Just writing to say congratulations on your success with alcholisim, and taking the steps to recieve help.

    your story was very interesting and some ways like my husbands. my husband like you also has SWCAH, and since he was a young child he hated his meds. He never took them regulary his whole life, no matter how much his parents tried to tell him the importance(brad’s older brother of 2 yrs has swcah and they almost lost him at 13 days). So brad knew the danger of not being on meds. Now that i look back on it i sometimes think that he didn’t care. when he turned 16 he became very depressed with his body, he was always self contious of his body because he always felt like something was wrong with him and he wasn’t normal. he hated being bigger then the other kids at school and hitting puberty before the other guys in hockey. But at 16 when things were finally leveling out between him and others, he started to put on weight(he to is 5’4’’ and 230 lbs). i think thats when he started to drink to fit in with others. so from 16 to 25 he drank everyday,as soon as he got home from work or school the first thing he had to have was a beer. he drove around from friends houses drinking and at 17 he had a car accident and disslocated his hip. and ended his hockey which added to his depression. he has so many car accidents to count, some from drinking some not. at 24 he lost his licence for a d.u.i and had to walk for a year but this didn’t slow the drinking. alll this time his parents urging, pleading him to stop. the most horrific thing they had to encounter with his drinking was, when he was 21 he was at a prom party and and some kids were husking corn in a fire a yound boy tried to start the fired by using coleman fuel(i think..) . it back up into the can, whick he threw out of his hands and it landed in brads lap where he was sitting on a bench and exploded. brad was badly burned 30% of his body from the waist to  neck. This was the only time he can remember taking his meds they had given him a large dose of something when they brought him to the hospital and he remembers being on his meds through his recovery. But as soon as he was able he turned back to drinking.

i met brad when he was 25 he was still a heavy drinker and we were married 2 years later we have a daughter. and i am happy and proud to say that brad has dramatically changed he use to drink ocassionally , but as of 2 months ago he realized that he has a problem with drinking and driving. he now gets help and has been going to AA meetings 3 times a week and is doing his best to find the root of problem.

he now is on dex and florinef daily and takes it religously. we recently found out that his sperm count was low, probably because of not being on meds the last 10 years. we are hoping that by being on them things will get better. now we worry about the long term effects of the meds though,and what not being on them for so long has done to his health. were just greatful that brad didn’t have a "crisis" from not being on them.

your story was inspiring and i hope that when he reads it, it will help him have faith in his decision to take the right steps in his life. he has an amazing personality and takes everything in stride and i now know that he cares about his health and is trying his best. because everyone who knows him loves him esspecially me and our daughter and couln’t emagine him not here.

but anyways i wish you all the best in the future, i just wanted to let you know how much you have given us an insight to our situation. you seem to have an amazing out look on life inspite of all you’ve been through, and hope that brad will be able to as well.      Thanks and god bless you.