Heavy alcohol consumption has been linked to more than 60 different diseases. At this stage, drinking becomes everything in your life, even at the expense of your livelihood, your health and your relationships. Attempts to stop drinking can result in tremors or hallucinations, but therapy, detox, and rehab can help you get your life back. If you or a loved one need help for alcohol use disorder, please connect with us today to learn about our substance abuse treatment options. The pancreas is an organ that helps the body with digestion of food and the regulation of blood sugar.

When an individual reaches this stage, drinking has taken over their lives and has impacted their daily functioning, including work, finances, and relationships. People with mild or moderate alcohol use disorder may perform poorly at work and put their jobs at risk. They may struggle to maintain good relationships with their partners, family members and friends.

Mental Health Services

They can help you cope, make a treatment plan, prescribe medications and refer you to support programs. Diagnosis is based on a conversation with your healthcare provider. The diagnosis is made when drinking interferes with your life or affects your health.

Alcohol use disorder is a progressive disease that includes a beginning, middle, and end stage, which can result in life-threatening health conditions. It’s not often talked about, but left untreated, alcohol use disorder can be a fatal disease. In fact, it contributes to about 88,000 deaths annually in the U.S., making alcohol the third leading preventable cause of death in the United States. Jellinek looked at the way alcoholics started in the pre-alcoholic stage, drinking in a casual, social manner.

The Dark, Final, End Stage of Alcoholism

If that didn’t work, the patient would have proven they can stay sober and would not return to drinking after a transplant. The affects can range from dementia and intellectual functioning to debilitating conditions that require long-term care, even if a person has been sober for a period of time. Ark Behavioral Health offers 100% confidential substance abuse assessment and treatment placement tailored to your individual needs. Sadly, many people use alcohol to heal trauma, for courage in areas where they are insecure, or in combination with other drugs. These unhealthy coping mechanisms only complicate and worsen an alcohol use disorder. We encourage you to learn more about The Recovery Village’s approach to health and wellness during alcohol treatment and to seek help, especially if your or a loved one’s alcoholism has reached the end-stage.

Alcohol addiction rehabs offer a safe, secure and comfortable environment during the withdrawal phase. Alcohol withdrawal syndrome occurs when a person abruptly stops drinking after heavy alcohol use and may trigger life-threatening health complications. Over time there is a progression of liver disease from hepatitis (inflammation) sober house to fibrosis (hardening) and eventually to scarring of the tissue (cirrhosis). It also includes the journey of alcohol addiction and into recovery. He outlines the ways people can recover from their problematic drinking behaviors. And you can shift from the downward spiral of alcoholism and toward the upward trajectory at any point.

Almost alcoholic

One of the main issues with this disease is how easy it becomes to lie to yourself as well. If you’re in this phase, you’ll often downplay the amount you drink and find ways of explaining away the behavior. You may start to experience consequences at work or school due to your habit and find yourself regularly hungover and craving more alcohol. Early-stage alcoholism is easier to notice than the pre-alcoholism stage. Your friend or family member in early-stage alcoholism will regularly binge drink or drink to the point of blacking out. They’ll likely joke about their blackouts or mention they won’t drink that much again.

The first step toward recovery is to acknowledge that there is an alcohol dependency problem. By Buddy T

Buddy T is a writer and founding member of the Online Al-Anon Outreach Committee with decades of experience writing about alcoholism. Because he is a member of a support group that stresses the importance of anonymity at the public level, he does not use his photograph or his real name on this website. John C. Umhau, MD, MPH, CPE is board-certified in addiction medicine and preventative medicine.