Alcohol and Autism

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Alcohol and, to a greater extent, marijuana changed my life.

As a college kid, getting high improved my social interaction skills with people in general, and alcohol improved them in particular with girls. I don’t know if it was lowering inhibitions or a sense of not giving a hoot what people thought of you. I met my closest friends and my first wife in college.

As a younger person yes I would sometimes overindulge, but I kept my head on straight and made certain my schoolwork and studying were done before I partied.

I made a vow at the age of nineteen that I would never drink when I was angry, upset or depressed. 44 years later and I have never drowned my sorrows.

Since I graduated law school at 25 I have smoked dope twice. I am now completely a social drinker, maybe a fifth of scotch and and a six pack of beer total annually.

I have to caveat all this in that I didn’t know I was autistic then (didn’t know until I was 62) so I wonder if it would have had the same effect if I did or whether I would have been even more self conconscious.

I don't drink alcohol because I'm on three prescriptions.

I have a strict moral about alcohol. I don't drink around children, I don't drink the day before a work day, and I don't drink the day before driving.

But I drink (too much).

Back in my youth it was helpful for socializing, much like rse92s experience, in particular with women.
Since I was very much into music and went to numerous concerts and festivals, it was very natural to drink and get drunk. And all the friends I got at the time were heavy drinkers so...

Around 2000 I had a complete mental collapse and I started drinking every day, all day long for a couple of years.
I quit my job and cut all ties with family and friends.
Funny(?) thing about drinking is that if you do it every day, after a while it has no effect.

Now I drink relatively moderatly, I tell myself it's to help me relax, and I guess it's true to an extent, but I'm more and more leaning towards that it would be better for me to get proper medications, like anti depressants.

/Mats

In my youth I drank heavily. It relaxed me in a way that made me feel like I fit in. I most definitely did not fit in when sober. I was always an outcast. I developed a drinking problem which cost me my first marriage. I quit drinking entirely (or so I thought) on May 7th, 1999. I was over 20 years sober until last August when I went on a one night bender, which almost cost me my second marriage. I started over and am now 9 months, 24 days sober again. I'm an alcoholic, no question in my mind. I avoid drinking at all cost knowing how easy it would be for me to start again.

Alcohol just tastes bad. That’s why I’m a teetotaler. I’d rather have soda, juice, milk, or water with my meal.

Alcohol….is very hard on digestive bacteria. Prebiotics and stuff of that nature . Being a antibacterial solvent .
It kills off proper gut / stomach bacteria…. Just a FYI …….. it is important if you have any digestive issues.
Learning to manage good digestive health becomes critical as you age. Including NOT doing things that piss off digestive processes . Or even if you have digestive problems at any age. Different types of bacteria occur in different parts of the digestive tract, ‘And like to be in alittle bit of balance.’ Acidophilus, lactobacilli,thermophilus,
Bifidus . This is short list of major gut bacteria. But Alcohol kills them all .
So physiologically speaking , every part of the digestive track gives best nutrients to that part of the nervous system,
Etc . Which it is controlling,Throughout the human body. Btw.: Lack of nutrition to various parts of the body ,
Then create, what doctors call symptoms.
( not to worry , I am aware that diseases can give symptoms too). But gut function helps manage immune function as well.

^ Is that something you know or are speculating about?
It sounds a bit like the myth that alcohol kills off bacteria in foul food, so it's good to have a couple of shots with the meals when going to say India or China.

/Mats

Uhm…… hope this would be obvious …gut “bacteria are killed by alcohol.” Period . But with thirty feet of colon , it might be hard to kill them all off in one sitting . But Alcohol is a antibacterial . Apologies if my math isn’t obvious.
A tiny look up about physiology and digestion,could bring you up to speed on things I have read and practiced .
Cause and Effect on my self personally . Over an extended period of years . Plus some early formal training in the
Dairy industry .In my late teens , early 20s .

Well, no.
According to my experience alcohol does nothing with the guts.
Sure, if you drink 10 pints of beer a day for a week, and not eat, you'll get diarreha, but I'm pretty sure the same would happen if you drank orange juice.
I can buy that over consumtion of alcohol disturbs the processes in the guts, as would over consumtion of other things like milk.
Yeah, maybe a large amount of hard liquor could potentially kill some bacteria in your stommach, but I seriously doubt that it would really matter for the over all digestive process.

/Mats

What can I say? Sorry for disagreeing. Show me some evidence.

Anyways, this is not to defend alcohol use, I really think it's bad.

/Mats

Also, I wonder what kind of gut problems you believe alcohol causes.
Since I have a fair bit of experience with alcohol, but not with gut problems, it makes me curious.

/Mats

Am merely reporting on my lifetimes experience with side effects of very long term antibiotic usuage due to
Chronic illness , & infections and lifelong battle to battle the side effects brought on by both the bacterial infection and the huge dosages of Antibiotics . Had to use to fight to find this thing. Months of bedridden. And discovering Ill effects on the digestive process . If I chose to drink inbetween those times . But you maybe right some solvents may not have antibiotic properties , but alcohol does .But it does have its purposes.Aswell.
But not having a physiology reference book with me now. It is all just here - say
Could only suggest research on effect s of alcohol on bacteria in the human colon . Regarding Aging.
I fault none for drinking ,! But if dealing with health issues , one might consider all factors .
It’s all just My Humble Opinion , (your mileage may vary).

Sorry Aswell about disagreeing…