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What Happened Last Night? Alcohol Induced Blackouts

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What Happened Last Night? Alcohol Induced Blackouts.

By Jenny Hunt

February 24, 2012

Many of us have asked this question after a night of drinking. Binge drinking alcohol can cause memory loss similar to amnesia. These periods of alcohol-related amnesia are generally referred to as blackouts. So what are blackouts, exactly? What causes you to blackout?

Most people experience one of two types of blackouts-en bloc blackouts and fragmentary blackouts. En bloc blackouts happen when you are unable to recall anything from the blackout period, even when your memory is prompted. Fragmentary blackouts are classified as being able to remember certain things during the blackout period, but having gaps in your memory. Fragmentary blackouts seem to occur with lower blood alcohol content then en bloc blackouts. Sometimes, when prompted, a person can remember certain things that happened during a fragmentary blackout.

The important thing to remember about blackouts is that they are not the same as “passing out” or losing consciousness. Blackouts are periods of time when the drinker is completely conscious, having conversations and performing sometimes amazing feats, but later they have absolutely no memory of the events that transpired.  Total amount of alcohol ingested does not seem to be the determining factor when people blackout. Whether or not a person will blackout seems to depend on how quickly they consume the alcohol. Surveys suggest that a person can drink the same amount or more alcohol as he or she did when the blackout occurred and not experience memory loss, provided they drink the alcohol over a longer period of time.

Enough alcohol will prevent the brain from recording new memories. These periods of amnesia are primarily “anterograde,” meaning that alcohol impairs the ability to form new memories while the person is intoxicated, but does not typically erase memories formed before intoxication. During the blackout, the brain is not recording anything going on, which is why you are unable to recall it later. Alcohol affects the hippocampus area of the brain, which is involved in memory storage.

Though repeated episodes of blacking out will lead to permanent changes in the brain, blackouts are more psychosocially damaging than physically damaging. Many people report engaging in high-risk behavior during a blackout. They drive while intoxicated, get into fights, or engage in unprotected sex. During a blackout, normal restraint of emotions, impulses, and desires is impaired and that may result in enormous harm to self and others. Blackouts inhibit your ability to control your impulses. This can be very dangerous.

When alcohol is mixed with other drugs, especially drugs classified as benzodiazepines (i.e. Xanax, Valium, Rohypnol), blackouts are even more common. Benzodiazepines act on GABA receptors in the brain, magnifying the effect of alcohol. The risk for blacking out is compounded when alcohol is mixed with these drugs, as is the risk of overdose and death. The combination of two potent central nervous system depressants can produce serious side effects on the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. This puts you at risk for respiratory depression. This side effect is especially dangerous for someone knocked unconscious by the sedative cocktail, as it can lead to respiratory failure.

If you need help with your addiction give us a call now at 1-800-984-4003.

Alcohol Myths:Debunked

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Alcohol Myths: Debunked

By Jenny Hunt

February 17, 2012

We’ve all heard the rumors about alcohol: beer before liquor makes you sicker, drinking too much Budweiser will give you a beer belly, or drinking alcohol will keep you warm in cold weather. Are any of these alcohol myths actually true?

1.)    Liquor before beer, you’re in the clear. Beer before liquor, never sicker: Almost everyone has heard this saying. Basically, the rumor is that if you drink liquor, then beer, you won’t throw up. However, if chase beer with liquor, you will get sick. This urban legend is in fact, not true. Whether you vomit from alcohol consumption is based on your Blood Alcohol Content and has nothing to do with the type of alcoholic beverage you consume.

2.)    Drinking lots of beer will give you a “beer belly”: Many people believe consumption of large amounts of beer will cause you to gain weight in your stomach. However, recent studies confirm that beer drinkers have the same amount of belly fat as people who don’t drink beer.

3.)    Drinking alcohol is a good way to deal with cold weather: Drinking alcohol in cold weather can actually be pretty dangerous. Alcohol makes the blood vessels in your skin dilate, making you feel warm, even as it causes your core body temperature to decrease. The decreased core body temperature brought about by intoxication could lead to fatal hypothermia.

4.)    Eating a big meal before you drink will prevent you from getting drunk: Food does not decrease the amount of alcohol that is absorbed into your blood stream, it only slows it down.

5.)    The worm in the bottom of a bottle of Mexican tequila is a hallucinogen: Firstly, Mexican tequila does not contain worms. It is another Mexican liquor-mescal-that contains the worms. The worms are grown on special farms just for this purpose, but they are just worms and have no hallucinogenic properties.

6.)    Sucking on a penny or putting it under your tongue will help you pass a Breathalyzer test: A penny in the mouth will not change the results of a Breathalyzer test in any way. The copper in the penny, which is mostly zinc, does nothing to the breathalyzer. 

7.)    Drinking coffee will sober you up quickly: There are no shortcuts to sobriety. The body processes alcohol at the rate of 0.15 percent of blood alcohol content per hour. This is true regardless of age, weight, gender, or race.

8.)    The number ‘33’ on a bottle of Rolling Rock refers to the year Prohibition was lifted: 33 is actually a reference to the number of words in their slogan on the bottles of Rolling Rock. The author was keeping track of the number of words in each slogan and forgot to remove it. The mistake made it to production, and the buzz it created convinced the company to keep it on future bottles.

9.)    Alcohol destroys brain cells: Studies have shown that alcohol does not diminish or destroy brain cells. In fact, recent studies have shown that it actually improves brain function.

If you need help with your addiction give us a call now at 1-800-984-4003.

New Hangover Cures Flood the Market

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New Hangover Cures Flood the Market

By Jenny Hunt

February 10, 2012

Have a little too much to drink last night? You aren’t alone. “How to cure a hangover” is one of the most Googled phrases of 2012. Recently, some smart product developers have stepped in and created products to meet that demand. Since this past New Years, the market has been flooded with products that are said to either cure or prevent a hangover.

1)      Bytox Hangover Prevention Remedy Patch: This product was developed by Alex Fleyshmakher after a night of hard partying and the subsequent hangover landed him in a doctor’s office. The Bytox patch is meant to be applied 45 minutes before you start drinking and worn for 8 hours after you stop. The patch contains several types of B vitamins, açaí berry, vitamins A, D, E and K, and folic and pantothenic acids. It is meant to replenish the vitamins and minerals that you lose while drinking.

2)      Blowfish Tablets: This product combines aspirin, caffeine and an antacid into an Alka-Seltzer-like effervescent tablet. A two-tablet dose of Blowfish (which is what the makers recommend for a typical hangover) contains 1,000 milligrams of aspirin and 120 milligrams of caffeine, which is equivalent of two extra strength aspirin and three shots of espresso. Blowfish was developed to fight the most common symptoms of a hangover: headache, fatigue, and upset stomach. Many hangover cure seekers wish to get these cures delivered to the office or other places where discretion is important. Responding to this demand, Blowfish Tablets are packaged in plain manila envelopes.

3)      B.cuz You Like to Party Vitamins: A new vitamin brand, b.cuz, plans to release these vitamins in February or March, just in time for spring break. The company’s founder says the vitamins will contain vitamins B and C, magnesium, and cysteine to replenish the vitamins lost during drinking.

4)      Mercy Soda: This product gained popularity when it was Gwyneth Paltrow told news reporters that she swears by it. Mercy soda is marketed as a hangover prevention product, not a hangover remedy. The best time to drink this hangover cure is while or shortly after drinking.  Makers of Mercy Soda even suggest that you mix it with your alcohol to make a cocktail. Mercy Soda is said to flush your system of acetaldehyde, the chemical that causes a hangover. It contains amino acids, antioxidants and vitamins

The effectiveness of these hangover cures has yet to be tested. Indeed, hangover cures are nothing new. There have always been pills and powders on the market that claim to cure or prevent hangovers.  No matter which hangover cure you choose to try, it is likely that not much will help you if you drink a lot. Indeed most medical experts agree that time is the only surefire way to cure a hangover.  However, there are ways to make your hangover more comfortable. Hot baths, lots of water, over the counter painkillers, caffeine are just a few ways you can treat the uncomfortable symptoms of a hangove

If you need help with your addiction give us a call now at 1-800-984-4003.

Vodka Tampons

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Vodka Tampons

By Jenny Hunt

January 27, 2012

Lock up the Tampax, Mom and Dad, teens have found a new way to get drunk.

My first reaction to this story was utter disbelief. I had to do some serious research to confirm that this was a real story. Several reputable news sources have written stories about this phenomenon. Teens around the country are supposedly using alcohol soaked tampons to get drunk. Does this mean that is actually happening?

Known as “butt chugging” the method of consumption involves soaking a tampon in vodka and inserting it rectally or vaginally. KPHO in Phoenix reports that there have

 

been cases of teens being hospitalized for consuming alcohol this way. And it’s not just girls who are doing it.

Experts say using vodka tampons to consume alcohol reportedly gives you a stronger, quicker drunk than oral consumption. Apparently, the vodka tampon method of consumption is the “ultimate body shot.” By using vodka tampons, alcohol is absorbed through the mucus membranes directly into the blood stream. Also, because the alcohol is not being consumed orally, teens think it is easier for teens to hide the fact that they are drinking.  However, when alcohol is metabolized, a portion is released through the saliva, no matter how it is ingested.  Also, vodka tampons won’t fool a Breathalyzer, as the test measured blood alcohol content. So apparently, the teens that are doing this are not hiding it as well as they think.

Risks of this using vodka tampons include severe mucosal irritation and bleeding. Several doctors have commented that the use of vodka tampons may be mildly to severely painful, depending on the user. It has also been said that the use of vodka tampons will “literally destroy the vagina.”

There is also a strong risk of overdose with vodka tampons. Because the teens are not ingesting the alcohol orally, they override the body’s natural response to overconsumption: regurgitation. Also, the alcohol does not come into contact with stomach acid so it does not get broken down before entering the blood stream. Alcohol poisoning is a huge risk with the use of vodka tampons.

So are teens really using vodka tampons to get drunk? Critics say that the legend of the vodka tampons has been around for almost a decade and that it is nothing but urban legend, much like the so-called “rainbow parties” that were reported a few years back. A blogger from the Huffington Post reportedly tried to use vodka tampons and did not have good results.

Alternate routes of consuming alcohol are nothing new. In 2010, vodka eyeballing was reported as a growing trend among university students in the United Kingdom. Several YouTube videos were posted showing kids imbibing alcohol this way. “Vodka snorting” was also reported by several British bar owners as an alternate route for ingesting alcohol in UK students; reportedly inducing an instant blackout in some drinkers.

Whether or not this is a real trend in teens, the important thing for parents is to have open and honest communication with their child about drugs and alcohol. Surveys confirm that teens are much less likely to abuse drugs and alcohol if they are well informed by their parents about them.

If you need help with your addiction give us a call now at 1-800-984-4003.

Hangover Story: College Student Falls Asleep in The Wrong Dorm Room

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After a long hard night of drinking Jason, a student of Florida State, was ready for bed. It seemed to be like any other normal night of drinking. Go out to the bar, get smashed and come back to the dorms to rest up before class on Monday. Little did he know is when he got on the elevator he pressed the button for the fourth floor instead of the second. This was the catalyst to an interesting morning that was mixed with a massive headache, fatigue and dehydration otherwise known as a killer hangover.

 As Jason, took the elevator to what he thought was the second floor of the dorms he held himself up wanting nothing more than his bed. Soon the elevator doors opened and being as drunk as he was he didn’t even notice that not only was he not on the second floor but he was on the girl’s floor. “I thought it looked a little unfamiliar” Jason said “but I was so drunk I barely thought about it” He stumbled and staggered his way to the room he thought was his, opened the door and slowly climbed into bed. “The spins were seriously bad” Jason said, so he grabbed the trashcan and puked for a good five minutes into it and then “I just passed out.” Jason reports.

Next thing he knew he was being awoken by three very angry girls who were holding what looked to be like a backpack full of books covered in puke. They were yelling and it didn’t do much to help his headache. Reports say that the girls were “Screeching so loud you could hear them down the hall”. “It suddenly dawned on me”, says Jason. “I definitely wasn’t in my own dorm room and what I had thought was the trashcan was one of the girl’s backpacks.” With that Jason said he quickly grabbed his keys and ran out the door, hoping no one would know about the awful mistake he had made. As he made it back to his own dorm room he stopped by the bathroom only to catch his reflection in the mirror. “I had obviously been passed out longer than I thought, the girls had drawn all over my face and then I remembered I had fallen asleep with my shoes on!” Jason said while shaking his head.

Jason finally made it to his own bed where he then slept for another 12 hours until the hangover wore off. “I missed my Monday classes.” “It totally wasn’t worth it” Jason says. With that Jason did have this to say though, “If you are going to drink make sure you are somewhat coherent. You never know what it’s going to be like waking up after a long hard night of drinking. Seriously. I didn’t have to deal with just a hangover but also the back lash of an embarrassing night for the next three months, I think the girls even got some pictures”

Moral of this story: If you are planning on getting hammered make sure you know where you are or have someone with you. Also drink plenty of water and eat something!  This would have kept Jason somewhat coherent. This would have also helped with Jason’s headache, dehydration and vomiting. Sometimes hangovers are inevitable but they can be eased up a little. The best advice though is still to just not drink.

 

 

 

 

If you need help with your addiction give us a call now at 1-800-984-4003.

Hangover Story: Plumber Falls Asleep On Customers Kitchen Floor

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It started out as fun night at the bar watching the football game. Then it turned into a couple pints of beer and few shots of tequila. Forgetting that he had work in the morning our plumber continued to drink and drink. Not eating, drinking no water, and diminishing his body of B-vitamins the plumber staggered his way home to hit the hay.

What he came to find the next morning was his body and mind in less than perfect shape. His head was throbbing, he was so tired, and his throat was dry. He felt like he was going to puke along with all the other hangover symptoms. It was then that he got the call saying he had to go and fix an older woman’s pipes in her kitchen.

He began working on her pipes, lying on the ground his head under the sink. The next thing he knew he felt something kicking his feet that were sticking out from under the sink. “Are you okay?” the woman asked. “Sure” the plumber said. “Ill be done here in a second.” The woman replied, “I was just wondering because you were snoring under there.”

The plumber didn’t lose his job but he was pretty miserable while doing it and pretty severely embarrassed at the fact that he had fallen asleep on this woman’s kitchen floor. “I should have called in to work sick” the plumber said.

Moral of this story: Don’t drink before you have to be at work or if you do call out sick from work. You can’t speed up the recovery of a hangover even if you can help remedy it. IT takes however long the body takes to heal from hangover and you really should give the body time. That or if you know you’re going to have a hangover take B-vitamins for energy and drink plenty of water.

 

 

 

If you need help with your addiction give us a call now at 1-800-984-4003.

Hangover Story: Passing out in her car and ruining it for good

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After a long night of drinking Sarah was ready to go home. Her story is the perfect example of what not to do after drinking a copious amount of alcohol. Sarah stumbling drunk got into her car to drive. This is our first absolute no, no.  Not only could she have ended up killing herself but she could have ended up killing someone else on the road. Regardless, our drunken woman Sarah got in her car and made the short drive from the bar to her apartment complex.

Once she got to her apartment complex and parked her car she opened her car door to get out. The next thing Sarah knew was she was opening her eyes to the sun shining, birds chirping and people going to work. She looked around and realized she had passed out before she could even step out of her car. Not only that but she had thrown up all over the floorboard of her car. When she tried to turn her car on the battery was dead from leaving her car door propped open all night. Sarah didn’t even remember how she got home the night before much less not making into her apartment or even throwing up in her car.

The car ended up smelling like vomit for the next six weeks. She didn’t make it to work the next day due to her hangover and could of gotten arrested, killed or killed someone else driving drunk.

The Moral of this story: Don’t drink. Definitely don’t drink and drive-I mean really? C’mon now. If you are going to drink have a designated driver or call a cab. Drink plenty of water before you go to bed if you can make it to your bed and get plenty of rest.

 

If you need help with your addiction give us a call now at 1-800-984-4003.