101_https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaxHuf17A44_reducing alcohol consumption
gpt
So, Jill, um, I know you're here to talk about your blood pressure today.
human
Mm-hmm.
gpt
Um, before we get into that, I see you filled out our annual screening forms here. So if-if you're okay, can we take a minute to talk about that?
human
Sure.
gpt
Okay, great. It looks like, um, the way you filled out the alcohol form puts you into our, uh, third zone of drinking. Can you- can you tell me a little bit about your drinking habits, where you drink, what do you like to drink?
human
I drink wine-
gpt
Okay.
human
-mostly. Um, I go down to the little pub down the street.
gpt
Mm-hmm.
human
Have a few glasses of wine.
gpt
Okay. Kind of socializing?
human
Mm-hmm.
gpt
All right. How often do you do that?
human
Hmm, for four times a week probably.
gpt
Okay. And on a regular night, how much do you-- how many glasses of wine would you guess you drink?
human
Three to four, five.
gpt
Mm-hmm.
human
Maybe if it's on a weekend, maybe six.
gpt
Okay. Okay.
human
Over a long-- over a period of time.
gpt
Mm-hmm. Okay. So let me just show you on this, um, card here, um, from a medical perspective, we know that there's good evidence that shows that women you're age who drink more than, um, three drinks on any one occasion at any- at any sitting or more than seven in a week, are likely to run into health problems from their drinking, either problems they're having right now or maybe in the future.
human
Are you serious?
gpt
Yeah. Surprised, ain't you?
human
Seven drinks in a week doesn't seem like that much?
gpt
It sounds like you're drinking a bit more than that right now.
human
Yeah, and I-I didn't think it was much, but that makes it look like I'm drinking way too much.
gpt
Mm-hmm. From this, uh, drinker's pyramid over on this side of the card, you can see that the-the score on your screening sheet shows that you're up in the harmful category of drinkers. So that it's likely you're drinking, you know, in quantities probably more than about 90% of the folks who come in to see me here at the clinic.
human
Well, I know my drinking has increased a little since I got divorced and moved to Portland, but I-I don't think it's that much of a problem.
gpt
It doesn't feel like a problem to you right now, yeah.
human
No, not really.
gpt
Yeah, okay. And then the other thing I should mention, Jill, um, drinking more than these quantities, it's-it's possible it could be pushing your blood pressure up a bit, and I'm wondering if that might be affecting the difficulty we're having getting your blood pressure down right now.
human
I didn't realize that drinking had anything to do with blood pressure.
gpt
Mm-hmm. Yeah, it can sometimes.
human
Oh, well. Well, then I guess that could be a problem.
gpt
My perspective as a doctor, it would be good if you could think about cutting back a little bit or doing something different about your drinking. What-what do you think about that?
human
I guess I can cut down some.
gpt
Okay. So on a scale of 0 to 10, 0 being not ready at all to do that and 10 being very ready, where would you lie on that scale?
human
I'd probably a 6.
gpt
Okay. Okay, so that sounds-- I think that's great. So why would you be up at a six and not down at a two level? What kinds of thing would push you to be there?
human
Well, I didn't realize that drinking was related to my blood pressure problems.
gpt
Yeah.
human
And I did fall earlier this year on my home from the bar and hurt my shoulder. I don't think the drinking made me fall, but it probably didn't help the situation.
gpt
Okay.
human
And though my son keeps telling me that I'm drinking too much, and it's scary to think that my drinking is harmful. It's a big word.
gpt
Yeah. Yeah. So you've got some good reasons to try to cut back a little bit.
human
Sounds like it to me.
gpt
Yeah. And it sounds like you're willing to maybe try not going to the bar quite as much and maybe drinking a little bit less when you go to the bar.
human
I think I can try to do that, yeah.
gpt
Okay. So to what levels do you think you could do that? Where-where would you wanna go with your drinking?
human
I guess I could use those numbers, and I can't make any promises, but I could try to drink less than three in a night and less than seven in a week.
gpt
Okay. Okay.
human
That mean I can only drink two or three times a week.
gpt
Mm-hmm. So you'd drink maybe just a couple of times a week and maybe a little bit less on each occasion? Is that what you're saying?
human
Like I can try that, yeah.
gpt
Okay. Okay.
human
I don't think I need to quit, but I think I can try to cut down.
gpt
And you think you're-you're able to cut down to those levels of no more than seven a week?
human
That's what I'll shoot for.
gpt
Okay. I think that sounds like a great step for you as your doctor. Why don't we revisit this the next time you come in to talk about your blood pressure in about six weeks or so and, um, then we can see how you're doing with it.
human
Okay.
gpt
All right?
human
Sounds good.
gpt
Well, let's get back to your blood pressure then and see what we need to do about that.
human
Okay.