I can see the repetitive thing being hugely annoying, I used to start telling a story and immediately be told "yeah you told me that twice already" so embarrassing!
I guess another side of it is of course, even though most of my friends now know I have a drink problem, they may feel a little uneasy about accepting they have a friend who is an alcoholic, that they may be embarrassed or ashamed. But again, if that is the case I would much prefer if they spoke to me about it. My dad was an alcoholic, and even that was embarrassing for me to open up to some of my friends open, so hopefully they will appreciate this is a big step in the right direction for me. I'm only 23 and so are a lot of them, and I think (although some have suggested I cut down on the booze) their idea of a "proper alocoholic" is a 60+ year old sat on a park bench with a cheap can of cider! x