sober but worried

[Shy147]

I drank heavily for many years but have stopped completely for nearly two years.
When i initally stopped i had flu like symptoms which passed.

Then i had blood tests due to lumps that came up on my neck,blood tests showed vitamin B/Folic acid deficiencies.
This was monitored until repeated blood test showed acceptable levels.I think kidney/liver tests may have been done but i am not sure.
I did not tell anyone medical i was an alcoholic and i did not tell anyone i had stopped nor have i used any support group to aid or secure my sobriety.
I have just had a CT scan for lumps on my neck as they are still there and test showed many inflamed lymph nodes but this can happen apparently and Doctor said he feels it is not cancer.
I continue to have several large and many small spider nevi on my chest/arms and face and maybe some melanosis.

My question is i know i should go to a doctor and ask for liver tests for cirrhosis/hepatitis problems but i cannot bear too.

I have no other symptoms apart from tiredness/constipation which i think is down to my busy lifestyle,no swollen tummy or pale stools or itchiness.

I thought stopping and staying stopped would make spider viens etc go but i am worried that i may well have stopped too late!

Do you think i have cause to worry about Liver damage from this limited history?

[jmjm530]

First of all, it's impossible to get Hepatitis C from drinking, but non-infectious Hepatitis is always a possiblity. (The term "Hepatitis" just means liver inflammation).

So, your primary focus/worry/concern shoudn't be on getting a test for something there's no reason to believe you have (Hep C that is) but to see a good GI or liver specialist (hepatologist) to evaluate what is causing your symptons.

As part of that evaluation, they may run further tests including a Hep C antibody test, but if Hep C is the reason you're avoiding seeing a doctor -- again, drinking cannot cause Hepatitis C, so try and get that out of your mind.

All the best,

-- Jim

[copyman]

Forsee is right. after reading my post i realized it could be taken that i was saying you could avoid seeing a doctor. i meant just to get the bloodwork done if you are worried about someone finding out in the small town you live in. but by all means you need to see a doc with the symptoms you present. best of luck

[Forseegood]

not to be a big budinsky, and what copyman is said is totally valid, but if I were you and got some of the symptoms you spoke about spider nevi, etc...I'd also see a doc and get thoroughly checked out...just to rule things out, etc and we all need check ups anyway...

[copyman]

you can also test through the mail or one of many internet sites that email you the lab slip and you take it to a lab near you and have the blood drawn. you can then have the results faxed, emailed or regular mail to you. no doctor needed. wishing you well

[working dog]

good for you for stopping drinking...thats tough to do...i don't know how much exercise you get but some heart rate stuff at least three times a week can get the blood moving and might help a lot...also a real good diet..lots of vegetables..fruit...diet has worked great for me...i'm trying to wait for treatments in a few years when they will hopefully be better...good luck and go get the blood work done asap..if you have hepc i would get a biopsy...billy

[Forseegood]

I would just go get tested, go to the nearest major city if you can, tests are relatively simple and easy to get. You don't even know if you have hepatitis a,b,c etc.

Yes, there is a separate alcohol related hepatitis a person can get from over drinking (usually takes years), hepatitis merely means inflammation of the liver. But right now youre flying blind, which is the worst place to be, really, all the wondering, etc is really crazy making.

Could be that you don't have any kind of hepatitis at all, and you're spending so much of your precious time (I feel everyone's time is precious) worrying over nothing. I think it's great that you've embarked on a better lifestyle, you might even leave off smoking after a bit, you might surprise yourself! lol...take care....

[Shy147]

Hi,Thanks for all your replies.
I don't know if i have anything,sometimes a little bit of knowledge is a bad  thing i suppose.
I know there is Hepatitis A B and C but there is also Alcoholic Hepatitis is this A B C or one on its own? I know cirrhosis is irreversible and i know i hammered alcohol for 15 years?

I have had abdomen examinations as part of this cancer investigation and liver and spleen and normal sized but liver problems can lurk cant they for years some times.

I live in a small village and a friend of mine recently had her life ruined after medical tests by a lack of patient confidentiality about her past drinking and this is why i am reluctant to 'fess up' as it were.
I was a  drinker at home no where else and i would go miles to buy alcohol so no one knew me or worse still get my DH to get it for me.

I seem (although i never to take it for granted) to be coping well without booze and towards the end of my drinking days i had more and more physical symptoms i could simply not ignore anymore.The symptoms have more or less ceased apart from the ones i mentioned before.

I have been worried about these lumps on my neck and found whilst 'googling that enlarged lymph nodes came up with regard to liver problems and as the doctors think it is not cancer i felt it could be pointing to liver problems of some form or another.

I do smoke heavily i cannot seem to do anything by halves and this accounts for some symptoms maybe such as dark circles under eyes these were yellowish before i stopped drinking but i have bronzed forearms which i take to be melanosis rather then jaundice.

Does liver thistle/dandelion root or other herbs supplements really help do you think?

Has anyone made a private appointment to see a liver specialist and was it truly confidential and also was it expensive?

This forum is great thankyou again for your help.

[nygirl7]

I might be missing it all but why do you think you HAVE hep?  Drinking won't give you hepatitis at all.  

I "thought" for years that there was a good chance I had it.  I've done drugs in the past (a LOT of them), had an exhusband who had it, had very good friends who had it.   But, I was scared to "know".  I thought it would be better just to ignore it since I felt fine and dandy and never had any symptoms at all!

Until that is my liver enzymes came back from the doctors - horrible number.  Then and only then did I get the right blood test.  By this time after all those wasted years I found out I was stage 3 and needed to do treatment.  I'd drank up all the time that I could have had to take care of my liver and wait and see what new drugs might come down the road.  Because I wasn't in sobriety yet I'd been drinking and partying and heavily damaging my liver all along. I could have been living a life that was taking care of the liver instead.

So take it from me, I'm not sure why you think you might have it but...take the test before you end up down the road with me.  Stay on easy street if you can.

Treatment isn't the end of the world and there most definitely IS life after Hep but...it's a lot nicer street you live on when you aren't injecting yourself with poison to kill off a disease that you might have been able to live a controlled life with in the first place.

Deb

PS I had spider nevi on my face and the doctor said i got them when I was pregnant.  I'll never know if it was smoking, drinking, child birth or hep.  Could be anything.  YOu can't tell by THAT   --- just get the simple blood test and know - either way - before it's too late.

[Forseegood]

Beamer/Honey excellent posts! good to see you both here....sometimes going into denial just goes with the terriotory of being human to me, think most of us have done these things, in one way or another... .

But you may think you're doing yourself a favor by not facing this "big, bad news" but it's really the opposite.....I found in my path with this stuff, not knowing was actually worse then knowing one way or another...not knowing worked on my mind a lot more, and made me far more obsessive on all of this stuff...

Once you know from being tested...then you can give yourself time to deal with whatever it is, go into acceptance with whatever that is....

And then take action, whatever kind of action you need to do, action gives you a sense of power over this stuff, not knowing makes you feel like you have no power.   (I have sure been there.).....then you just go step by step after that.

The vast majority, the VAST majority of us, don't die from this disease. It's very slow moving. The truth is always a lot better then what you *suppose* it is. We've all been there.

As far as the spider nevi, a friend of mine had them, and he biopsied out a stage 1 (low damage). The symptoms for this aren't always definitive, they can be all over the place. The doc did tell him they might of been stemming from the fact he smoked as well. Take care of yourself, you'll get there.

[honey11]

Shy,,Why is so hard to talk to your dr?  Are you afraid of what you might hear?  Listen,,,we all been in that same boat one time or another and its so hard to wait on tests and with hep,,,you just never know.  Your liver could be fine and you are experiencing some symptoms now or you could very easily have some damage.  The spider nevi does appear for some with liver damage but seems like I read somewhere that lots of people do have and no damage.  Please make that phone call to be evaluated by a hepatologist.  You are fortunate that you can do that now as many don't even know they have hep until they have severe complications.  Please let us know your decision and how you are doing....

[beamishboy]

talk to your DOCTOR