MelindaFlowers

Chilled,

I had very similar pains and similar news from the doctor. I was scared and didn't know what to do with the news. It helped me to read the stories of many, many people on here who also had elevated numbers like me. Some people's numbers were higher, some lower. The common theme to their experiences was once they stopped drinking, the numbers often went down to completely normal.

They accomplished this with complete abstinence.

This is your time to stop. You're young and I'm just a few years older than you. You can do this. I really did not care for my doctor's bedside manner either but that's beside the point. Think of how good it will feel in a few months to go back and proudly tell them: I don't drink anymore.

Like I said, it is almost guaranteed that your numbers will go down with complete abstinence. Use this scary time as your bolt of lightning to get sober. You got this.

MythOfSisyphus

Denial never helped anything! If you hadn't gone you would have kept kidding yourself that you could just quit "later". Problem is later doesn't come and you keep drinking. Now you know the score- you have to stay sober!

As others have said, don't get too freaked out til you hear from the doctor. The nurse might not have had a charming bedside manner but by now you know the liver does heal itself. It's true that it can't come back from the dead but it does improve when you stop trying to kill it with booze.

Talk to the doctor. Be honest with him and listen to what he says.

Stick with sobriety! That will give you the best chance of a long, healthy life.

Chilledice

Im feeling much better today, at first I felt just AWFUL literally thought I was on deaths door etc felt sick to my stomach with anxiety but I am goona use this as a turn around


Today I am sober

BruceSA

Excellent! Keep it up Mate!
B.

Chilledice

Bored this evening China, a few pangs for the booze but its simply NOT an option for me!

BruceSA

Rather be bored than hammered?
Just think: every minute, every hour without booze and your liver is able to recover, one bit at a time.
Look at some options now to distract yourself and in time perhaps grow a hobby out of it to keep yourself absorbed and occupied with something other than grog.
Maybe some kind of craft, like woodwork, or drawing / painting / gardening, or volunteering at the SPCA, or some other charity. Even sorting books at the library?? Anything to keep your mind occupied and at the same time generate a sense of self-worth and having achieved something.
Sitting around "brooding" ain't going to help generate positive thoughts?

Meant with the best intentions, Mate. You can do this! This is crunch time.
PM / mail me, post here, talk to friends, this weekend won't last forever and then next week you can start getting activities in place. (SA shuts down over week-ends and I'm assuming the same there?)
All the best!
Bruce.

Chilledice

If im honest I like the feeling of being drunk, I DONT like the feeling of dying in a hospital bed tho, still feel a bit sick with anxiety from that little trip to the ER but hey its proper scared me sober so that's a good thing

I was actually thinking of doing some charity work for the RSPCA, apparently working with animals is a great way to combat trauma and depression etc I kept myself busy yesterday mainly with house chores as you are right brooding aint goona do me a darn bit of good!

Il look into doing some charity work on a local farm which is literally just 3 mins walk from me

Thanks brother for the support, you have no idea how much it means to me my friend

Dee74

Volunteering sounds like a great idea chilled

D

MelindaFlowers

Chilled,

It's amazing how we still miss drinking even when we have concrete proof of the physical damage it is causing. I became an excellent negotiator (or horrible?) with reality after my scary checkup. I still pondered ways I could maybe drink and get away with it. It took me awhile after my own dr. appointment to finally just realize:

I can't drink anymore. No way. No how. No drinking.

I like what Bruce said about "every minute, every hour....your liver is healing" when you don't drink. I think it is healthy that you admit that you might still miss drinking. I don't even like to type it but there is a sick part of me that misses it too sometimes but I have to just realize that it's not for me anymore. It just isn't. It can't be. If we're dealt a certain amount of drink coupons in our lives then I've used 'em up. Every single one. Gone and done.

The first few days and even few weeks were like chewing on glass when the cravings hit but I got through them. You can too. My one tip is to hold this forum close. What I did differently than the other 400 times I said "enough" was that I logged in here everyday. It looks like you are doing that too and that's awesome.

I was surprised that I needed a recovery plan (this site and the support) to stop even after my scary health news from the doc. I thought it would have slapped the drinking thoughts out of my head but they were still there. I've learned that fear isn't enough. We need a daily plan and support to keep our sobriety first.

You can do this!

(Wow, sorry for my looooong post!) lol!

Chilledice

Don't EVER say sorry for a long post, not EVER lol


I am indeed worried that the fear will somehow subside or pushed to the back of my mind and just pick up a drink, hence why I am here posting, but bruce is right I gotta do some with my time, sitting around just thinking negative will NOT get me back on track in life!

I gotta get back into walking aswell, gotta lot of weight around my waist from the beer, not healthy at all!

I will no longer think of the future when it comes to sobriety but instead one day at a time, I will find a plan to keep me sober TODAY and tomorrow will come when it comes

Thanks for taking the time to give me advice and support

MythOfSisyphus

Your insight is correct, Chilledice. At first fear is a powerful motivator. After a scare like this you tell yourself you can't drink. But the AV is cunning and eventually it says, see- that's a bunch of BS! Booze isn't as bad as everyone says. You can drink again, just be more careful!

So use fear to get started but understand fear won't keep you sober forever. You need to get your higher brain involved, and you need to believe in sobriety deep down. That is to say, negative reinforcement isn't enough; you need some positive reason to stay sober beyond simple fear of death.

Think of how much better a sober life is. No more hangovers. No more fear of getting pulled over and blowing over the limit. If someone calls you at 3:00 am because they broke down somewhere you won't be too drunk to pick them up. You can be someone your loved ones can trust again. They can count on you. Your health will be better and you'll look better. You'll be thinner. You'll save thousands of dollars a year that you used to drink and p!ss down the drain.

But nurse the fear! Keep it alive. Even after 22 months of sobriety I occasionally like to re-read my first posts that I made here. I want to feel that desperation again, to understand the agony and shame of knowing each day was gonna end with me drunk and each morning starting with a promise to not do it again.

Use your fear but learn to find something besides just fear.

DisplacedGRITS

I did the er thing too years ago as well. Good luck Chill! You're doing the right thing!

ccam1973

Chilled, stay strong and sober.

You can do this and the body is a rejuvenating machine, but you have to give it the tools to do its job. No booze, no booze, no booze...

Wish I would haave taken that advice 7 years ago when I had high levels, an ultra sound and diagnose with fatty liver disease. No permanant damage at that time so I switched from hard liqour to beer and wine; lol I convinced myself that was much healthier! How stupid my thought pattern was.

7 years later, daily drinking and no bloodwork since, I am finally having a full physical and blood work drawn in three weeks.

If I had only stopped 7 years ago...

Make this your stopping point, you can do it!

Thepatman

Catching up on your thread. Stay strong and keep moving forward!

I also loved drinking, many of us did. But the consequences are not worth the few hours of relief.

soberclover

I love the idea you had of volunteer work! Keeping yourself busy will be good but don't overdo it as you need to make sure you are taking care of yourself physically too. Stay strong!

Chilledice

I tell ya I must be darn well CRAZY!!!!!!

Its only been 3 days since that nice little health scare and in the last hour ive been contemplating grabbing a few beers :O


STUFF THAT!!! STUFF THAAAAAAAAAT!!!!!!!!

Staying sober I tell ya!

Altoids

You aren't crazy. You AV is active. Just tell it to SHUT UP!!! You can do this. Keep on posting here and talking about it. Somehow or another, fessing up to stuff, talking about stuff seems to take the power and guilt right out of it!!!

YOU CAN DO THIS!!!

ScottFromWI

You aren't crazy, you are an alcoholic just like the rest of us. For me acceptance of that fact was the turning point. I accept that I can Never, ever pick up that first drink. I accept that other people can drink and I cannot. I accept that I used to drink without adverse effects, but I can never do that again.

The first months are very tough, but after a while life is much better without the drink. Utilize any tool you possibly can, and never dismiss anyting until you try it. It can literally save your life.

Chilledice

At the moment im not sure if I have any tools as such but for TODAY I am sober! Feel rather exhausted from it all but managed to walk the dog with my mother ( I have trouble being out alone ) cooked some food aswell, maybe some movies this evening

DoubleFelix

Way to be, Chilled!