After 30 years, probably every part of his body is suffering from damage due to alcohol abuse. It damages brain cells, the cardiovascular system, the digestive system, the nervous system, and muscles will atrophy. My AH also suffered from anemia, metal confusion, severe muscle pain and vision loss ... and eventually liver damage. Most of this damage occurred within a 2 year period after 30 years of drinking. When he developed pneumonia, I found out alcoholics also are prone this problem as well.
Make sure the doctors are checking your husband's levels of vitamin B. My AH starting losing his vision and went through 3 weeks of endless testing by a top neuro-ophthalmologist .... and he still could not find out the cause of my AH's vision problems even though he was aware there was a drinking problem. I finally grew very weary of not getting answers as my husband's vision declined ... and it only took me about 15 minutes on the internet to find out what his problem was. He was severely depleted on B vitamins (common in alcoholics) and it was causing nerve damage to his optic nerve. All it would have taken was a simple blood test checking his vitamin levels to discover his vision problem - but the highly trained specialist missed it. Nerve damage due to low vitamin B levels can cause numerous other problems to the body... including numbness. Most of the time, simply taking a good multivitamin with B supplements with help modify the potential nerve damage. My AH's vision began to improve with B supplements even though he was still drinking.
Stopping heavy alcohol use for 30 years is very difficult to accomplish. He should have a medically supervised detox - it could be very dangerous otherwise. One of the problems that occurs when long term alcoholics start feeling really ill, is that stopping can be much more challenging, they will feel even worse during withdrawal and they won't have alcohol to numb their pain and anxiety. If they are suffering from brain cell damage, their ability to face withdrawal will be compromised by not thinking logically or rationally ... and they will truly need outside help. Even though we were no longer living together when my AH became very ill and confused, I had to go to his doctor's appointments with him because he couldn't explain himself or grasp what his doctor was telling him ... or remember what he had been told. When being prescribed medicines, not understanding how to take them or mixing certain medications with alcohol can be dangerous.
It is a good sign that your AH has a desire to change ... but it sure sounds like he will need help, both medically and psychologically, to accomplish his goal to stop drinking. The only time my AH had any success stopping was by going to AA to give him the support he needed ... however, he had not gotten ill yet, so withdrawal was not yet an issue. When my AH was hospitalized with pneumonia, the doctors felt it was mandatory to put him through detox at the same time to avert a deadly withdrawal.
The good news is if your AH is truly committed to change and can stop drinking for good, many of these health problems can improve or be totally reversed in time. If drinking continues in a late stage alcoholic, the consequences can be deadly. My AH's life ended tragically due to a combination of severe liver disease and being confined without adequate medical care and supervision for withdrawal. I hope your AH takes the steps necessary to receive the medical and trained addiction assistance he needs to achieve lasting sobriety ... and regain his health and his future.