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It occurs after liver damage that slows down the ability to metabolize the alcohol. Until that damage occurs, the liver gets very efficient at metabolizing alcohol and it takes more alcohol to fel the effects and the person builds up a tolerance.
You may have a point, BUT you have to drink A LOT to get that kind of liver damage. Once the liver gets irreversibly damaged beyond a certain point (Cirrhosis) then yes, that would be the case. A few beers a day will not do that, even if it's every day. It takes heavy drinking with no eating for many years to get there. I don't think the OP would be posting her questions here if she knew that her husband was a chronic alcoholic would she?
You may have a point, BUT you have to drink A LOT to get that kind of liver damage. Once the liver gets irreversibly damaged beyond a certain point (Cirrhosis) then yes, that would be the case. A few beers a day will not do that, even if it's every day. It takes heavy drinking with no eating for many years to get there. I don't think the OP would be posting her questions here if she knew that her husband was a chronic alcoholic would she?
Plus, it's usually after a shift to hard alcohol. It would be hard to drink enough lite beer to do that, you'd probably explode. My Uncle has been pounding straight rum for 30 years and it seems to have no effect on him. Crazy.
I only witness him drink 3 or 4 light beers a night which would not make him drunk but by 8 or 9 pm when he talks his voice is louder, he is slurring some words. It's upsetting and annoying...I know him better than he knows himself and I know when he is drunk. When I call him out on it he just gets defensive. The thing is, I can't figure it out.....we have a small house....I've checked hiding places. I'm in the same room with him most of the night. So I'm am not sure how or where he is sneaking more to drink. But there is no way he is drunk on a few light beers since he is a big guy who drinks a lot. So I start to wonder if he is taking some kind of drugs I'm not aware of. Any thoughts? It's very disheartening.
One thing that may be happening is he has reached a stage in his drinking where his body needs less alcohol to become intoxicated.
Here is something I found via a search:
"Acute tolerance. Although tolerance to most alcohol effects develops over time and over several drinking sessions, it also has been observed within a single drinking session. This phenomenon is called acute tolerance (2). It means that alcohol-induced impairment is greater when measured soon after beginning alcohol consumption than when measured later in the drinking session, even if the BAC is the same at both times (8-10).
Acute tolerance does not develop to all effects of alcohol but does develop to the feeling of intoxication experienced after alcohol consumption (4). This may prompt the drinker to consume more alcohol, which in turn can impair performance or bodily functions that do not develop acute tolerance."
Source: https://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/aa28.htm
This can get kind of complicated so possibly you could find someone knowledgeable in your area who could explain how the stages of alcoholism progress....either Al-Anon or AA. Highly recommend the book, Under the Influence, which describes the stages of alcoholism and what happens during each stage.
You may have a point, BUT you have to drink A LOT to get that kind of liver damage. Once the liver gets irreversibly damaged beyond a certain point (Cirrhosis) then yes, that would be the case. A few beers a day will not do that, even if it's every day. It takes heavy drinking with no eating for many years to get there. I don't think the OP would be posting her questions here if she knew that her husband was a chronic alcoholic would she?
It's a game of numbers -- drinking 3-4 beers a day for 10-15 years WILL increase your chances of getting cirrhosis:
"Drinking 32 to 48 oz. of beer, 4 to 8 oz. of liquor, or 16 to 32 oz. of wine every day for 10 to 15 years or longer greatly increases your chances of developing cirrhosis." Source
32 to 48 oz of beer is 3-4 cans or bottles a day. Plus,we can't assume the OP's husband isn't sneaking additional alcohol and hiding it. Addicts are absolute geniuses at hiding the extent of their habits from the people they know. And for that matter, from themselves -- lot of denial in that disorder.
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