Hey all:) part of the work I've been doing with my sponser is an intensive study of the BB..with essay questions, vocabulary questions, the whole bit. I feel like I'm back in college. Good practice I guess, as one of my goals is to attend graduate school, but I digress. We just covered the "basics", the allergy to alcohol thing I wasn't quite buying. Thought it rather far-fetched. Then I start to thinking. This is bizarre but years ago, when I seriously shifted from "partying" to "hardcore" drinking on a regular basis, I began to develop cystic acne. Now, this was a big deal to me because I had always had great skin...like beautiful, flawless, glowing skin that others constantly commented on. It was a source of pride ( I know, vanity). For years this repulsive cystic acne persisted. I tried many remedies, spent thousands on skin creams, acne treatments, teas..whatever. I thought maybe I'm allergic to an ingredient in the creams, maybe it's something I'm eating, maybe it's red wine. This problem got worse and worse. It was embarrassing, and I'd never seen anyone else with shit like this on their face ( really nobody). Well, guess what? I quite drinking and within 3 weeks (no kidding) it had all but disappeared. Go figure! Just a small silly example, but a good manifestation of a possible physical allergy.

"Allergy" was the best term that made the most sense, medically, at the time. Since then our knowledge of addiction-including alcoholism--has grown tremendously and research on the etiology of alcoholism offers much information--Google away! The research available is astounding (and yet the general public still seems to have a deep need to deny-deny-deny!!-but I digress). Still, the general dynamics of an alcoholics response to alcohol seems to indicate that using the term "allergy"(loosely) is not at all a bad idea! Easy to understand and like many allergies includes aspects of the process that are still unknown...there are many diseases/disorders/brain/body negative reactions for which we have no clue how they happen (like my acute & chronic recurring hives!) but we sure can't deny their presence, and effects, and what seems to help keep it at bay. If I am "allergic" to alcohol, then I am wise to abstain from it---however tough that may be. In my case, if I don't it would probably kill me, sooner rather than later.