High on Alcohol
-
Rehab
Ryan Rogers poses at a rehab facility in San Diego, California. "I want to amaze people and let them know I, I was gone... but here I am."
-
Alcohol Addiction
28-year-old Ryan Rogers poses with his ex-girlfriend Shaleen Miller's grandmother. 18 million Americans are alcoholics, and Ryan is one of them. -
Beyond the Limit
Ryan drinks a beer. For the past three years, Ryan has been drinking three pints of vodka a day—18 times the suggested daily limit.
-
Party Drinking
Ryan Rogers's ex-girlfriend, Shaleen Miller, drinks beer at a party. "You can't really be an active role in an addict's life and not be an enabler to some degree," says Shaleen. "It's either the guilt of I don't want to be responsible for them coming home and finding them dead. At the same time I don't want to be responsible for prolonging the way he's living right now. It's tough."
-
Drunk
Ryan began abusing drugs and alcohol when he was a teenager. He remembers his father as a volatile alcoholic and schizophrenic. His father died with Ryan was 24. Today he lives with his grandfather. -
Passed Out
Ryan is passed out from drinking excessively. Ryan's grandfather gives him a daily allowance of 10 dollars, which buys him three pints of vodka. -
Desperate For a Fix
Ryan leans over a bathroom sink at a medical test center in Dallas, Texas. He has just had his first drink after spending the night without alcohol and suffering early withdrawal symptoms. For an addict like Ryan, the body can become so physically dependent on the substance that they can literally die without it.
-
Medical Exam
Ryan reels in pain as Dr. Ho examines his pancreas, which is inflamed due to pancreatitis—a disease where the organ begins to digest itself due to prolonged alcohol abuse.
-
EKG
Ryan lies on a hospital bed with EKG sensors strapped to his body. An electrocardiogram measures the electrical activity of the heart, and can indicate damage to the heart resulting from years of alcohol abuse. -
X-Ray
At a medical facility in Dallas, Texas, Ryan is X-rayed to determine any damage to his bones.
-
Hip Injury
This X-ray shows Ryan's pelvis. Ryan received a hip injury from falling off his bike while intoxicated, which was left untreated and, exacerbated by his drinking, caused his hip bone to begin to die—a condition called avascular necrosis.
-
Ear Exam
Doctor Michelle Ho examines Ryan's ears. She is following up on his claim that he has fluid running out of his ear, which she finds is due to a cut inside. Alcoholism prevents wounds from healing.
-
Alcohol on the Brain
This CGI image illustrates the impact of alcohol on the brain. A swig of alcohol reaches the brain within 90 seconds of entering the bloodstream, and increases the delivering rate of pleasure chemicals like dopamine and endorphins. The long-term effects on the brain of excessive drinking, however, are terribly damaging. The brain actually shrinks as exposure to alcohol deforms neurons and diminishes cells. Alcoholism can also result in psychosis, hallucinations, or head voices—symptoms also suffered by people with schizophrenia. Approximately 1 in 10 alcoholics suffer from mental health issues.
-
Heart of an Alcoholic
This CGI image shows the heart of an alcoholic, weakened dramatically over time as it pumps contaminated blood around the body. For an alcoholic experiencing withdrawal, the heart muscle struggles to maintain a regular rhythm. The most extreme cases of withdrawal can lead to a seizure or fatal heart attack. Alcohol abuse doubles the chance of a heart attack. -
Damaged Organs
This CGI image illustrates a body with a damaged heart, liver, and pancreas, due to alcohol abuse. Over time, the normal digestive process of the pancreas is sent into overdrive as it struggles to cope with both food and toxins. Eating causes extreme pain as the organ becomes inflamed. And the liver is repeatedly scarred which can lead to a total breakdown of its ability to function. An alcoholic's liver can swell to twice its normal size. Of all liver transplants, around 1 in 8 are for ex-alcoholics. -
Road to Rehab
Ryan poses on his way to rehab. Every year, 1.6 million Americans go into rehab for alcohol abuse. Relapse after 30 days is twice as likely than after 90 days. Only 1 in 5 alcoholics beat the addiction.
Please I would like to see this documentary again, does not really Not Be Played As for him, I have Brother What is an alcoholic and I need to show this video he concientisar and Caring!
por favor gostaria de ver este documentário de novo ,realmente não tem como não ser tocado por ele tenho um irmão que é um alcolatra e preciso mostrar este video pra ele se concientisar e se cuidar por favor !
Please air this documentary again. This really hit home and actually scared me. I would like it to be viewed by my family.
Omg,this story about ryan touched me DEEP in my soul!
I watched it yesterday and I can't get it out off my head it was a huge wake-up call!
I could relate to everything he said,his struggle with life,his pain and demons!
I am an addict too not only to alcohol but also drugs and eating,it was like looking to myself and my struggle
I am still in schock realizing that I must have a guardian angel after abusing my body for twenty years now,I am lucky to still be alive and to have people around me who didn't give-up on me because as an addict you are so selfish and don't realize how much pain you cause your loved ones.
This story made me realize that change has to come from inside of me and that I have to stop listening to that evil voice inside my head that tells me I am worthless and that I can't do anything right ever.I have to stop the self-destruct!!!
Thanks to his family for sharing their dark moments with us but also for showing what a beautifal and loving person he was.His mum was right his smile could light up the world!
Dear Ryan,thank you for showing me the truth this was exactly the reason why you where with us even though for a short period, you showed us the ugly truth!
R.I.P Ryan
@Yasmin El Messari, so brave to let us know this.
I watched it last night and cried for the first time in years seeing Ryan struggle. I've decided to stop taking this horrible drug. Luckly for me I'm (still) in control. Wish you all the best and take care!
Ryan's Rage...
a poem written for Ryan Rogers ...
The rage that burned inside hissoul
He felt without vodka he couldn'tcontrol
The hurt, the pain you left inside
His vodka became his 'Father' - thetears he never cried
A lovely young man, but inside achild so lost
Did you realize how he hurt?...what it all would cost!?
Why does the World do this...throw away such a treasure?
We know it's never easy - lifeisn't made to measure !
Why do some Angels here on Earth getso much of a heavy load?
Sometimes it's so unfair, the extraburden they're bestowed
Then Addiction comes in... like ahyena for the kill
The way Addiction works is so evil,it gives me such a chill.
It starts off real slow - makesyou believe you're happy and that all is well
You don't see the red lights, heedthe warnings, you don't listen to the bell
Once you realize this isn'thappiness, that you've just taken Addictions bait
It's all over, He has you, nothingcan be done, it's too late!
Ryan was sent here to teach us, pleaselisten, don't let his death be in vain
If we don't wake up to it soon, wellAddiction and Death- they'll just reign
It'll be over, They'll win... They'lltake the podium and Their prize
The prize will be us, our independence,our souls and our eyes
We'll see nothing but Addiction, it'shate and despair
Ryan cared enough to try and showyou a way out - do you care?
Some think he did it for Ryan, forno one else but himself
Look deeper - you'll REALLY see whyhe tried to put vodka back on the shelf
He wanted to prove not only tohimself - but to the rest of us all
... when you stumble on Life'spath, take the Angel's help sometimes...
You don't ALWAYS have to fall !!!
hello, I want you to know that the story of ryan touch me really deep, i was shocked when i find out that he dont make it
my heart broke, just what they say he seems like a realy nice guy
i wich the family a lot of strenght to handel this.(sorry for my bad englisch)
love to all of you from holland!
Wauw. this story about Ryan really touchd me. I really feel for him and his family, seemed like a very good and nice person. R.I.P. Ryan, I wiash you and your family all the best and keep you in my thoughts and prayers. Much love from Holland.
I have seen this documentary yesterday and I am very touched by this story, It is so sad. I wish he wasn't that far gone and that there wasn't so much damage done in his body. He seemed like such a nice and friendly guy. I wish he could have been saved. I hope this is a wake up call for people that are in this situation. And that is helps them realize they need to change, before it is too late. I wish Ryan's family strenght and most of all: Rest in Peace, Ryan.
This documentary is very good for children and adolescents, should be a way of studying their dissemination in schools, because it illustrates very well the great consequences that alcohol can have both in the family and friends of the patient, is a documentary that manages to captivate the attention of the viewer and raise awareness about the consequences that alcohol can have. I am very touched by the whole story and I am sorry that Ryan not resist the treatment. Rest in Peace Ryan
I watched this documentary and my opion that it is best documentary about alcohol that I've ever seen... Ryan behind the drugs, and when he is sober, we can see that he has a good heart and he's a great man. The documentary illustrates the suffering of the family, and even the suffering of the patient in this case is Ryan. Ryan is victim of alcohol, the drug pleasure in his brain, and keep him alive at the same time destroys your life and at the same time destroys your life and eventually slowly killing him.
I`ve just watched this docu and is so extremely sad , even with all effects of alcohol he seemed such a nice guy :(
I watched yesterday this documentary. Today all day I am thinking about Ryan. I am little bit angry because he died in a rehab center. And also at the end of documentary you didn't explain what happens to him. I think that he died after two or three days in that luxury rehab center, because he didn't drink and his body badly needed alcohol. So my opinion is that best of all people was his grandfather who realize that if he go to rehab he will be dead. I am sure that Ryan would be now alive if he didn't decide to go to that rehab. Yes he would still be alcoholic but he would live for more few years.
Some Angels are sent here to teach us - and there stay here is a hard one but one that helps so many others. Ryan, you are one of those Angels and I Thank You for being you, I Thank You for sharing your story and I Thank your family and friends for still sharing it after you've gone... that must be the hardest thing. Be at Peace now, I hope you can see the real you now and know how wonderful you really are/were. You have touched my soul and I Thank You for reminding me how wonderful humans can be ... if only we didn't listen to those voices of doubt, those voices of self loathing and those voices that are the frightened child in each and every one of us - the one that rears it's ugly head sometimes and seeks to destroy the self pride, self love and self worth that should be there. I watched your programme here in New Zealand last night, you are travelling the World with your message x
You were an inspiration and I shall remember you always x
Thank You xxx Alie
Ryan's story is very touching. I've been at a point in my life where I had to carry alcohol everywhere I went, even job interviews. It's a very tough addiction so no one should judge. God bless you Ryan for taking a step towards change, the Lord knows your heart. Love you!
I wish they would show that doc. again, he wanted to see it! That might save his life ! If the geo channel is listening.....PLEASE SHOW THAT DOC. AGAIN ! Thank you.
High on alcohol was very sad doc. The end was shocking and disturbing, i have a friend like that. He just had both hips replaced. He is 53. Im waiting for the call that he didnt make it.