Donate SIGN UP

Memory loss & alcohol

Avatar Image
thebigchill | 16:58 Wed 02nd Sep 2009 | Body & Soul
11 Answers
Would consuming roughly 6/7 units of alcohol over an hour and a half be the reason I can't remember going to bed last night? I got home from work around 11ish, had a few cans of lager with my dinner, and then two nips of whisky while I chilled out and watched a bit of tv. Apart from a vague recollection of taking my contact lenses out, I have no memory at all of turning off the tv and the lights, getting changed, and getting into bed. Wouldn't have thought that amount of alcohol could have that effect. Anyone know if it could? I'm not so much of a drinker anymore, though i'm sure i've had more than that with no memory loss before. Thanks for any help or guidance offered.
Gravatar

Answers

1 to 11 of 11rss feed

Best Answer

No best answer has yet been selected by thebigchill. Once a best answer has been selected, it will be shown here.

For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.
You may not have had an horrendous number of units - but you did drink it in a very short timespan - so yes, I would have thought your memory loss was pretty normal !!
6/7 units? How many cans is a few? If you had say 4 cans of premium lager, that is 10 units. If your whisky nips were large ones that could be another 10. In all honesty you are lucky to be alive.
Question Author
Two cans of lager and as i stated, small nips of whisky. Which, as I also stated, amounts to 6 or 7 units. Not 20. I'm just surprised that what equates to 3 pints of Carling over an hour and a half can have that effect. Maybe i'm just getting old :(
Yeah you are Chilly, you old fart ;-)

(PS, good to see you!)
I think I had a few last night as well,,, but can't quite remember.
Question Author
Ooh everyones a blimmin comedian eh salla?
Good to see you again too Boo - though if i'm gettin old it really doesnt bode well for you! ;)
I do remember being on holiday once, going out and getting absolutely steaming drunk, then going back to my room, stripping off and going to bed (alone, I might add).

What I don't remember is (I think) getting up in the middle of the night and putting my jammies on because I was cold. It wasn't someone else, because my door was still locked with the key on the inside, and I was on the second floor!

Now, I don't think I had anything like the alcohol you say you've had, so yes, I should think that is the reason you can't remember going to bed.
Question Author
Hehee thanks for the answer saxy but I think you may have misread 6 or 7 for 67...I didn't feel at all drunk, only slightly tipsy. Still, it's good to know we have a drunken-autopilot eh?!
It shows up as '67' units on the B&S index page so my answer was going to be YES. But 6/7 is another matter... even I don't get memory lapses with that much, and I'm no great drinker. But you might like to consider how great a drinker you are - is it a lot for you?

It may also be as saxy says that you did these things on autopilot because they're things you do all the time. I know I went to bed last night because I always do, but I don't specifically remember anything about it.
Question Author
Hi jno - it's not a lot for me, and I can usually remember going to bed, thats why it stuck out when i woke up this morning. Was a bit of a binge drinker a few years ago, and could put away 4 or 5 times that amount over a few hours and still wake up crystal fresh and full of memory. Unless it happens again though I think i'll just put it down to (some but) not enough food, a few drinks, being pretty exhausted, and autopilot.

Thanks for the answers everyone.
well then, it's unusual but I wouldn't worry until it happened twice. I had a friend, not a drinker, who forgot an entire weekend - that was definitely a problem. But to mislay details of activities you perform routinely and often is probably no big deal, as AB's resident medical adviser would say.

1 to 11 of 11rss feed

Do you know the answer?

Memory loss & alcohol

Answer Question >>