prayers for you,i know you must be scared ,high le s were found by my gp last year i was sent to a gi/hep dr. a month later who is top of line in my area atlanta , had a full panel drawn for ai s , couple of ultrasounds was tested for things ive never heard of told everything was clean by the time i went to the gi and my le s were normal, but i also had some stomach issue an endoscopy was done nothing was found except gastitis and ibs i was told ,he also told me stress of worrying was my problem and that anyone who drinks anytime, le s goes up temporary anyone , and that the rate i was drinking wasn t good,but i only drank mostly friday sat i drive a truck ,and i would have to drink and average of a case a beer a day for 10 to 15 years to cause the kinda damage i feared ,he said i was self medicating so i went back to my weekend binges gained some weight back mind you i was not eating healthy , i can not start once i start i will drink everything in the house until sunday then the guilt ,pain sleepless agony , i know now my le s are back up and that im working on,not real high but not normal my gp said no need for liver workup since i had a full one last year don t drink for two months and cut out junk my fasting sugar was also high, its just not worth my health to me anymore im not sure exactly how much 80 units a week are .but doesn t seem much since you said you were a HEAVY drinker for 30 years i would think heavy meaning more i know everyone is different ,so maybe something else is going on but sounds like you are on top of it and im not giving medical advice just sharing my experience ,i know its not easy but try to relax until you see the hep dr i know you do not pray but you are in my thoughts and prayers

Hi Cov, sorry to hear you don't have any answers yet. When is your next appointment due?

Would it be easier to write things down and say look, last time you said this that, the other, but I don't really understand what's going on or what the problem is, can you spell it out to me please? I sometimes think with doctors, especially if it is different ones that they assume you have been told by another one why you are there, what's going on and then they just ramble through the results without explanation. And if you are anything like me you'll say thanks, walk out and think eh?!

Really hope you can get to the bottom of it all. 3 weeks of no drink and junk food can only be doing good things right? I hope you get some answers soon.

Take care.

You can do this ...
 

Hang in there and keep up the good work.
A friend of mine would say, "onward and upward", I believe he meant that you cannot go back, we must only go forward and onward. So, that, my friend, is what you are doing now.
You may one of the lucky ones and not experience withdrawals, that would be great. But, if they catch up to you, just remember, Rome wasn't built in a day and neither will recovery, it takes time and I am not gonna lie to ya, it takes will power and guts.

Just remember, Onwards and Upwards, Victory is just ahead even if all you may see is the tree in the way of it.

To be honest giving up alcohol has been the easy bit so far. I've seen the same in smokers, once a lump is found in the lungs that is or could be cancer people stop smoking straight away.

For me finding out I had serious health problems affecting at least my liver made my mind up for me.

The fact I did not get withdrawal would have helped as well.

If I had just decided to stop drinking when I did not know I had serious health problems then I think it would have been much more difficult. Its very sad it takes your life to be threatened before you can just say no.

Please note this is just my opinion based on my own experience of this so far. I certainly would not recommend this as a method of stopping.

If you have the strength and will to stop before any real damage is done then the best of luck to you. I certainly wish I had decided to stop 4 or 5 years back.

All the best, and I hope we can all overcome the challenges and difficulties ahead of us.

Cov.

The date I see the liver doctor is 21st Aug. This is longer than I had hoped.

I'll need to see my own doctor this week to find out if I should keep on with the folic acid and the iron supplement. The last blood test did show improvement in my hemoglobin and platelets but they were not back to normal. This may be down to my spleen as its enlarged.

I do seem to care more what happens to me now than when all this started. That's a good thing.

I do also have more time at the weekends than before. Unfortunately the only thing of real interest to me is going into work. I'm supposed to be doing things for me not work!

I'm also still having trouble with accepting the fact I can actually do things at night after my soft drinks. I always used to avoid anything technical as I had been drinking. Computers (and other technical things) and alcohol do not mix.

Other good points is that I've not had any alcohol, or fried junk food like I used to eat.

I'm still finding my own way on this. I have more time, but as said my first reaction is a strong desire to go into work. I'm am very interested in the field I work in. If I do something at home its going to be related to work as my hobby is the same field I work in.

I think this is the result of the last 9 or so years of work. There has never really been time for other hobbies or interests. Probably did not help loosing 3 close friends and another leaving the area.

I must sound like the character on Airplane who sits next to someone starts talking to them and then their a skeleton, or have killed themselves.

Really strange thing is that not drinking is the least of what bothers me. I've not even been tempted.

Cov.

sending love & hugs,

This cracked me up. :D
Well I am guessing it's a good sign your appointment isn't until late August - they don't consider your liver situation dire, then.
A friend of mine came very close to dying early last year from liver ascites and alcohol detox and something-or-other with his pancreas, he was almost a month in the ICU. He is just fine (and sober) now. Modern medicine rocks.

Sometimes a little humour helps.:rotfxko

Cov.

My Liver Specialist appt has been switched from 14th August to 25th September. You gotta love the NHS!

Thats OK. I feel fine, although my anxiety is keeping me on my toes!

So, they have postponed my appt for over a month, that just means my list of questions gets longer and longer. Haha! (You gotta have a list!)

BTW. In my previous appointments, I put my phone on voice record, so I could document my appointment. Its worth doing as you tend to forget what they say at the time.

All we can do is keep making the best of things. As said the NHS may not be great but so far its been there, and has started on the problems.

If I do not try and make the best of things, and this comes from one of the most pessimistic persons you will ever know, I end up just with just talking about the doom and gloom.

I think what we all need is some cheering up. I'm not the best at this, but will do my best not to bring this down. As Zee said googling just makes you disappear up your own backside.

As Brian said "Always look on the bright side of life" :rotfxko

Rob.

It can be really hard to stay positive when you are in a holding position and just waiting for information. Logically, it makes sense to not worry about it because worry won't change anything, but it's hard to do. Try to feel gratitude for what you have and embrace each day. :)

Tonight will be 4 weeks
 

If I stay of the alcohol and fried food tonight will be 4 weeks off both.

If all goes well by Friday it will have been 1 month.

I'm not sure how I would have done without this site or one like it. I really think you need others who have been through this to swap messages with.

For me being able to relay some of my own experiences and try to help others has been a massive boost to my moral.

I did not go the AA route as most of you know. I may develop other interests now I have the time. Who knows what will happen in the future though. The one thing I do know for sure is I don't know.

The big test for me will be Prague. I've been going to Prague for about 14 years. I know it well. The main problem will be how I feel in the bars. Its easy to explain your are not drinking in the UK. Trying to explain that in Prague may not be so easy.

Why go there? Because I miss being in Prague. The real question is that do I miss Prague or all the beers I used to drink there.

I need to think this through some more.

Cov.

I've travelled a LOT and one city I never made it to but always wanted to was Prague; my brother lived there for a while and loved it.
I bet you'll enjoy it sober. ;)

I have had a letter from the hospital. The doctor I was seeing has written to the liver doctor asking them to see me urgently.

Not sure if this is good news or bad news.

I have to see my own doctor tomorrow and can raise this then, along with weather I should continue on the folic acid and iron supplements.

I did not drink last night. In fact I did not go out so not even the soft drinks. That is now 28 nights without alcohol and without junk fried food.

I just hope I can recover enough that I do not need regular supplements, and going to the hospital every few weeks. I do not have a problem in being careful with what I eat, and not drinking. I just hope I can get to the level of the liver problems being in the background, and just watching what I eat.

Cov.

I'm on iron suppliments, antihistamines, gastric acid inhibitors & multi vitamins. Plus others when needed.

Alot of people take tablets every day, even if its vitamins. You just get used to it.

Maybe you got in quick because you are a first time patient (not a... 'oh, you again'... type like me haha) Good luck, I hope you get the answers you are looking for x

Hope all goes well with the tests Buddy.

I have no problem with tablets. Its being off 4 or 5 times a month to go to hospital.

I do want to keep on with the iron and folic acid supplements but they run out on Wednesday or Thursday. That's the main reason I'm going to see my doctor. If they think I should continue they can give me a prescription, or advise me to get them over the counter at the chemists.

It may also help me to discuss what has been found so far, the doctor might not agree with this though.

I'll know a little better after seeing the doctor tomorrow.


Cov.

Yeah, your doc may put you on a repeat prescription. You just re-order every month.

I hope you get the answers. If you get better answers than I seem to get (vague, always vague!), I'm gonna have words with my doc! ----> "Oi doc, sort it aaahhhhtttt" (Vinnie Jones?)

I hope I get some answers as well, but I'm not going to hold my breath.

One thing I find difficult is to not search on the net to try and get an answer from there. This really annoys me as I know better. Not only that it will not change anything.

Times like this in some ways I wish I could go somewhere without an internet connection. Unfortunately I do need internet access to do my job. Also without the internet there is no SR.

Another thing on the list of things I must learn to do. For me probably one of the most difficult, as its like having one of my hands tied up.

Sod it. I'm going for a coffee at Starbucks. Did not have one yesterday just a few mugs of tea, water and orange juice.

Cov.

I was about 6 weeks into no alcohol and junk good. Every thing seemed fine.
s
Last week I could not catch my breath. It took 4 to 5 hours to get anything done like call the emergenccy services.

I had also gone jandiced. My liver had gone from compensateted to non comnpensateted over night. Still trying to work out what happened. Not Hep A B or C. No alcohol. Just went from loads of energy to none.

Cov