signs I am getting older, part X of N

[waider]

In addition to "Saturday Stag Party, Sunday Hangover", I had "Monday Queasy, Tuesday Doctor". In discussing the evils of drink, the doctor noted that while I'm young enough and not alcoholic enough[1] to be doing permanent liver damage to myself (basically, yes, the alcohol will abuse my liver, but the liver will recover), an alcohol level of 100 wossnames-per-doodad triggers the killing off of braincells which (dramatic chord) never grow back.

Except, um.

(a) I seem to recall that the whole Alcohol Kills Braincells thing was either disproved or certainly not fully supported by research;
(b) I did some brief research (Wikipedia[2], and references found therein), and found that some USC guys in 2004 discovered that the cessation of alcohol consumpution resulted in not just regrowth of braincells, but pretty spectacular growth at that[3];
(c) it's not the cells it kills, it's the dendrites. And they grow back, but they don't necessarily grow back the same way. So you might not be able to flip that beermat on the bar quite as stylishly, or something. Or you'll suddenly be able to play that one guitar solo on air guitar. Actually, I'm pretty vague on this whole bit, but it's a world apart from what my doctor was saying.

Which is not to say that I'm going back out tonight to see if I can empty a keg single-handed. Frankly, I did have too much to drink on Saturday night, and it's really not smart of me to try and reason my way around that, so I won't. I did neglect to mention to the doctor that my consumed alcohol was over a 10-hour period (thanks to a restaurant->pub->late pub->house party migration), but that's not exactly a sufficiently mitigating circumstance either.

[1] Yes, go back and look at my Carnivale-style partying last year and point at me and laugh. Not only did I stop doing that, but I took up a healthy lifestyle in its place with the occasional pub evening. Go me, or something.

[2] Yes, I know. Do not go to Wikipedia for answers, for it will say "yes" and "no" and "this article is insufficiently unbiased", and "this article is protected from editing"...

[3] In rats. Alcoholic rats. Who had been made alcoholic by feeding them alcohol for 4 days, and then given a complimentary full-on cold turkey withdrawal. I suspect the braincell growth was caused by them trying to figure out a way to exact revenge on the researchers.

Comments

[waidesworld.livejournal.com]

A doctor will tell you what he believes at that time to make you stop going down the route you are on. The fact that it was a once off event (a thing doctors don't believe in) where basically you alcoholically poisoned yourself because of your recent efforts to rid your body of that vile substance seem unfair to you when you look at those who drink on a regular basis and were fine not only on Monday but even at some stage on Sunday night.

Your whole entry seems to be the best excuse to stay drinking. Now how to put all that on a teeshirt....how about waider.livejournal.com/616326.html and drink in a bar where there is both a) wireless access and b)enough geeks with WiFi toys to see, click, read and nod

[waider.livejournal.com]

Actually, no. The doctor was (and has been in the past) generally very honest and pragmatic with me. I would simply put the misinformation down to someone who hasn't quite kept up with developments.