How quickly did things go downhill for you?
 

How quickly did things go down hill for other alcoholics on here?

I am pretty sure many of you had similar experiences to mine, but I can’t help but ask because I’ve really been stunned by the events of the last year. I’ve always gone to the doctor regularly, gotten all the blood tests which turned out optimal, and then in the last year the s**t hit the fan. In one year I’ve been through three inpatient detoxes, three hospitalizations for acute pancreatitis (two or three night stay each time), numerous ER visits, have an enlarged liver, reprimands at work, and less contact with family. Ironically I’ve had more sober time this year than in the last five, but I’ve had the health problems. I’ve gotten more involved with AA each time I stopped drinking. I’m hopeful that, after getting over any physical dependence, I will be able to stick with the program for good this time.

It can happen fast. Be thankful you have the chance to make things right. It is a fact that some return to drinking and never quit until it is too late.

Emotionally and spiritually, fairly quickly.

Whether the damage is physical, emotional or spiritual, the healing can only begin with total abstinence.

Glad that you are here, TaiCarm.

My descent was gradual. Took about 5-6 years to go from a weekend binge drinker with a career, condo, fiancé, car to unemployed bankrupt all day vodka drinker, evicted, and dumped by the girl,

This last time at a unprecedented rapid pace.

Standing In the back of a movie theatre, two fisting double cups of wine that I paid $23.00 each for.

And I couldn't get the switch in my head flipped.

The liver pain started shortly thereafter.

I can never go back.

I've from detox to rehab to detox than out patient in a couple of years. john

I don't think I've done any physical damage to my body, but things went downhill for me pretty damn fast. This last time around I'd only been drinking for 2 1/2 months or so before **** started hitting the fan as you put it.

Taicharm, I stopped in the nick of time.

The human body is an amazing organism. It can forgive us our sins for a long time and then it just breaks down. If you think of alcohol as poison, which in your case it is, and drinking as a way of damaging your mind and body, does that help you stop?

Read up on ways to overcome cravings, and you may be able to stop permanently.

take the one step program. dont drink? it is that simple. it will take some work, like anything. :wild

I drank nightly from 2006-2010 no problem. I enjoyed it, I felt social, and it still worked. I was in my mid-twenties and had the world on a string. I was satisfied with about six drinks a night. The problem was my tolerance kept going up so it was taking more and more to reach my "happy place."

Around 2010 I was drinking about 12 units a night. Blackouts were a weekly occurrence at this point. I blacked out on work nights as often as weekends. I was drinking 365 nights a year minus a few days here and there when I was simply too hungover to drink. And when I say too hung over to drink I mean psycho crazy type of hangover you only see in movies. I was good at curing my hangover with the next drink that night but there were of course those days right simply could not get it past my lips.

I started feeling a pain in my right side but I ignored it and even thought it might just be anxiety. I started to get a phobia of going to the doctor at this point and when I would go my blood pressure was getting really high. I always explained it away to the doctor that I was stressed out or had just run up the stairs to his office. He didn't seem to think too much of it. I also lied about how much I drink at this point and would put two drinks at night on the form at the doctors office.

In spring of 2013 the pain in my right side had gotten worse and to my horror I went to a new doctor for it annual physical and she said that I should get blood work done. I was mortified and put it off as long as I could. I ended up getting about three months later. I told myself that I would stop drinking three months before I got the blood drawn but I drank every single night of those three months the same quantity as I usually drink. The goalpost kept getting pushed further and further back. The daily hangovers had become nothing short of terrorism to my life at this point.

At age 31 I was diagnosed with an inflamed liver. I said well that's it my drinking days are over. Nope. I was sober for a week but then got stressed out during a move and drank again, same amount as before. I drank for one more year after that. I still can't believe I did that. Probably the biggest regret of my life.

In June 2014 I was getting so sick every day at work and going through daily withdrawals that I simply could not take it anymore. Drinking had become harder than not drinking. And I was starting to get reverse tolerance. When I say sick I don't mean that I was vomiting at work. I was just going through the daily withdrawals of sweating, slightly shaking, heart palpitations, and feeling like I might die at any minute of a panic attack. I hadn't vomited in years.

I've been sober for seven months and the pain in my right side is just starting to go away. I pray that my organs will heal.

I was shocked that it was possible to do all this damage by the age of 32 when I have been reading for years on here about people who drink for 20 or 30 years and were quitting in their 50s or 60s. I wanted to be one of those people that could continue drinking for a long long time but my luck ran out.

My hope at this point is that my body will heal and I can lead a long sober life.

If I could give you guys one lesson to learn from my story it would be that the addiction is powerful. I thought I would've been somebody who would've quit the day I was diagnosed with something. But I wasn't. I kept drinking. So if you are thinking right now that you'll stop someday when the doctor tells you to, it doesn't really make it any easier.

Hey. mine was similar, bout a year.

Drinking everyday was just what I did. For many years. Thought nothing could touch me because I was in good shape. Heck, the last 5 years of playing competitive hockey, I was drunk every game...every.single.one. Drinking a mickey of fireball in my truck before heading into the arena was just part of the routine...then beer after. For some reason It wasn't until I had surgery for a hernia, things changed. Quick.

Thought drinking would always be part of my life. SR has been a blessing to show me how to live life sober.

keep coming back. I know how painful pancreatitis is...argh.

About Like This:

I'm 27 years old and after stealing drinks and drinking heavily from my early teens, I got so drunk when I was 16 that I locked myself in my friend's bathroom and ended up in hospital from injuring myself. I then didn't drink till I was 19 when an older relative informed me that I was "uncool" for not "doing shots". Ever since then, I've been drinking first socially, then it's just got worse and worse with blackouts, worsening mental health problems and physical stuff like headaches, bad skin, weight loss...just things that made me realise I needed to stop.

Nonsensical posted a graph ad I think it fits me. Until recently I hadn't really seen how physically unwell I had become. I knew my tolerance had dropped but I was lookin at me not going to detox and I THOUGHT I hadn't had any withdrawal symptoms.
But I think that isn't true.at the end of my drinking I was getting blackout drunk on a six pack unless I had the aid of some Vicodin which upped the intake and I couldn't drink every day as i hurt too much. And when I stopped I was in quite a fog, but I think I was suffering more physically than I thought.
But what's worse than the physical aspect is the mental and emotional. I think that went downerhill when I picked up my first drink. I already had problems in those two areas before I ever picked up a drink and alcohol made it even worse.


I am also very hopeful you stick with the program. Been a great way of life for me and countless others.

Rarely have we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our path.
Thoroughly have we seen a person fail who has rarely followed our path.

The point everyone is supporting is that it is progressive. It NEVER gets better, only worse. It is also fatal if left untreated. The main question is: are you done and are you ready to decide to do anything to be sober and free?

We aren't ready until we are ready. And that point of readiness is different for each of us.

It occurs to me that I should tell the rest of the story. :)

I'm 39 abusing it since I was 20. (1995) Became a real serious problem in 2004 adiction became reality. First tolerance 6-12 a day. 2006 moved to Australia luved with my ex that was between me and my alcohol use I wasn't allowed to drink more than 6 at the time only on Wednesday and weekends. Hiding it lying about is sneakily drinking when she left the house to go play sport.
2013 split up things went down hill very fast, adiction out of control.
14-18 bottles of full strenght veer a night and about 24-30 a night in the weekends.

Black outs every night hangovers at work every morning.
Now 2015 ended up in hospital with severe chest pains.
Went to GP to check hospital reports she asked me if I drink much I ofcourse lied but cried and told her yes.
She wanted a full blood test done . Liver kidneys cholesterol red bloodcell count.

I'm diagnosed with inflamed liver, my cholesterol is 9.4!!! Should be 4 heart attack levels im on, I am anemic, malnourished, elevated bloodpressure and glucose levels are bit high but not alarmingly high.
Last months I always felt emberrassed going to the bottle o to get my cartons.

Enough for me to either choose left or right. I made the decision to quit!
Gp asked me if i was sure i could reduce the intaje, i told her that that is not how my body and brauns work it is all or nothing.
That same night i passed out Saturday tge 17th Jan. 32 beers. Woke up at 4 pm Sunday the 18th
Dry since (22 days now) and not missing it surprisingly, but im on Campral though.

Its a very gradual downward slope. You dont know you are trending downward until years later you look up and think to yourself "What have I done?".

Drank very very little in high school. Then once college hit, my freshman year I drank 5 nights a week usually. Then after freshman year didnt drink again until my junoir year. Then it was gradual- only on weekends and it stayed that way until I stopped again around the age of 22. I didnt pick up another drink until I was about 26/27. Then again it started as just a few here and there on the weekends.

But before I knew it, I was drinking every night which lasted probably about 2-2 1/2 years until mid 2014. I basically realized what I was doing on that I most likely had a problem. I just started to not feel as well, was always tired, irritated, in a bad mood, and drinking when I got home didnt put me in a better mood. I was upset all the time, and was just not enjoying life. Then one day I had probably 7 drinks before noon, and had another 10 or so the rest of the day. After that binge I knew I could not continue. I was sober for 5-6 weeks, then relapsed, was sober again for about 5 weeks, relapsed, then was sober for 8 weeks and just recently relapsed.

Now I back to being sober (day 3).

So I never got arrested, didnt lose my house, family, job etc. But I did lose my sense of feeling good without a substance, I lost my sanity, I lost my natural desire to be happy, I lost a lot in an emotional way. I lost an overall sense of wellbeing and was replaced with unhappiness, stress, and anxiety.

I made huge strides this last time around, and was very very pleased with my progress and was pleased with the way my life was going. Then in one night, I remembered what is was like to be in a loathing pit of horror. But as many said it doesnt have to happen again. It could all end. Its my choice and one I have to make.

Add a few more years of drinking, and I could have wrote this myself. Totally relate.
I'm on 109 day sober. You had some good runs, much better than I have had in the past, keep going.. and congrats on day 3!

Yeah totally, I had some good streaks. What would have made those better is not drinking those three times to break that streak. Alas, I have learned and I need to continue to plug away. Get back on track and start moving forward with my plan.