1st Day Sober

Good Morning, Roy,

Welcome to the HW Hepatitis Forum.

Day1 Sober...since we take things one day at a time on this forum, you have taken the first step! Good for you.

Symptoms are certainly right for liver disease. Many who drink heavily eventually get cirrhosis of the liver.

Others with liver disease have other problems -- Hepatitis A, B or C; Autoimmune disorders; Poisoning of one kind or another (tylenol, copper, snake bites, etc); Hemochromatosis (Too much iron in the blood).

I am the partner of a 63 old man who is now 20 months post transplant. He was a heavy drinker his whole life, has Hepatitis C, and would up with Liver Cancer as well -- which is often seen with Hep C. When Mike quit drinking he was near death and the Hepatologist gave him 3 months to live if he continued his lifestyle of drinking. What he really said in October 2010 -- you'll never see Christmas if you keep this up!!!! His symptoms were much like yours. His blood work was dire.

But to get into a transplant program he had to QUIT DRINKING. He did. He had to participate in a documented alcohol program -- inpatient, therapy, AA,etc. He Did. The attendance had to be documented by the doctor or leader signing a calendar each day he came. Mike wanted to get well so much that he attended AA 4-6 times a week until his transplant 7 months later. He also had to have a blood ethanol draw weekly during that time. Some days he was so wobbly I didn't think he'd make it in the building.

So, step one, quit.

Step two, stay quit.

YOu have taken step 3...get some testing done scan is a good start. Next you need blood work, meeting with liver specialist, perhaps a liver biopsy to see how bad this is. Any chance of Hep C?

There are meds that help. Some programs give meds for quitting alcohol to avoid terrible side effects. Mike didn't have any of those, thank god. They treat portal hypertension (often causes the bleeding), edema (fluid buildup in legs or stomach, hepatic encephalopathy (confusion caused by inability to pass waste from the system), kidney disease (the dark urine is a bad sign).

We have some members who have quit drinking, have changed their eating habits, take their meds and have held off the deamons for YEARS. Returing to almost normal life...without the alcohol.

Depending on the damage you have done, there are perhaps years of better health.

Our liver patients try to eat a healthy diet, keep away from red meats which are hardest to digest, drink plenty of water (lots), hold off on the salt, eat plenty of fruits and veggies.

Day 2...welcome aboard...

This may get rocky. I recommend the AA meetings. They saved my Mike's life.

Mama Lama

Welcome Roy , Mama Lama's husband and a few others here including myself have managed to turn a deadly situation around or at the least add valuable time to our lives . I also agree that the symptoms you've got are reminiscent of where I was a few years back , In fact I was a lot worse off than you indicate . I too was a functioning alcoholic for well over 25 years . I went from working 60-80 hours a week a iron worker and crane technician to flat on back in a ICU ward in 3 weeks time and almost died , In fact was given 3 months at best survival rate after diagnosis .
It's a slippery road to recovery when factoring in alcoholism with liver disease . I have been sober now for four years starting immediately after my diagnosis , No slips so far but the thought of washing my troubles away with liquor never leaves the back of my mind . As long as it stays at the back of my mind I'm fine .
You have accomplished the first step in fighting your Liver disease and a very important one at that , Without complete sobriety you have no chance of getting better ( No treatment will be done to correct the damage without that requirement ) . Doctors frown on folks who are alcoholics , We don't have good track records for staying sober as you may know so skepticism abounds in the medical community . You will be expected to fight harder and longer than most non self inflicted liver patients . You will fight on both grounds and win no matter what it takes should be your attitude , Nobody will help you , It's your decision and today dictates how you will spend the rest of your life .

A Hepatologist must be seen and in most cases you need to see a Gastro doctor for referral for that . AA or a Shrink ( Therapist ) will likely be required for a term of six months and you will attend those meetings or sessions without fail or lose the ability to receive a transplant , proper medical attention can be difficult without this requirement .

I wish to applaud you on your first day of sobriety and hope it sticks . I and others here will help you walk your way through the hard times and debilitating parts of this disease through our personal experience should you decide life over the bottle . Feel free to ask questions no matter how personal , Everyone here has seen it all . Good luck and again welcome .


A. Ziffle

Post Edited By Moderator (hep93) : 1/6/2013 10:53:13 AM (GMT-7)

Hi Roy , finding this forum was by chance the best place to open, I had all the same symptoms as you, only I was rushed into hospital for 3 weeks, I haven't nor want to drink alcohol ever again, it's not easy, I got a lot worse after coming home from hospital, it's not any easy ride, but will get there.
Stay positive, all the best.


Sue (Liverpoo)