Thanks everyone. I am glad I could be helpful.
I drank from age 17-32 ...so.... 15 years give or take. I didn't start particularly young. And even though my drinking career was not that long, I was destroyed at the end. It was like I fell off a cliff at the end! I mean, around the clock, drinking listerine, DTs, vomiting blood, not able to eat etc. It was bad. Miraculously my body is as healthy as a horse now. No permanent damage.
Remember, though - it is not the amount of time you drank that matters-it is where your drinking takes you. My drinking took me to the point of no longer wanting to be alive.