I can't get drunk??

Lifeguard · 02-09-2003, 02:48 PM

Well, actually, I can get drunk.....fairly easily...

but one of my friends, they cannot get drunk to save thier lives...

they, no ****, had like 8 shots, 2 beers, 1 wine cooler, and a mixed drink all in the span of about 40 minutes or so... and was only slightly beginning to get a buzz, and the thing is...they're not really a consistent drinker (meaning, only drinking every once in a while)

if I had that much, I would probly pass out, and need to have my stomach pumped.

 

So....the question I have is:

How can this person have such a high tolerance for alcohol, while at the same time being a "novice" drinker?

does it have something to do with how their liver processes the alcohol??

 

YJ, I would especially like your input on this since the human liver is one of your specialties.

 

Thanks ahead of time,

LG.

**wojo** · 02-09-2003, 02:50 PM

theres a process where the liver sorta gelss so it takes more alcohol too get drunk(least thats the explanation i heard from a drunk biochem student..lol)

Inzah Dude · 02-09-2003, 05:55 PM

Is the guy fat? I think that can make a difference. And some people can just handle more alcohol then others.

Lifeguard · 02-09-2003, 06:59 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Inzah Dude
Is the guy fat? I think that can make a difference. And some people can just handle more alcohol then others.

She is not fat

... I am just was curious as to how (in a technical way

)she can drink so much more than I can and not get wasted

Read: I wanna get her drunk so I can do her

j/k

 

LG.

sage · 02-09-2003, 07:00 PM

you know what it is LG...its the one wine cooler that counterbalanced the rest of the real drinks (ha). seriously though, i dont think the liver has to do too much concerning how much one must drink to get crunk, only the idea of being able to handle an X amount of alcohol able to withstand. body mass will help take in more, so would how long the dude been drinking. you can definetely build up tolerance. SHoot, i dont know the real scientific answer....just shooting the breeze. Sage

Inzah Dude · 02-09-2003, 07:55 PM

Were you with her afterwards or just for the time she was drinking? Cuz if she drank it all quick in 40 minutes then just started to feel buzzed, it liekly all started to sink in later on so as time went on she would get pissed as all the alcohol soaked in. See what I'm saying?

windwords7 · 02-09-2003, 08:03 PM

Question Posted By: Roxane C-M on Tuesday, November 09, 1999

Although I am a PhD psychologist, I also finished nursing school and went three years in med school(yeah, hind sight is always 20/20, you should hear my farther). I tend to look at things from a bio-medical perspective(and a little knowledge is a dangerous thing!) I evaluate/ diagnosis and recommend alternative sentencing in our court. Although I head a department, most of the people that work for me have a very staid line surrounding the dymanics of this disease. I was always tatught that a blood alcohol level above a certain level is a primary indicator of clinical tolerance for alcohol. ex. A BAl of .17 and showing no clear, articulated effects of the drug. OR.....having a BAL of .59(I have witnessed two folks), being conscious, somewhat lucid while keeping some control of muscles and no empting of the bladder. I was even more convinced of this BAL indicator after reading and digesting Dr. Schukitt's work. At times these level occur in young people without an articulated history(significant other)of "practiced drinking". Will you help me?

Answer Posted By: SA, M.D. - HVMA on Sunday, November 14, 1999

High BALs with little intoxication typically indicate tolerance which has been gained by regular heavy drinking. Nonetheless, Schuckitt's work does indicate some significant individual variation in folks who are not alcohol dependent. In some young people, self-report information is not all that reliable. Those are my thoughts in a nutshell.

windwords7 · 02-09-2003, 08:06 PM

Metabolic tolerance
A tolerance that results from a more rapid elimination of alcohol from the body is called metabolic tolerance. This type of tolerance is due to a specific group of liver enzymes that are activated after prolonged drinking. These enzymes increase the speed at which alcohol is broken down. As a result, this reduces the time during which alcohol is active in the body. Therefore, the time during which alcohol’s intoxicating effects are felt is shortened. A danger associated with this type of tolerance is an increased metabolism of some prescription medications, such as those used to prevent blood clotting and to treat diabetes. This increased
metabolism of the medications reduces the duration of their effectiveness, and this can cause harmful physical effects for
the drinker.

windwords7 · 02-09-2003, 08:07 PM

Tolerance and the Predisposition to Alcoholism

Studies have shown that tolerance can be influenced greatly by genetics. Research indicates that individuals who have
alcoholic parents were less impaired by alcohol, as compared with individuals who have nonalcoholic parents. Therefore, tolerance and the predisposition to alcoholism have been shown to be genetically linked.

ex_banana-eater · 02-10-2003, 03:59 AM

She may not have a tollerance to high blood alcohol at all. Maybe the alcohol isn't reaching the blood. Perhaps the pyloric valve closes very quickly and no alcohol gets through fast enough to make her drunk. It possibly lets small amounts through at a time not allowing her to get drunk.

Does her stomache seem to get full when she drinks alot, like everything stays in there for a while?

Lifeguard · 02-10-2003, 11:04 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by windwords7
Metabolic tolerance
A tolerance that results from a more rapid elimination of alcohol from the body is called metabolic tolerance. This type of tolerance is due to a specific group of liver enzymes that are activated after prolonged drinking. These enzymes increase the speed at which alcohol is broken down. As a result, this reduces the time during which alcohol is active in the body. Therefore, the time during which alcohol’s intoxicating effects are felt is shortened. A danger associated with this type of tolerance is an increased metabolism of some prescription medications, such as those used to prevent blood clotting and to treat diabetes. This increased
metabolism of the medications reduces the duration of their effectiveness, and this can cause harmful physical effects for
the drinker.

This is exactly what I was thinking WW, and this makes sense, since she made like 6-7 trips to the bathroom to go urinate in the space of about 1.5 hours.

Thanks WW.

 

LG.

Inzah Dude · 02-10-2003, 03:56 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by ex_banana-eater
She may not have a tollerance to high blood alcohol at all. Maybe the alcohol isn't reaching the blood. Perhaps the pyloric valve closes very quickly and no alcohol gets through fast enough to make her drunk. It possibly lets small amounts through at a time not allowing her to get drunk.

Does her stomache seem to get full when she drinks alot, like everything stays in there for a while?

If your stomach does get real full when you drink lots, what does this mean?

ex_banana-eater · 02-10-2003, 04:00 PM

Pyloric valve shuts not allowing anything to leave your stomache since the alcohol takes a long time to digest.

shpongled · 02-10-2003, 08:08 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by windwords7
Tolerance and the Predisposition to Alcoholism

Studies have shown that tolerance can be influenced greatly by genetics. Research indicates that individuals who have
alcoholic parents were less impaired by alcohol, as compared with individuals who have nonalcoholic parents. Therefore, tolerance and the predisposition to alcoholism have been shown to be genetically linked.

Bump this. That's what I think it is, unless she's a heavy drinker. I don't know the science behind it but according to my Dad (an alcoholic) alcoholics have a much higher tolerance to getting drunk especially when they start drinking. Does alcoholism run in your friend's family?

I doubt it is not reaching the bloodstream. Alcohol has a very high propensity for getting into the bloodstream, even through the mucous membranes in the mouth when you first swallow it (esp. hard alcohol).

Another possibility is a medication your friend is taking that blocks the neurological effects of alcohol... you should ask her what medications she is taking. This is relatively unlikely but possible IMO.

David

wardog · 02-10-2003, 08:18 PM

Well, as someone who can down an entire bottle of Jack Daniels and not really feel it, I would agree, it is genetics or the stomach. When I drink, I do hit the mens room 7-8 times, so perhaps I am one of the lucky ones. I dated a girl like that who could match me shot for shot, and niether of us would get really drunk..so it has to ne someting either genetic or metabolic. Now I can do this with most hard alcohol. Wine, on the other hand, will hit me hard after 4-5 glasses, so go figure.

As far as getting her drunk to get laid..how pitiful can you be? If you need a girl to be ****ed up to have sex with you, then what does that say about you? Personally, I have a rule I live by, and that is that the first time I am with a girl, she must be sober. After that, I really don't care. That rule started because I had a roommate who hooked up with a drunk girl...she claimed rape the next day. Charges were eventually dropped, yet his life was a living hell for about 6 months. Just isn't worth it to me.

Lifeguard · 02-12-2003, 07:51 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by wardog

As far as getting her drunk to get laid..how pitiful can you be? If you need a girl to be ****ed up to have sex with you, then what does that say about you?

Hey man I was just joking around when I said that, I could never do that to a girl.  I was raised with WAY higher moral values than that.

I repeat: I was just joking

 

LG.

Lifeguard · 02-12-2003, 08:00 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by shpongled

...unless she's a heavy drinker. ....Does alcoholism run in your friend's family?
you should ask her what medications she is taking.

She is not a heavy drinker: she drinks maybe 1-2x a month, alcoholism does not run in her family, and, no she is not taking any medications (except for topical benzyl peroxide for her occasional break-outs)

LG.

windwords7 · 02-12-2003, 08:11 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Lifeguard
 
no she is not taking any medications (except for topical benzyl peroxide for her occasional break-outs)

LG.

You have it baaddd for this girl. LOL! Only the guy playing the rold of the sensitive, caring, intouch with your feminine side, role would know this about a g