These photos will MAKE YOU QUIT BOOZE

Were halfway through the month and, according to research, a third ofus doing Dry January will likely have fallen off'the wagon already. One woman shares shocking photos to encourage you not to give up now

‘I WAS DRINKING THREE BOTTLES OF WINE A DAY’

Nikki Rushin has been sober for two-and- a-half years. Follow her @ASoberLady In July 2020, at the age of 48, I was three stone overweight. I had a swollen face that was flushed red and covered in spider veins. I sweated profusely, even in winter.

The first thing I did every morning was vomit bile or blood. Strange bruises had started to appear on my stomach, even though I hadn’t walked into anything. I later discovered that the bruises were caused by my drinking – an enormous daily consumption of alcohol that had affected the clotting factor in my blood. My blood pressure had soared to a dangerously high 190/100, and I was put on two hypertension medications.

At my worst, I was drinking three bottles of wine a day, topped up with rum. But since 16 July 2020, I haven’t touched a drop.

When I stopped, I did it ‘cold turkey’, which in hindsight was dangerous. It could have caused seizures and, at the levels I was drinking, might even have been fatal. I was lucky. And after a few days of shakiness and unsteadiness, my health began to improve.

I didn’t realise how ill I had felt until I quit. Some of the changes happened quickly, others were subtle, and I can only pinpoint them by looking at photos over time and comparing my progress.