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magnum102 04-16-2013 12:56 AM

alcohol aging and reversing effects after stopping?
 
Going to stop drinking for at least a month maybe longer. 25-29 been functional alcoholic drinking pretty much every night. I look bad now looking in pics, not only fat, red bloated face (sober, probably more red when drunk), my hair line going back a little big more also like 40 pounds heavier than i should be.

Did you notice much changing in your appearance after stopping?

I want to look like i did years ago. I look at my friends facebook pics and they all look just about the same as high school.......... this depresses me and almost makes me want to drink.......

will stopping reverse some of this damage or have i done too much harm to myself?

Dee74 04-16-2013 01:06 AM

Hi magnum :)

I think the results vary - but I think I look better now than when I was drinking...and I definitely feel better, which is more important to me.

D

Quinne 04-16-2013 02:08 AM

My skin was blotchy and dry and my histamine response was out of this world! So I thought, anyway ;) My friends and I used to joke about "nervous rashes" and I was the President of the fictitious association :P Anything that made me anxious would make me blush terribly and go bright red all over my upper chest and neck. I was also on the thin side while I drank/just after I gave up-I looked preeeetty malnourished :( My fighting weight is only about 4 kilos above that, but Dee has it right, I think-I feel well within myself much of the time and it radiates from the inside out :)

What I also love is rediscovering/discovering my style. May sound silly, but considering I wouldn't change for days at a time or wear dirty clothes much of the time (got in the way of my drinking!), I now really enjoy having a playful dress style and I actually know how to apply make-up that suits me :P

The eyes are a dead giveaway, I find-truly a window to the soul. Mine were dulled, but people commented pretty early on that I was getting that glimmer back :)

Xx

FeelingGreat 04-16-2013 02:30 AM

My GP mentioned the other day that I was looking 'younger' he used that word. He said a year ago I was looking older than my age; I've been sober for a year.

bigsombrero 04-16-2013 03:44 AM

I think you'll notice an improvement - I lost 20lbs in 9 months of sobriety. My skin has cleared up and my health is better. Who knows, maybe once you start seeing results you'll make a plan to stay sober? Being a functional alcoholic isn't a great way to go through life in your early 30's - I can attest to that. Good luck.

sobertime1 04-16-2013 03:57 AM

oh yes you will notice a diff right away i least i did. my skin is better for sure- also try using coconut oil on your face i found that helps as well. good luck. plus less bloated my face is so much thinner looking since not drinking!!

RDBplus3 04-16-2013 04:14 AM


Originally Posted by magnum102 (Post 3919619)
this depresses me and almost makes me want to drink.......

Warning....Warning....
This a CLASSIC element in the cycle of addiction. It is the place where we push the merry-go-round one more time, just a little bit harder....to cover up the negative feelings created by the addiction cycle....and keep the cycle of addiction going....and if we keep giving it another push....it just keeps going until it comes off its bearings and crashes into destruction.


Please look into this. Get some addiction counseling. Read up and study some addiction literature. The AA Big Book, Rational Recovery, the Crash Course on the AVRT website...and this website, Sober Recovery, has vast resources for addiction study and recovery.

You may not have passed over into full blown addiction yet....I am 59 years old, and I drank for 40 years. I would have saved myself a lot of years of addiction problems if I would have gotten my recovery started when I was younger.
:abce:

soberclover 04-16-2013 05:52 AM

I think those of us become healthier on the inside as well as the outside. Drinking really did a number on my mental health and the way that I thought about EVERYTHING. Of course not drinking will change how we look on the outside. It's the inside changes that REALLY take work. I am in counseling and it makes a big difference. I also spend a lot of time on SR :)

Joe Nerv 04-16-2013 06:13 AM

I stopped drinking when I was 23. Now I'm 52. I'm in way better physical shape now than I was then, and weigh 25 lbs more.... A much needed 25 pounds that I added in mostly muscle. Just had my body fat percentage checked for fun, and it was 16% :) . I'm proud of that because I work hard for it.

When I first got sober people who saw me said I looked completely different. They said I glowed, or something similar. I don't however believe this comes from simply putting down a drink. If we have a problem with alcohol and stop without doing something major to heal ourselves, our problem will simply find another outlet. Most people I know with untreated alcoholism pick up other addictions (food, sex, work, et.), become incredibly angry or unhappy, get obsessive about stuff.... Actually drinking, for me was just a very small part of my problem. Getting healthy physically, mentally, and spiritually had more to do with things than not picking up a bottle of Dewers or a quart of Bud.

Mountainmanbob 04-16-2013 06:34 AM

seem to hold it better
 

Originally Posted by magnum102 (Post 3919619)

will stopping reverse some of this damage or have i done too much harm to myself?

let's put it this way
it sure won't hurt

I've seen some who sober up and not much change
but
they were not adding to the aging process with body and mind abuse

true
many get sober
and
start talking care of themselves
and
look very good


onehigherpower

ScottFromWI 04-16-2013 07:16 AM

I noticed a physical change within a few weeks. I lost about 12 lbs ( although I wasn't really all that overweight anyway ) and my face definitely lost that bloated, puffy sunken eye hungover look that all to many of us have. I attribute it not only to stopping the beer, but also actually replacing it with good food and water. Many times beer was my dinner with a handful of whatever was convenient just to make myself think I acually ate something.

It's just one of the many benefits of not drinking.

Kasia71 04-16-2013 07:43 AM

Hey Magnum....wow, you're giving me a flashback. I'm 41 now, but I went from thin and in great shape at 20 to 40 pounds overweight by my late 20s...beer, beer & more beer (and plenty of crappy food too at 3am). I moved out of state at 20, and when I would visit back home I got the look of "wow, she got chunky"...I hated it....cause I thought I was hot sh** when I was younger. I can't stress it enough, I am so mad at myself for letting that happen. My wedding, I was on the pudgy side, never huge, but not the 120 pounder I was. Hate those pictures!

The crazy thing now..I get the opposite. At 41 I get told I look young for my age....and that I'm pretty....and still drinking like a fish. For me I think it was my conscious decision to switch from beer to vodka...I became less bloated looking. But, that took my alcoholism to a new level. And, being told I look good (while drinking every night) is bad too cause I was able to justify my drinking...dwelling too much on the exterior. As long as I'm told I look good, it's all good. Destroying my insides though.

Only been sober for 2.25 days....so I'm just in the beginning...I have no clue if I can look better yet if I stop. We'll see...

choublak 04-16-2013 08:38 AM


Originally Posted by magnum102 (Post 3919619)
I want to look like i did years ago. I look at my friends facebook pics and they all look just about the same as high school.......... this depresses me and almost makes me want to drink.......

Comparing yourself to people on facebook doesn't serve any purpose except to make you feel bad about yourself in some way. Maybe log off of there for awhile?

duane1 04-16-2013 08:39 AM

I lost over 20 lbs after quitting. It must have been pretty noticable because I got a slew of complements from others after I quit. If they didn't notice the weight, they might have noticed how much my attitude improved after quitting.

SnwFlower 04-16-2013 09:14 AM

Hi Magnum,

Yes, I noticed a big difference in my appearance, pretty similar to what you described. I just recently gave up alcohol 2.5 months ago and I began noticing improvements after the first month, and is continuing to get better. I was a wine drinker ( bottle or more a night for several years), and up until January, just before I quit drinking, my face was bloated, red sunken eyes, dry/thinning hair and 20 pound weight gain and I felt horrible. Was also experiencing itchy facial hives. I was looking unhealthy and had lost that once healthy glow that I always took for granted. I blamed it all on getting older, and refused to realize it was the alcohol. Fast forward to my sobriety today and the face bloat is gone, my eyes are bright and healthy looking, have lost 12 pounds (with added exercise and healthy foods) and my hair is looking much healthier. I've even noticed some new hairs growing in my hairline. (An extra added bonus as my doctor thought the hair loss was caused by stress, but it hadn't been growing back for 2 years - until now. In my case I think it was from lack of vitamins lost through drinking.) The facial hives finally went away about 3 weeks ago. I'm actually really amazed at how much healthier I look. Before getting sober, I didn't know if the damage I had caused from drinking was permanent - including my liver, which is clearly the most important. I feel extremely fortunate that I'm able to turn things around and see such great improvements. I've always looked very young/fit for my age, but alcohol was stealing that attribute from me and I hated it. I'm never going back to my former drunken self again, and never drinking alcohol ever again, ...it's just not worth it.

I hope that helps.

LilyMarie 04-16-2013 09:27 AM

Probably within a month, I managed to drop 10lbs, my skin looked better, (less fine lines) and my hair stopped being hopelessly dry and foofy.
My biggest thrill was I noticed my flat tummy coming back. No more bloat!! Yaaay!!

Zebra1275 04-16-2013 10:45 AM

I haven't really noticed any changes, I still carry a few more pounds than I would like and I'm getting pretty grey. But my dad started going grey at 17 so I really didn't have much of a chance there.

But I've noticed a lot of changes on the inside. My blood pressure, cholesterol, heart rate, and general physical fitness have improved tremendously (I play tennis 4 times a week). My doctor said that may health changes are remarkable. Physically I feel 10 - 15 years younger then my chronological age.

360shoes 04-16-2013 11:21 AM

I think I look better after just 6 weeks. I've lost a few pounds and my skin is much nicer. I do know that I have done other things to help it along just by paying attention to good grooming habits.
One thing I always noticed that on that tv show Intervention, everyone single one of those people looked a great deal better when they showed the 30 day follow up on the ones who stopped drinking or drugging. Seriously, if they were under weight they gained, if they had some to lose, the did. They all looked a thousand percent better.

And like Dee said, most importantly I feel so much better on the inside. Nothing is prettier or more handsome then a genuine smile coming from a happy heart no matter what we look like on the outside.

Garen 04-16-2013 11:36 AM

As my drinking progressed I dropped weight, not gained it. My face turned pale except around my eyes and my teeth darkened. During the height of my drinking I can see a very skinny face with cheek bones sticking way out, and a white face with red around the eyes. The look on my face was just slightly above pain. Color is coming back in to my face and I am not sure how else I will change. Time will tell.

Wastinglife 04-16-2013 11:43 AM

I lost 40 pounds within a year of quitting drinking. I was downing minimum 12 beers everyday (tall cans) so I figure that was an extra 2000 calories or so per day. My face was so bloated and I had a huge gut. I look younger now than I did 10 years ago.


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