Yes, SA, I've done this before. 8-9 years ago, before he was first being sent to Iraq, his drinking became outrageous again and he had a 'fling' with his then best friend's wife. He'd come and go for 3 days at a time. When he was sober, he was the best man ever, but at night, he would began to drink and watch out! I used to go to bed at 8:00 and pretend to be asleep, and even then that didn't always work. He would wake me up to yell at me. He was in command of the detachment being sent to Iraq, and our new house burned down (arson). No excuses for him, but stress + drink = WATCH OUT. That is one reason I was so looking forward to his retirement. THAT particular stress factor would be gone. This lasted almost 9 months, but snapped completely out of it before leaving for Iraq, where, of course, he could not drink. I had actually congratulated myself on getting through the MLC of his life and now we could move on peacefully. Little did I know. He did return with PTSD, and did try medications, but with his injuries and reactions to meds, drink became his drug of choice again. That, with the stress of being the NCOIC (translation: BIG MAN ON CAMPUS) at his job, well, I thought he'd hold out just a few more months. It's all very discouraging. I DO love him, but don't want to be the old lady with the cane whose wheelchair bound husband exposes himself to all the old ladies in the lunchroom at the retirement center.
