# Well, I quit drinking. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 12, 2005, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-quit-drinking/294255 "2005-03-12T22:56:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2005, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-quit-drinking/294255/1 "2005-03-12T22:56:24Z")
Yep. At the ripe old age of 23, I’ve decided that I’m too old to drink like I used to.I will still drink, but when I do, I only have 1 drink. I wanted to see how successful I would be at it before I posted. In the last month, I think I’ve had 3 drinks. Down from having 5-10 drinks 3-4 nights a week. Saving a lot of money, never being hungover, getting better sleep, losing an intake of empty calories… Hmm… Not seing a bad side to this yet. Yay me! ---
**Author:** ![Rhubarb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/59ef9b/32.png) [@Rhubarb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhubarb)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2005, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-quit-drinking/294255/2 "2005-03-12T23:20:46Z")
**CynicalGabe** Good on ya, mate! (Imagine that in my fake Aussie accent). I made a similar decision at age 23. Only, I didn’t give up drinking, I just gave up hangovers. It was after a morning at work where I said to myself many times “I swear I will never do this to myself again!!!” With one exception (my 24th birthday), I never have, and I’m 46 now. I don’t think I’ve had more than three drinks in a single sitting, and if a month goes by without a drink at all, it’s not unusual. I’ve saved a ton of money, my liver still works, and I never have to worry about a DUI. Also, if you go out with friends and let the bartender know you’re the DD, you can get free sodas all night (at many bars). If you ever feel left out because you aren’t drinking, a friend of mine who was a recovering alchoholic invented a drink called a WormWinder (his nickname was Worm). It was 7-Up, orange juice and a cherry or lemon twist. It looked like he was having a drink and he never puked on his shoes. ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2005, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-quit-drinking/294255/3 "2005-03-13T00:02:09Z")
Hey, congrats! Giving up hangovers is the best thing I ever did. ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2005, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-quit-drinking/294255/4 "2005-03-13T00:08:50Z")
It really is a good thing. I haven’t really quit, and probably won’t, but I definitely don’t get sloshed anymore. My liver is too good for that. A hardcore night for me is 4 beers in one night. And that _might_ happen twice every three months. ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2005, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-quit-drinking/294255/5 "2005-03-13T00:10:19Z")
^I’m 24 by the way, for comparison. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2005, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-quit-drinking/294255/6 "2005-03-13T01:12:08Z")
Since you’ve given up drinking, can I have yours? Seriously though, congratulations! I haven’t given up drinking, and most likely never will, but my volume is \*\*\*way \*\* \* down from my college days. Two or three is my limit these days on all but the most rare occasions, and I can’t remember the last time I had a hangover, or had to wait for the world to stop spinning before I could get to sleep. It really is much better this way. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2005, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-quit-drinking/294255/7 "2005-03-13T14:18:25Z")
I had to give it up, too. It was making my heart beat at twice normal speed in the middle of the night, which gave me horrific nightmares. In addition, my stomach is in crappy shape, and alcohol, together with the ibuprofen I always took afterwards, were two irritants I didn’t need. I don’t miss alcohol in general, but I do miss a glass of red wine with my spaghetti or steak. ---
**Author:** ![bittersweet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c57346/32.png) [@bittersweet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bittersweet)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2005, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-quit-drinking/294255/8 "2005-03-13T14:47:53Z")
> [@CynicalGabe](#): > > Hmm… > > Not seing a bad side to this yet. > > Yay me! Yes, yay you! You’ll be saving a lot of wear and tear on your entire body as well. I’m about 10 years older than you, have recently come to the same realization, and modified my drinking habits considerably. No doubt our bodies are thanking us! ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2005, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-quit-drinking/294255/9 "2005-03-13T16:14:00Z")
I have mostly quit too. I stomach operation last summer prevents me from drinking fizzy stuff. Goodbye to my beloved beer. Since then I have tried several other drinks, but they just don’t do it for me. Although I like the feeling of being buzzed, I have found I must also enjoy the drink itself. Last night I was out and had only one glass of wine. I’m probably better off. But I miss my beer. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2005, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-quit-drinking/294255/10 "2005-03-13T16:48:24Z")
I’ve been totally dry for 18.5 years and never want to go back. More power to you! ---
**Author:** ![AngelicGemma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/439d5e/32.png) [@AngelicGemma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelicGemma)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2005, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-quit-drinking/294255/11 "2005-03-13T18:25:34Z")
Congrats! And good luck keeping it up. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Millit\_the\_Frail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/51bf81/32.png) [@Millit\_the\_Frail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Millit_the_Frail)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2005, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-quit-drinking/294255/12 "2005-03-13T18:36:25Z")
Another 23 year old checking in, and I think you’re very smart. I drank a lot in college and have cut back considerably since then…but I’m still not cutting back enough. The frequency has been cut back, but I’m still having too much in a sitting. Last Saturday I drank way too much and felt awful all day Sunday. Maybe that’ll be the last. Thanks for giving me an extra push by your example. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![BrattiAtti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c57346/32.png) [@BrattiAtti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrattiAtti)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2005, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-quit-drinking/294255/13 "2005-03-14T08:55:42Z")
Yay you! I’m 22 and don’t drink much, but I think that’s more because I got it out of my system back in the winter of '98/'99. My “clique” and I were partying every night, sleeping off the hangover 'til 2 the next afternoon, and cracking the next bottle or can by dinner time. Great fun, at the time. Nowadays I don’t think being dizzy and worried about puking/hangovers is very enjoyable. The desire for imbibing, if it has existed since that infamous winter season, is just not presenting itself. I think since the week after\* turning 21 (nearly two years ago) I’ve been to a bar a dozen times. If I go, it’s to socialize and that’s it. I think I had half a pint of beer last time. Anywho… yay, us! -BrattiAtti, official member of the “Hey, it’s been six months; let’s go get a drink” club \*Yeah, we hit the bars. 3 the first night, 2 the next day. At the second on the second day, they didn’t card me. That kind of blew the novelty of being newly 21. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2005, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-quit-drinking/294255/14 "2005-03-14T12:54:23Z")
Good thing to give it up so young. I waited till I was 34 and I pretty much missed a decade of my life. I love the line “The best thing I ever did was give up hangovers.”