Casual Conversation

I haven't consumed any alcohol for years, there's no point. I've never been an alcoholic or problem drinker. I did some of the typical young adult binge drinking which I had a normal tolerance level, did feel buzzed etc, otherwise I was a sporadic social drinker until about 10 years ago.

I can't get drunk now. I can drink alcohol until I puke (I do get a terrible hangover from drinking a lot) but I don't feel drunk, don't stagger, slur my words, feel or act buzzed in any way. I think it's because I have a chronic illness, but it's a very strange side effect.

Based on standard US drinks, 1-2 drinks does absolutely nothing. 6-7 is enough for a decent buzz with no noticeable effects the following morning. At around 10 it starts to get uncomfortable and by 12 the room starts spinning. At basically any of those levels I'll have no real hangover beyond a dry mouth at the extreme end, unless the drinks were overly sugary, like a sweet wine or sugary mixed drink. In which case I'll have a mild headache as well.

The only real exception to that is tequila (in any amount), or anything with agave in it. I am allergic to agave and it leaves me with a sore throat and a headache that makes suicide seem like a perfectly reasonable thing to do. Though in terms of intoxication it acts like any other alcohol of comparable strength.

I also don't drink often, 3-4 times a month at most. I have a fairly high baseline tolerance. That also extends to a lot of meds, particularly anesthetics and anxiety meds, which has been a problem in medical environments.

Yes, totally different pharmacokinesis. Weed is slow to break down, so it accumulates on the body. On the fat tissue and myelin of neurons. Long term use makes you get used to a base level amount of THC.

Alcohol is metabolized very fast by the liver, which can adapt to get more efficient by changing enzymatic production. But it also suffers tissue damage that is very hard to recover. With long term use, at one point the damage overruns adaptation. Then you lose your entire ability to tolerate alcohol. Which for alcoholics is harsh, since their dependency doesn't go away.

Good for a while, and then less good for a longer while. I also get to observe all of my health metrics going sharply in the wrong direction after - resting heart rate shoots up, heart rate variability plummets, etc. This can last for multiple days as well.

It's gotten to the point where I no longer really feel like it's worth it to drink many times. I still do on occasion, but I take up the offer far less times than I used to as a younger man.

One or two beers? Absolutely nothing

One or two shots? I barely get a buzz

People always think I’m bragging when I say this, but guys, having a high tolerance is truly a curse. More money spent and more time in the bathroom. I drink 2 nights a week btw, so high tolerance is baseline for me

Two, I'm fine. But I'm a giant. Four, especially if they're beers, and my sleep quality tanks. Either unable to fall asleep altogether or terrible quality sleep. So I usually stay below that amount.

I personally like the feeling of a drink (sometimes a double) inside of me. I generally feel relaxed and more sociable. I hate feeling drunk, though. Like I just can't stand feeling out of control like that. (This is why I can count the number of times I've been drunk in my life—59 years—on slightly more than one hand.)

I spent slightly over a decade as a teetotaller, but decided that it was kind of silly if you didn't have a specific problem that made alcohol something to avoid. (There are several good reasons ranging from "I'm an alcoholic" to "I just don't like the taste/feeling.")

Generally I'll have maybe three drinks in an average week. Sometimes at festivals I'll have a few more, but spread out with an hour between drinks so I don't build up to serious intoxication levels.

Drunk and tired AF. I hardly drink anymore because it leaves me feeling absolutely exhausted for a long time.

Well, I'm right at the bottom of my second pint of beer tonight.

There's a very slight numbness to my lips, nose and eyelids which for some reason I kinda like. Apathy is at normal levels but it's maybe a little more good natured? Like I'm in a "Maybe we can just shoot and bury the rich" kind of headspace right now.

I want some fried cheese. Cheese curds, mozarella sticks, something. Salt encrusted fat please.

Then maybe I'll go lay on the couch, watch that documentary about neutron stars again, probably the cat will cuddle up in my armpit. Somehow laying on that couch makes my knee hurt though. Need to figure that one out.

Literally nothing. I probably drink too much.

My guess is that the reason why you are exhausted is the baby, not the drink

Mild headache and nausea usually

ive been completely sober for years and i like it way better. if I'm with friends that are drinking though, I can blend in and pretend to be drunk. I just start scream-laughing and waving my arms around falling over and saying really stupid shit then I'll be embarrassed about later

Alcoholic drinks are neurosuppressors. The social extroversion that people feel is a result of it suppressing higher functions first, mainly impulse control and shame. But any sufficient amount of drinking will send you to unconsciousness fast.

People are recommended to eat a full meal of carbohydrates and fat rich food, and a good rest before drinking to protect both the intestine and the nerve system. Slowing down absorption, and keeping up cognitive skills. No matter how you see it, objectively and biologically speaking, alcohol is toxic. It's treated as such by the body. It strains the liver and gastrointestinal system. But more importantly for your question, it halts the neural upkeep that the brain does during sleep. As in, you're unconscious but not asleep, your brain doesn't rest, busy getting rid of the alcohol.

Now, that's the extreme version when people binge drink. But it's the same principle and proportional effect with small doses like a single drink or two. You sleep, but this sleep is not 100% as effective as it should be with sober sleep. Specially if you drink already sleep deprived and exhausted from a long day of taking care of a baby. Do it daily and the body never gets a chance to fully clean the toxin out.

The longer you keep up the habit, the worse you'll feel everyday. People who drink often develop a mild tolerance for a while, up until a point when the body can longer keep up, and their tolerance then drops off a cliff. This is why longterm alcoholics get absolutely hammered with a single strong drink.

If you want to truly rest, just skip the drink. Use something else like light reading, soft music, smart screen fasting, massages, etc. To relax at the end of the day. Definitely stop drinking daily, find help. A strong support network is the easiest way to stave off a bad habit. Daily drinking is the fast lane to alcohol dependence.

Like I need ten more.

One or two within an hour doesn't do much for me, three might give me a buzz, but I'm also a few pounds overweight so I guess I'd need a little more alcohol to get that buzz.

Hot (literally temperature wise) and red. I have the asian flush, so just one drink if drank too fast makes me red quickly. There’s not much of a difference anymore by the second drink, other than my hearing getting a little worse (due to said reaction to alcohol).

I think the last time I had two drinks was about six years ago when a friend brought home some fancy elderflower mead after visiting England.

Those two drinks had me giggling and silly. My head was spinning, I was sweating slightly, and I was perfectly okay with all of the above. I can't remember the time before that.

Obviously, I'm not a drinker of alcohol on any regular basis

When I have a single drink, it's rare for me to feel much of anything because I'll be sipping it over an hour or two, and I'll have picked the drink for the taste, so I don't want to get tipsy and enjoy it less.

As such, I don't have any lingering effects either. My body can handle the amounts I'm taking in without any issues.

Even those two glasses of mead, all I felt the next day was a little extra grogginess for that first hour awake. After that, I was good to go.

I get a huge headache if I have one or two drinks. Past that I get tipsy

One drink shouldn't have any effect on a person. Unless by one drink you mean something like half a litre of something above 10% alcohol.