ALCOHOLISM

HI DOC
MY HUSBAND IS ALCOHOLIC,I DID IS GGT TODAY AND IS ELEVATED ITS 72U/L[NORMAL UP TO 49].HIS OTHER LIVER ENZYMES ARE NORMAL.CHOLESTEROL IS 211,TRI 179MG/HDL IS 28 AND LDL IS 147MG.FASTING GLU IS 157MG.SHOULD I HAVE TO DO HIS HEPATITS PROFILE.I AM KIND OF WORRIED.HE DRIKNKS EVERY DAY.....PL DO REPLY
THANX

[EquineLori]

Hi, I'm sorry for you and your husband.  There are no doctors where you have posted your question.  We are a group of hepatitis C folks, some recently diagnosed and relatively new to treatment - like myself, some who have yet to begin treatment, and some who have completed treatment.  We are a support group only.

I would advise you to call your husband's doctor and pose your question to him/her.  

I will say a prayer for you both.  Alcoholism is a really tough issue.  It runs in my family and I regret to say I drank more than my share in my day.

God bless you, Lori

[cuteus]

there is a physician in the gastroenterology section of med help. you will need to pay a small fee to consult him/her. As suggested above, consult his primary care provider(PCP) with medical concerns you have. But, due to HIPPAA regulations you might not be able to obtain much about him from providers, without your husband's consent.  The dr that ordered his cholesterol and other tests, should be the one to pose your question to.
good luck

[GrandOak]

As a delivered alcoholic, I can empathize with your plight.  In fact, my diagnosis of HCV came about as a result of my doctor running the test last fall when my LFT's were not returning to normal as quickly as they should of over the summer after I detoxified last spring.

You mentioned that his other LFT's were normal, are we to assume that you are refering to his ALT and AST.  Most do not deal with the GGT measurements, but rather the ALT and AST as indicators that something is awry and affecting the liver.  If he is agreeable, it probably would not hurt to run the Hepatitis test panel to make sure that the virus is not present.

I for one feel that it the part of the reason the virus took off after what I believe has been 30 yrs since my possible infection was because of the effects that alcohol was having on my liver.  I also wonder if the drinking rather than the HCV infection did not play a larger part to my stage 4 status, as everyone knows that alcohol alone can lead to cirrhosis of the liver and I did not see physical signs of possible cirrhosis occurring until shortly before my detoxification.

As for his addiction, all I can say is that no one can help him unless he has reached a point where he wants the help and to end his drinking.

For me, I had reached that point long before I was delivered and had attempted several self-help methods to stop, as well as a few secular treatment options as well.  I finally found the help and deliverance I was searching for in a faith-based treatment program.  I knew from past experience with secular programs, and from the way I knew that it was time to end my addiction, that for me at least the faith-based program was the option I needed to persue.  Not surprisingly (to me at least), the doctors at the detoxification center I entered unanimously agreed that an out-patient faith-based program was the route for me to go, despite my wifes certainty that I needed to follow in in-patient treatment program.

I hope this helps in some way to provide a ray of hope to you that things can change and your relationship can possibly return to what you and your husband once had.  I can tell you that abstinence will probably be the first step in that healing process, because it is a process not an event, and both your husband and yourself will have to undergo healing from this problem which will take time.  Should the two of you look to travel this path, I might suggest that you may also want to look into getting possible co-dependancy help as alcoholism does not only affect the user, but also everyone close to them as well.

[aiuta]

Jessu,

I went to a seminar yesterday on Hep C given by a top hepatologist and he said THE ABSOLUTELY FIRST THING HE SAYS TO HIS PATIENTS who decide to delay treatment IS TO NOT DRINK ALCOHOL.  Apparently alcohol is the #1 thing that damages the liver; it undoes what Hep C treatment aims to do.  

I wish you and your husband all the best.  By the way, Al-anon is a great support group for friends and families of alcoholics.  They have groups all over the USA and world.  
God bless you both.

Aiuta

[timedog]

The one thing or two I would add here is that if your husband is an acholic there is nothing you can do for him, he has to do it himself. you should check out al-anon for you not him.

you can recomment AA to him it worked for me, but then I had hit a bottom and was ready for it. Not sure about faith based treatments never tried it never would since I am not a big believer in God. But AA I know works from personnel experince.

[PasoPerson]

You should find an Al-Anon group near you and start going there now.  Your husband does not have to be in the AA program for you to start attending Al-Anon.  It's for friends and families of an alcoholic, sober or not.  This group will be a great help to you.

God bless -
Carolyn

[cajunlady]

I will agree with some of the others.  There is nothing you can do for him; he has to want to himself.  I have 16 years sobriety and until I said I needed help and I wanted the help, nothing worked.  You can suggest AA, it is up to him to want AA.  If some tries to get clean and sober for someone else and not for themselves it doesn't usually work.  There is alot more to sobriety than just putting the drink or drugs down.  There are a whole mass of issues that will need to be worked with.  It is a long hard road, but can be accomplished if that individual really wants to l

Good Luck,
Cajun

[GrandOak]

If you are looking for a program for yourself that is more faith based you might look for a Celebrate Recovery (CR) program in your area (see http://www.celebraterecovery.com/global.shtml).

It started at Saddleback Church were Rick Warren (author of "Purpose Driven Life" and "Purpose Driven Church") is the senior pastor and like the Alpha program from England has spread to be a program which can be found internationally.

[SlideJames]

Hi Jessu, my name is James, and I'm a recovering alcoholic. Listen to these folks. It sounds as if most of these people on the Hep C forum have had alcohol problems. They're right, ther's nothing you can do for him until he wants help. For now, you're the one who needs help- Ala Non will save your life! It will help you understand the alcoholic mind. I've been involved in AA almost 5 years now. AA saved my life. I've never heard of a "delivered" alcoholic, but if your husbund has a problem with the ""God thing" then AA might be for him. You MUST go to Ala non- just do it and get the ball rolling!
Much Love, JAMES

[Kalio1]

I just wanted to chime in with those who say you could benefit from AlAnon. Im sure your husband is well aware that AA exists and until he takes himself there you can help yourself by joining ALAnon. By doing that you help yourself and that helps him because they teach you how to cope with his alcoholism and how to deal with your codependency. A big plus is everyone there is dealing with the same issues as you are. Best of luck to you.

[tonybuck]

Here is a website that features downloadable mp3s of people sharing their experience, strenght, and hope so that others may recover. The site features speakers of all kinds. It is very posssible if you can arm yourself with the facts of the disease of alcoholism you can plant a seed in your husband that may lead to him finding the solution to recover.