The Black-Out
April 9th, 2006It was my first ever alcohol-induced black-out. I'll never forget it. Except for the black-out itself, which, well, I'll never remember.
It was my last day of work at Ernst & Young. My coworkers took me out to celebrate, NYC-style, with excessive amounts of shots, beer, and more shots. We spent a good three hours at the neighborhood bar liquoring up. And I quickly reached my limit.
I would call myself a fairly smart drinker. I'm aware of my limit and generally know to slow down. Sure, I've been sick plenty of times in public. Those guys at St. Marks Ale House probably never want to see my face again after I decorated the jukebox with my pasta dinner.
So I called it a night when I reached my limit with my coworkers. By this time, they were pretty well liquored up too. We all said our last goodbyes, then I headed out.
This is when Jayne, one of my coworkers, convinced me to join her and her friends for another party in the city. I was ready to head home, but I think she said something like, "there will be a lot of really cute girls there" that finally turned me.
She ordered the cab over to Apple, a bar near NYU. This was strange. I didn't know her to be a person who hung out in this neighborhood. That's where my college friends and I hang out.
"You hang out at Apple?" I asked her.
"Sure," she nodded. I was in no state to question, so I just nodded back and tried to still the spinning in my head.
Then we arrived, walked through the doors, and over to a large table in the back.
"SURPRISE!!!!"
I jumped backwards. Seated at this table were a bunch of my college friends. They all cheered and shouted. My eyes popped out of my head and everything spun around even faster.
Jane, one of my college friends, had apparently organized this with Jayne, one of my coworkers. I guess that means you should never trust a girl whose name rhymes with rain, regardless of its spelling.
I took a seat and proceeded to fill up with even more alcohol. The first was a shot of Three Wise Men. That's Johnny Walker, Jim Bean, and Jack Daniels. The second was a shot of Four Horsemen. That's Jagermeister, Goldschlager, Rumplemintz, and Barcardi 151. Evil, evil drinks.
The next thing I remember, I'm sitting in my college buddy Eric's bathroom, apparently taking a dump in his toilet. I blinked and looked around. The first rays of sunlight were coming through the window. My head was pounding like a jackhammer. And I had a hangover the size of Sammo Hung.
I finish my, er, duties, then walk out of the bathroom. In the bedroom are a few of the guys from last night, all passed out on the floor. I apparently was in a sleeping bag.
Still disoriented and totally confused, I found my digital camera by my sleeping bag and picked it up. Then I started going through each shot, one by one.
I saw pictures of my coworkers and pictures of my college friends at Apple. Then I saw a picture of me doing a Tequila shot with two girls. I don't remember that. Then I saw a picture of my friends and I in another bar. I don't remember that either!
The rest of the pictures were the same. Me in unfamiliar locations, but always with a different shot in my hands. How much did I fucking drink last night? I wondered.
It was a surprise that I didn't puke my brains out. Usually, when I surpass my limit, my dinner is coming out the wrong end of my digestive tract. But this time, I didn't. That's probably why my memories are all gone; my body had to dump something from my body—either my dinner or my memories.
Blacking out is frightening. I don't like being in a situation where I'm not in control of myself. Well, except for alcoholic drunkenness. But blacking out and not remembering the entire night felt different.
And what a way to celebrate my last day in NYC! I fucking blacked out! Woo hoo! Thanks Jayne and Jane, for the memories (or lack thereof)!
Have you ever blacked out after drinking too much?
April 10th, 2006 at 11:26 am
hey mike!
wow..you've been digging deep into the past with yoru last couple of blogs lol! are you ok bud? hah. how are you?
Yi
August 9th, 2006 at 12:35 am
Hi I came across your site while doing some research on blacking out. I have been experiencing blackouts recently, each one getting progressively worse (in terms of my behavior and duration). At first I was like you, waking up and not knowing where I was or how I got there. And seeing pictures that I don't remember taking and my friends telling me I did things I did not remember. The last few times however, I not only did things I did not remember but things that I would never in my sober state do (or even think of doing in my mind). I hit on guys, I made out with them, I made suggestive comments to strangers, I was out of control. Which is what prompted me to do research because I am really scared. I am trying to figure out the reason for this, is it the amount of alcohol consumption or is it the result of mixing drinks? Or, is my tolerance simply getting better and instead of puking or passing out, my body is able to stay functional while my brain has shut down? Whatever the reason, I know I have reached a point where whether it is the amount of alcohol that I have to watch out for or the mixing of drinks, I cannot drink leisurely without having to worry about blacking out and doing stupid things. I hope I can figure out a way to prevent this..it really sucks!
August 9th, 2006 at 1:10 am
That sounds potentially dangerous! I don't know why you're not puking and going straight to a blackout - and I hope, in your research, you find out why.
I suppose one way to get around this is to - gasp - not drink alcohol. Frightening thought, I know… But at least you won't do something totally crazy like get a tattoo, join a cult, and shave your head…
March 23rd, 2007 at 4:53 pm
I also came across this site while doing some research on the subject. Lately when I drink, I blackout. I've never puked from drinking, and it always seems to be the running joke that I just blackout instead. It scares me…and I was wondering if you came across any information.
March 23rd, 2007 at 11:19 pm
I hope you're able to find some good research out there. Here's some I found, on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackout_%28alcohol_related_amnaesia%29
On the site, it states that blackouts "are most likely caused by a rapid increase in a person's blood-alcohol concentration" - meaning drinking really quickly. The article suggests that "in order to prevent a blackout, alcohol should not be consumed in large gulps, and should most likely not be drank on an empty stomach."
Which totally follows my incident. I drank a ton of alcohol real quickly, like shot after shot.
So the trick is: drink slowly. You'll still get drunk, but you can avoid blackouts that way. But if there's a lot of peer pressure (friends telling you to drink faster), here are some tricks:
+ Eat a lot of bread before going drinking with your friends. Bread can absorb some of the alcohol in your stomach and slow it's absorption into your bloodstream.
+ Eat fried food before going drinking. Fried food (and the oil used in it) can also slow absorption.
+ In fact, any kind of food will help. Though I've heard that foods like bread & fried foods can help a little bit more. This is why lots of bars offer pretzels or french fries.
+ Sneak a glass of water between each glass of alcohol. You'll probably pee like crazy, but it will also slow absorption.
+ Avoid carbonated drinks, like beer and soda. Apparently, carbon dioxide "increases the pressure in your stomach, forcing alcohol out through the lining of your stomach into the bloodstream," according to this site:
http://www.princeton.edu/uhs/ih_Q_A_alcohol.html
I hope this helps! Good luck!
September 28th, 2007 at 7:49 pm
so I went out the other night with my brother in law and some of his army friends. I too know my limit, but apparently waaayyy surpassed it. We went to a finger 11 concert where i apparently had 3 greygoose and redbulls, 4 jagermeister shots, and 5 beers. Now mind you, i weigh in a about 105 lbs. sufficed to say, after the 1st jager shot, already having had 2 greygoose, and 1 beer, the night goes blank. I did however wake up with hickies on my neck, and sore in spots that shouldnt have been sore. i woke up with someone i trust, but that trusted army friend was also married with a wife in Germany. I'm in my 30's so i'm just gonna blame it on a midlife crisis.
September 30th, 2007 at 6:47 pm
As a side note, Finger Eleven rocks!