18 year old with cirrhosis, not sure what to do now??

 Welcome Siz, I'll first say that's it great you stopped drinking and are concerned about your health. To my knowledge it takes awhile typically for a liver to be damaged by drinking. We are talking years of abuse, Not a year. However you may have underlying conditions that could accelerate liver problems. Grab your parents and tell them something's wrong and you need to see a doctor. If you catch the problem ahead of time and get it treated you are in route for a normal life I believe. If your in trouble and have no one to help you, You'll have to do this on your own. Not a big deal just go to the doctor or ER yourself. THE WORST THING YOU CAN DO IS NOTHING and just write yourself off as dead.

You are young and I'm not dismissing your intelligence by saying that. You see practically all of us here are older folks and we have been through some rough patches in life, Particularly during our youthful care free days. I'd venture to say everyone here could share a story of "Feeling low down and life wasn't worth living" at your age. Hindsight shows for all of us those days were just a learning experience that we all use to judge life's newer challenges today. I can tell you that what ever your situation is you'll get through it and likely laugh at how you felt later on in life.

 Find yourself a social group that has better thing to do with there time than staying blistered. AA is something you may be interested in. While I'm not a "Churchy" type of guy (I don't fit in with popular belief) the benefit of having a somewhat sober bunch of people to socialize with is great and who knows? You may like it. Get a hobby that you enjoy and actively do it to occupy that empty space. Most importantly relax and love yourself and the body you've been given. Remember we are not doctors here but we all have been DIAGNOSED by a DOCTOR and are each actively fighting Liver disease in every type and phase. I strongly suggest you see a doctor before pronouncing you are dead at a minimal.

Ziff 

Siz/Eric, welcome to the forum. And congrats on stopping drinking when you suspected something was wrong. Self-diagnosis is a dangerous thing. It is highly unlikely that you have cirrhosis. That takes YEARS of heavy drinking to accomplish, unless there are extenuating circumstances. such as abusing ibuprofen, or other factors. Also, you have youth on your side.

Believe me, I partied hearty in my youth....quit drinking 27 yrs. ago...not because of my health, but because I didn't like the person I was becoming. I had a transplant 2 yrs. ago, but because of liver cancer caused by hep C.

Go see a doctor and get lab work and an exam...other tests if deemed necessary. As stated, we are not doctors, but I feel confident that you will find you have acute inflammation from the drinking you did. You know, there is such a thing as alcohol poisoning (especially in young people) and they can die from it. I don't think it got that serious with you, but do stay away from the booze. Also, do not make the mistake of exchanging drugs for alcohol, not even pot. Live a clean life and treat your body with respect. It's the only one you have. It may take 6 months for your liver to normalize, but the liver will regenerate and heal itself in these types of situations. Even Ziff, from the post above, who had been drinking heavily for years and was older than you, was able to recover from ALD (alcoholic liver disease.) So please relax.

Are you on your parents' insurance? Do you live at home? Since you are 18, you do not necessarily need to take them with you to a doctor appt. or the ER, unless it's required due to insurance purposes. You do need to let them know what's happened, but maybe not for a first visit. I know you do not want to reveal this to them, unless there really is something going on.

I think you are awfulizing a situation that is far from awful. Think of it as a learning experience.

Trust me, I am not sugar coating anything. It's not my style.

You are an intelligent young man and I am very glad you found us.

Hugs,
Connie

thank you very much everyone for replying i really appreciate your support.I went to the ER yesterday and they said that my blood tests and bilirubin level were normal even after i showed them my jaundice and red palms.I am really skeptical about this result. I'm thinking maybe they didn't perform all the tests they were suppose to specifically on the liver as they didn't even give me my ALT and AST numbers or maybe they are truly normal but i still have liver disease because i have heard about people who were sick but their blood tests still came back normal.There is no way my skin can suddenly become yellow and my palms red for no absolute reason there has to be something wrong.

Hi Eric,
Slow down and take it easy. Get tested in a few months and see how things look then. No more alcohol and the tests will give you a clear picture of where things stand. Stay healthy and stop worrying. If the tests are bad in the future, then you can worry.

Dub you replied to a older post. We haven't heard from this young fellow in awhile now.



Ziff

Viserion...sometimes the posters look elsewhere for support...some stick around. I've been posting here since 2010.

You wandered by...can we help? Most here have some kind of liver disease, or are their loved ones.

I am a loved one...my partner had a liver transplant in 2011 after a many many year decline from alcoholism, Hep C, liver cancer, and acquired hemochromatosis (too much iron in the blood)...four liver diseases at the same time may be a record. Near death, he was saved by transplant...but only because his hemochromatosis resolved, he got sober, and his tumor didn't get toooo big. He is doing well. And has been cured of Hep C too.

If you want to share your story, start a new Discussion Thread.

Best,
Mama Lama