I blacked out the first time I drank, so I have been an alcoholic since the very first drink. It must have been when I 12. I snuck behind my parents bar and started sipping on Amaretto. I then had to go to gymnastics, and I remember falling off the beam, but nothing else.
I quit drinking after the last time I had a blackout, I was 41. That is a long time of drinking and a long time of hurts.