Habitual or problem drinker?

[njg]

I am scared writing this, most of all because my kids might see.I am 36 , mother, partner.
I have drunk nearly every night for about 10 years, about a bottle of wine, I do not get drunk, i do not suffer hangovers, I have had peroids of 9 months (pregnancy) with no alcohol whatsover.
I know I need to change my habits not least for the example I am setting my kids.
My partner also drinks 3=4 cans of beer nightly.
I am a little worried about stopping in case I suffer withdrawals. Can anyone give me some reassurance that it will be ok.
Have i been drinking enough to have caused any damage? I have no symptoms, my last 9 month period of abstinence was nearly 2 years ago, with no withdrawal symptoms.
I am scared and know that now is the time to do something about this.
Thanks in advance

[SamHan]

I am not a doc so what I offer is simply based on my experience as a recovering alcoholic and what I have heard.  W/d is dependent upon amount + length of time.  It sounds like your amount is moderate (compared to severe amounts like a couple of pints per day) but your length of time is pretty long (10 yrs.).  I have heard a huge range of stories for people who stop alcohol...everything from "a few shakes" to "seizures" to "nothing really happened after I stopped."  I do know that if you have a history of seizures you are more at risk of having one when coming off alcohol or if you are taking certain meds (like Wellbutrin) you may also be at risk.  If you don't get the shakey hands or restless/anxious attacks at about 10AM the next day after no alcohol since the night before than this is a relatively good sign.  For what it is worth, that is some anecdotal info so you can make a decision about whether you should get medical assistance or not.

[The Hobbit]

I would say that you are more at danger of damaging your liver than anything else. The fact that you feel normal the next day is a good sign. I quit, but the day after I would drink I would feel numbness in the hands, experience difficulty breathing, and basically would be in a constant state of panic; at least until I drank again to feel 'normal'. It seems to me that you are one of the lucky people who can get away with it.

My only concern really is that you have done this for a relatively long time. Have you ever tried actually going to bed without your wine? Why don't you give it a try one night, see how you sleep and let me know? If you are concerned that you are doing yourself damage then that is probably a problem. If you want to and can actually stop, then I would see if you can. If you try and you can't, then I would say that you have a slight problem. I got to the point where I couldn't sleep until I drank, and let me tell you that it's not pleasant. I'm only 26 and this happened from about 19 onwards and only recently did I start sleeping without 'chemical help'.

The liver is a sturdy organ that does actually repair itself to an almost normal state after 6 years or so. It takes many many years (or an awful lot of abuse) to damage it beyond repair so if you stop now I would guess that you would have no problems. Of course, I am no doctor so please don't take my knowledge as fact.

If you have any problems/concerns, please reach out to me. I may only be 26, but I've been through it already :)

Good luck, and try getting that sleep with no wine!

[cantlivenotknowing]

Hi Hobbit. I would like to hear a bit more of your story. I am a recovering alcoholic. Alcoholic Hepatitis almost killed me a year ago. I haven't had a drink since and have been reeling in my health for the past year. You mention that it takes up to six years for the liver to recover. Dos this mean you have been abstinent for 6 years and are no longer sufering from any liver ailment or have you recuperated just enough to live a little longer? I am always looking for positive stories of recovery, especially in the face of health problems.

[The Hobbit]

To be honest my friend, from what I know of, the only health problems I suffer from is anxiety, and this is brought on by drinking. As for my liver, I wouldn't really like to know. I have really cut down on drinking. I was a binge drinker on the weekends and I have abused amphetamines, ecstasy, and cocaine. This was from age 17–24. When I finally got busted for drink driving 2 years ago, it was a blessing in disguise. For the first time in my life I self-reflected. The AA classes I had to attend opened my eyes. Being surrounded by yellow people almost made me sick to my stomach. I wanted out of this life and I managed to stop. Then along came vicodin. I substituted it for alcohol in a way, but I feel okay with it. I am just concerned about my over-abused liver. I am very healthy otherwise. I run 3 miles every day and generally feel good. This was not the case when I needed alcohol to feel 'normal'. I learned that the liver heals in 6 years at the ASAP classes I had to attend. I have NOT abstained for 6 years. I wish! My new year's resolution is to not touch a drop of booze for the whole year and take it from there. I feel I can do this, and if I take one sip I will deem myself a failure. Even if I have a few beers nowadays, the next day is awful. There's no point in me drinking any more.

How about you? I am a 26 year old male. Did you get hepatitis from drinking. Please tell me your story :)

[cantlivenotknowing]

I did get Alcoholic Hepatitis in November of 2005. It hit me like a ton of bricks and it was a near death experience. It almost killed me. It was touch and go for about 3 month's. I am 37 and still recovering. I had always been healthy until it hit and am also a runner. It took me a while to get back to 3 miles after I slowly recovered. I know I have liver damage, although I think it is somewhat hidden. I had a liver biopsy which found mild inflammation, no fibrosis, but mild iron deposition from all the red wine I drank. I was a daily habitual drinker, maintaining on 4 to 6 drinks Sunday through Thursday and about 8 to 10 on the weekends, so I was a 40 to 50 units a week drinker for many years. Then I went in for a regular check up with my doctor. The liver enzymes were up a little and I was feeeling a bit run down, but didn't slow down my drinking. I began to get pain in my liver area and decided to stop drinking, although I had no idea what was about to happen. The sickness came on over a period of 10 days. It was then that I checked into the hospital. All in all, I had ultrasounds, CT scan, MRI, Doppler ultrasound, Fibrosure test, many many blood tests, etc. The liver tests are still a bit off after over a year of not drinking. I sure hope in six years that I have my health back completely. I can say, that I definitely feel mortal now and have tasted death. I know how precious life is and I treasure the time I have with my wife and kids. Losing good health takes a toll not only physically but emotionally. I have to deal with my mistakes and learn to live with and accept them. I do know if I drink again, that I'll take the drink, and then the drink will take me. I started to play with Vicodin a bit and caught myself. I do take a little Xanax these days, but only as necessary. I would like to think that sooner or later, I'll be able to live in my own skin. Take care Hobbit. Peace out.

[The Hobbit]

I feel for you my friend. I've been at doom's door on a number of occasions and for some reason I have always been able to claw myself out again. It's hard for 'normal' folk to grasp, but one night of drunkenness can easily kick start the vicious cycle again. The whole chain of drinking to feel normal begins instantly the next day. Alcohol is an evil evil substance.

Last night I couldn't sleep and I was feeling edgy and a little twitchy (maybe slight vicodin withdrawal) after a 4 mile run so I had to get up from bed. What was the first thing I thought of to get myself feeling normal? Where was my solace? In a bottle of Vodka. I was SO tempted to have a drink just so I could sleep. But I didn't. I realize that I am an alcoholic even when I am not drinking. It's a disease, and the fact that I am constantly concerned about not getting myself into drinking situations shows that I have this disease. People probably think that I am an anti-social bore these days, but that's because everyone's idea of a good time is going to a club to drink. To me, it's feeding the addict inside of me. I don't want it anymore. When I go out, my whole night is focused around getting wasted. It's not about the company I'm with and the music for me, it's about getting absolutely s**t faced. I never go to work happy hours and people don't understand when I decline. Tough luck for them.

I really hope I haven't damaged my liver in any way. I used to drink like you wouldn't believe. Every Friday I would drink as soon as I left work. I would stay up all night (with the aid of certain stimulants), hit the pub at 11am when it opened, drink right through Saturday, and then if I took more drugs, I would stay up all through Saturday and drink until the early hours of Sunday. Work on Monday was AWFUL. I would often feel like crying due to the depression. I am convinced this lifestyle almost made me break. But as the fog lifted, by Thursday I was ready to go again, the awful thoughts all but gone. Vicious vicious vicious.

So sorry you got physically affected by this awful disease, and I hope that you stay strong. One day at a time is the only way I can live. The future scares me. Do you know if there is any way to find out if I have damaged my liver? Would I have felt any pain by now or noticed any symptoms?

Keep in touch.

[cantlivenotknowing]

The signs of a liver problem in my case became apparent only after being very sick for a while. I was sick 1st, getting sicker by the day even 2 weeks after my last drink. About a month after my last drink, my hands turned bright red. This is called Palmar Erythema. I had been sick enough at the time to already know what is was when it showed up on my hands. I was researching for signs of liver trouble and one of the physical stigmata of liver disease is red blotchy hands. These are still with me a year later, although they are not as red now which I hope means that I am slowly healing. Another sign is forgetfulness. In my case, it was probably as much a factor of the endless stream of alcohol I was pouring down my throat and killing brain cells, but then it seemed that I also had a more consistent foggy heaed feeling even in my non drinking hours which I can attribute to my liver not cleaning out toxins. Cramping is also a serious issue for me now. I cramp a lot, especially after I exercise and I think it is probably due to my liver not clearing lactic acid or uric acid, byproducts of exercise and metabolism as efficiently. Stomach problems and indigestion are obvious symptoms. I never used to have a real problem with that until after I got sick. I even had a endoscopyu where they went in to look at my stomach and there was no inflammation which was consistent with the stomach pain and indigestion I have. I think it has to do with how I now process bile through my liver. Now get this. This is how sneaky a liver problem can be. They even took out my gallbladder because my drs. were convinced that was the problem. When they went in, they took pictures of my liver and a liver biopsy and the liver looked smooth and healthy and the biopsy did not show any serious damage. But I know it is in there somewhere, they just can't find it. The crazy thing about this disease, is that even after all I've been through, I still take all of this positive news as giving me a chance to someday drink again and the only thing that keeps me from drinking is fear of dying. It sucks to think of drinking all the time and it sucks to be scared of dying if I do. It's a lightning storm of fear and emotions that can only be described as a disease of mind, body and soul. Anyway, I know that a liver problem can escape detection both from a symptom and diagnostic standpoint. It is as hard to diagnose sometimes as it is to admit defeat from alcohol. In my case, there was symptoms, signs and unimaginable sickness like nothing I have ever experienced. I think some peaple can develop cirrhosis without ever going through alcoholic hepatitis and I have heard of that on these forums and cirrhosis can be a sneaky thing to diagnose, but Alcoholic Hepatitis in full swing can not be missed. You know it if you get it. Anyway, hope this helps. Just for today Hobbit, just for today.

[cantlivenotknowing]

I do have a family and I get a buzz off of just being around them now. I treasure that. In terms of getting a physical and going to the dr., they would check the ALT and AST levels of your liver enzymes, bilirubin and albumin (a protein produced by the liver). If any of these are off, then they might check for prothrombin time which would indicate the ability for your blood platelets to clot properly which is tied to albumin levels. The 1st thing to show up is usually AST and ALT abnormalities followed by an increase in bilirubin levels and then a fall in albumin. As far as blood in stools goes, I also had that problem brought on by hemmoroids (hemorrhoids) which I came to find out were caused by inflammation most likely brought on by my liver and the increased pressure on my blood vessels. There is a blood pathway directly back from the rectum back to the liver for obvious toxin elimination reasons. You would probably want to keep an eye out for that if it comes up again. Given the pain under the rib cage, you should definitely get checked out. Knowledge is power. The thing that many people don't know about the liver is that it has no nerve endings, so you would never feel pain directly from the liver, but usually as a result of inflammation from the liver pressing against other organs and circulation in the abdominal area. Check it out and take care Hobbit.

[The Hobbit]

Sounds gruesome. I notice sometimes that I have this dull ache in my lower gut area under my right rib. It usually occurs after I have been taking vicodin. Some people have mentioned that this is where the gall bladder is. It goes pretty quickly though. Also, I have noticed that maybe three times in about three years there has been blood in my stool. Do you know anything about this my friend? I put it down to constipation from the vicodin, but that's wishful thinking.

I really was not aware that alcohol destroys so many organs in the body and that a failing liver can affect the whole 'pipeline'. It seems oh so pointless to destroy one's body and mind through chemicals that the body was never designed for, but alcoholism is clearly hereditary and almost certain to hit the next generation (both sides of my family were drinkers). Unfortunately, the ignorant lifestyle killed my father at a mere 42. He was a drinker and smoker and died of a massive heart attack that my brother and I witnessed. Then a year later I watched my mother rot and die from a brain tumor. She was a heavy smoker and wine drinker too. As a result of this I hit the bottle. But since then I have picked up the pieces to a certain extent and have married the most amazing woman in the world. I have a duty to myself, her, and my younger brothers to prevent myself from slipping. You're right, it's a struggle to have to prevent yourself from drinking every day, and the temptation is a mere arms length away. For me, it's probably possible to avoid what you have been through, and I am not sure at what level of alcoholism/drug addiction I am at (if there are indeed levels), but I feel better already having just conversed with you. And I hate to put it like this, but you are living proof of the dangers, and indeed the inevitability of constant abuse; and I just don't want to go there, you know? Hopefully I have been of some help too, in some way. Try and keep me updated and I'll do the same, my friend.

If I am a little concerned about my health, I should go and get a physical really should i not? How exactly do the doctor's check your liver? I've always been a little 'chicken' when it comes to doctors.

Day by day my friend. You have a family too, right?