Husband Secret Drinking
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He also claims that he thinks he does have a physical illness on top of the booze and that the times he has passed out during the day etc, he wasn't drinking. But when I look back at a lot of it, his eyes were glassy and I wonder if he was passing out drunk?! But he'd need to be pretty drunk wouldn't he? He can be just sitting there then fall over asleep and we cannot wake him up!
The thing is, *if* he is able to become sober and work his recovery, he will be a different person. *If* this happens, it will take time, years.
You already know who he is now. No one knows what the future holds. You need to take care of yourself now, in the present.
As an aside, all the health problems you listed in an earlier post, those are all symptoms of advanced alcoholism. They won't begin improving til he detoxes and stays clean and sober; some may never resolve.
You already know who he is now. No one knows what the future holds. You need to take care of yourself now, in the present.
As an aside, all the health problems you listed in an earlier post, those are all symptoms of advanced alcoholism. They won't begin improving til he detoxes and stays clean and sober; some may never resolve.
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The thing is, *if* he is able to become sober and work his recovery, he will be a different person. *If* this happens, it will take time, years.
You already know who he is now. No one knows what the future holds. You need to take care of yourself now, in the present.
As an aside, all the health problems you listed in an earlier post, those are all symptoms of advanced alcoholism. They won't begin improving til he detoxes and stays clean and sober; some may never resolve.
You already know who he is now. No one knows what the future holds. You need to take care of yourself now, in the present.
As an aside, all the health problems you listed in an earlier post, those are all symptoms of advanced alcoholism. They won't begin improving til he detoxes and stays clean and sober; some may never resolve.
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As an aside, all the health problems you listed in an earlier post, those are all symptoms of advanced alcoholism. They won't begin improving til he detoxes and stays clean and sober; some may never resolve. - so insomnia ( he does also have moderate sleep apnea ), passing out randomly in th emiddle of the day, the aggression, the high ferritin, low platlets, low magnesium, low potassium (I've been giving him electrolyte tablets and that has helped his worst illness symptoms), tremor, vertigo, weight loss - all booze? Liver ultrasound is fine though.
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As an aside, all the health problems you listed in an earlier post, those are all symptoms of advanced alcoholism. They won't begin improving til he detoxes and stays clean and sober; some may never resolve. - so insomnia ( he does also have moderate sleep apnea ), passing out randomly in th emiddle of the day, the aggression, the high ferritin, low platlets, low magnesium, low potassium (I've been giving him electrolyte tablets and that has helped his worst illness symptoms), tremor, vertigo, weight loss - all booze? Liver ultrasound is fine though.
So likely those really bad "episodes" were to do with either withdrawal or just the fact that he's nearing this end stage where the withdrawal symptoms can happen at any time? He would shake and when it happened, his blood pressure would be VERY high like 190/100 ... then over a period of days it would all fade away thencome back a few weeks later. He regularly has a hand tremor now but in the episodes, his face also has a tremor
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This!
End-stage alcoholism is normally associated with severe symptoms of alcohol withdrawal and serious illnesses. Withdrawal occurs when going without alcohol results in physical body reactions like nausea, shaking, and in more adverse cases, tremors and seizures.
I am absolutely floored by this!!! What does "end-stage" even mean?! Close to death? He's 41 yrs old and fit and goes to worka physical job 50 hours each week!
End-stage alcoholism is normally associated with severe symptoms of alcohol withdrawal and serious illnesses. Withdrawal occurs when going without alcohol results in physical body reactions like nausea, shaking, and in more adverse cases, tremors and seizures.
I am absolutely floored by this!!! What does "end-stage" even mean?! Close to death? He's 41 yrs old and fit and goes to worka physical job 50 hours each week!
Yes, those symptoms you mentioned are all withdrawal symptoms, does he have extreme sweating ever?
"End stage" doesn't mean he is at death's door, it just means his alcoholism is severe. It comes, generally, with a lot of health challenges.
He may be fit (although from your descriptions it doesn't' sound like it) and may go to work 50 hours a week, but he can still have alcoholism at end-stage. Look at all the health challenges he is having. He can still function with all of that until he can't.
That's why when some people describe an alcoholic as "high functioning" it is just a misnomer, they are high functioning until they aren't.
My Father was an alcoholic and worked long, hard hours all his life in tough areas of the world, until he retired.
"End stage" doesn't mean he is at death's door, it just means his alcoholism is severe. It comes, generally, with a lot of health challenges.
He may be fit (although from your descriptions it doesn't' sound like it) and may go to work 50 hours a week, but he can still have alcoholism at end-stage. Look at all the health challenges he is having. He can still function with all of that until he can't.
That's why when some people describe an alcoholic as "high functioning" it is just a misnomer, they are high functioning until they aren't.
My Father was an alcoholic and worked long, hard hours all his life in tough areas of the world, until he retired.
I also want to mention that him withdrawing, on his own, over and over is playing with fire, although I'm sure many alcoholics do this. At some point he may have a seizure or worse. Just be prepared (sorry, not trying to scare you), if he seems to be flagging during one of these withdrawal sessions, don't hesitate to call an ambulance, better to be safe.
Just because he has never had a seizure (that you know of) doesn't mean he won't.
Just because he has never had a seizure (that you know of) doesn't mean he won't.
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I had absolutely no idea he was in withdrawal but it certainly sounds like that is what it was - so he was drinking hard then stopping and having these 4 days of crashes then he must have been drinking again to then have the 4 days happen 2 or 3 weeks later? He sometimes sits and stares at the floor for so long and it looks like an absense seizure - I was going to tell the neurologist this. I guess there is no point in a neurologist now? And an MRI?
How much do you have to drink to have withdrawal like that?
He was so bad the past year with his illness that I guess has been booze that I am shocked he has not missed a day of work since he started this job 4 months ago now. In our old life, he had an office job and never missed it either - it has only been th epast 2 yrs that he has had these flareups of what I thought was some sort of neuro disorder or maybe a liver issue. It hasn't happened for a good few months now - 4 or 5 months I'd say so he has been drinking that whole time then likely? End stage is when those symptoms just happen at random - so if it is in withdrawal it happens maybe he isn't at end stage? Ultrasound of all abdominal organs showed zero issues!
How much do you have to drink to have withdrawal like that?
He was so bad the past year with his illness that I guess has been booze that I am shocked he has not missed a day of work since he started this job 4 months ago now. In our old life, he had an office job and never missed it either - it has only been th epast 2 yrs that he has had these flareups of what I thought was some sort of neuro disorder or maybe a liver issue. It hasn't happened for a good few months now - 4 or 5 months I'd say so he has been drinking that whole time then likely? End stage is when those symptoms just happen at random - so if it is in withdrawal it happens maybe he isn't at end stage? Ultrasound of all abdominal organs showed zero issues!
It could just be extremely lucky that he doesn't have internal organ damage yet.
But yes, when you stop to think about everything alcohol does to a body, it's scary. It's no wonder your husband feels so ill, going through withdrawals every few days. If he's going to detox, he needs to go to a treatment center. As was already mentioned, he could have seizures or other serious health episodes, but you know this -- I'm glad you're doing some reading. The more you learn, the better.
But yes, when you stop to think about everything alcohol does to a body, it's scary. It's no wonder your husband feels so ill, going through withdrawals every few days. If he's going to detox, he needs to go to a treatment center. As was already mentioned, he could have seizures or other serious health episodes, but you know this -- I'm glad you're doing some reading. The more you learn, the better.
He has probably been drinking the whole time if he hasn't been in withdrawal. You don't have to drink copious amounts either, necessarily - to keep withdrawal at bay, a steady flow of alcohol, maybe not even enough to get drunk can keep them at bay (for some). Plus he probably has a tolerance to alcohol now, so while he might be able to drink a flask of alcohol with no outward signs of being drunk, if you drank the same amount you might be quite drunk.
The alcohol you have found may not be the only alcohol he has had. He could be drinking on the way home from work, at work at lunch, after work, no way to tell.
As for his medical issues, it's just impossible to say really.
The alcohol you have found may not be the only alcohol he has had. He could be drinking on the way home from work, at work at lunch, after work, no way to tell.
As for his medical issues, it's just impossible to say really.
We have done blood tests which showed he had very high ferritin and his symptoms did fit liver issues .... so I thought maybe haemacromatosis and all different things. The liver specialist told me alcohol is the likely cause of the elevated ferritin but I said wel that can't be because he doesn't drink really at all!
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OMG it didn't even occur to me he could have other bottles stashed elsewhere?! His car is always pristine and empty so there's nothing in there. I gotta go check up at the trailer but he may have already been to clear anything that was there away without me knowing on his way home from work or something one night. I have a key hidden there so it's easiliy possible. I'm such a twit - I never even checked in the trailer where he hid **** last summer! I just moved on from all of that!
If they don't drink for a while, go through withdrawal and are on the other side, they may lose all those symptoms, or they can appear sporadically (or be ongoing for a long time - affects different people differently).
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