Hi all. I've been sober for 101 days. I've finally put 15-20 years of drinking (off and on) behind me. I've been lurking here at SR for a couple of months and have found everyone's stories and comments really helpful. Thank you!
At this point, after months of lethargy and fatigue, I feel I've turned a corner and gained some energy and mental strength to go out and get back into my workout and weight training routine. My exercise habits since quitting drinking have been zilch. I just lacked the energy. When I first stopped drinking I lost my appetite, stopped eating, and lost a lot of muscle mass. Over time my appetite returned and I filled back out a little. But until recently the tiredness remained.
At the same time, after a few weeks, I developed edema in my abdomen and legs. The edema in my legs went away after 2-3 weeks, but it remains in my stomach area. It's not too noticeable, but it bothers me. I've been taking some OTC diuretics, but I don't know if it's helped. The edema makes it more difficult to workout.
My question is, for edema, should we take in more fluids, or take diuretics? I'm pretty sure that when I was drinking I was both dehydrated (all I drank was black tea all day, and alcohol at night) and malnourished (two Paleo meals, breakfast and lunch, every day). At SR the overwhelming advice for people with edema/bloating seems to be "drink more fluids!," but for some reason I focused on taking diuretics instead. Too much consulting Dr. Google.
Any advice on this situation would be appreciated.
FYI apart from two weeks of initial withdrawal period, which was really unpleasant, I've exhibited no other major symptoms (which is main reason I haven't seen a doctor, the other being that I took time off from work and am between companies).