Do something before its too late

[startingover]

This week the reality of the damage that alcohol does hit me with a vengeance.
I work with people who have alcohol problems and have been working for the last year with a guy who is 28 years old. He was probably one of the nicest chaps you are likely to meet. Kind, funny, artistic, sensitive, intelligent and well liked.
Well, he finally managed to drink himself to death on Sunday of this week.
It is such a shock to be a part of someone's life, laughing, joking, sharing their triumphs and tears one minute to them being dead the next.
Today I sat with his parents for 2 hours and listened to them grieving, blaming themselves and wishing there was something they could have done to help
Make no mistake, alcohol abuse kills, it is a horrible, painful death and often the damage is done before you realise it.
Please get help or do something about your problem before its too late.
There is help out there, go out and take it.

[Doggygirl]

Do something before its too late

Starty, I am so sorry to read of another life lost to AL - and one you are personally close to. It is so easy to get lost in our own pity party of "I NEED a drink..." "poor me I've had a BAAAD day..." and forget that the AL we so crave, and the AL we are convinced we "need" will kill us.

I hope you are able to offer some measuer of comfort to his parents that this is not their fault.

DG

[Rusty]

Do something before its too late

Starting,

I am so sad to hear this news. 28 years old!! And someone close to you. My sincere condolences. He had his whole life ahead of him! But it has happened in my family. My aunt and my ex-sister-in-law died from alcoholism. My aunt was 54 and my ex SIL was 60. They died gruesome deaths. Like you said, it creeps up on you before you even realize it, and then it's too late. Scary indeed.

[Draggy]

Do something before its too late

oh starty, my heart goes out to you and the family of this young man, this is so sad

[marriedgirl29]

Do something before its too late

Thank you and Condolences

Thanks for the reminder of the seriousness of the disease. I have never had my liver or kidney checked and frankly I'm scared of what they may find. I am 29 so this story hits close to home that I'm not "too young". Thanks for sharing that.

[papmom3]

Do something before its too late

Starty, I am so sorry for your loss. Thank you for posting this as a stark reminder of what alcohol abuse does to you.
For now I am living proof. I've recently been diagnosed with Type II diabetes and Stage 3 chronic kidney disease. There are 5 stages. I stopped drinking 3 months ago and got these results 3 weeks ago. What AL does to the body is insidious and silent. It kept my BP too high for decades despite drugs and my kidneys are finally paying the price. I'm only 53.
If you haven't gotten your kidneys/liver checked out, please do so asap. If you're still drinking, this might be the wakeup call you need. If you've stopped, like I have, you may still have time to stop the progression or reverse some of the damage.

Stop the insanity everyone!! Please!!

[startingover]

Do something before its too late

papmom3;899398 wrote: Starty, I am so sorry for your loss. Thank you for posting this as a stark reminder of what alcohol abuse does to you.
For now I am living proof. I've recently been diagnosed with Type II diabetes and Stage 3 chronic kidney disease. There are 5 stages. I stopped drinking 3 months ago and got these results 3 weeks ago. What AL does to the body is insidious and silent. It kept my BP too high for decades despite drugs and my kidneys are finally paying the price. I'm only 53.
If you haven't gotten your kidneys/liver checked out, please do so asap. If you're still drinking, this might be the wakeup call you need. If you've stopped, like I have, you may still have time to stop the progression or reverse some of the damage.

Stop the insanity everyone!! Please!!

Well said Papmom
And many congratulation for having quit for three months.
I really hope that through a healthy lifestyle you can repair some of the damage you have :l

[byebyebridgetjones]

Do something before its too late

28 !

Hell that's young.
What an aweful story.
And that poor family. I could weep for them.
Thank goodness you were there lovely lady.

[tiptronic_ct]

Do something before its too late

Oh, Starty :l

This has brought back those stark images of the Rain in My Heart documentary I watched when that thread became a sticky.

Our family lost a cousin to AL last year. He was 43. No words to describe the kind of death that follows such heavy AL abuse.

[gyco]

Do something before its too late

hi starts,tough career,hate to say i told you so,but is life not like that,even thro our alchoholism,were care givers,the only way we no how to get rid of the pain,exhaustion and everything else,is thro self medication,for many , life doesnt give them a glow,i hope for your sake you no you gave your best,my dear friend,as you get longer into your sobriety,youll realise that taking a drink wont cure anthing,its not rocket science,some are ment to parish,the rest are left behind to wonder,whats it all about,some will get there wings,and some will get there horns,but then there some that beleive life is but life and they go under the ground,you my dear friend always try to help,thats all you can do ,gyco

[Marshy]

Do something before its too late

What a horrible shock, Starty. I hope you've got people you can talk to and share memories about him.

Maybe because it's legal, those of us who abuse alcohol often don't think about the risks we're taking. Maybe if we were shooting up with heroin every day we'd be more aware. But alcohol kills more people than all the illegal drugs put together.

[hippie37]

Do something before its too late

Working in the drugs/alcohol field was such a strain on my emotional resources as I allowed myself to get too involved with clients at times. The problem for me was it's hard not to when you feel such empathy for these people. It was like staring into a mirror seeing myself back at the peak of my own addiction. I so wanted to give them the gift of recovery I had found; somehow control and manipulate them into doing the right thing. The harsh reality is they have to find their own way there. Some make it and some don't.

It saddens me, even angers me, when I hear of people dying because of the stigma surrounding addiction/alcoholism; and more so the way funding is being cut left, right and centre in my own area that is gonna leave a lot of teenagers vulnerable to the dangers of using and drinking again.

It's the families I feel for the most though because I can understand the devastation I caused my own family. I brought my mum to her knees (literally at one point) with my behaviour. To loose a son in the midst of that and already feeling helpless is absolutely soul destroying.

You do an amazing job starts, be proud of that. It takes a lot of courage to do what you do and deal with not only the users/alcoholics but the families as well. I want to applaud you for that. Keep fighting the good fight my friend but don't forget about your own needs too. Look after yourself hon.

Many Blessings
Phil

[one2many]

Do something before its too late

28 years old...I was not aware that you could do so much damage at such a young age....I always thought it was middle aged people who drank whiskey for breakfast.

Pap is right, it is a silent killer...

I think there is even more made of how dangerous smoking is than drinking...people just don't get it..

Drinking can kill....

[Guitarista]

Do something before its too late

Sorry to hear of the loss of this young man Start's. As you say, his family are gutted. But make sure you take care of you through all this. Make sure you have a work colleague, or supervisor to talk this through with, and reflect on this with. They are lucky to have you around, and you would have been a blessing for that young man.

Take care my friend. x

[mario]

Do something before its too late

Starts that is so sad, hope you look after your self to.

Three times i was taken to hospital from drinking, after taken some type of seizure,once when i was driving.Its only now looking back i see how lucky i was and if i had not stopped drinking i would be dead now.