MIRecovery

Tina, How is your husband? I have said a few prayers for the two of you

TinaInTexas

Thanks to everyone who is concerned. We went to a small town hospital Sunday morning. They gave him fluids and drew blood. They told us he needed to go to the main hospital in Dallas, so they transported him. They kept him overnight and got the liver doctors involved on Monday. He has alcoholic hepatitis. They are giving him meds and keeping an eye on his bilirubin levels. As soon as they see the levels trend downward, he can come home. So far they are still going up. They are anticipating a few more days. The good news is, it's not cirrhosis and he can recover fully as long as he never drinks again. Right now he is saying that he is never going to drink again, but I know that there will be temptation once he is feeling better. I really don't think he'll give in to that temptation.

ladyscribbler

Thanks for the update. Glad to hear he is on the mend. How are you? This must be very stressful.

Wahine

Instead of going home when he leaves the hospital could the dr. Send him to inpatient treatment?

TinaInTexas

Thank you for asking. I am doing good. It is a little stressful, but now that I know he will recover, I am a little more relaxed.

CodeJob

Grateful you updated us! I've been thinking about you and your yellow fellow! I hope he is scared straight. I hear it happens. Relapse with kindling appears to help keep my RAH in check. He hated the anxiety roaring right back.

Healing and hugs to both of you!

robgt350

that is good news hopefuly he can come home soon

Mango blast

My husband went a few rounds with the hospitals for trauma due to drinking. It would have scared most people straight, but alcoholism isn't cured by being scared for your health or your life. Commitment and active recovery is required, WITH help from others and building a support system around us. It is not possible to recovery in isolation, which the disease will try to fool us all into wanting.

Wahine, we can't go back, but that advice is the absolute best that anyone could have given us. Even the doctors who warned us the alcoholism was going to kill him if he didn't quit didn't have any advice on what to do to get real help with this, other than AA. I kept thinking "if only he'd go to AA", while the reality was he needed a lot more help than that. He's going to AA now, but he needed rehab first.

Tina, don't ask your husband what he wants to do, look at what he needs to do. Rehab is a great place to start learning how to take care of ourselves. Find a place that offers a good family program. There are many different rehabs available - getting to one can be a very important move to make towards long term recovery. This disease affects many very good people. We met a lot of them during an inpatient rehab program and found out that we REALLY are not alone. The more education you each receive, the better your chances are for recovery. Before going, I had thought it was a "last resort" kind of thing, now I see it's a really good place to be and the earlier the better. I'm so glad your husband is doing better and is getting help!

unsureoffuture

Thanks for the update and good thing it was caught before it turned into cirrhosis. Liver disease is progressive. Maybe this will be the event that changes things for him. I wish him a speedy recovery. The uncertainty is so hard. Be good to yourself and keep focusing on yourself. I do believe the stronger we are the better able we are to help them instead of enabling them.

TinaInTexas

Well we will have to be strong for each other since I am also a drinker.

Thinking

Is your drinking a problem, Tina?

BoxinRotz

Don't count your meatballs before all the dogs get to the table.

More than likely, if he doesn't seek treatment, he will go back to drinking AND, I see the temptation is very highly possible since you are a drinker too. He can quit if he wants to though, even if you still drink. It will be hard for him but not impossible. I wouldn't bet the farm on it though.

Carlotta

Maybe you could both check out AA and go together to a speaker meeting to see if you like it. After that I d suggest that you keep your programs and meetings separate though.

TinaInTexas

The psychiatrist came to his room today to introduce himself. He is stopping by again tomorrow to interview him. I think he is going to start counseling after he get out of the hospital. Counseling will help him, since he has been using alcohol to (not) cope with some things that have happened in his life recently.

Yes I would say that I do have a problem with drinking. I drink about a bottle of Pinot Gregio a day. However, I can NOT drink in order to not give him additional temptations. He works in a field where it is the norm to go out to dinner and drinks after work on the tab of the client, so that will be the main hurtle for him.

TinaInTexas

Edited to add.... A large bottle do Pinot on weekends.

Thinking

Tina, I'm just so proud of you. You are looking at things and starting to decide what has to be sorted. You know you are drinking more than is healthy so that's one of your areas to work on. Your drinking and your husband's drinking are not the same thing though. He needs to stop drnking for him and be in control enough to be in the presence of alcohol without drinking. The rest of the world will not give up alcohol to help him.

TinaInTexas

You're right. He is going to be around all of his co-workers drinking all the time.

CodeJob

Tina, just wanted to second Thinking's comment. I hope you two can work things out. Change is not always easy. I will keep you two in my thoughts!

Mountainmanbob

I hope that he will be one of the ones who takes this advice to heart

from what I have seen in most alcoholics (if alcoholic)

not much concerns them until they are only months or weeks from death

MM

BlueSkies1

The best way you can help yourself, help your husband, and help your marriage, would be to get sober yourself.