A man who battled severe alcohol addiction has opened up about the moment he realised his drinking had seriously affected his health after noticing that the whites of his eyes had turned yellow.
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Toby Winson revealed that his addiction became so severe that he was drinking about one-and-a-half litres of vodka at the height of his struggle.
He also experienced hallucinations and seizures whenever he attempted to stop drinking.
According to Toby, he knew something was seriously wrong one morning when he looked in the mirror and noticed the unusual colour of his eyes.
He said:
“It sent a shiver down my spine.
“I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and had to double take.
“The whites of my eyes had turned a murky yellow.
“I must have already been jaundiced, but I guess that happened over time, so I didn’t notice as much.
“Eventually, and I’ll never forget this, I threw what must have been a fifth of a bottle of cider in the bin and called an ambulance.
“I was rushed to hospital where they told me I had alcoholic liver disease.”
Toby said his condition and years of addiction had left him feeling hopeless.
“I had lost all hope and didn’t care if I survived or not.
“Alcohol addiction had made me feel worthless and a burden.”
He reportedly spent about a month in hospital while doctors treated him and he continued to deal with the effects of the disease.
Toby said his relationship with alcohol began when he was just 14 years old, when he started drinking vodka.
By the age of 19, he had progressed to secretly drinking vodka every evening, often by himself.
He explained:
“I was addicted to the feeling alcohol gave me.