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Posted 10/1/2014 12:49 PM (GMT 0)
Hi.
I'm glad to have signed up. I do have symptoms that point towards liver disease, and, have thought about quitting, tried to quit, and have periodically succeeded, for a few days at a time, to quit my alcohol consumption habit.
But like it happens in that movie - groundhog day - I find myself exactly where I was before I made any movement.
Being here, however, I hope to be able to interact with, and receive advice from, people who have quit drinking and those who support them.

Best regards.
Posted 10/1/2014 1:23 PM (GMT 0)
Hello tempo, This is the Hepatitis Forum. We support those diagnosed with hepatitis, and liver disease, and those who love them. Please get a routine physical by your doctor to rule out liver disease, if you think you have symptoms. If you are dx with liver disease, seek a hepatologist, who specializes in liver disease. Becoming sober will be your best step to avoid liver disease.

I strongly suggest you seek an alcohol sobriety group, such as AA to help with the problems you face right now. There also are many support groups online that help those trying to get sober, such as sober recovery. That will be a good place to get the type of support you are seeking. Best of luck to you! Big Hugs
Posted 10/1/2014 1:56 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Tembo,

I agree with TM on checking into those symptoms to confirm things one way or another. Then seek some professional help to help you quit. Of course we are glad to help out here, but sadly all you will hear is the horror stories of what alcohol does to people. Which I suppose in itself is a good help.

I am in my early 30's and while I was never an alcoholic, drinking was pretty common in my life and in my family. Now that I see what it can do, I have certainly taken a step back and analyzed things. It is sad it took my dad to be near death and at the mercy of a miracle to live, but nontheless if we do not learn from these things then we are bound to repeat them.

It's great to see you acknowledge your problem and are seeking help to avoid the worst case scenario. It is for that reason, I strongly urge you to see a doctor ASAP. They will steer you in the right direction.
Posted 10/1/2014 7:25 PM (GMT 0)
Hi.
Thanks for your quick response. Years of drinking, changes in my body, e.g., jaundice, organ pains, etc., indicate that something is wrong. Eventually, I will get to see a doctor. Before then, however, I hope to have quit drinking. Recovery groups, AA, etc., are fine, but they will not make me stop drinking. On the other hand, what I find here is more convincing. For example, knowing the difficulties that come with late stage liver disease makes me accept that I cannot afford to get there, for I lack the support that others have. I live alone, and do not plan to burden anyone with my self inflicted condition. Thus, there will be no one to pay the bills, to take care of me, or to drive me to the hospital. Death, therefore, will come quickly. So, the question for me is not whether I want to drink or quit, it is whether I want to live or die.
On the positive side, I smoked for 10 years and quit more than 10 years ago, so, I guess, I can beat this too.
Again, thanks for being there, and, I will keep reading.
Best regards.
Posted 10/1/2014 7:49 PM (GMT 0)
I hope you start with a doctor, find out if anything is really liver disease, or something else than can help you have a better quality of life. A good physical and blood work can ease your mind and let you know where you stand. Some symptoms look the same, and we have folks come here that are certain they have liver disease, but they turn out to be fine.

Here is a link to the support group I mentioned. I think you will find good support 24/7. When you become sober, you may find more supportive people in your life. Best of luck to you with your sobriety! Big Hugs www.soberrecovery.com/forums/alcoholism/
Posted 10/1/2014 8:26 PM (GMT 0)
get to the doctor asap! your afraid of death like i am, im nearly 3months without already and i was only a part time drinker though. but i have found it very very easy to stop when thinking about death.
Posted 10/2/2014 3:13 AM (GMT 0)
Tembo, my dad can barely walk his legs are so swollen. His belly has had 8 holes put in to drain liquid in the past few months it is unbearable. He has gone from being a free spirit and a take charge guy to being on the sidelines and needing help from everyone. From having so much potential to wondering if he will be alive to see his daughter graduate college in 2 years....Everyones life is different but we all have those moments that make us say...was it worth it? It seems you are there and it seems you want to live.

The comment about you being alone, I can't speak of, but if you truly have no family near you as a person have the power to change another persons life for the better. Whether it is donating time, money, wisdom or just being a person to lean on, that goes a long way. That in itself should motivate you to change life.

I should take my own advice...but in any case, get to a doc and then go from there.
Posted 10/2/2014 3:52 AM (GMT 0)
Tembo I hope that first you see your doctor, and then you find a group or counselor to help you stop drinking. Things will only get harder and your condition worsened if you continue to drink. I drank, knowing that I had hepatitis C for over 20 years, and finally quit the day I was diagnosed with cirrhosis. I did myself no favors and caused some damage from the cirrhosis that may not be reversible. However, my liver is happier now and so am I, since I quit drinking six months ago. I have cleared the hepatitis C virus. I'm three months through a six month treatment regimen for the hepatitis C virus, and am feeling much much better with no alcohol or virus in me. Personally, I needed to get help through AA as well as also seeing a counselor. Until I did that, I kept thinking that I would quit "tomorrow" and consequently drank " a day at a time" for another 20 years. I hope you can avoid some of the pain that other people go through and arrest the damage process by quitting alcohol. I wish you the very best, and also encourage you to see a doctor, and join a sobriety a group.
Plant
Posted 10/3/2014 3:33 PM (GMT 0)
"Recovery groups, AA, etc., are fine, but they will not make me stop drinking."

It takes a new way of thinking to overcome addiction. It takes humility and courage to admit alcohol has too much control in your life. It also takes teachability to avail yourself of the tools these groups provide to get over any guilt or blame or shame that comes with addiction. I credit going into a rehab facility for a month as the step that helped save my life ... in my '20's. Nearly 60 now, I've never looked back and have guided many people through making that decision. We don't look at it as "well you did this to yourself". That is precisely the thinking that needs to be changed.

Addiction is a sneaky disease ... many folks here talk about being dragon slayers in terms of dealing with the illness of liver disease. Consider that a fair analogy in trying to deal with the sneakiness of addiction.

One of the things they teach in rehab is how to recognize denial and deal with it. There are two movies I recommend about addiction: old ones ... Clean and Sober with Michael Keaton and 28 Days with Sandra Bullock.

AA has a prayer that if you meditate on it, is life changing. "God grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the Courage to change the things I can and the Wisdom to know the difference." I did go to AA for a time after rehab and it helped tremendously ... until a time when I had confidence in my sobriety.

I wish you all the best in your recovery efforts and encourage you to rethink your position about recovery programs.
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