View Single Post
Old 10-21-2016, 12:06 PM
  # 9 (permalink)  
ThatWasTheOldMe
Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2016
Posts: 1,642
I can relate.
If I drink any amount, I end up on a binge. And when I can't continue the binge, I end up in the hospital with horrible withdrawal symptoms. I also had elevated ALT, AST, and bilirubin levels after my last binge. This is a sign of liver damage (dead or dying liver cells release liver enzymes into your bloodstream).

I've been sober since September 14th for that reason. I don't care for AA for a plethora of personal reasons, but that's not important anymore. What's keeping me sober this time is twofold:

1. The stomach pain associated with alcohol withdrawal is too much for me. It is exaggerated due to an effect known as sedative-hypnotic kindling. My ENS (enteric nervous system... nervous system associated with GI tract) goes crazy due to ethanol toxicity and when ethanol is removed, it rebounds violently. The result is extreme GI pain without associated physical cause (nothing shows up on CT scan).

2. I know what liver cirrhosis looks like. The cost of drinking is too high for the reward I get.

I'll be honest. If I could drink and get away with it, I would. I miss it. But I don't miss making a jerk out of myself, and I certainly don't miss the withdrawal.

I haven't done anything incredibly stupid during my current sober stint. That's probably because it's been a sober stint.
ThatWasTheOldMe is offline