PieceByPiece
Bluelighter
I honestly don't know what to do about my Boyfriend.
He drinks alcohol EVERY Saturday without fail. He consumes between 50-60 units of alcohol within an extremely short space of time. The NHS guidelines state that a man should not consume more than 14 units of alcohol per week. My boyfriend consumes three times the recommended amount within half a day.
Once he starts drinking he cannot stop himself until he literally cannot pick a can up anymore.
He lives with both his parents.
When he is dangerously intoxicated he loses all cognitive function.
He has major confusion about where he is, or even who people are - for example his Mum and Dad. He loses his sense of balance. He is unable to walk without assistance (somebody holding him up). His speech is slurred. He vomits violently for a good 10 minutes.
He then 'falls asleep' on his bed, it's only 8pm.
His Mum and Dad know he has been drinking and they think he is "a little tipsy" from the drink (yeah, because total loss of cognitive function and motor skills is from being just a little bit tipsy), and they think the reason he has fallen asleep on his bed so early in the evening because he's had 'a long hard week at work'.
When he's 'asleep' after his intake of 50-60 units of alcohol, he doesn't respond to gentle shaking, he doesn't respond to verbal stimuli, he doesn't even respond to pain. His skin is cold and clammy with sweat on his forehead. He can't even open his eyes at all. Both pupils have blown and have a slowed reaction to light. His breathing is slowed and he smells of vomit.
He has vomited while unresponsive before. I had to stick my finger in his mouth to get all the bits of vomit from his throat to stop him choking on/inhaling it, as it seemed he had lost his cough reflex.
He is completely unresponsive, and has a decreased level of consciousness. I want to scream at his parents he isn't asleep! - he is dangerously intoxicated with alcohol poisoning with a probable blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level of about 0.27, and needs taking to A&E for IV access for fluids and Dextrose to stop severe dehydration and a dangerously low blood sugar, with FBC's and LFT's along with continuous monitoring for signs of possible impending cardiac and breathing/airway problems and complications.
I want to call and ambulance. I should call an ambulance. I never have though because I feel it isn't my call to make.
It's his parents' house. It's their son. I don't feel I have the right to make that discision. They don't seem to think it's a problem and that he's just got a bit tipsy and is now asleep after a long, hard week at work.
Although it's my understanding that if somebody is 'just asleep' you should be able to wake them easily with gentle shaking or verbal stimuli - my boyfriend doesn't respond to either, not even pain (by pinching his skin) when he's in that state.
His parents are the most loveliest people - don't get me wrong - but they literally sit back and watch their son drink himself into unconsciousness.
When I'm not at his on Saturday, there is nobody to watch him while he drinking, vomiting and then going into this stupor state - his parents are downstairs with the TV on, how do they know if he's still breathing and not choking on his own vomit?!
He stays in that state on his bed for 17 HOURS until he wakes up as if nothing ever happened, and has no memory (total amnesia) of the events from drinking the night before.
He doesn't seem to have a hangover, his only notable problems are dehydration and some diarrhoea - but for all I know he is doing his best to hide other symptoms like crippling abdominal pain.
He only drinks on a Saturday afternoon and a Sunday. He works Monday - Saturday, and therefore doesn't drink on those days. He isn't an alcoholic or addicted to alcohol - but he is dependent on it. There is a difference between addiction and dependancy.
I've tried speaking to him about his intake of alcohol, but according him, mutilple doctors have told him that the alcohol he consumes is a healthy amount; so either he isn't telling them the truth of how much he drinks or those doctors all need to be struck off by the GMC.
He's in denial. He won't admit he has a problem. He defends his alcohol intake and he is easily annoyed by anyone who questions it. He says it helps him sleep because he suffers with insomnia and he cannot switch off at night. He's been to the doctors about his insomnia and they've given him advice but he refuses to act on it.
He uses the TV, his mobile phone, computer, game consoles all before bed and those stop your mind from switching off.
He consumes engery drinks all day full of sugar and caffeine, and then in the evening he "crashes" and feels even worse - no surprises there. He doesn't do anything to help himself with his insomnia and now with alcohol, he thinks he's found a magical cure.
Drinking alcohol to help you sleep is the worst thing you can do. You cannot have a restful, refreshing sleep when your body is spending the whole night shifting alcohol out your stomach, liver and bloodstream. Of course my Boyfriend think the alcohol induced 17 hour sleep he goes into is the most refreshing sleep he's ever had.
There's nothing I can say or do to make him see what he is doing to himself, and until he ends up on an A&E trolley and there's medical
evidence lying in front of him, I don't think he'll realise or admit it.
I guess I'm just waiting for the day he is diagnosed with liver failure or cancer, unless of course he dies from alcohol poisoning first, and unlike his parents, it will come as no surprise to me.
He drinks alcohol EVERY Saturday without fail. He consumes between 50-60 units of alcohol within an extremely short space of time. The NHS guidelines state that a man should not consume more than 14 units of alcohol per week. My boyfriend consumes three times the recommended amount within half a day.
Once he starts drinking he cannot stop himself until he literally cannot pick a can up anymore.
He lives with both his parents.
When he is dangerously intoxicated he loses all cognitive function.
He has major confusion about where he is, or even who people are - for example his Mum and Dad. He loses his sense of balance. He is unable to walk without assistance (somebody holding him up). His speech is slurred. He vomits violently for a good 10 minutes.
He then 'falls asleep' on his bed, it's only 8pm.
His Mum and Dad know he has been drinking and they think he is "a little tipsy" from the drink (yeah, because total loss of cognitive function and motor skills is from being just a little bit tipsy), and they think the reason he has fallen asleep on his bed so early in the evening because he's had 'a long hard week at work'.
When he's 'asleep' after his intake of 50-60 units of alcohol, he doesn't respond to gentle shaking, he doesn't respond to verbal stimuli, he doesn't even respond to pain. His skin is cold and clammy with sweat on his forehead. He can't even open his eyes at all. Both pupils have blown and have a slowed reaction to light. His breathing is slowed and he smells of vomit.
He has vomited while unresponsive before. I had to stick my finger in his mouth to get all the bits of vomit from his throat to stop him choking on/inhaling it, as it seemed he had lost his cough reflex.
He is completely unresponsive, and has a decreased level of consciousness. I want to scream at his parents he isn't asleep! - he is dangerously intoxicated with alcohol poisoning with a probable blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level of about 0.27, and needs taking to A&E for IV access for fluids and Dextrose to stop severe dehydration and a dangerously low blood sugar, with FBC's and LFT's along with continuous monitoring for signs of possible impending cardiac and breathing/airway problems and complications.
I want to call and ambulance. I should call an ambulance. I never have though because I feel it isn't my call to make.
It's his parents' house. It's their son. I don't feel I have the right to make that discision. They don't seem to think it's a problem and that he's just got a bit tipsy and is now asleep after a long, hard week at work.
Although it's my understanding that if somebody is 'just asleep' you should be able to wake them easily with gentle shaking or verbal stimuli - my boyfriend doesn't respond to either, not even pain (by pinching his skin) when he's in that state.
His parents are the most loveliest people - don't get me wrong - but they literally sit back and watch their son drink himself into unconsciousness.
When I'm not at his on Saturday, there is nobody to watch him while he drinking, vomiting and then going into this stupor state - his parents are downstairs with the TV on, how do they know if he's still breathing and not choking on his own vomit?!
He stays in that state on his bed for 17 HOURS until he wakes up as if nothing ever happened, and has no memory (total amnesia) of the events from drinking the night before.
He doesn't seem to have a hangover, his only notable problems are dehydration and some diarrhoea - but for all I know he is doing his best to hide other symptoms like crippling abdominal pain.
He only drinks on a Saturday afternoon and a Sunday. He works Monday - Saturday, and therefore doesn't drink on those days. He isn't an alcoholic or addicted to alcohol - but he is dependent on it. There is a difference between addiction and dependancy.
I've tried speaking to him about his intake of alcohol, but according him, mutilple doctors have told him that the alcohol he consumes is a healthy amount; so either he isn't telling them the truth of how much he drinks or those doctors all need to be struck off by the GMC.
He's in denial. He won't admit he has a problem. He defends his alcohol intake and he is easily annoyed by anyone who questions it. He says it helps him sleep because he suffers with insomnia and he cannot switch off at night. He's been to the doctors about his insomnia and they've given him advice but he refuses to act on it.
He uses the TV, his mobile phone, computer, game consoles all before bed and those stop your mind from switching off.
He consumes engery drinks all day full of sugar and caffeine, and then in the evening he "crashes" and feels even worse - no surprises there. He doesn't do anything to help himself with his insomnia and now with alcohol, he thinks he's found a magical cure.
Drinking alcohol to help you sleep is the worst thing you can do. You cannot have a restful, refreshing sleep when your body is spending the whole night shifting alcohol out your stomach, liver and bloodstream. Of course my Boyfriend think the alcohol induced 17 hour sleep he goes into is the most refreshing sleep he's ever had.
There's nothing I can say or do to make him see what he is doing to himself, and until he ends up on an A&E trolley and there's medical
evidence lying in front of him, I don't think he'll realise or admit it.
I guess I'm just waiting for the day he is diagnosed with liver failure or cancer, unless of course he dies from alcohol poisoning first, and unlike his parents, it will come as no surprise to me.
Last edited:
