Health anxiety is putting a damper on my sobriety!!
 

Your sobriety is first and foremost the most important health decision you can make, so youre on the right path, both physically and mentally.

While I am not a doctor, I will share with you what my doctor said to me : The human body is a miracle within a miracle, and while we can stress out about a million things that can go wrong, our body was designed to survive very harsh environments, and as a result is incredibly resilient and self healing.

In other words, if you give your body a chance, it will do what is necessary to heal. You're doing that, congrats on 9 months.

You would probably know if you had damaged your liver in a permanent way. 9 months sober and no complications so far? I am not a doctor but I would bet that you are perfectly fine.

You could see your doctor and have tests run. That might allay your fears. :hug: I was afraid I had done permanent damage, but all my tests came back fine. :)

Congrats on 9 months... I was also very heavy drinker daily for years and I know excalty what u are talking about with anxiety. I had Dr tell me years ago need to quit or otherwise would have problems but I kept drinking. Few years later got sober and was anxious but got health fair done at work and it was all ok. Don’t get stressed out and ruin sobriety worrying about things we can’t change, they say our bodies heal themselves after we quit. 😊

I feel for you. I didn't care about my health for my whole thirty + years of drinking, and I drank way more than you.
I escaped pretty much unscathed. Liver enzymes were high, that was it.
Although I did go to the emergency room twice because of right flank pain. That's about as serious as it got. Turned to be a little too much for a little too long. No big deal.

Put your mind at rest. If you have harmed yourself by drinking, I think it would show by now.
Remember, I drank much more than you for much longer and am now the epitome of health. Sort of, anyway for things unrelated to drinking.
Best to you. And try not to worry too much!

I knew a guy that drank a 24 of beer and a 750ml of whiskey every day and even had a bottle under his bed he would take huge gulps of just to get out of bed. He bought so much booze he won a several "best customer" T-shirts from his liquor store. He got sober sometime in his 50's and didn't have liver damage or at least none he ever told me about. Talk to your doctor if you are concerned.

That's sweet of you!
Yes, if you're worried, I would see a doc. Just to allay your fears.
I was worried about my health, too. I went to the doctor and was honest. Ran tests and like I said, nothing serious.
I'm glad you're here and I hate to see you so worried.
My thoughts are with you.

You are not the first to think "now that I am sober, I am going to die." In all likelihood you are fine. Since there are no symptoms an anything awry, it would be normal just to wait till you can next get a workup. Focus on physically and mentally healthy pursuits and enjoy life.

Ah, health anxiety.

I can really sympathize with this. I actually did have liver pains (and back pain) while in the throws of my addiction -- I aggressively avoided seeing a doctor while I was drinking for fear of what they would tell me.

Unfortunately I was also ignoring symptoms of active and undiagnosed Crohn's disease and UC (I chalked up all the symptoms to alcohol abuse) and ended up in the hospital for a week...

Here's what I do know. Health anxiety can be paralyzing and it was the #1 weapon of my AV to get me to "drink off" that anxiety and push it down.

But when you really think about it, that makes no sense :). If you see a doctor, tell them you're trying to quit drinking and want to live a sober life -- but would like a workup for peace of mind -- they will help you get on track.

And you'll be able to silence some of that health anxiety. If it continues -- a counselor can help as well.

Totally can relate, though. Glad you posted about it!

Edit: Oh, btw, even with those pains I had a recent workup and ultrasound of my stomach -- my liver and all internal organs were 100 percent normal. Same with blood pressure, nervous system, etc. -- and I'm in Crohns remission. Your body is resilient, but you've got to cut off the poison and take the step of getting well :).

Blood pressure is a big "tell". If your BP is perfect, your liver is most likely in good shape. Liver damage almost always causes hypertension. My symptoms/signs started with high BP, then I started having liver pain, then I started bloating and shortness of breath almost all the time, then started getting itchy, then I got yellow (pale skin at first, then it tinted yellow, yellow spotting in eyes followed), and then severe ascites in the abdominal region.

All that nonsense was gone by the time I left the hospital. Now I've slimmed down, liver never hurts, I can run miles without being out of breath, skin is natural/healthy/tan, no itching, eyes are clear/white, and BP is 124/78....(it was 190/130) at one point.