Chapter 6 - The Late Deteriorative Stage of Alcoholism - pages 81 - 94
Introduction
Once again, although the distinction betweenthe middle and late stages of alcoholism is somewhat arbitrary, it can be identified as that point at which symptoms associated with adaptation to alcohol are gradually overcome by symptoms that reflect increasing toxicity and damage to body organs and systems. The alcoholic's tolerance to alcohol is progressively lessening because of cell damage in the liver and central nervous system, and his withdrawal symptoms are increasing in severity. The late-stage alcoholic spends most of his time drinking, since otherwise his agony is excruciating.
When most people think of an alcoholic, they think of him in this final stage of the disease: destitute, deathly ill, mentally confused, and living only for alcohol. Yet his deterioration began long before this last stage, in most cases years before any physical damage became apparent. Deterioration, in fact, began in the early and middle stages of the disease, as described in chapters 4 and 5, when the alcoholic's cells adapted to alcohol, allowing it into the body in ever larger doses. It progressed gradually as the cells became physically dependent on alcohol, until finally there were so many alterations in normal functioning that the disease could no longer remain hidden and emerged full-blown.
During the late stages of alcoholism, the alcoholic's mental and physical health are seriously deteriorated. Damage to vital organs saps the alcoholic's physical strength; resistance to disease and infection is lowered; mental stability is shaken and precarious. The late-stage alcoholic is so ravaged by his disease that he cannot even understand that alcohol is destroying him. He is only aware that alcohol offers quick and miraculous relief from the constant agony, mental confusion, and emotional turmoil. Alcohol, his deadly poison, is also his necessary medicine.
If the alcoholic continues to drink, alcohol will kill him in one way or another. Estimates vary, but according to one source, one-third of alcoholic deaths are from suicides or accidents such as drownings, fires from passing out with a lighted cigarette, head injuries from falling, accidental poisoning, or car crashes. Those who survive these hazards are destroyed by direct and massive damage to body organs and systems. It is of interest that only 14 percent of the deaths actually caused by alcoholism are so labelled.
Most statistics on deaths caused by alcoholism are based on middle- and late-stage alcoholics who show some physical deterioration or damage from drinking. The early-stage alcoholic is rarely diagnosed as such, as thus death at that stage is rarely attributed to alcoholism. If early-stage alcoholics were accurately represented in alcoholism death statistics, the leading cause of death would probably be accidents or suicides rather than medical complications. The tragedy of the disease is revealed in these statistics, for alcoholics too often die of their disease before it is diagnosed.
As the disease progresses into the final stages, alcohol destroys in a scattergun approach, hitting the heart, liver, brain, stomach, lungs, kidneys and pancreas. The alcoholic dies when one specific organ stops functioning, but every vital organ suffers massive damage. The major medical consequences of alcoholic drinking include heart failure, liver disease, gastrointestinal disorders, cancer, respiratory tract disease, pancreatitis, and malnutrition.