Alcoholic Hepatitis

Over the past 2 years I have progressively gone from drinking very seldom; to drinking casually (casually meaning 4-5 cocktails) every other Saturday; to drinking casually every Friday and Saturday. about a year ago I progressed to 750ml of Vodka and cranberry juice every Friday & Saturday. about Oct of 2010 I began drinking 750ml 3-4 times a week. about this same time I began feeling different the next morning. I just attributed it to my increase in consumption. Unaware that I actually feeling several symptoms of Alcoholic Hepatitis. At that time I was more driven by the Alcohol and how I could continue I did a quick Google search of "Alcohol along with some of the symptoms I was experiencing." I skimmed through several pages; not bother to read them, for the symptoms I was feeling. After several pages listing the symptoms and suggesting that Super B Complex and Folic Acid could help I wassatisfied and on my way. I don't even recall Alcoholic Hepatitis being mentioned in anything I read. That is how consumed I was with getting drunk most nights.

From Oct. to the end of April I continued consuming about the same amount each week. At the end of April the company I was working for went out of business and I was out of a job. I began upping my intake to 3 days a week and hitting it hard Friday-Sunday. A week ago today I consumed 1 1/2 1.7L bottles of Vodka from Friday night until Saturday night. I woke up Sunday morning feeling for the first time hung over, or so I thought that was all it was. As the day progressed I started vomiting every time I would move. By mid-day my hands were trembling every time I moved them. By mid-afternoon my heart was racing and I was contemplating calling 911. I made it through the day and fell asleep. The next morning I swore of drinking as I was still vomiting and my hands were still shaking. By mid-day, I was feeling better and was able to eat. The next day I felt physically fine, but tormented as heck thinking that I allowed myself to get to this point.

Tuesday, Wednesday and all day Thursday I went about my day and to my surprise craving no alcohol at all. Finally to my point. As of Thursday evening I still have very bad and persistent yellow colored diarrhea. In the past with my almost daily consumption of alcohol it would not last more then a day.I have had not had any alcohol for 5 days. This got me very concerned last night and I began researching. It is now6:00 a.m. and I been up all night. In between wiping tears from my cheeks I am afraid of what I may have done to my body out of pure stupidity.

Here is my question. For the past 7 months the next day after drinking I would feel some it not all of these symptom, dry mouth, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, swelling in my angles and abdomen, decreased alertness, memory loss, sluggishness, confusion. I have not experienced any of these things for the past 5 days except for the swollen abdomen coming and going. Is it possible to have sever liver damage and not feel these things? Every thing I read leads me to believe that I may have moderate Alcoholic Hepatitis. Of course I will definitely be going in to see a physician, but I can't until Monday. And don't anticipate getting any rest until then. Hence I am seeking out any information I can.

Please advise if you can.

Sorry for the long post, but it has been very therapeutic for me. I had dry eyes the whole time. Thank you for reading 'til the end.

Hello Nugget........Sandi is absolutely right.......get to a doctor and get a proper diagnosis.........that's the first step....then you will know what steps you need to take from there........Take care.........

Thank you for your responses.

No drinking at all for me. I am through. I am tore up over this whole situation not for myself, but because of my 9 year old son. How selfish have I been drinking like I have. I don't even want to think about him having to grow up without his dad.

The big looming question that I still have is this. Is it normal, ab-normal that all of my past symptoms have gone, with the exception of the inflammation of my abdomen, since I stopped drinking? The dry mouth, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, swelling in my angles, decreased alertness, memory loss, sluggishness, confusion are no longer present. Does this mean anything. My mind tells me I should still be feeling them???

N_ugget, welcome to the forum.  Your liver has been talking to you loud and clear and telling you to stop throwing that poison into your body.    Fortunately, you were listening.  As others said, the best thing you can do to prevent further liver symptoms is to stop drinking completely.  It sounds like you have stopped in time, so that you have a good chance of being healthy again.

Just beware that if your doctor says you are okay, don't look at that as an excuse to continue drinking.  Be one of the lucky ones who stop in time to avoid cirrhosis, ascites, hepatic encepholopathy, etc.

Go to AA if you need help staying stopped re: the alcohol.   I did.  And I now have almost 25 yrs. of continuous sobriety.  Unfortunately, I went the drug route before alcohol and now have hep C, liver cancer, and am being evaluated for tranplant.  However, had I not stopped drinking, I would've been dead years ago--of that I am sure.

Please come back after you've seen the doctor and post the results of that visit.  You might want to get a referral to a GI doc or a hepatologist, as GPs don't have a lot of knowlege about liver disease.

Good luck!

Hugs,

Connie