"I am not an alcoholic, I am a drunk, and there is a vast difference"

I like Beer. I have drunk a lot of it in my time and I don't regret a single pint. Even when hungover, liverish and full of drinkers remorse, I don't regret a pint.

It'll be the spirits that I have also drunk that I will regret.

I have no intention of giving up. I like the taste, I like the conviviality of a beer with friends in a pub and the chat and debate, occasionally heated, never malicious. For me, there is no downside. 

But the health lobby, having in many ways won the argument on smoking, appears to be looking for a new holy war, a new jihad. And they appear to have turned their eyes to alcohol. So our newspapers are full of headlines reporting on how unhealthy alcohol is and how people's lives have been transformed by giving it up.

 Led as you would expect by the Guardian:

"I spent years trying to drink and eat myself numb. Then I began a year of intense transformation. Who, at my age, truly starts over? But I did. I gave up booze, took up running and found the strength and stamina to fight for a better future"

Personally, I believe your average Guardian journalist or commentator would be a less tedious, nicer individual if they drank more. However, even the Daily Mail has lept upon the bandwagon. Which will come as no surprise;

Events manager who gave up drinking after 10 years of blackouts and hangovers lists the FIVE reasons why you should too - after ditching booze 'changed her life'

Now I am not suggesting that becoming a raging alcoholic should be a lifestyle choice. I can think of three alcoholics in my family, all with tragic and differing backstories; of an only son, killed flying bombers over Germany, husbands who died in agony and an unexpected but much hoped-for pregnancy ending in the death of the baby during childbirth.
 
 Desperately sad outcomes with the intense grief masked by alcohol.
 
 But I'm not an alcoholic, I don't drink daily, I simply enjoy 'going for a pint'!
 
 But there is a problem, and it should come as no surprise that my Parkinson's has something to say about it. Or rather my medication will. In short beer and medication don't mix very well.
 
 My nurse was somewhat shocked, the last time I saw her, to hear I was still drinking. In fact, she appeared so surprised that she forgot to lecture me. What she managed to say was;
 
 "What you're still drinking on your medication, but, but, but.................!"
 
 And in truth she is right, all my medication says alcohol should be avoided, my Consultant says it should be avoided. And the wife isn't mad keen either.
 
 All PD sufferers hope for the medical breakthrough that will hopefully give them their lives back. And there is a lot of research taking place, with varying degrees of success being shown. But the breakthrough to a cure has yet to happen.
 
 However, there was a study done, by researchers in Norway, into the benefits of taking heavy doses of Vitamin b3. The results were encouraging;
 
 "Results showed that nicotinamide riboside supplements boosted levels of a compound called NAD in the brain compared to the group who took the dummy medication.
 
 The supplement also showed promising signs that it may improve metabolism and reduce inflammation in the brain, which could have protective effects in the brain. And the participants who showed the greatest increase in NAD levels also showed some mild improvements in their Parkinson’s symptoms.
 
 These early findings suggest that nicotinamide riboside may have beneficial properties for slowing down the progression of Parkinson's". (Reported PUK)
 
 This was only a phase 1 trial, so a long way to go, but one of the issues that needs to be highlighted, is that such heavy doses of b3, can come with some side effects. And here's the rub, alcohol can magnify the impact of these side effects.
 
 Active participation in trials is encouraged for Parkinson's as it appears to have benefits, even when the trial is deemed to be a failure. But again, drinking alcohol is at best discouraged. This is fair enough, personally, if you go on a trial you have a duty to ensure that any results are as untainted by other factors as possible.
 
 On Parkinson's forums, there is a lot of discussion about the issue of the effect of drink and whether continuing to drink alcohol is possible. Sadly in every article or forum, I have read, eventually everyone with PD finds that they are no longer able to tolerate even small quantities of alcohol, never mind any significant amounts.
 
 So my time as a happy drunk is in its endgame. Even now I feel the effects of drink more than I used to. But I intend to keep drinking on, for as long as I can.
 
 I drink, therefore I am.
 
 And then? Well, perhaps I'll embrace the persona of Temperance bore. Writing blogs about how much better my life is after giving up alcohol, exhorting those who are still in slavery to the demon drink to amend their ways.
 
 Or perhaps not. It's more likely that I will shed tears of despair into my Kail smoothy, cursing my PD and looking back longingly on a life of contented inebriation.
 
 Cheers.