solstice3

I guess I really am entering the age group where people start dying from health problems related to drinking and using.

A friend of mine I've known for 33 years died today "of a short illness". This guy was a real partier - the crazy life of the party - how hard can I do it kind of guy. He had a golden heart and was loved by so many. I was friends w/him on FB and he seemed to be still going strong. 49 years old. I just turned 48.

In Sept, another friend, 51, passed quickly also. He was another one that was always still standing at 3AM, albeit wobbling a little, but could really pack it away. He'd probably settled down in the last several years due to a kid, but still got his game on when with the 'guys'

Now is the time when the health issues are catching up with us. I googled average age of death for alcholics and I came up with 56. That seems far away for the 20-somethings reading this, but its closer than it seems. Its really close for me. There are some things I want to do before I die.

It just brings it all home how serious this is. I wonder if people around me think I only have a few more years to live? Once you're staring death in the face as an alcoholic, that is pretty much the point of no return. The damage is done to your body.

I dunno, just rambling, but the whole thing is just so sad.

IndaMiricale

I am 41 and partied as hard as my body would let me. And 20 years old seems like yesterday sometimes. It truly does.

dogmamma

I am in my late 30s and started noticing health effects from drinking that I didn't 10yrs ago when I drank pretty heavily. That woke me up too.

Dee74

I'm really sorry, solstice - losing friends at any age is tough.

D

zanzibar

Sorry about your buds soltice, but what you say does hold true. I'm in my mid fifties and have noticed that happening too.

artsoul

Thanks for the reminder, solstice. We never think it will happen to us, do we?

I'm sorry to hear about your friends. You're right - it is sad. Maybe this post will help someone else stay sober.

nogard

I am 61 and have seen 9 friends that I grew up with die from this dis ease and countless others I used with.

In NA we say that this dis ease ends in in Jails Institutions and Death.


However we can recover too

instant

My body was talking to me but I only recently started listening- glad I did

renaldo

The older I get, the more any drinking is tainted by fear of physical repercussions. I used to just drink as much as I wanted, but my tolerance was lower then. Can't get away with it anymore.

Lionhearted1

Iam 30 and I can really feel my body telling me that this will kill me if I continue, one of the reasons I quit was because i wondered if my body would get through the withdrawels as I get older because it's a struggle for me at 30...

lilgolden73

Great post! I needed to read something like this! I have experienced way to many deaths as well, and I am only 39.....thanks so much!

DarkDays

Thanks for the post albeit sad and hard to read.

I often used to lay awake at 3am wondering what my insides where like and how corrosive the alcohol was to my intestines etc and if I would suddenly just drop down dead.

Thanks again

phoebe64

So sorry for your loss.

I found myself obese, diabetic, and with liver damage. And I am still struggling to quit. I am 48 and still have young children. While I have lost 50 pounds(it *was* 60 pounds...) and got the diabetes under control, no meds, the wine is trailing behind and keeps creeping up on me.

MrsKing

Sorry for your losses, solstice. You are right - it is so very sad.

I am 25, was 24 when I quit and was already experiencing pain in my liver area.

Many people die young from alcoholism, too. I've read of quite a few people my age or even younger who have died because of the amount they drank or from withdrawals.

It's terrifying... I'm so glad I stopped when I did. Who knows where I'd be right now if I didn't. I look at my friends and family sometimes who drink too much and I am afraid for them. Really afraid. Sometimes I think I know too much, but it is knowing all that in a way that keeps me sober.

Thanks for sharing.

thislonelygirl

sadly knowing that truth isnt enough for some to quit. ah started having signs of alcoholic liver...lets just say he was very sick one day. put in all his symptoms and that was the only thing to pop up period.
he stopped for like 2-3 days and went right back to it...never even went to the doctor either. he is 28.

Auvers

The health repercussions were the primary reason for my quitting. I was not certain which of my physical problems were the result of my nightly bottle of wine (I thought I was moderating if I kept it to one bottle, lol). Turned out all of my nagging problems got resolution with a few months of sobriety. I consider myself lucky that I stopped before I got irreversible liver damage, but the further into sobriety, the more things unrelated to physical health I realize I lost or did not develop because of the drinking.

freshstart57

I guess I am lucky in a way that it was my mind that gave out before my liver. Alcohol related depression and anxiety became clinical for me before the physical effects did. It still took six months for that reality of that diagnosis to push me into sobriety.

It was 15 months ago on Thursday that I took my last drink forever, and at 55 I am enjoying now the best health of my life, mentally, physically and spiritually. I am always delighted by SR stories of younger folks who decided they could quit and not waste decades of their lives slowly killing themselves like me.

I am truly sorry for the loss of your friends, Solstice.