baldjim

ok i'm not a drunkerd or so i thought i'm just a normal guy with mates in the pub ,who liked a drink or three

after my brother dying and a few other family tragedies i guess i started drinking more and more

i had been getting tired and had a pain under my right ribs but apart from that i felt ok

i had a routine blood test i'm 48 and have high blood pressure and they called me in the doctors surgery

my enzyme should be below 44 but was 149

they asked how much i drank i lied and divided it by three quarters they went mad at me

so any ways no more drink for jimbo

does any one know how long if ever it will take for the old liver to make a comeback

smacked

Your doctors will likely monitor that for you, I'm sure it varies from person to person, if it's still able to recover.

I'm glad that you've decided to live sober

Welcome!

least

It depends on how badly it is/was damaged by alcohol and/or 'bad' food. Your doctor can answer this question much better than we can.

Welcome to SR!:ghug

gerryP

Welcome to SR Jim and congratulations on your wise decision to quit drinking.

When my Dr. asked me how much I drank I told him I was a social drinker, but that I drank everyday. but, I digress.

Liver enzymes typically return to a normal count within 3 to 6 months depending on how much you drank and for how long. That's the good news, the liver is forgiving but only if you stay stopped. The next stage is an enlarged and fatty liver and then cirrhosis.

Best to you Jim and keep posting. There is alot of support at SR and lots of information to be had.

Wolfchild

Welcome to the SR community!!

i would suggest a return visit or phone call to the doctor that involves you honestly telling him/her the exact truth of the matter. i would think that they would actually be grateful for it and could diagnose your physical condition more accuratly. In the meantime, please don't make it any worse by any continuing to drink alcohol. And if you experience any severe withdrawl symptoms, please go the emergency room right away!!

aasharon90

With living a sober life, exercise, having
a purpose in life, we've seen and heard
even the worst cases turn their lives
over to become healthy and happy.

Some 18 yrs ago, i wanted to die and
almost did. Thank the Man upstairs He
had other plans for me.

My life was spaired and im here today
like countless others to share our stories
of what it was like before during and
after alcohol.

I have a purpose in life today by caring
the message of recovery to the newcomer
just walking thru the doors looking for
hope to live a life without drugs or
alcohol.

I changed somethings in my life first
by admitting I have a problem with
alcohol. I cant drink sucessfully like
others can. One drink was never
enough and today it still wouldnt
be.

Alcohol is poison to me and is lurking
at every store, shelf, club. Just waiting
for me to let my guard down.

Alcoholism is cunning baffling and oh
so powerful. If it wasnt for the fellowship
of AA and a 12 step program that I live
each day at a time id sure be dead by
now.

However, i followed suggestions by many
before me as they guided me so patiantly
and caringly each day ive been sober.

I am happy today....and yes you will be
too.....they dont want u to be sad or unhappy
in recovery. They insist on us having fun.

Even at ur age and me at mine, 50, life is
totally awesome better today than i was 18
yrs ago.

Never did i think at my age that i would remarry,
get tattoos and learn to ride a motorcycle.

And its not over yet...im anxious to see whats
next around the corner after my new hip
is set in next week.

jamdls

Welcome to SR Jim, how bald are you?
Yes livers can repair themselves if they are not to far gone. I burned a hole in my liver with an overdose of prescription drugs I was dying and denied a liver transplant due to evidence of alcoholism but my liver was repaired with something like 'glue' and then it repaired itself and within 6 months my enzymes were normal, however, I have a higher than average chance of my liver failing if I ever drink again so I won't. Good luck to you.

baldjim

i shave my head well i was going to say i shave my hair off but to be honest i am that bald :wtf2

i probably was more of a binge drinker but when i did i drank probably 30 pints of cider a few jugs of vodka and red bull and of course jack d

to be honest i never really miss the drink its the banter with all the lads

every one i know is a big drinker i have no normal friends till i met you guys i mean:ghug3

i am having probs with being a grouch as i dont really know what to do now i'm not drinking

i know i must never drink again and i'm in that mindset now

Charmie

welcome,,,just my story,drank alcoholically for 20 yrs,,in the end mostly just beer,this has been my saving grace i think,i had liver test after 2 months sober and it was normal,,your alcohol unit intake was huge tho,,i would get checked out by the doc again and be truthfull,,they are there to help.

aasharon90

We all drank and drug for various
reasons. Many of those reasons
may stem as far back as our chlid-
hood.

Alot of the time alcoholism runs in
the family line. aunts, uncles, moms
dads, grandpa grandma etc.

It could have been a bad experience.
Maybe u just got caught up with the
wrong crowd. Whatever the reasons
why u drank or drugged to numb or
have fun just isnt working for you any-
more.

Drugs and alcohol kicked our butts big
time. It costed our health, family, friends,
finances and so on.

In the Big Book Of AA there is a page
in there that talks about the Promises
u will recieve down the road.

Everything that u have lost can and will
be returned to u over time.

Ask urself if ur r powerless over
alcohol or drugs.

Then ask urself if ur life has become
unmanageable.

If uve said yes to both those questions
then u r on ur way living a life one
day at a time without alcohol or drugs.

My family intervened on me 18 yrs ago
sending me to rehab for 28 days. during
that time i recieved the tools and
knowledge of my disease of alcoholism
and was set on the path of recovery to
share my own experiences strengths
and hopes of what it was li8ke before
during and after alcohol.

To learn that yesterday is gone. that
day will never return to u. Tomorrow isnt
here yet....hmmmm it may never come.

So all we have is today. The right here
and now. That's it.

To take today and not drink or drug.

If u need to make it smaller, take an
hour and not drink or drug. If u can
do that with a few steps then move on
to the next hour. and so on.

How r u gonna do that....Well there
r AA or NA meetings everywhere's that
last an hour. One hour to be in a safe
secured place where alcohol nor drugs
is available.

Make ur home alcohol or drug free....that
means remove anything and everything
around u that would tempt u to use.

That way if u r have those cravings, u will
have time to either......call someone in AA
or NA....like a sponsor....make a meeting,
come here to SR to talk about whats bothering
u or why u want to drink or use.....

What u have is a back up plan to help u
first before u pick up a drink or drug.

There will be things that bother u or
disturb u that will make u think a drink
is all u need to numb those problems....

All that is going to do is put u back
on that merry go round which u r
trying to stay off of. Right?

It may all seem over whelming to u.
Like a tall order to handle. Not to
worry. Stay in the moment and that's
it. Let others lead u around and listen
to their suggestions.

Rememeber it took years of drinking
or drugging to get u where u r today.
Dont be anxious to get sober or clean
and happy and joyful all in a day.

Time, one day at a time and u will
reap the rewards. I promise.

Look at the many that reached it
before u.

baldjim

thanks for your reply aasharon

i'm only at day 10 and today is friday all my friends will be up the pub having a great time .... i will not ....be at the pub i mean ,i must discover a new life new friends that dont depend on booze for fun ... its out there i just gotta find it ....orange juice anyone .... swap ironing tips lol

littlefish

Have you considered a program of some kind? Counseling, AA, etc?

nelco

Welcome.

Sounds like your struggling and want to be in the pub. I remember feeling like that once but thank God no more. My life is filled with much more interesting people and things to do. If there is a reason for me to be in a bar.......a band I like, or a funtion, I go ,otherwise it bores me and I would rather fill my time with more productive stuff. I like to wake early with a clear head and face the day ahead. Its fun being sober but..........I could not do it alone

oh and the ironing thingy.......lots of my friends in recovery complain they cant find time to iron their lives are so full.

martha27

Hey bald jim, there are some great people of this site, to offer advice, support and most importantly an example that sobriety can be achieved.

I too come from a strong drinking culture in australia, where you are a '*****' if you cannot handle your booze, projectile vomiting from alcohol poisoning is called a 'helicopter' and waking up the next morning after having unsafe sex, fighting or injuring yourself is considered a great story to tell your friends.

In australia alcohol is also our primary way of bonding with our mates, as we tell each other stories of drunken nights gone by and create our own group history and heros through alcohol. Make no bones about it, this is powerful stuff and your friends will miss your presence and the role that you played in your 'tribe', as you will miss them.

Where am I going with this? the lure of your friends and the loneliness of your sobriety might become difficult if you don't have a plan and you don't have support. This is my third serious attempt at sobriety and I now know that I can never bond with my friends using alcohol again, they have had a hard time accepting this and so have I but having a plan and the right support really helped.

The fact of the matter is there are lots of exciting things to do without alcohol (I am just about to do my first skydive) AA is a huge help for me and has given me tools to deal with situations where I would really like to join my friends.

Good Luck & Keep Posting!!

Tazman53

Welcome to SR Jim!

First I will share my liver story first, since that was your first question.

I started dinking in 1965 or 1966, by 1975 I was drinking 6-7 cases a week, I quit for a year and a half in 1977 and started drinking again in 1978 or 1979. When I was having my out processing physical from the Air Force in 1982 my liver was "tender". They ran all kinds of blood test and the docs finally said "Well I guess you have a "tender" liver!

Of course in my mind all was well because the doctors said my live was just "Tender" so I continued to drink and things got worse. In Sept. 2006 I was at my bottom, I could not sleep on my right side because my liver was swollen and it hurt!!

I had a moment of clarity and saw death in my future when I had a moment of clarity. I saw a doctor and I told him the entire truth about my drinking, he put my drunk alcoholic butt into medical detox, they did a liver work up, my enzymes were through the roof! The doctor sat me down and told me that right now I had a "Fatty liver" and that was a precursor to cirrosis of the liver. He told me that if I quit drinking and stayed stopped that my liver would heal, but if I started drinking again......... cirrosis of the liver was in the cards.

In detox they told me if I wanted a chance to stay sober long term I should go to at least 90 AA meetings in 90 days and get a sponsor, I did just that. In AA my sponsor and others with long term sobriety told me to take the steps with my sponsor if I wanted a chance at long term sobriety.

Well I did just that, and today I can honestly say that thanks to the fellowship of AA and the steps of AA I could care less if I ever have another drink again, my life is good, not perfect, but leaps & bounds better then it was.

Oh yea, BTW I had blood work done after I had 90 fays sober and my liver enzymes were normal, the tenderness in my liver was gone in about a week or 2. It took about 6 months before the swelling went away.

If you want to make some new sober frineds and find a whole new way of life free of alcohol why not try AA?

What do you have to lose? A drinking problem?

What do you have to gain? New REAL friends and a new way of life are more then possible.

baldjim

thanks to you all for you kind words 24 days clean of the booze today

my body seems to be healing ,the pain in my side is ebbing away

i am doing ok ,i am the only sober person in the world that i know as getshitfaced.com

i'm having trouble finding stuff to do ,when i get a bit more healthy a gym will be good all those shaking sweaty people i'll blend right in lol

anyone else have trouble from drunk@bar to only sober person in your world


just wondering ....rant over

SurviveIt

I'm dealing with that, too, 39 days in. I don't miss the booze -- very grateful to be done with it -- but I do miss that easy, boozy banter. One thing I'm finding is that my friends are still my friends and the ones that were just drinking buddies have deserted me, probably because they don't want to be forced to look at their own faces in the mirror.

Taking5

Jim,

A lot of us were surrounded by friends that were just as much drinkers as we were. When I quit drinking i found I had to change my playground (the bars) and my playmates (old drinking buddies).


I found a new playground and playmates in the fellowship of AA. Have you considered this?

shaun00

jim..welcome

bald is beautiful....imo.....well on me anyway..lol

congratulations on your sobriety..

my liver recovered over a year of not drinking...and i dont have tests anymore.

sorry all out of ironing tips.............but keep coming back.

trucker

smacked

Just wanted to welcome you back and tell you that 24 days is a huge chunk of time, congrats!! Stick around here, I think a lot of people when they first get sober deal with exactly what you're talking about, their "friends" (drinking buddies) still drink, and they feel alone. So, read here, post here, jump into chat and just take care of YOU right now. Seems the rest eventually falls into place. Do you go to meetings or anything? Any way to meet NEW and sober friends? Once I stopped hanging out in bars/pubs and doing other things, I was amazed to find that MOST people really do not drink.

Welcome back