I started drinking at 18
Drank for 12 years on and off heavily: Sober for 10 years.
Drank moderately and heavy for 10 years: Sober for 2 years.
Drank for 2 years: Sober for 5 weeks.
Drank for 5 weeks: Sober for 5 days.
I am 54. When I started drinking at 18 it was like all the rest of my friends, and in that first 12 years there was binge drinking but also there were lengths of time where I was a bodybuilder and into martial arts also. This is my best estimates. So since 18 I drank for 24 years and sober for 12 years. No one knew I was an alcoholic until recently. And my friend of 45 years is a recovered alcoholic, but he does drink sometimes now.