LauraSFO1

I'm 44 now, and the first time I got drunk was at age 14 and a "kegger" party. I threw up in the sink. I almost can't believe how young I was the first time. Ugh. How old were you? Do you think that affected your becoming alcoholic?

1963comet

Think I was 15 years old the first time. I remember a neighbor girl and I drank a bottle of wine. Then when I was 18 I drank a bit. But the thing is I did not like it much in the beginning. Left my first husband because of his drinking. So, not sure if drinking at a young age was the reason or not.

good_luck

I was 14. I started smoking pot when I was 14 too.

I'm not an alcoholic.

Just thought I'd add to the discussion.

User_Name

15, now an alcoholic.

Flood

14 boones farm.... for the lose =(

CarolD

16...and no.
I was about your age when
I slid into alcoholism.

Sugah

I was six. Got into a bottle of homemade wine while my mother was otherwise occupied. I got sick as hell for days, but I remembered the warm fuzzy feeling and would sneak alcohol every chance I got. By nine, I was a weekend drunk, with the blessings of my sister & her friends who thought it was "cute." Ten years later, at nineteen, I was treated for alcoholism while involuntarily committed to an institution. Several more "treatments" and fifteen years of drug and alcohol abuse later, I got sober in the rooms of AA and NA.

Peace & Love,
Sugah

nandm

I was about 15 and I don't think it affected whether or not I became an alcoholic since I drank alcoholically from the first drink. When I say I drank alcoholically what I mean is my mind went to how can I get another one, who isn't going to drink theirs so I can have more, when can I do this again, etc... This type of thinking just grew worse the longer I drank until I no longer had any control over my drinking.

Dee_Sober4today

Oooh, I remember it well.
I was 14 and was drinking Riunite Red at a party.
My parents knew I was whacked when I got home.
I peed myself in my sleep that night and got sick all over my little sister's pink sneakers.
My parents thought it was funny and thought it would "teach me to mess with alcohol".
Apparently, all it taught me was that my parent had no problem with a 14 year old daughter being drunk to the point of sickness.
I was born an alcoholic...no matter when my first drunk was, I was destined to be an addict.

tellus

I was 19. Freshman year, living in the dorms, a girl at the end of the hall was having a 21st birthday party.

I've had an addictive personality since I was a kid, though. Pretty sure I was born this way.

NOMOMERLOTMAMMA

13. Mom used to go out to Band parent meetings (sis was in band) in the early evening and I would hit the liquor cabinet. Shortly thereafter, started bringing vodka to school in an empty Lipsmackers gloss package. (remember those? I'm dating myself!).

I would venture to say that I was born with the genes to be an alcoholic. (Mom was one). Once I started, it didn't take too long for it to take hold of me.

BP44

I needed a drink by the time I was in Kindergarten, but I had my first drink at 16. Two Lowenbraus. I remember it well. It fixed what was wrong with me inside. The effect produced was that I now belonged. I would chase that effect for many years. And no, it didn't have an effect on me becoming an alcoholic. I was already bound up in the spiritual malady. In fact, it probably saved my life. Until it quit working. Now that was a horrible day.

sugErspun

16 or 17, nothing overly memoreable about it...(I did not find the answer to my questions in the form of liqour until much later).

I don't think it has much to do with my alcoholism. Rather, I don't care one way or the other.

zxcirce

I was 11. My mom and grandfather gave me a glass of wine to drink with dinner. I took it into the other room and drank it in 3 swallows. I can't remember why, but I remember the feeling afterwards...I was happy...and I felt "complete."

I think I was an alcoholic from that first drink, although I was not drunk again until I was 13.

collinsmi

13

youngirish

Drank early, but first time actually drunk, I believe 16 or 17. Still have a scar on my arm from it and still can't smell Jamacain rum without feeling ill. Apparently tried to fight everyone within reach, including a co-workers girlfriend. Went to work the next day with horrible shakes, the co-worker passed me and I smiled and said hi as usual, he kind of shuddered and walked away. Asked my girlfriend what was wrong and shes like "ah, apparently you attacked his girlfriend last night". I called her and apologized, making some excuse I was on new medication I wasn't supposed to drink on and hadn't been informed. Had to be carried home then tried to fight the people who carried me. Freaked on some old lady for having the nerve to have roses on her property where I fell. Had to be sent home from work due to being an emotional wreck, anxiety, shakes, etc. My dad told me that day that I had his alcoholic gene, and I believed I had just overindulged, and carried on behaving like an Ahole embarrassing myself for many years. I blacked out the first drunk and can only count a handful of times that didn't over the years and prided myself on those, lol. If only I had listened to dad so many moons ago.

Pinkcuda

Interesting question when you think about it. I think I was 13 or 14, not that it matters much. What did interest me is thinking back to my first few drunks in my life through High School. It's a little foggy because of the years that have gone by but I don't remember the craving. It was almost like being a normal person that happened to get drunk. I could tie on a good drunk and then go for weeks without a drop or possibly have one or two a week and not desire more. There was even a time or two where I turned one down. I don't know exactly when the cravings started but I think I was around 18-19. That was the point in my life where I needed to drink every day.
Where's a Time Machine when you need one?

Dr. Snow

I was about 10 or 11. My parents had just gone on vacation and left my older cousin (14-15) behind to babysit me and my sister while they were away.

She started talking about various mixed drinks and how to make them. I was fascinated by the odd names. When she mentioned "screwdriver," I couldn't resist asking her how to make that one and she told me. It was simple. She said, "There's some orange juice in the refrigerator and your dad has some vodka in that cabinet." So, "Dee Dee" had just arrived there and she already knew where everything was at! But she wasn't telling me anything--I was already two steps ahead of her.

So, she and my sister went upstairs to listen to the stereo and do girl things while I proceeded to mix my first drink. I used a Tupperware cup, approximately 14 ounce size and yellow, I think. I noticed right away that there wasn't much orange juice, but there was enough to mix 2 or 3 drinks. So, it was mid-afternoon during the summer and I decided to go outside and sip this new concoction. Pretty soon, I was walking laps around the house in the yard, stopping only to come inside and mix another drink. By the time I ran out of orange juice, I was feeling so good that I decided I must drink the Smirnoff straight. After a few more laps and a few more trips inside, I was getting wobbly with double vision, so I laid down on my back on the living room floor, directly under the ceiling fan. I remember watching the fan go slowly 'round and 'round for a very long time, in a trance-like state. That should've made me throw up but it didn't. When the sun started going down, I finally got up off the floor and immediately got a headache, so I went to bed early.

I started smoking pot regularly at age 15, and started drinking regularly one year later, when I got some wheels. So, I got a pretty early start, but I don't think it caused me to become an alcoholic. With me, it was bound to happen, sooner or later.

Doug

9

findingout

15, at a friend's house whose parents were out. Drank enough to black out, throw up, pass out and when I came to the next morning, I went home lied about it. I suppose it could be considered "youthful experimentation", except various combinations of those things kept happening for the next 25 years.