I'm planning to do at least another month of healing before starting an antibiotic prescription that will last for three months. I won't be able to drink while taking the prescription, so I will be close to 5 months sober by the time I'm done. After that I'll just take it day by day and get help if I start to struggle with staying sober.
As for the causes...Like a lot of people, I self medicated with alcohol. It was really a downward spiral of depression and a physical injury that caused a lot of pain and took me away from some of my favorite hobbies. The physical issues are resolved and I've really moved on from most of the things that were dragging me down mentally. Over the past six months drinking has really been the main issue in my life and I just wasn't able to get it under control.