. However, it seems he is quite responsible too. He can obviously say no, which would lead me to think he's not addicted. As a heavy drinker myself, i personally don't think his problem is the drink, but i do think he may have another underlying problem which needs to be discussed. I would suggest not asking him about the drinking directly as he may get defencive and clam up completely but ask if there is something bothering him, the drinking may be just a symptom.  good luck.

Answer 14

I only drink a little bit just for fun purposes only!  Last week, I was under tons fo stress from work, so I got super drunk with my buddies!!!  I was stress out and very depressed!  I hang out with my buddies to relax from all that stress from aholes from work!   I am glad I got a chance to relax out with my buddies.  Today I feel alot better and doing much better back to work!  My work job can sometimes stress and depressed me up the wall!!!  I always tell my buddies friends at work, if you get stressed out to the Max!  Come with me and my buddies and we will do all sorts of beer drink and other stuff just to relax your nerves!!!!  I vented out all my frustrations in one night!  

Answer 15

wow.  it took me a year to go through a fifth of vodka.

yes, i think he is doing an excessive amount of drinking.  i would be worried to.  

Answer 16

Does he what!

My partner is also a heavy drinker - like your guy, drinks on his time off. so it is mostly at night. I now know that my guy is an alcoholic; he believes that because he doesn't drink during working hours, he has no problem; that alcoholics are people who are permanently drunk/rolling around in the gutter!

Of course you know your guy has a problem. What else does he do for recreation? Has he no hobbies, no interests? Anyone whose drinking is causing a problem in the home or in relationships, never mind at work, has a problem.

11 litres of vodka in three weeks is serious drinking. The trouble with long-term consumption of alcohol is that you need more and more to get the same buzz; you also need less and less to make you drunk., because you never really get a chance to de-tox your body, so all your guy is doing is just topping up the previous day's alcohol. You say he never drives after drinking, but I bet if he were to be breathalysed the morning after, he would still be over the limit, and be still unfit to drive.

Contact your local branch of Al-Anon, the support group for families and spouses of drinkers...I only go to the occasional meeting, but have found them a great source of consolation, and they have helped me see that only HE can choose to stop his drinking.

Good luck.

Answer 17

Yes, I would think he has a problem.....

While he's drinking does he have a personality change as well?

Answer 18

You don't have to drink everyday to be an alcoholic. 11 bottles of vodka plus beers is a lot in a 3 wk period.  That's a lot of liquor! It's really poison to the body. The body has to work really hard to try and rid itself of this kind of toxin. This would also put him at higher risk for prostate cancer somewhere down the road.

Personally, I would be worried if he's drinking that much. I use to smoke cigarettes for many years and I only smoked at night (never during the day), it made me sick to smoke during the day. But I still was a smoker and when it came time to quit, it was hard.

The question is: Can he quit anytime he wants to? He will probably tell you that he can but chooses not to. This is really unhealthy for him and chances are, it is an addiction. It's probably a coping mechanism for him but it's not a very good one. When you sober up, the problems are still there. Also, it sounds pretty much like a couch potato lifestyle which is also not good for you either.

I think if it were me, that I would check with Alcoholics anonymous - they're the experts and I'm sure that they could give you some answers on how to approach this.

Answer 19

Definately, without a shadow of a doubt.

1 litre of vodka is about 40 units so if he drank 11 litres in 3 weeks that equates to 146 units a week not counting the beers.

Doctors recommend no more than 21 units a week so in those 3 weeks he drunk at least 7 times the recommended amount.

If he drinks 1 litre in the evening then that is 40 units plus whatever in beer.

He needs help

Answer 20

That is a really excesive amount for 1 person to drink! he needs to get some help befor he damages his health!

Answer 21

He is what you call a working drinker, yes he has a problem but he can work and take care of you and him right. Don't let that fool you and don't let it get out of control honey or he will slip and become a useless drunk. good luck