The Hangover That Lasts

NY Times ^ | December 29, 2007 | PAUL STEINBERG

[neverdem]

NEW Year’s Eve tends to be the day of the year with the most binge drinking (based on drunken driving fatalities), followed closely by Super Bowl Sunday. Likewise, colleges have come to expect that the most alcohol-filled day of their students’ lives is their 21st birthday. So, some words of caution for those who continue to binge and even for those who have stopped: just as the news is not so great for former cigarette smokers, there is equally bad news for recovering binge-drinkers who have achieved a sobriety that has lasted years. The more we have binged — and the younger we have started to binge — the more we experience significant, though often subtle, effects on the brain and cognition.

Much of the evidence for the impact of frequent binge-drinking comes from some simple but elegant studies done on lab rats by Fulton T. Crews and his former student Jennifer Obernier. Dr. Crews, the director of the University of North Carolina Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, and Dr. Obernier have shown that after a longstanding abstinence following heavy binge-drinking, adult...

--snip--

So, some possible resolutions for the New Year:

Stop after one or two drinks. Studies of the Mediterranean diet have shown that one or two drinks on a consistent basis leads to a longer life than pure teetotaling.

If you must binge, start at age 40, not at age 16 — and always have someone else drive. Just as youth is wasted on the young, so perhaps is alcohol.

If you have binged excessively when younger, follow it up with some regular exercise. Get those brain cells regenerated.

As Shakespeare once pointed out without the benefit of studies on lab rats, “O God, that men should put an enemy in their mouths to steal away their brains!”

[dragnet2]

Ya know what causes hangovers? It’s when the alcohol has basically zapped all the liquid surrounding your brain, and when you move your head real fast, it hurts real bad...That’s your brain scratching on the inside of your skull..So drink lots of water when you get a hangover.

[meyer]

This particular check point was for a specific purpose, seat belts, and DWI’s, some check points one has to play 20 questions to navigate through and that IMO, goes to far.

All checkpoints go too far.

"Your papers, please!"

[dasboot]

Golly, you oughtta be a detective! How'd ya get me?

Yeah...sworn in on Decenber of '86. 3 years walking a beat and driving to calls; 4 years as a forensic detective; FBI certified latent fingerprint examiner...court recognized with 36 felony convictions on prints; photog, crime scene examination; former member IAI; back on the street for several more. Passed on promotion to sgt...ran afoul of the new chief and administration...sentenced to spend my last five years running the lockup..I couldn't kiss 'it'. A blessing in disguise. I took my 21 years and skeedaddled back into self-employment. [retired Jan 4, 07...worked one month into year 21 to get all those bennies..as if I'd worked the whole year]] The lure of those bennies and pretty good check were a poison. I got miserable enough to get my life back.

And you?

ps...I don't regret the experience too much...got my kids growed up and through college on that job.

[mysterio]

That's what I think, too. But I guarantee you that is or will soon be the definition.

The nanny state needs everyone to be criminal addicts to survive and flourish.

[dragnet2]

with your secretive profession

Why are you so inquisitive about what I do? I never asked you what you do.

BTW, what department do you work for?

[Rudder]

That definitely wasn’t the only time I got sick from drinking.

Yeah, it's a slow learning curve with that.

[KJC1]

I have less time than you do. I offer my respect for your time/experience.

What is your opinion of dragnet? Do you think this poster has ever been a cop? My opinion is already obvious.

[wastedyears]

It unfortunately is

[KJC1]

Nah, you just like to back seat drive. As if you know what it’s like in the front seat.

For all I know your experience is in delivering pizzas and offering IT advice.

But ya won’t say...LOL

[Utah Binger]

mean, nasty, embittered old man.

Well here's one that is almost there...give him a few years and he can be your role model.

[woofie]

LOL

[dasboot]

I don't know. I didn't think his employment was too important. He was taking the long way around to saying that he felt the cops should be subject to the same or similar intrusions as civilians are at checkpoints.

I agree.

[rmlew]

I’m curious what his definition of binge drinking is.
5 or more drinks.
I've quadroupled that freshman year and my liver still hasn't forgiven me.
(For the record, downing 750ml of vodka is a really bad idea, not matter how many drunken friends shout "drink, drink....)

[Utah Binger]

We’ll be on the flight from Copenhagen to Atlanta tomorrow. Now that I’m over 65, I’ll try to make myself more ugly than I already am by drinking a few Tuborgs along the way.

Maybe a schnapps or two.

[dasboot]

That is, I don't think it necessary for a cop to pee in a cup every few months without cause; nor do I think regular folks, minding their own business...including me...should be subjected to the human equivalent of a sniffing dog, without cause, and have their lawful progress on the roads impeded. I think the practice erodes public support for the police..among our bestest allies.

I'm old-school.

[incredulous joe]

I had sworn off “hard” liquor on June 24th, 1986. It was right after I drank a fruit glass filled with mezcal and right before I tossed my cookies. Today I drink beer until I fall asleep, which is often after one or two.

This summer, my bro, and I went out (walked) to one of the watering holes of our youth when we were both back in our hometown. It’s been many, many years since the 2 of us have been “home” together.

I drank a lot, probably enough to qualify for whatever “binge drinking” is. After being appropriately oiled, I mixed poisons; lots of beer, shots of whiskey and tequila.

What a dumbass thing to do. But also a nice reminder of stupidity of my youth. I don’t think most folks plan to go out and get blotto; there is usually a “connecting of the stupid dots”. I forgot about that bulwark of steps that I had built up over the years. I suppose that I fell prey to the whole sentimental trip down memory lane.

I knew in advance not to involve a vehicle, which was a good thing, but a lot of other bad things can occur while so severely altered; women, fightin’ and just plain sayin’ stupid stuff that you’re certain to regret if you even remember it the next day.

Anyway, I’m 44 now and I think that I had my ticket punched for the rest of my life. Not a great thing to do, but I think it served a purpose for me. It seems unlikely that I will ever drink so much in one sitting again. I hardly doubt that I will wax nostalgic for all the alcohol that I have NOT consumed.

You’re just a youngster, so take care of yourself. Don’t be all “absolute”. If you drink, period, it could happen to you again. One bad decision with alcohol can easily lead to another. Stay on your guard.

[hocndoc]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/1945737/posts

(BTW, Good restraint, KJC1)

[hocndoc]

you need to see this, too:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1945737/posts

[guinnessman]

I agree.

I think probable cause is one of those things that separate our form of government from police states.

[LowOiL]

Well I've been giggling through your thread here and, as I see it, the question has been answered four or five times. Now it might not be the answer YOU want, but your question has been answered. If I faced you in court, I would object that you were badgering the witness.

Exactly the way I see it. Drag is being a drag.