I'm with Surly redhead. A fifth or more of whiskey a day, almost every single day, did me in. On a light day I might have 15 drinks.
I was sick as hell for a week as well and truthfully thought I was going to die. I managed to then put in 10 months sober, then relapsed with some "controlled" drinking, but soon was right back up to a fifth a day.
I am now coming up on 2 months sober. By the grace of God I will never drink again.
I told my family - most of whom live far away - that I was going to AA. My brother could not beleive it, he told me I was not an alcoholic. I told him how much I drank, the withdrawal horrow stories including sweats, shakes, vomiting, diarrhea, seizures, etc. He immediately changed his tune and became very supportive.
My family that lives close by was a totally different story however, they knew I had a problem, but even then had no idea what volume or what kind of withdrawal hell I went through.