bullit71

Hi Everyone,

I'm brand new here. I don't consider myself an alcoholic but a heavy social drinker. Maybe it's the same thing.

I've always had a good job, never violent when drinking, don't really drink hard alcohol etc. I just love my beer and wine. Problem is when I drink I can go through a couple bottles (wine) in a sitting and love the feeling of a buzz.

I'm 39 now and have been trying to cut back to none during week and only once or twice on the weekends (where I can have as much as I want).

Problem is lately after 2 nights straight of drinking I get discomfort feeling in liver area. Not real pain but notice it and it's got me nervous. I've had my ALT checked several times and highest I've ever had was 44 and I quit for 2 weeks and retested and it was 20 (very good score).

But then I get confident and try to only booze it twice/week and recently started having these dull aches in liver area.

Perhaps I'm dilutional but after ~20yrs of heavy social drinking I (never drank at work or in mornings) I'm thinking my habits are finally catching up on me. I sure love wine tasting, beer/football games etc but always take it to the next level once I get started.

I'd love to get your input!

least

Welcome to SR! No matter what the label, alcoholic/heavy drinker, if it's causing problems in your life or with your health, why not give it up entirely for a while, say two or three months and see how you feel. I gave it up for good over a year ago and haven't felt this good in a long time. YOu'll find a lot of support here.

Do see your doctor for liver function testing.

bullit71

I may do that. I'm starting to do some searches in these forums and it can be pretty scary.

Funny my family members are all social drinkers and don't have this issue although I'm usually the one that drinks the most when we get together.

Dee74

The best thing you can do is go see your doctor bullit.

Welcome to SR
D

AWOL

Hi Bullit and welcome to SR!

The pattern you describe is similar to mine when I was about 39 and I regarded myself not as an alcoholic but "just" a heavy social drinker. Later, the weekend drinking spilled over into Fridays and Mondays, then Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Even then, drinking every day of the week, I thought, it's OK, I only have three or four drinks in the evenings. Later, it was, OK, just a beer at lunchtime, which progressed to a couple of beers and a glass of wine with my business colleagues at business lunches. Finally it was a beer or two at 10 am to straighten out, followed by a couple at lunchtime, and then sundowners and a nightcap of several whiskeys "to help me sleep." Delusional? Yes, you bet... for years I didn't accept I was an alcoholic. Then I did an online test to establish whether or not I was one. I scored nine out of ten points, when one or more points would have classified me as alcoholic. One of the great insights I've had in sobriety is how alcohol does delude us into thinking we're "normal" when very often we are on the road to ruin.

CarolD

Yes....alcohol danages so many organs ..includeing your brain.
According to the CDC...it matters not what type of alcohol you use
They all do harm ...and not only to alcoholics.

Please see your doctor and be honest about your drinking
so the correct blood panel screening will be done.

Welcome to SR....

Danae

Hi Bullitt,

One of the most helpful things I've gotten from SR is the idea that alcoholism is progressive. Whatever you are drinking now it may get a lot worse in the future.

Only you can decide if you are an alcoholic, but coming here and reading is a good step in deciding for yourself. Everyone (myself included) thought I was a "social drinker" (wine only, evenings only) but it was becoming a big problem for me. I kept trying to moderate, and it wasn't working because all I was thinking about was the drinking.

Having stopped drinking altogether, I feel so much better and it is a lot less effort. Just my 2 cents. Lots of support and information here to help you.

Oh, and I too was worried about my liver. Tests showed that it was "fine"---but my fear was helpful in motivating me to stop drinking. After reading what people post on SR, this fear continues to motivate me in my sobriety.

Eddiebuckle

Bullit, I absolutely identify with your post. You are starting to feel the consequences of drinking. Unchecked, your drinking will likely progress. It's crazy how subtle the progression is, but the quick test is to decide to not drink (at all, regardless of celebrations, super bowls, funerals, job promotions, job loss, breaking up with your mate, dating someone new, rain, sun, birthdays....) for a couple of months. I personally would not have done that, because I was not an alcoholic. Never missed work, never got a DUI, had all the trappings of success. But I drank - I considered myself a drinker, and thats what we do. No harm done, right? But if you have those nagging thoughts that maybe you drink too much and its a little out of hand at times (why else would you have your bloodwork done?) - chances are, you're already on the slippery slope.

doggonecarl

Welcome.

If you read through the various threads you should have come across the term "alcoholism is progressive." You could quit now, knowing you'll benefit healthwise, or wait until the doctor tells you the next drink will kill you. Don't put yourself (or your family) through the remorse of wishing you had quit earlier.

Good luck.

SSIL75

There was a time when I defined myself as a 'heavy drinker' too. I don't know that my drinking changed a whole lot but my definition sure did. I mean really - normal drinkers don't get medical evidence that they are damaging their liver yet continue to drink, right? Social drinkers don't drink multiple bottles of wine in one sitting. Keep reading!

bullit71

Thanks for the input!

Haven't had a drink and after several days of sobriety my liver area is starting to feel better.

Man I'm already thinking about this weekend and looking forward to Friday night to celebrate the end of a long week by plowing through 3-4 beers and a couple bottles of wine.

Can't do it - clearly my binging is causing health issues and I can't ignore it any further.

I'm debating trying to keep it only on weekends and a 3-4 drink maximum. Something tells me this has been tried before. Something tells me I'll fail.

It's that damn itch I get - wish I didn't get it like normal ppl...

doggonecarl

That debate is between the alcoholic mind and your rational mind. Booze brain wants you to drink...but with "controlled drinking." It teases you to try anything but sobriety. Your rational mind knows it won't work. So listen to it!

Dee74

It's been tried before. If it worked there'd be noone here, Bullitt.

It takes some time work and effort not to go off like Pavlovs Dog on a Friday afternoon....but it's possible to change - if you want it

D

ReadyAndAble

Listen to them, bro. This website is packed with people from all over the world who had the exact same plan—just gotta drink less, or maybe drink less often. I've read about a lot of happy endings here, but none that involved becoming a normal drinker...

maisy

Hi Bullit...just wanted to throw my two cents in here. I am on day 31, and I , like you, started to have the liver discomfort. I had an ultrasound which showed fatty liver but all of my levels were normal. I did stop, but not for very long and decided I would monitor my drinking and control it. All that did was cause me anxiety over when I would drink, when it was ok, how much I should have, etc. I stopped completely on Dec. 25 after having too much and puking in front of my kids. My worst fear is leaving them over something I have done to myself. By stopping completely, it is simply not an option. It is amazing how much time I feel like I have and how happy I feel to be present with my kids every night. I feel better than I have in a long time. maybe give it a shot with no drinking at all for a period of a couple months and see how you do. Good luck!

cabledude

Quitting over a little liver pain sounds too rational for me to have accomplished. Drinking was important and for something important you make allowances, bear some discomfort. I bucked up and when my stomach hurt a lot I found that eating big Malox II tablets through the day after drinking sort of worked. Putting on some of my wife's makeup helped with the raccoon eyes I'd come out of the weekend with.

I never had the common pasty bloat or a beer belly to worry about, and developed a workable system for disposal of all the cans and bottles.

I'd suggest staying away from Tylenol completely, and taking liver suppliments religiously. If you can't stop drinking, you might be able to squeeze a few more years out before it becomes imperative to begin the struggle to quit you see people here playing out often for the rest of their lives.

What you can expect is to feel responsible that you are giving this issue your honest consideration, but then deciding that you'll experiment with cutting back, which will be ok for a couple of weeks, but then you'll change your mind and go to your normal quantities, sure that the problem has been solved, but then the pain will return and you'll post on some forum like this and decide more firmly to cut back, much more firmly than before.

When a drinker notes that drinking is becoming a problem and they need to be careful to not develop alcoholism, they're done like a Thanksgiving turkey already but just don't yet get it. If I were to guess, I'd say you're about 7 years away from that realization. And grasping it then will mean the damage you've done to that point is the price you paid for a far better life, assuming you're fortunate enough to be the 1 out of the 40 who get to stay sober.

But hey, the weekend is coming up...

invisigoth

I've got the same weird feeling in my liver area too, scary stuff. Most times I have to be half dead before I go to the Doctor but this has me a bit worried.

littlefish

Dang! Why didn't I try that!!!???? Thanks Cable guy for that little gem. And, I like the last part of your post too, about one out of the 40 who gets sober.
I was in a meeting Sunday night, I was showing support because it is a new women's group that is trying to attract members and I thought even though we are few, we are lucky.
That's because most people who suffer from this disease do not get sober. That is so sad. I see it in my own family: 2 alcoholic grandfathers, 2 codependent grandmothers, two alcoholic parents, ALL my siblings are alcoholic, I am a recovering alcoholic, 3 of 4 nieces are alcoholic, 1 of 2 nephews....it is literally all over the map with my family.

Bingen

Hi Built,

I am too new to SR and getting lots of help. After 7 years of heavy drinking , I have been able to achive few days of soberness and now also can manage with one or 2 glass of wine with dinner and can stop without discomfort . Be in touch and keep browsing on SR. IT WILL HELP EVENTUALLY.
Regarding your liver issue, try Milk Thistle( Herbal Supplement ) regularly everyday . Include Onions, Garlics, Turmeric, Brocolli, Sprouts as much as in your diet, take antioxidants like Vitamins C & E, Amino Acid like NAC ( with advise from your Doctor and only if your ALT/AST are below 30 ) . A long term nutrition theraply can help in damage control for Liver. Hope it helps

Bingen

Dee74

Like other herbal remedies milk thistle can interact, sometimes badly, if you're taking medication.

It is also not always suitable for people who have existing liver damage or suffer from liver diseases like Hep C.

For that reason it's always safest to see your Dr before you start any new medication.

Please remember our medical rule:

D