From what I've heard
an alcoholic's body chemistry is different than a non-alcoholic. Ex-A learned about this in rehab. Alcoholics metabolize pain killers and anesthesia differently. This made sense to me, because ex-A could take Percocet after surgery and it wouldn't affect him in the least. Most people get pretty knocked out by Percocet. Ex-A was also told that he should always inform an anesthesiologist that he is an alcoholic, because alcoholics need to be anesthetized differently due to their body chemistry.
And that's all I know about that.
Peace,
Gabe