Red face, puffy eyes, sad face, fat belly
 

I have all the above from the past 10 years of abusing alcohol and I am (vainly) wondering if the first two ever go away, and how long it might take. I trust that sobriety and the 12 steps will help with #3, and that abstinence and working out will relieve #4. Anyone have experience with the first two to share?

Sobriety will do wonders for your appearance!! as the body adjusts and heals, it won't happen over night but the human body is a fantastic machine!!

Give it time!! :)

With the passage of more sober time those things will go away. It just takes time. Treat yourself well.

Hopefully you'll see some changes in your face in a couple of weeks.

I like your plan to work on the 'sad face' too. :)

The red face and puffy eyes were the first things I noticed that improved about my physical appearance. They cleared up after only a couple weeks of abstaining from the booze.

Many of my physical issues improved dramatically when I quit drinking. It took at least a couple of months before I started noticing dramatic changes, but I lost weight, lost the puffy/bloated look and feel, my BP dropped significantly, and many other things.

Granted, I'm sure that it wasn't simply abstinence that was the sole reason - I also started eating and sleeping better once I quit drinking and got more exercise. I did also see my doctor and was honest about how much I had been drinking, they ran tests over a period of time and gave me some diet tips and supplement tips along the way.

But overall, everything is better without question.

If there is any permanent damage, like broken capillaries, laser can get rid of them. Once you get those, they won't just go away. Puffy eyes and belly will go away. The sadness should get better once your body and mind starts recovering from the years of abuse.

Yes, you will look so much better! :) My vanity is one factor in helping me to stay sober. (10 months today) My husband pretty much quit drinking in support of me. (he is not an alcoholic and didn't drink as much as me) I couldn't believe how much better and younger, he looked, too, after a couple of months! You won't be disappointed!!

Above posts are correct for me - only difference is I am gaining weight as I eat on more of regular and irregular basis(watch that replacement therapy of cookies, ice cream etc!)

My face was red and puffy - eyes etc. At 51 days people I haven't seen in awhile comment continuously. However, they tell me I still look like Dan Aykroyd.....Poor Dan

Mesmith - 2.75 months down the sobriety track and I feel and look so much better. In fact I did even weeks afterwards. Exercise very regularly and eat well - I'm sure you will see and more importantly feel the results.

Reading this post reminded me of an article I read a while back about a woman who used to drink wine.. and what giving it up did in one month. (Pictures)

Look what giving up drink for a month can do to your face: Mother who enjoyed five glasses of wine a week is transformed after going cold turkey | Mail Online

I Have seen numerous people who's physical appearance improved dramatically at 3-6 months myself included. Don't forget mean old mister aging has nothing to do with alcoholism.

I'm at day 79 and am quite happy with the changes :)
still working on sad face ;) but the red, blotchy bloating is gone. My hair and skin are getting their healthy shine back.
God, after a bad binge I couldn't stand looking in the mirror and avoided them. I didn't know who that person was looking back at me.

I've taken a picture of myself everyday in the same place at the same time for 30 days from quit date. Quite amazing the change.

I thought you looked like Bill Murray.

I agree with the othes Mesmith - it all gets better.

I had 'gin blossoms' & my face was always flushed, puffy, red eyes - bloated stomach & just a miserable look in general. Everything improved rather quickly. :)

After only about 3 weeks, I was on face time with a relative (didn't know I was a drinker or had quit)... said are you losing weight? your face looks so much thinner. I hadn't lost an ounce at that time..but the bloated look went away rather quickly. Its a good incentive to stay off the drinks.

I am 26 years old and the red face and puffy eyes have faded. My red face was mainly due to a massive imbalance in my weird body temperature and general bad health. That took over a month to sort out. The puffy eyes went down after a fortnight of drinking a lot of water.

I definitely saw an improvement at about 2 weeks. The first 14 days I was in my own personal hell and didn't even have the energy to look in the mirror. Once the fog cleared my face started to as well.

The bloat and extra 10 pounds I was carrying disappeared with no effort on my part except to eliminate the booze calories.

Now, at almost 2 years, I can pass for 10 years younger and continue to notice improved appearance. It scares me to think what I would look like had I continued drinking. Wow.

In general, without the toxic effects of alcohol in your system you should see improvement on all you mention - and I too had to work on my sad face :( with some time and healing and effort, I now have a happy face 95% of the time. When I feel a sad face coming on, I try to just relish in the fact that I managed to quit drinking for 2 years. That always turns my frown upside down :))))))

Everybody is different but you should see a change...if you have the money and the time, it would be well worth it to treat yourself to a facial and a massage maybe as a landmark sobriety gift...2 weeks, 30 days? I am not sure where you are at. It will loosen some of the toxins and help flush out all the "gunk"...drink lots of water and green tea!