caissie

My husband is alcholic has been drinking for 20 years 2 to 3 cases of beer a day and he has been sober 6 month 6 months ago he took real sick his face body was swollen real bad fever yellow and puking white gross stuff out and real bad pains horrible pains This has been going on for a year the pains and the sickness he was real scared he quit drinking that day. See he has been feeling good so he thinks his liver is all better .Last week he decides to get drunk the next day his face was swollen and not feeling good and has been drinking since on and off. im thinking he has Cirrhosis not sure but has all the symptons of it Does anybody know what im in for now that he quit for six months im sure it helped his liver not drinking but back drinking again im sure its not good for his liver Help thanks bonnie

dollydo

Good grief, he is playing with fire. I am sorry, but there really is nothing you can do, it is all up to him. He will be an alcoholic all his life, it is just a matter of whether he is sober and working a strong recovery program or not.

Relapses are common, even after years.

What are your bounderies with him? Are you attending Alanon meetings? Have you read Codependent No More?

Take some time to read the stickeys at the top of this forum and the other Family & Friends forums, it will help.

caissie

He is trying to do this all on his on and i know its not good i will read the sticky and thank you any body elese out there with the same problem

suki44883

He really needs to see a doctor. The liver is a miraculous organ with the ability to heal itself, but once the damage reaches a certain point, it cannot be reversed. Drinking 2-3 cases of beer a day for 20 years is certain to have damaged his liver, but how much can only be known if he sees a doctor.

My father died from cirrhosis and it isn't pretty. He was pretty much bedridden, swollen, yellow, and couldn't keep much of anything down for about a year before he finally went to the hospital. They were unable to save him.

caissie

He wont go to the doctor scared of needles and scared of the unknown he has been drinking 2 to3 cases for about a good 5 years or more always drank atleast 1 to 2 cases 15 years before that having 6 months sober free and know that he is drinking again i wonder what to except i think it wont be long and he will be sick and and this im scared

Lynnrae2

My A is kind of in the same boat. He has been drinking for years and his choice of poison is Bourbon and also vodka these days. It used to be a half gallon of Jim Beam a night and now it is the same but he is drinking vodka when he gets up in the mornings and he drinks all day to maintain.

He too is reataining fluid. His face is so swollen that he is almost unrecognizable. His eyes are glazed over and every morning he wakes up throwing up white foam. He claims it is acid reflux. I am not a doctor but, I am pretty sure thats not the reason.

He wont go to the doctor, so I dont know what the diagnosis is, but I have done the research and it all points to liver and kidneys.

He is 48 and I really dont see him living to 60 at the rate he is going.

I finally told him the other night that he needed to get help and I walked away from him. I did tell hime that I would make the walk with him to sobriety when he is ready.

Now we really dont speak.

It is very sad and it breaks my heart. I feel guilty, I feel like I have abandoned him. It sucks and it hurts.

But there is nothing I can do and there is nothing you can do either.

I feel your pain.

Just keep posting. Keep asking for support. Educate yourself about the disease.

caissie

Im sitting here crying i feel you pain i know i have a lot of guilt you get to the point where you hate them i want to leave i dont now how im scared

Freedom1990

My paternal grandmother died at the tender age of 42 from cirrhosis. Her official cause of death was a heart attack, but during that day and age, it was rather taboo to list cirrhosis as a cause of death, especially for a woman.

As for what you are in for, I don't know. I do know you have no control over what he does.

Do you have any support system outside of the home like counseling or Alanon?

I absolutely refuse to live with active alcoholism and/or addiction in my home, but it sure took a long time and a lot of recovery on my part to get to that point.

Sending you hugs of support!

dandylion

Dear Cassie, with his history, he doesn't have much good liver tissue left---not if he continues the alcohol.

Have you ever been to alanon? In what country is frederictn located?

You cannot help him now---except to stop enabling him---NOW. Physically, it doesn't sound like he has much time left (drinking again).

You deserve all the help you can get. Please reach out to receive it. So glad that you came to post here.

Hang on to the serenity prayer.

dandylion

Sel

Cassie/ bonnie, hi

I am sorry to hear of your situation.

It lookslike your husband's liver is in big trouble. Seems like he has jaundice already. Does he have pruritus? / itching of the body like stingy needles and pins.

You should take him to a gastroenterologist right away. Most likely he will need a sonogram, endoscopy, maybe even a colonoscopy.

Good luck

Lynnrae2

Cassie,

It sounds like to me that you are not quite ready to leave yet. I remember being scared. Scared that he would hate me, fill abandoned by me. I was scared to be alone.

But, I was alone when I was with him. and now I have found that he doesnt care that I am even gone.

There is a book called tears and healing. Check it out. It helped me. Also, I went through about 8 months of counseling to get where I am today. And, I am still no where close to being back to me.

I am not a real religious person, but I have learned to pray and I have also opened my eyes up to what I truely feel are signs from God.

Yes, do read the Serenity prayer.

Music has also helped me.

George straight - Drinking man
reba Mcentire - she cant save him

I know it is hard, but everyone at SR (and I have only been here for a couple of days) is right.

I google things all the time.

The mind of an alcoholic
The effects that alcohlism has on the family

All of these things have helped me get to where I am right now.

Healing is along process.

Educating yourself about the disease and helping yourself is the only thing you can do!!!!!!


Keep posting your feelings and keep reading everyones responses.

caissie

Yes he does have itching and pins and needles and i know it wont be long now that he is back on it I wanna thank every body for the

Lynnrae2

please educate me more on pruritus and how does alcohol play into it? My ex A doesnt look jaundice but he complains that he cant feel his feet. They are numb all the time? Is this kind of the same thing?

Lynnrae2

I got it now. I found what pruritus is. I am still curious to know if the numbness in his legs is caused by the heavy long term drinking.

caissie

The Last Stages

The last stages of cirrhosis are the stages in which the liver begins to completely shut down. Symptoms of these stages can include an increased frequency of fevers. A person's complexion can also take on a yellowish appearance during these last stages. In addition, patients exhibit symptoms ranging from bad breath to the presence of blood during vomiting. Certain people will experience a general loss of hair in the pubic areas of their body, as well as a feeling of tingling and numbness in their extremities (the hands and feet) as the flow of blood to the body slows down. In extreme cases the last stages of cirrhosis can result in a person going into coma.
It wont that me put the wbsite i found it on