ah's dizziness/Cat Scan/antivert
 

ah went to the dr. this morning and he has been complaining about dizziness for a long time - gee, i wonder what that is from??? could it be related to the alcohol?, of course not!!! the dr. does not know about his alcoholism. so, he put him on antivert, which is supposed to be a anti dizziness/motion sickness med. of course, you are NOT supposed to drink while taking it. he has also ordered a cat scan for him this thurs at 6:15 pm. prayers for that please!

how long can the dr. keep treating him and not know about his alcoholism? he is also taking lipitor, which can mess up the liver, just something else to worry about now....

hi hope

my ex did this too....played the drs. without having full disclosure about his alcoholism.

i was obsessing with making the "truth come out".

i stopped doing that, and went for my annual exam, had my teeth cleaned, and had my eyes checked. turned the focus back on myself.

it won't take the drs. long to figure out there is more to your hubs story.

thanks jeri
 

you know, in all truth, he has had dizziness since he was a child. it is very likely from the trauma of being hit in the head, one too many times :( his a@@@@@@ parents could never figure it out.....

if it is trauma from abuse, will it show in the cat scan?

Honestly tho, do the dr's really care if they are alcoholic or want to know that they are? My husband was diagnosed by a liver specialist (tops in the county) with alcoholic liver disease. I went with him to all the appointments, made sure dr. knew how often and how much AH drank, wanted the dr. to point out the danges of drinking with ALD and when my husband kept prodding him "can I drink once or twice a week?" the dr. said he didn't think "once or twice a week would hurt." That's right, tell an ALCOHOLIC, diagnosed with ALCOHOLIC (key word) liver disease that he can drink once or twice a week!!! Like that's really going to happen, and that dr. knows it. I agree with Embraced - take care of YOU because your A is going to do what he wants to do anyway, regardless. Mine does.

The doctor knows that, too. He/she sees many more addicts than I ever will. I remember being very angry at our doctor's attitude at the beginning of all this. I understand it now. I believe he, more than I even, understands AH will continue to drink as long as he wants, no matter what the doctor says. It's the most cunning, baffling and power part of the disease. Denial.

Trust me, as long as there was someone covering my butt, I continued to drink.

denny
 

i hope your right, and i am sure you are. they are not as dumb as we think sometimes i am sure, - but he is prescribing things that can be dangerous with alcohol

But alcoholics DO things that are dangerous with alcohol: drive, operate machinery, mess with me.......

As if a little warning on a label (which is only there so the manufacturers don't get sued, in their eyes) is going to stop them.

Time to let go, hon. This is not for you to control. If you carry on shouldering the worry, YOU are the one who is going to get sick.

MOST drugs are dangerous with alcohol. When I'm given a prescription and told not to drink, I don't. Not so easy for an alcoholic.

So, for arguments sake - say you're the doctor. Do you prescribe a medication for what the patient presents with or do you withhold it because they're alcoholic? Your husband did not go in for treatment of alcoholism, he went in for dizzyness.

I also think it's time to let go. Do you attend Al-Anon? I became very ill myself with all the worry - until our doctor told ME I was killing myself and save myself. I am glad I listened. The key to my happiness was there, I just had to be humble enough to see it.

((()))

My AH (the one with alcoholic liver disease) takes 2 or 3 ambien CR's and drinks (like 20-25 beers), when he's out of that he takes 2 or 3 advil PM's and drinks 20 or so beers, both of which you're not supposed to mix with alcohol and because of his liver disease, he's not supposed to have advil because he has low platelets and advil can make them go lower, along with alcohol, and he still does all that. Again, they will do what they want to do and take chances they shouldn't take, and I hate to say this, but somehow they always turn out alright. I used to worry, count and hide the ambien, advil pm's, etc., now I just let him do what he wants and let the chips fall where they may. It's not my responsibility to babysit him and make sure he doesn't overtake his meds. I used to go with him to all his dr. appointments, making sure the dr. knew how much and how often he drinks, and what happened, we'd argue each time in front of the dr. and he'd downplay it. Since he was the patient, the dr. would "poo poo" me. Now I don't even bother to go or remind him of his follow ups. He's grown, he should know what he has to do, and if he doesn't care, why should I? It's not my place to, nor can I, fix him. The only one I can fix is me and that's exactly what I'm doing. Please, take the time to focus on you and take care of you.

When I finally had this revelation, the knot in the pit of my stomach finally went away. All that time I was acting as if he was a child and I was his parent. What a relief to let another adult make their own choices and live with the consequences..........

L

LaTeeda,
That is so true. I was making myself SICK. I had an inflamed sternum and chest pains from the stress of it all, my blood pressure was running a little high, I couldn't focus at work and like you said, that constant knot in the pit of my stomach. And I also had acid reflux - something I never had in my life! When I finally got sick like that I realized who was suffering most - ME! Thanks to a little individual counseling and SR, my mindset is so much better now and I'm not physically or emotionally sick anymore. It's a much better way to live.
QT

I believe most doctors know if their patients are alcoholics--they just don't want to be involved---the doctor is covering his ass by ordering a CT Scan-because he has a patient c/o dizziness.
Maybe it will show alcoholic dementia--now that might be an eye opener for him.
He must have blood work done every few months if he is on Lipitor? His liver enzymes--do they come back normal? I doubt it.

hey sunflower
 

that was my question. could it show problems from alcohol abuse like you said?

he has had three liver checks come back with elevated bilirubins (i think it was three) and one after he started the lipitor with normal levels. they just checked him again so we will see.

If he is an A--all his liver enzymes will probably be off the chart no matter what medicine he takes--

Have them test for Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome

dont
 

what is this ?