How many years does alcoholism take to affect you?

At least 5

Yes. Yes, people die from alcoholism. I knew one. It kills your liver and causes your kidneys to fail. You die decades before you woud have.

Your looks? You know your health will being to suffer before it shows in your appearance but ok... I t depends on how well you otherwise look after yourself. If you don't bother to keep properly hydrated it'll be a matter of months. If you don't keep up vitamins and minerals, your skin will change in less than a year, your moods and general feeling of being a bit 'off' (or worse), will also affect your looks.

How old are you OP? The only really heavy drinkers I know who are able to starve off the inevitable weight gain in later years are people with eating disorders who have incredibly bad diets. Alcohol will affect your skin, eyes, nose, jaw line and chin. It will cause veins to erupt on the surface of your skin and skin to heal less quickly. Many heavy daily drinkers have dental problems because they pass out at night never flossing or brushing, and sleep with their mouths open which creates dry mouth syndrome.

You can get esophageal varices and projectile-vomit blood till you die. That's one option.

My father died of alcoholism last year. He was drinking pretty heavily, but secretly, for 8 years or so. Then he retired and started drinking full time. I guess that was about 3 years. He had severe cirrhosis, portal hypertension, and esophageal varices. He spent time in a hospital for hepatic encephalopathy. A few weeks before he died, he turned yellow. That went away after about a week. Two weeks later, he died suddenly at home alone. He was 65.

Given his family history, he probably would have lived 15-20 more years had he not been an alcoholic.

My boyfriend is a heavy drinker and smoker, he is 50 and still looks great but is starting to have breathing problems. This may sound shallow but I am thinking this would be the time to bail because I think he will just end up getting worse...

get your yearly check up. They will test your liver. Good luck.

Alcohol doesn't always get you by compromising internal organs. You can also tipsily trip in front of a bus. (Or dare I say it, take home the wrong person.)

Physically, it's really a matter of genetics. Half my family is alcoholic, but they also have seemingly indestructable skin and cheekbones...so you never know.

If I could I’d spend most of my time drunk. I hate interacting with people sober.

You're free to.

If you live to old age, you will get dementia. I’ve known many alcoholics, some recovering, and all had varying degrees of dementia. Some were even borderline alcoholics. Not drunk daily or even weekly.

If you’re not drunk daily are you an alchoholic at sill?

Is this a phishing expedition by the [bold]#AAruinedMyLife[bold] troll?

My mother's partner died in his early forties from cirrhosis. In the end he was hallucinating from the toxins building up in his system because his liver was not functioning, which affected every part of his body, including his brain (he did not have alcohol-related dementia). She woke one night and heard him out the front of the house talking to someone. She went out and he was standing in the drive way saying, goodnight to no-one there. They came back inside of the house and he had the table set for a dinner party that he had just finished. He was outside bidding his imagined guest goodnight when my mother heard him speaking.

He would go to the toilet and vomit pure blood.

The idea that many people have that you just keep drinking and then one day you just don't wake up is not reality for many alcoholics. He WANTED to drink right up to the end, but as soon as he took a sip of alcohol he threw it up. His body could not handle any at all. It was a gruesome death, OP.

My uncle died from alcoholism. He was 43. His liver exploded and he was throwing up blood. Died in his bed with a trail of blood.

Genetics play a major role. I'm 36 year old female and started heavily abusing alcohol at 16. Daily blackouts by 18 until about the age of 29 where I started to tone down the drinking From 1 pint of liquor or 2 bottles of wine nightly to maybe a bottle of wine every few days. A close friend of mine almost died from DT's which is what caused me to slow my alcohol intake down. The fact that I was a highly functioning and successful full time professional made it easier for me continue abusing alcohol without worry. I have great genes in and true DL fashion i am 36 but look 21. I eat healthy, work out, take tons of health supplements and regularly get labs done to check my liver, kidneys and overall health. Although I have drastically changed my drinking habits for the better and take care of myself I know I must have done irrepetible damage to my body by all the alcohol and drugs I consumed and when I drink now (although not as much as I used to) it is still more than your average bear or aging slut in my case. I fear that All the drug and alcohol abuse I've subjected myself to over the past 20 years will eventually catch up. I haven't been able to stop drinking and drugs all together but over the years I've been able to teach myself how to slow down and drink responsibly. I quit smoking 26 months ago and eat very clean. At the end of the day I am still an alcoholic and there's no denying that. I still look fantastic for now but if my Medical labs show damage then I will have to face the fact that I need to stop drinking for good.

Another lovely complication is acute pancreatitis, probably the most painful condition known to humans. Sorry, OP, but your looks are the least of your worries.

From what I've observed, it's the psychological effects of alcoholic drinking that compromise your life before the physical ones.

They end up isolated because, unless they're rich, no one wants to be around them for long. And when it sinks in they're abnormal, they want to hide their drinking by doing it alone.

Being shunned and left alone with only a wet brain for company for years makes them even weirder.

My boyfriend has hand tremors. I don't say anything but his hands are very shaky.

Cut them off.

of moderately consumed, its a tonic for you...thins the blood, keeps things moving...

I went from pounding liters of liquor and wine nightly for years to the point of daily blackouts to drinking a few beers in a social setting once every week or 2 weeks. Getting on anti anxiety meds were one of the factors of me being able to successfully change my drinking habits. It's still. Struggle and will always be a struggle. Please get regular bloodwork done and focus on your physical and mental health

I am 71, have drunk 5 whiskey coctails a nite for 25 yrs. Fit as a fiddle. Don't smoke, eat well, exercise, you are good to go.

r24 BILL TAYLOR is that you?

They're all FINE. They send their love!

This thread should’ve been called Denial.

My friend, a gorgeous 38 year old female died about 2 years ago.

Her family told me it was a HORRIBLE death. Blood even came out of her eyes.

I will not say more. 38. Drank straight vodka for around 10-12 years.

A very sensitive girl who never felt like she was enough.

In the final years before the end the only outward signs were bloated tummy and her face did fill out.

RIP, sweetheart. I pray that you have found joy and peace-

It's weird in my family I'm pretty much the only one in my generation that doesn't drink too much or abuse drugs. One of my cousins - I reminded him of something he said to me at our grandmothers wake. He didn't remember saying it at all because he was high at the time. That really hit me hard - I remembered it but he didn't.

He's off the drugs but one of his sons is following right into his drug using footsteps. Both of them btw grew up in suburbia. I grew up in the city.

And even worse - my uncle - he died at 42 years old of cirrhotic liver from years of drug and alcohol abuse.

The above is why I'm incredibly leery about the suburbs.

My mother was a youthful looking 28 when she started drinking. By the time she died at 42 she looked to be in her late fifties to early sixties. She also had a type of anemia which didn't work well with the drinking. It lead to "Chronic Alcoholism" being the verdict of her autopsy.

I think it definitely varies. Men fare far better than women when it comes to the effects of alcohol on the body.

OP, my alcoholism took it's toll on my looks within about 3 years, and it continued to do further damage for the next 10. I don't mean to sound immodest, but when it began I was 33 and I was a solid 9. By 48 I was a 5. I finally stopped drinking at 57, and I can truly say that all the rosacea, swelling, and general in-well looking has abated and I know look quite normal for a woman of my age.

I will always regret throwing away 4 years of youthful beauty, but I am glad that I finally got the monkey off my back.

I just found out a childhood acquaintance has just died at 62. He gave up a successful architectural career, left his family and went to hole up at his family's old cabin in NW. Michigan . He basically drank up there for 10 years and just died this month two days after his birthday, from the D.T.'s, a withdrawal syndrome of seizures, hallucinations and heart failure It hit home as up until 4 years ago I was headed that way in my drinking. Now complete abstinence and AA. This guy was smoking hot back in the day

In the 60s my mother dated a guy who was a regular drinker, or what they considered "regular" back then. He fell down the basement steps when drunk and died.

As she was telling the story, she remembered someone else who died by accident when drunk, then dad remembered a Navy buddy who had also fallen when drunk and died.

So if bad health doesn't get ya, an accident at home probably will, OP.

Just don't fall on your Madame Alexander dolls; someone here would surely love to have them.

you should start cutting down in your 30s maybe eliminate it altogether by your mid or late 30s

You probably don't look that fantastic, r17.

I drank like crazy in my 20s for a few years and stopped right around age 30, going to wine with dinner on weekends for a while, then by my late 30s down to just a few times a year. Never drank as much as you, r17, and yes, my health started to show the effects by 40.

As many as you need to pose the question, OP.

In my drinking years I put on a lot of weight. Pictures of me show me looking bloated, bleary and disoriented. My family was sick of me.

Take heed from this thread OP. You still have time.

We don't see ourselves as others see us. If you suspect you may be aging poorly because of excessive drinking, that likely means you're really starting to look haggard to others.

A pathologist's view:

If you are actually in the hospital and your primary diagnosis is alcoholic hepatitis, you probably have it very, very bad... explaining why the mortality figures in some studies are so high (for example, J. Clin. Gastro. 40: 833, 2006).

Fortunately, if you sober up, all that will remain is whatever minor scarring has occurred. The liver cells will regenerate nicely, and your liver will probably be fine.

ALCOHOLIC CIRRHOSIS ("Laennec's cirrhosis", other names)

Exactly what causes the progression (if it is a progression) from reversible changes (fatty change, Mallory bodies, inflammation) to irreversible disease (i.e., fibrosis-cirrhosis) is obscure.

Easy to remember -- if you drink less than six beers per day / four glasses of wine per day, cirrhosis is unlikely. In order to get cirrhosis, one needs at least 15 pint-years (i.e, a pint of the hard stuff per day for fifteen years, three pints a day for five years, or similar). Many cirrhotics have much more. Yet 2/3 of heavy drinkers die without cirrhosis. Nobody knows why.

Just some cold, hard facts.

I lost a close female friend to alcoholism. She was 54. We and our friends all partied during our twenties but she continued it into her thirties and I would guess from the evidence I saw that she settled into regular nighttime drinking by her forties at the latest. Like most alcoholics she was secretive about her drinking habits. She eventually lost her job due to what she insisted were 'personality conflicts' at work. She lived with family and was on disability during her final years. It was sad to see her decline and I still miss her.

My nephew has pancreatitis. He’s about 42 and won’t live to be 50. Very sad. People do indeed die from alcoholism, though often the death will be ascribed to a side effect of drinking, like pancreatitis, liver disease, heart failure, or slip and fall, etc.

OP, just a laymans’ explanation, but I think a younger person has a more resilient body. So, a twenty-something person may not show the worst effects of drinking, but a fourty-something person who drinks the same amount will age at twice or triple the rate. So, basically it’s smooth sailing until all of a sudden your body and appearance collapse very quickly.

You’ll feel better once you quit, after an adjustment period.

Happy Easter, best wishes.

I know someone who died at 39. Drank herself to death. Seriously.

R41, does the drinkie-poo set still call it "partying" at age 54?

R44 No darling, it simply becomes known as "cocktail hour" for the serious set.

Thanks, drunkie.

Why are you casting aspersions on me R46... I just grew up in the era of daily drinks at an appointed hour, and my folks always followed them with wine at dinner. My father's 10-12 marinis per day didn't cause me to follow his pattern. My eighty year old parents still do in fact refer to it as "cocktail hour". For them, it begins promptyly at six.

[quote]My mother's partner died in his early forties from cirrhosis. In the end he was hallucinating from the toxins building up in his system because his liver was not functioning

How much do you have to be drinking for how long for this to happen?

r47 10-12 per day? Seriously? Aren't people who drink that much just always hung over?

R48, everybody differs. There are no set rules. It’s not like there is a virus they can isolate to say yes or no, you’re an alkie or not.

A friend of mine has childhood diabetes. He had a liver transplant in his 30s, I think it was. He’s got a lot of related health issues, but the point is, if he was a serious drinker, he’d have died in his 20s or 30s, with or without all his replacement parts.

They grow accustomed to it R48. They only feel ill when they don't get their drinks. With some, even before tremours kick in, it begins with stomach pain, and a nervous anxiety. Tolerance mounts quite quickly in the face of daily drinks too, so 10 for a "professional" does not affect them the same way as an occasional or social drinker.

My uncle died a horrific and painful death in his 60s from alcoholism: cirrhosis with pancreatic cancer.

It is a strange luck of the draw with the genome, that allows for some to drink like fishes without health consequences. Some carry on for their whole lives with no impact on their livers or pancreases. Having known many alcoholics, many avoid seeing doctors.

I know a few people who are raging alcoholics and they look just fine. The two women look fine and don't look bloated at at all, the man has a gut but he's nearing 70. We go out to dinner and they never eat, just order and have it packed to go. Does the type of booze matter?

After 40 years of drinking I quit a year and a half ago. I feel like the poster child of arrested development.

R42, I think for the most part you are right. I know people in their 20s who partied hard and by their late 30s/early 40s, they showed the inevitable signs of that on their faces and in their bodies. But I do know a group of big time boozers who have been drinking steadily for over 20+ years. They drink a lot every single day. I'm always surprised that now in their mid-40s, it's not showing more.

The one area it's showing is in weight gain, but they do eat pretty well so I assume they're getting proper nutrition despite the heavy boozing. I'm convinced one guy has an iron liver. The amount he drinks is incredible. But other than gaining A LOT of weight, he actually looks pretty good in the face. Not a lot of wrinkles, which I guess could be the fat pushing them out. But still, as much booze as he drinks, I thought I'd see more effects on his skin, hair, eyes, etc. He usually looks decent enough. Just way too fat now.

have you ever seen shane mcgowan? a famous irish singer who drinks way too much and he was addicted to some drugs but he got off the drugs but still drinks beer. he doesn't drink spirits anymore and only vaps. He recently turned 60 and he was on a TV show. He must have some kind of dementia. He was SOOOOO slow mentally, could barely string a sentence together....sad. but many are amazed he's still alive. his brain must be full of holes.

About every third hospital admission has something to do with alcohol OP. Heavy drinking is a killer- as much as any single thing can be.

I've been on the booze train for about a decade now. Late 30s. It started with weekend binges and has progressed into nightly drinking until I pass out. I'm functioning but not healthy. I've hit rock bottom in my marriage and now I need to change. My husband drinks too - it's the only thing we have in common anymore.

have you ever seen homeless people? you can tell those who are addicted to booze.

Best of luck to youR58. At least you recognise there is a problem. Taper off slowly and see if your willpower can exert enough strength on reducing not just the number, but start skipping days. If you feel you are physically addicted talk to your Dr; he can help.

R54 You are truly my sister or brother. I have the exact same condition due to all the lost time. It seems sometimes that I am still where I was when I began having a serious problem. In a weird way sometimes it can be a good thing, but most of the time it is not. I have the mental maturity of a 40 year old at best, and when someone calls attention to the fact that I am indeed a "senior," I feel like I just received a strong blow to the head.

Some people die by age 30.

OP when you say heavy drinker, what do you mean? How much and how often?

I know many heavy drinkers, they will have all kinds of excuses. They drink 6 days a week but will say they don't drink every day. They don't need to have a drink first thing in the morning. They only drink wine, etc.

This Reddit thread was eye-opening to me.

OP, As others are telling you, it depends. Aside from the physical toll, it's hard to love a drunk. It doesn't take long for a drunk to drive drunk and kill someone. It doesn't take long before a drunk embarrasses himself or herself in front of friends, family or partner. It doesn't take long before friends, family or partner realize they can't trust or rely on a drunk. You get the picture.

R56, Shane with the Pogues? He was like you describe, in so many videos, and always soooo drunk. But amazingly good, even so. I'm surprised he's still alive. OP, I hope you quit and get on with the start of healing. So much pain in being or living with drunkenness. We have the gene in our family and I was a binge drunk in my 20's to 40's, about two to three times a year. For me it slowed down, but there was a point it could have gone the other way. One day at a time, slowly and surely. I also hope you use your doctor to help. Quitting cold turkey can be dangerous if you have underlying health conditions. Good luck.

Some people don't take long, OP. There's always the stupid accident, like stumbling into a canal in the dark when you're 28 and had too much at the basketball game. A close friend died in his fifties in the hospital after his kidneys gave out. He wanted to live, but it was too late. That one was rough. My father lasted until his 70's and then got rapid onset Alzheimer's and died screaming and thrashing, in a nursing home, alone. That next drink is not worth it. Life is worth it.

A nurse I know who works in detox said that the worst case of Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome (what we call "wet brain") that he saw was in a 22-year old man. The guy had begun drinking hard alcohol at the age of 8, for Christ's sakes, and would continue to glug straight spirits every single day. I guess his body and developing brain completely deteriorated, and he was "not even human," said my nurse acquaintance. Couldn't put together a single coherent sentence. Had to wear identification tags with name and address on it because he would not know how to get home or what his address was, which is why he was rarely allowed to go anywhere alone. Just wretched.

He explained it to me in layman's terms that I may get entirely wrong here, but I guess the brain is mostly water, and when you destroy neurons and brain cells so consistently, you're basically left with not much except that water.

I knew a couple who were that bad, R69. Never knew there was a term for it. Heavy drinkers from their early teens, physically abusive, placed into nursing homes at far too young in their early 60's. Both were unable to speak. The woman would just mouth 'ahhhhh' at you.

An old school friend died last year aged 40. It took around 20 years, the last 3/4 years they were in and out of hospital with the expectation that they wouldn't last much longer.

I was/am a heavy, HEAVY, drinker in the day. I still drink but not nearly what I used to. I'm in my early 40's now, and I have issues. Not life and death (liver transplant) issues, but issues.

I still drink but in my heyday, it was 6+ a night (and I am not talking beer). I'm at 3-4 now. My liver enzymes, pancreas issues, etc. have more or less subsided since I've gotten "a grip".

There are still issues though (gallstones, WEIGHT, etc.)

It really is about moderation. I'm not a fan of AA because, I believe, you can get a grip on an out of control habit, but I don't know if I am in the majority.

I didn't care for AA, either, R72. I got something out of it, though. It scared me so much to listen to the 'jackpots' that I finally ended it. It really helped, but probably like you I got turned off by the Higher Power stuff. Don't let it distract you. There are a lot of people there like us and go when you need to after staying sober for a time. What I liked is how it was ok to show up even if you were still drinking. Most importantly, it stops the isolation and that's the trouble for so many of us. We get depressed, lonely, and drink, so it's a relief to have a non-judgmental place to go where you're safe from temptation.

Mmmmmm....here we go.....

Two points: First, if you've been drinking heavily and you are in your early forties, you already look older than you think you do. It's pretty much too late to worry about your looks. Second, there are medications that help alcoholics control their habit, including Naltrexone and Acamprosate. I have no first hand experience with them, but it's something you might want to explore.

A family member boozed for thirty years, in order to counter weight gain she ate sparsely. She had a vitamin B crash because of it and shrunk her brain. She was diagnosed with Wernke Korsakoffs, (alcoholic dementia). Now lives in a home, mind is completely gone.

I wish to dispel on prevalent concept surrounding serious alcoholics: not all of them are a DUI killing machine who will inevitably kill someone behind the wheel eventually. As I stated up thread, I was a 30 year alkie, and yet I never had a DUI(whenever I was in rehab, the counselors were certain I was in denial because most of the group had so many that they lost their licenses.) Here's why: I never ever got in my car once I began drinking for the day. I kept a large supply of my booze of choice as well as food and smokes, so I never needed to go out. While this may not be the norm. I can't believe that I am alone in exercising such caution. I knew that if I lost my license I would also lose my job, and that was just not going to happen.

My friend's older brother is an alcoholic in his late 40s. He was so sick that he couldn't assist or support my friend when their mother died. He lost his job and his organs are shutting down. Very sad.

My grandmother was a serious alcoholic. It affected her looks. But that's probably because she lived under the house, and subsided on scraps we threw her.

In retrospect, it was a sad case.

Don't focus on how you look but how you physically feel, day after day of drinking. The real damage is going on inside your body. A liver can regenerate yes, but only up to a certain point in condition, and then it will not regenerate.

r77 my boyfriend is like that, he waits to drink until he is home and in for the night.

QUANTITY per period of time is the most important factor, OP. People have died in their teens and twenties due to alcoholism. These type of drinkers generally drink every every waking moment. They eventually don't even eat, because they're taking all their calories from alcohol. They get wet-brained (the medical term is korsakov's psychosis), and death follows in a short period, unless they are medically 'dried out. Often it's too late for that even. The liver is failing at this point, and alcoholics don't usually receive a transplant, unless they're wealthy (like John Phillips, or Mickey Mantle--who was already 9/10's dead when they wasted a liver on him). Smoking accelerates the rate of decline from alcoholism, and many die from asphyxiation, pneumonia, alcohol poisoning, and accidents before alcoholic hepatitis sets in.

It’s alreasy too late.

Imagine how much better you might look if you’d never had a drink?

Some get a second chance at life...

5 cocktails a day at 71 is too much?. my lab work Is perfect. I feel great...

If you're happy with your life, then you can do whatever you want.

Heavy drinking seemed to catch up with a lot of people I’ve known in their 40’s. My friend and I met in AA in 1987,but she went back to drinking in 1995 and died in 2007 at age 46 from cirrhosis of the liver. Her parents took care of her during the last two years of her life and her surviving sister is still bitter about the anguish my friend’s alcoholism created for the parents....,, A coworker of mine was beautiful up until age 42, then hit the wall and seemingly aged 15 years overnight. I’m not sure if that was due to genetics or daily drinking for a couple decades caught up with her. She had a serious health crisis a couple years later which scared her into cutting back...... Another coworker used to drank with her. That coworker’s teenage son hung himself. She then began drinking herself to oblivion and lost her job. I think she’s deliberately committing a slow suicide by alcohol.... Another coworker, prominent lawyer, got a DUI in his 40’s and was fired by his mega law firm. He works out of his basement now..... My dad, on the other hand, was a high functioning alcoholic who looked young for his age and only began paying the price for decades of heavy drinking in his early 70’s. Collapsed and had to dry out in hospital. Sober 5 years. Never went to AA. Back to drinking beer... Alcohol is a cruel lover.

Heavy drinker since 16. 48 now. Starting to moderate. But I’d say mid-40s is when it started to affect my looks. Strangely, I get regular checkups and liver function is fine. So while there is no physical evidence of effect, i agree there’s always the interpersonal/emotional effect. And there’s the risk that you get hit by a car or fall into river - as happened to a family member.

I always think of the people who say “I wish I had been sober earlier” - which is why I’m looking to shut it down now. Still enjoy going out and socializing with it, but have decided to give up the socializing for now to focus on long term health. Lots of TV and books - not very gal proud or exciting but healthy.

Why can't I post?

Maybe you're drunk?

my dr said since I'm 72 live it up! (I'm healthy as a horse, thank god, I'm a pot smoking, whiskey drinkin, health freak,)

quality of life: not quantity.

viva la jim beam.

Is beer as bad as hard liquor? Some nights I can drink an entire 12 pack.

yes, R92, I knew someone who drank over 30 cans a night. he was very young, only in his 20s. went to rehab many times, became so bloated and fat!

R92, yes, beer is as bad as hard liquor, especially if you drink a 12 pack. You are drinking as much alcohol, but also a huge quantity of fattening calories, so it might even be worse.

Instead of asking how alcoholism affects you, OP, maybe you ought to be asking how it affects the people around you. You probably make their lives a living hell.

LOCK 'IM UP!

[italic](hic)

Yes, I used to know someone who as a nice, normal guy when sober but when he drinks, he turned into a demon, so nasty and even uttered anti gay, N words, everything bad came out of his mouth. I struggled with maintaining a friendship. he was the nicest guy when sober. who do you think is the real person? when sober or when drunk?

OP:

Florrie Fisher has something to say....

....

What R2 said. I’ve watched it happen. I’m watching it happen right now to a friend of nearly 20 years. She used to be beautiful, now she looks 20 years older than her age and about 3 months from death. And she’s still drinking. She’s 44.

OP: convinced it won't happen to [italic]them

[quote] R97: who do you think is the real person? when sober or when drunk?

There isn’t a real or a non-real person here. It’s like asking how the color orange sounds. It’s a nonsense question.

I can say that a person who drinks to excess on most days never actually sobers-up. A chronic drinker needs more than just a few days without alcohol to return to normal. And excessively alcohol is a poison, acting to damage the brain. People who frequently drink to excess will develop personality problems that result from this constant poisoning. So, if he ever does sober up, and he returns to being a nice person, I think you can trust that he is indeed a nice person, and not just hiding his “true nature” from you.

So is drinking 12 beers just as bad as 12 shots? I would think not, but I hear mixed things.

If this is a serious question, I can tell you I just got word about 6 hours ago from a friend that another friend was found dead. He started drinking heavily about 6 years ago. Through those years he went into rehab, stopped and started again. And now he's just drunk himself to death over the Easter weekend.

All this was after having gone through a similar bout of alcoholism ten years before all that. That time before he'd been able to quit, took up running, and lost 60 pounds. Now he's a corpse.

Don't wonder how many years you have before this happens to you, OP.

R104 I think there are genes and DNA involved with that time frame.

I drank a liter of vodka everyday for 20+ years, and I am still here. My grandmother smoked Camel unfiltereds from 12 until her death at 97.

But no one is ignorant enough to proclaim that those examples make heavy drinking and smoking okay.

Is six coctails a night over 9 hrs bad? I'm 69 and real healthy...

To ask how long does it take before alcoholism has its effects is basically asking how long do you have until you experience the effects of liver damage and being 10, 20, 30, 40 pounds overweight. Why not just start moderation now? It's easy to not drink every night of the week and save it for nights you want to drink. And if that's not easy you have a problem and need to stop, because as the years go by it will have its effects. And it will age you. And make you fat.

r106, nine hours of drinking every night is a lot of dedication to drinking, and I don't believe you're "real healthy," or will stay that way. Because that's bullshit.

And I drink as well. Not just like that, because that much devotion to booze is alcoholism.

Or perhaps r106 was just kidding, because no one drinks over a period of 9 hours a night every night and says they're "real healthy" and that drinking isn't a problem. Nine hours would be 6 pm until 3 am.

r105, are you now sober? Because a liter of vodka every day is ridiculous and is full-blown alcoholism. And to say you're still here--well, you're lucky after 20 years of drinking 365 liters of vodka a year. It's not a question of genes or DNA when you drink a bottle of vodka a day. Please be real, here.

R109 Yes, I am still here and I am no longer drinking. I developed alcoholic hepatitis, and I was vomiting 3 or 4 times per day. Plus, I was getting old. Finally the main cause of my total dysfunction died and I no longer had the need to keep myself in a state in which I could stomach her.

So I quit. Just like that. It was almost too easy. And while I am not proud of this, there were at least 3 or so days per month in which I consumed a 1.75 liter of white rum. I formerly drank vodka, but it reached a point where I could not hold vodka down.

Liz Taylor and Richard Burton used to go through liters of vodka each a day. Sure, he didn't make it that long but he died from heart disease.

There are a lot of other factors that come in to play such as weight, exercise, diet, genes, etc. They did a study with hard drinking athletes and none of them showed signs of even fatty liver after continued alcohol consumption leading them to the conclusion that regular, intense exercise can protect your liver from alcohol abuse. Maybe a lot of these early deaths are lazy, fat drunks with bad diets.

"Maybe a lot of these early deaths are lazy, fat drunks with bad diets."

Yeah, r111, or maybe not. Heavy drinking over years makes you fat, makes you not eat, and over the long term, kills you. You can pretend all you want DNA and genes protect you. They do not.

"They did a study..." What was this study? Regardless how much of an athlete you are, alcohol is alcohol and it will eventually destroy your liver. So who is kidding who here?

OP, stop asking how long you have before it gets bad and cut the fuck back on your drinking or stop if you can't cut back. This nonsense that DNA and genes will save you is just that--nonsense.

"They did a study..." What was this study? Regardless how much of an athlete you are, alcohol is alcohol and it will eventually destroy your liver. So who is kidding who here?

R112 - You're right, and the scientists who did the research are wrong. You know better than they do!

Look up the study and learn something for a change.

r113, "They did a study..." sounds like it's up to YOU to show evidence of this famous study.

Either way, you slam down hard alcohol day in and day out for years on end, and it will affect your health and kill you. Believe whatever you want. Btw--are YOU some major athlete? Is OP? Isn't that the point--that drinking heavily over years will affect your health?

I don't need to learn what I already know, hunty r113.

The "study" that only r113 mentions--yet YOU look it up, not him.

LMFAO.

It's already affecting you. I think a better question would be "How long will it take other people to notice how alcohol is affecting me?"

Yep, r116. It's pretty mortifying when you realize people are moving away from you because every time you're out with them you get drunk or sloppy. No one wants to be around that for too long.

Yes, my cousin died of cirrhosis of the liver

Your looks?! Ha. The process has already begun, bub, and you can't cram that Genie back in the bottle. You better get WOKE (gag)!

That's not to say you can't undo damage that you'll continue to do if you don't stop or really cut back now. I wouldn't say it's never too late because it can be. Don' let it get to that point because then there is no turning back. Don't listen to fools who tell you about a "study" done of athletes. Everyone is human and drinking that much is not a sign you enjoy your life and your adult habits; it's sign you have substance issues.

R112 Though there is certainly no denying alcohol bloat in the face as well as a distended abdomen in many chronic long term alcoholics, NOT all are fat. Whether it is genes or diet, or both acting in concert, I have known many scrawny hungry looking alcoholics in my half century of sucking the air.

I haven't read all the comments here but if someone else has said it already, it's worth repeating--if you think all you have to be concerned about is losing your looks, OP, you have no clue as to what heavy drinking can do, and it's also more than just packing on pounds. Your liver is not meant to withstand years and years of abuse like that without shutting down. And there's a whole host of other ailments and diseases. Your looks are really the least of it.

Your looks? How about your vital organs? And yeah, your self-respect?

Wake up, OP. And good luck. Everyone here who's telling you to take care of your problem is right.

Alcohol also causes brain lesions over time. It definitely affects your mental acuity. OP get help. Do it now. You have a problem. Admit it. Face it. Deal with it. If you believe your life is shit now, just wait. If you continue down this road it will definitely get worse. That's a fact not a prediction.

Quite right R124... Scientists have now pointed up Parkinson like symptoms in the late term alcoholics. Not sure if that is from the lesions or not. There is also an old addage amongst alternative care practitioners that the quality and health of one's skin is in direct correlation to the health of one's brain.

R125 early onset dementia and huge anger management issues, violent outbursts etc. are some of the symptoms and it can start a lot sooner than originally suggested. Funny how we usually focus on liver damage, but few people realize the damage to heart, to circulation, and especially to the brain. Oh. It damages your bones too. Increases the risk for colon cancer, too. Need I go on? Look, OP. You may be one of the lucky ones who will never lose your looks. But all things considered all it means is that you'll make a lovely corpse.

It kills. Spencer Tracy, Veronica Lake, Pat Morita, Elizabeth Pena are a few among many, including my dad, whose deaths were alcoholism related. Not just liver damage, but heart damage, stroke, cancer. Oh my daddy’s youngest sister died from alcoholism too- she burned a hole in her stomach which allowed fecal matter to enter her bloodstream making her go septic. I quit drinking nine years ago and haven’t touched a drop since. Smoking too. It kills you. Some people kill themselves in alcohol induced depressive episodes too.

The Sinclair method. Look into it. If you are drinking too much and think it may be a problem but abstinence isn’t easy- check it out. A life saver. My greatest fear was having to be stuck going to AA meetings for the rest of my life. So after multiple attempts to white-knuckle abstinence for a few weeks at a time, finally learned about Sinclair method. Stops the biological path towards alcoholism and the drama/self-torture.

Luckily at 50 after drinking heavily since 16, no liver issues. Though definitely look older than 50 - but hard to know what’s genetics, sun damage and absence of exercise vs the alcohol. But definitely didn’t help with looks obvs.

R103 it depends on the units of alcohol in each drink. Add up the units you drink to see which has the most alcohol. In the UK the number of units is printed on the bottle, not sure if this is the case in the USA but you will probably be able to find out online. The alcohol is the active ingredient, doesn't matter which recipe it comes in.

[quote] R103: So is drinking 12 beers just as bad as 12 shots? I would think not, but I hear mixed things.

Well, beer usually has a standard amount of alcohol, but “shots” can vary based on the kind of liquor. Very generally and broadly, a shot has about the same amount of alcohol, so it’s about equivalent to beer in alcohol.

However, I suspect that beer contains much more calories than most shots, due to the other ingredients, besides alcohol. As a result, huge quantities of beer is worse than huge quantities of hard liquor.

Finally, if you are seeking a safer was to kill yourself, and weighing “beer vs. hard liquor”, you’re in bad shape and really ought to consider quitting drinking, completely. It’s actually not too hard or unpleasant to be sober, after an adjustment period.

I cant moderate. I am complete abstinence with help of AA. Once I start I really never can stop for very often, as in everyday!

I am not a daily drinker, in fact I hadn't had a drink since St Patricks day until last night. But when I do drink, I drink excessively, like 12 or 14 beers a night plus shots. I don't feel addicted, but I also feel like at 38, this is not a good look and my body hates me the next day. Anyone else similar? Have you been able limit your intake to just one or two for a night out and how did you do it?

R132 I am glad I was a daily drinker versus binge drinker, as it made it clearer to me my situation and how to get help. Binge drinking can be deceptively cunning.

Yes, R132. That sounds familiar. I quit drinking completely at age 44. I wish I did so years earlier.

And “no”, I never even tried to limit my intake as that doesn’t sound fun, or possible, at all (other than complete abstinence).

Alcohol is poison - literally. I just said last night "I really don't like the effects of alcohol anymore" after taking a few shots of vodka earlier that day. It dries you out internally and your internal organs must have adequate hydration to function normally/properly. Your skin will age much faster. Look what it does to your nose - Wally Biery and WC Fields, for example. Plenty of famous drunks to look at for example. People die of alcoholism. Ever hear of cyrhosis of the liver? Billie Holiday, Bud Bouvier, and even one of QE II's beloved Welsh Corgis died from alcohol poisoning (shame on that asshole royal flunky!) OP - just say NO!

someone i knew died from drinking, his liver gave out. he was from england. they have free health care and why he didn't go back to treat it, i do not know. He was in his late 50s early 60s.

"How many years does alcoholism take to affect you?"

If you have to ask, OP, you have to stop.

OP, ainchou sorry you asked?

I’ve heard that male binge drinkers were at risk of needing hip replacements by their early 30s. Is this true?

Basically anything pleasurable (booze, drugs, food) is horrible for you. So you should just learn to accept that life sucks and pleasure will eventually end you. Plus, life is likely meaningless.

I’ve taken to sleeping in different parts of my house when I’m hungry or have cravings for booze. It’s kind of interesting, but I’m sure it’ll also kill some somehow.

"Basically anything pleasurable (booze, drugs, food) is horrible for you."

No, r140, doing excessive amounts of booze, drugs, food is horrible for you. Stop being a drama queen.

Lot's of sex is good for you and lot's of coffee too as long as you drink it black

^Lot's

Oh, dear. Really, r142?

I've been a soak for 12 years and seriously need to cut back.

My biggest problem is when I go out, I never have "just one". It's two and then four. I was diagnosed, at 30, with a mental illness that I kept trying to run away from.

I'm sorry to hear that R144, I have a friend who is similar in the sense that he can never just stop at 1 or 2 drinks, he has to drink at least 5 or 6 beers, not including shots.

I miss the drinking. I do not miss the disturbed sleep, hangovers, urge to eat junk food, lethargy, bad temper, guilt, and Boris Yeltsin face (I am a woman).

I’m 49 and I honestly don’t get how heavy drinkers live past 35. The hangovers alone would kill me. Something definitely changed in my body chemistry in my 30s, because I could no longer tolerate alcohol, and hangovers from even (relatively) moderate drinking became unbearable. I began routinely puking (made it to the bathroom every time) after, say, 5 drinks, which was really shitty if I started at happy hour. I switched to wine or beer, but wine gave me intense headaches WHILE drinking it, and beer, while tolerable and even enjoyable, causes so much bloat and gas.

I’m a stoner now and sip drinks at social events. Don’t worry, I’m still getting fucked up mixing my one-hitter stash with minimal booze. I can hold it, enjoy it and socialize like/with everyone else. And I wake up the next day feeling great.

Would you say someone has a problem if he averages a fifth of whiskey plus a few beers and a bottle of wine in the space of two or three days?

Yeas, R148. That’s a lot of alcohol. If this is more than once a year or so, you’e got a problem.

Where are you finding whiskey solid in fifths? I thought they all switched to metric, long ago.

Connecticut’s liquor stores used to be closed on Independence Day. Mon thru Sat, they closed at 8 pm, too. So, you had to remember to buy your fifth on the third for the forth.

If you routinely go through a fifth of hard alcohol in half a week or less, yes, you probably have a problem.

How about 3-6 glasses of wine per day? Problem?

That’s 1-2 bottles, R151, unless you drink wine from thimbles. Stop euphemizing.

Does that answer your question? Clearly you’re avoiding the truth if you can’t even call it what it is.

A bottle of wine is 6 glasses. I thought everyone knew that.

I always looked forward to lounging around drinking, but always regret it a few hours in. Everything is just too dry and my head hurts. Plus I get fat.

I find it easier now to go out on Friday, knock back 4-5 at the bar with friends, and not touch the stuff for the next 6 days.

I always feel bad for my guests, not having booze in the house, but my health is better.

Alcohol is alcohol, regardless of packaging.

I know this is a British site, so drinks and units might be different, but some may find it helpful.

Boris Yeltsin lasted until 76. Explain that, dry outs.

R157, but how long was he drinking alcoholicly? Besides, you can’t compare person to person. All you can do is imagine that Yeltsin would otherwise lasted another decade or more. His mother lived to be 85.

"Although nobody could ever say that they had ever seen her drunk, it was also widely understood that she was never completely sober either" Keep that in mind the next time you see old reels of me mozzing on down the walk way in my three inch heals while using a cane and feeling no pain. That's right my beloved people. "The ole lady" as you referred to me was usually pissed and three sheets to the wind. All 101 years of me!

yes, boris yeltsin was a drunk ass, he was visiting the USA in DC and he ran out of the building where he was staying drunk off his ass in his underwear,in the middle of the night. Of course they stopped him in time.

Boris was a drunk even for a Russian.

I knew someone many years ago who went to England for a visit and was blocked from walking down a street. When he asked why he couldn't walk down the alley the police said the Queen Mum was drunk and throwing empty bottles out the window.

That's BS R162. No cops are going to say that to someone.

*hick*

r153, a bottle of wine is not 6 glasses, it's 4.

I think it was actually a very wise person on DL who said "If your life improves once you stop drinking, you are / were an alcoholic."

The skinny alcoholics are the ones who are basically in their death throes. Their bodies are malnourished, they are absorbing no nutrients from whatever food they still manage to eat, and their organs have basically stopped working.

I can't even drink beer anymore, and I was a hell of a drinker for many years. I will vomit, painfully, ribbons of bright yellow bile for hours the next day. I think this is somehow related to having had my gallbladder removed. Anyone have a similar experience?

R166 No, never. Please don't drink anymore beer or anything else. Get well and stay well. Best wishes and (((((((((((((healing vibes)))))))))))))) your way.

Neither R153 and R165 are wrong. It varies. How big is the glass, is it a dinner party, it is a bar or are you privately drinking,

R166, seriously, you should talk to your doctor about this.

Yeltsin could have been a great leader but screwed it up. He handed over everything to Putin.

My dearest friend died in his mid-40’s from liver disease. He’d been drinking like a fish since his college days. He’d bee hospitalized 2-3 times with liver issues and his doctors warned him if he didn’t stop drinking he’d die. He didn’t stop. I think he actually wanted to die. He was burdened by gay guilt, Catholic guilt, mother guilt, stuck in small town homophobic flyover country, bad relationships etc. He was a talented artist and funny as hell. I miss him to this day and I when I think of him I also get mad because of all the years of fun we could have had.

It was the coward’s suicide. He knew continuing to drink would kill him, but he drank himself to death.

i was trapped in a relationship with someone with a booze problem. he was high functioning. Nice and charming when sober but a fucking asshole when drunk and his drinking got worse and he became a bigger asshole. I was laid off and couldn't afford to leave him. It was hell.

R172, I am extremely sorry for you. I also have direct experience with being financially insecure and having to stay with an addict (let's add verbal / mental / physical abuse, pathological lying, gaslighting). No family to stay with, no friends because most of them aren't around anymore. I am not trying to one-up you at all. I am just trying to relate and I very much know what it's like to be in dire straits professionally and financially and having no options, none, even though you desperately need to flee from a partner who is doing NOTHING to help you advance and who is, in fact, diminishing you and your self-worth. I really, really hope you're in a better place now.

[quote] I think it was actually a very wise person on DL who said "If your life improves once you stop drinking, you are / were an alcoholic."

I like that, r166.

To be honest, others will see it in you before you do.

It’s the inside you should worry about OP

OP stop now. I love the drink but it’s completely fucked up my skin. Tons of fine lines on my forehead. Who knows what the inside looks like. Gotta stop cold turkey but it’s hard. Booze isn’t worth the side effects.

Not just your liver, etc. You get brain lesions at some point. So you know how some people become "crazy drunks" usually by late 40's early 50's? Erratic temper, absent-minded, anger management issues, confusion, tremors, paranoia, muscular pain, spasms, lack of coordination, etc.

I have known 3 different people who died of cirrhosis before they were 30. Another one, a coworker, died of alcohol poisoning at 35. The strangest one though, was my grandfather, a functioning alcoholic, who from the time he was young drank two pints of vodka every day. He was skinny as a rail and lived to be in his 80's and died of stomach cancer. I apparently have the alcoholic gene. I became a secret drinker at 25 and drank every night until I was blotto. When I was 29 my best friend called me at 4 AM from the hospital after having a miscarriage. She wanted me to pick up her 2-year-old daughter. I did not want to admit I was drunk and went to the hospital and picked her kid up drunk and drove her back to my house. Fortunately, it was 4 AM and no one was on the road. When I woke up the next morning I was so horrified and guilt-ridden at what I had done I stopped drinking that day and never drank again. The kid probably saved my life. She is now in her forties with an 18 and 20-year-old herself and I still have pangs of guilt about it whenever I think about it.

Wow, R179. That is a powerful story. Glad it was the wake up call you needed to get sober.

There's some pics for you.

Sexy

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