A Woman Who Drank 5 Bottles Of Wine A Day Shows Pics Before & After She Got Sober — And Explains How She Did It
She uses her platform to encourage others, saying, "Sobriety is possible. If I can do it, anyone can!"
Ground Picture, Krakenimages.com, Kishivan / Shutterstock; CanvaPro A woman has shared her inspiring journey toward sobriety in hopes of helping others who are facing similar struggles that she used to.
Five years ago, the woman was battling alcoholism, and suffering from debilitating physical and emotional symptoms. Today, she is an entirely new and improved woman, holding down a job, happy and healthy, and in love.
To prove it, the woman revealed astonishing photos of herself before and after beating her alcohol addiction, and the differences are awe-inspiring.
The woman shared photos of herself before and after she became sober, drinking 5 bottles of wine a day.
Katie (@kthisiscool) has not had a drop of alcohol in five years, and we must say, she looks absoltely phenomenal! She also appears to be happy and content with her life now.
However, that was not the case during her struggle with alcoholism, and she has the harrowing photographs of herself taken during that time to prove it. Katie revealed the photos in a TikTok video that has been viewed over 600,000 times.
Five years ago, she claimed that she would drink up to five bottles of wine a day. As a result, she had an inflamed liver, a bloated face, red eyes, and suffered from depression and anxiety.
Thankfully, Katie has had a remarkable turnaround. Today, she is five years sober, and is happy, healthy, and in a loving relationship. She also lost 75 pounds after achieving sobriety. Recent photos of her depict a radiant and confident young woman.
Katie also has an important message for those who are currently struggling with alcoholism. “Sobriety is possible. If I can do it, anyone can!” she wrote in the text overlay of her video.
Katie detailed more of her memorable journey starting from the very beginning in follow-up videos on her TikTok account.
She addressed the concerns regarding how she was able to drink copious amounts of alcohol in one day.
“I would drink it from the time I woke up in the morning, around 6 a.m. or so, until I went to bed at night,” Katie says. She adds that she would hide a box of wine (equivalent to about 4 bottles) in the laundry room underneath a pile of clothes and would “chip away” at it all day.
In the evening, she would have the “standard, normal person” bottle of wine.
During those days, Katie says that she was “hammered” all the time, and suffered intense physical symptoms such as vomiting constantly and rapid weight gain.
She reveals that she gained over 60 pounds in six months, despite having no appetite and eating nothing more than a few pieces of cheese and crackers paired with the alcohol.
Before checking into rehab, Katie ended up quitting her job, suspecting that the end of her time at her company was approaching since her performance had dramatically decreased and she was drinking on the job.
“I just quit and didn’t think about what was next, and figured I could live off some savings and drink myself to death,” she admits.
Katie also began to experience inflammation of her liver, which she initially brushed off as indigestion. However, she soon started to have symptoms such as “swelling, nausea, vomiting,” and had “dark urine” as well as blood in her feces.
At one point, a doctor gave Katie a “stern talking to,” warning her about how her life would be affected if her condition continued. “[He told me] that it’s not a pretty way to die,” she recalls.
On the day she was taken to the hospital by family members just before she checked into rehab for the final time, Katie claims that she arrived “unconscious” with her blood alcohol content at nearly .40%, five times the legal driving limit.
Katie checked into rehab after nearly losing her life with the support of family and friends.
Katie refers to the incident as her “rock bottom.” However, it was also a wake-up call for her to get sober and to do it before the rest of her life passed her by.
With the support of her family and friends, she was able to check into rehab to get her on the path to recovery.
People were astounded by Katie’s dedication to getting herself sober and commended her efforts.
“Absolutely amazing turnaround you made. Very very well done,” one TikTok user commented. “You look so much younger, happier, and healthier,” another user noted. “I quit 14 days ago, this is an inspiration to keep going. You look amazing, alcohol is so bad for us,” another user shared.
Alcoholism is a life-shattering condition that wreaks havoc on our lives and the lives of the ones we love, and it does not discriminate. An estimated 15 million people in the U.S. struggle with alcoholism.
For many struggling alcoholics, the road to sobriety is not an easy one to endure. People may suffer from excruciating withdrawal symptoms, become disconnected from others, and lose their jobs in the process. Only 10% of alcoholics will receive treatment.
Thankfully, there are resources and helplines that you can rely on to kickstart the healing process today and guide people to sobriety. It is never too late to seek help, rebuild your life, and look and feel your very best again.
For confidential free help, from public health agencies, to find substance use treatment and information, call the SAMHSA National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357.
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.