Do you know an alcoholic? What has happened to them?

@Anna1mac❤️

I found her stone cold with coffee ground vomit all over the bathroom - it was a horror scene. The saddest thing of all, she had a drink in hand with the tiniest of smiles on her face.

1. Fell asleep with a fag burning. Died in the house fire. Luckily the children were at their Dad’s that night.
2. Died of cirrhosis of the liver aged 64
3. (me) Got sick and tired of being sick and tired and joined Soberistas. I’ve now got several years of sobriety under my belt.

You’re doing the right thing by leaving. The alcoholic is in the grip of a powerful addiction.

Please focus on yourself and your child. Good luck x

My alcoholic ex fiance
He went into an alcoholic coma and died a few days later

In my experience, the person drinking has to want to change, and sadly, love or support from others isn’t always enough. Someone close to me drank for years; it cost them their job, their family, and almost their life before they finally got help. They’re sober now, but it took hitting rock bottom.
You’re doing the right thing by protecting yourself and your child. It doesn’t mean you’ve stopped caring—it means you’re choosing safety and peace. Be gentle with yourself; this is not your fault. Sending strength your way.

Ex-coworker, ended up with her employment terminated and was found dead at home by one of her siblings

Im sorry you had to go through this ❤️

An ex boyfriend of mine and love of my life drank himself to death over 25. years. Stage 5 Alcoholic.

Death certificate causes said Pneumonia and Alcoholic Relate Liver Disease.

Indescribably Heart Breaking.

💔

My dad is an alcoholic- been one for 50+ years. Nothing has happened to him apart from a stroke which he made an almost complete recovery from and 3 failed marriages. He drinks an obscene amount but only in the evenings. He had an amazingly successful career working in to his 70’s through choice. He’s also absolutely lovely.
But he is still an alcoholic.

They don’t all end up dead or in the gutter.

He’s drinking about 4litres of whisky a week plus a daily bottle of red wine. I have no idea how he is not dead.

My twin sister was one. She became alcohol dependent and died 5 years ago age 27

He choked to death on his own vomit

I want To acknowledge the raw and honest posts about impact of alcohol

1 is on a waiting list for a liver transplant. If he doesn't get it before Christmas he's unlikely to survive

One is a disgusting old man that staggers around looking dreadful, an embarrassment to the family

One is high functioning (does miss the odd day off work so I'm all likelihood will lose his job eventually)

One doesn't recognise she's an alcoholic as she only "buys" two wines every day in the bar (drinks at least one bottle at home daily) gets abusive after the 4th glass

My brother died of it in his 40s but not before he’d trashed every relationship/friendship and traumatised his children. I don’t think I’ll ever fully recover from how awful it was as I tried to save him and the damage he created around him. His children are permanently damaged.

Uncle died from it, very messy death in the family home. My aunt hadn't left him, wish she had, his son my cousin became an alcoholic wrecked his life and destroyed relationship with his wife and children died in his 40s alone.

Family friend fell down stairs drunk in middle of night died.

Another cousin still alive, her children are moving to other side of the world one by one as they turn 18.

You can’t save him by staying, protect your daughter and yourself as best you can

My MIL is/was an alcoholic. She has been in a care home with dementia since her late 50s as a result.

My ex husband is an alcoholic. We split 7 years ago (he met someone else he wanted to be with) and for the last 4 years he's been a heavy drinker. He can't go a day without alcohol. He's lost his job. He doesn't see our son (he has no interest in seeing our son no matter how much I try) and he has no relationship with his family unless he wants to contact them for money. He was in a high paying professional role prior to his alcoholism causing him to lose his job. Alcohol has ruined his life and he is completely unwilling to address the problem.

My friend's dad, nearly 80, lifelong alcoholic, always having alcohol-related accidents such as falling down the stairs and breaking his neck. In decent health and still runs his own business. A very nice person, decent dad.

My 2 uncles and myself.

We all got sober. One uncle swore by AA, the other did 30 years sober without AA until he died last year. I tried AA but it didnt 'click'. Health issues that scared the shit out of me caused me to cut down massively and then I stopped drinking altogether 5 years ago when I got pregnant during lock down. Haven't touched a drop since and I don't miss it. I absolutely love sober life and feel enlightened.

My father and sister in law are both alcoholics and neither have ever tried to get sober. You have to want it and recognise and admit to at least yourself that you're an alcoholic.

You're doing the right thing by leaving. That's brave, you're a great mum. You can't make someone choose sobriety.

My df. Chronic alcoholic. Ended with a form of dementia caused by alcohol abuse in his early 50s. Lost feeling in his feet (again related to alcohol abuse) so was also disabled. Found dead at 60 with multiple organ failure.

Me. Always loved a drink but just a bit more than anyone else. Got to the point where I knew it had to go one way or the other. Thankfully I was able to stop and have been sober over 3 years.

Both of my parents were alcoholics.

My mother died when I was 6. She tanked her liver. I lived with my grandparents by that point and she came to stay with us. I remember how yellow she was.

My father died at some point in my teens. He disappeared off the radar when I was about 7ish. Everyone was relieved as he was a nightmare. Didn't find out until I was mid twenties that he'd died years before. It was thought he had no family.

My earliest ever memory is them having a drunk row on Christmas night

Not personally but a friend of my parent. Unfortunately they are dead. Very sad.

Ive been sober for over 19 years and i know a lot of sober alcoholics through AA and am married to one.

An ex of mine and my sister’s ex DH both died of alcohol-related illness, aged about 30 and 46 respectively.

My stepmother, late 70s, has a drink problem and IMO my DF enables her by protecting her from consequences.

People can change but it’s not easy and you have to want to … some people are just not lucky enough to have that lightbulb moment and act on it. Alcoholics are not all the same, except that the alcohol is the most important thing in an active alcoholic’s life. And as the alcoholism progresses the alcoholic becomes more and more selfish and dishonest. Also often extremely boring and just incredibly shit to be around.

Please put yourself and your baby first. Al-Anon would be helpful. None of this is your fault.

Friend: currently 3 years sober, so far so good. Has two children, still with her husband, things were rocky for a while but hope they will continue to improve.

Aunt: was an inpatient in a mental health hospital in the 80s due to alcoholism. Was put on medication that made her ill if she drank alcohol. Seemed to work. She died sober, age 84 and still married (but not a happy marriage).

So many heart breaking posts here. My first real experience of someone who had alcohol use disorder was my best friends mum. I knew my friend had problems at home because she never wanted to be there. One day we were coming home from school and we went to her house first, her mum had been drinking and fell asleep in front of a gas fire and badly burnt her feet. We had to get an ambulance we were 14 at the time. When I look back my dad always drank but he always worked and manged to do so until he retired but one night my mum was worried he'd not come home with tea. My son and I found him after driving around completely bent over trying to walk home with two asda bags. I'm now in a situation of drinking a bottle of wine most nights am I happy and proud of myself or in denial absolutely not. All of the people who I've written about suffered trauma that's not me making excuses im just putting my experience out.

A parent of mine has been sober for over 40 years. Stopped with AA but hasn't needed to go to meetings for a long time. I'm very proud they managed this.
Their parent died in late 60s from alcohol related issues. Their sibling is a functioning alcoholic. One of my siblings drinks too much too. Not sure if dependant yet but it worries me.

I hardly drink anymore and regularly contemplate Al Anon.
If you go to Al Anon do you tend to also tell your alcoholic person that you're going to help you cope with their drinking?