I can tolerate valium. Does that mean I can tolerate alcohol again?
 

At least, I think I can tolerate valium. I get woozy, but I think that's supposed to be the point. When I tried to drink a year ago, just a few sips of a beer made me feel sort of dissociated and compromised my ability to drive later. Not an experience I wish to repeat. But I seem to have a relatively normal response to valium: 1 mg makes me feel stoned, but doesn't knock me out. Do you people think that this means that maybe I can tolerate alcohol again? I'm dating again, and it's sad not to be able to drink a little.

No, alcohol is still not a good idea.

What value does drinking have with dating?

If there are social pressures to have a drink, a simple explanation of " I have a history of brain injury and it is not good from me to drink. " I was advised of this by my neurologist at 15 when I suffered my second symptomatic concussion. The "one" time I drank one glass of beer, I was a mess the whole next day.

If you have ever been to a brain injury support group meeting, they are often populated by people who suffered their brain injuries at the hands of drunk drivers or drunk significant others.

Somewhere else on this forum, someone posted the chemical problems caused to an injured brain by alcohol.

Dr Glen Johnson has this to say in his TBI Survival Guide: "It is clearly important to stop using alcohol and drugs following the injury. Alcohol especially tends to attack areas of the brain dealing with short-term memory. Those who continue to use drugs following a head injury have a poor outcome."

He includes alcohol in the term drugs.

I have seen getting drunk, especially after a head injury, to be compared as equivalent to getting another concussion.

A serious drunk condition, as seen in binge drinking by youth, is reported to be worse than a serious concussion.

But then we are over 21 and legal so our choices are ours as long as we can keep them from impacting others.

I was going to say that "your mileage will vary," but mileage and drinking do not belong in the same sentence.

I'm not a doctor, so please take this with a grain of salt. I would think the only way to tell if you can handle alcohol or not is to have a drink while you are in a safe environment, such as your home. One drink won't cause any damage and it usually is a good indicator of your tolerance to it. Just be aware that most people can not tolerate alcohol after a head injury, but that doesn't mean there aren't exceptions. Good luck.