Stopping Drinking

Hi, my dad drinks almost every night and he has since he was 20. Sometimes he gets to drunk and i am worried that he is dependant on alchohol. I asked him to stop for a week and he did. The problem is that about 5 days after he stopped he got severe stomach aches. He responded that it was becasue he had stopped drinking. Is this true? Is it possible that someone'e stomach can become dependant on alchohol. Thanks.

Your father has been drinking for way too long and he developed physical dependence. From what I can tell, the physiological dependence is not present since he accepted to stop drinking when you asked him to.
Anyway, after years of heavy drinking, his body adapted to alcohol presence and is now reacting when the alcohol is not taken. When alcoholic dependence occurs, the withdrawal symptoms may occur even when some traces of alcohol in the blood are still present.
Stomachache is just one of the many possible side effects. They include jumpiness, irritability, sweating, insomnia, nausea and vomiting, tremors, rapid pulse. These are so called mild symptoms. Some people may develop severe symptoms like delusions and hallucinations and may need treatment.
Alcohol withdrawal symptoms last for approximately 7 days or so.