wiscsober

Welcome ... you will find a lot of support here. People understand what you are going through.

Verdantia

Hi there, Backtogood. I'm glad you found us. SR has been a vital part of my recovery--lots of wisdom, advice and concern to be found here. It's good you are seeing your doctor. The human body is extremely resilient despite all of the damage we can do to it with alcohol-- the liver in particularly has amazing healing capacity. Now is the time to quit--not tomorrow or Wednesday, but now. You can do this, and after you have some sober days racked up your husband will see the difference in you mentally and physically--it will happen--you will look and feel great and he will notice. Hopefully he will want what you have and join you; if not, that's okay too. This is about you and your health. Best wishes, and keep posting. Choosing sobriety is a decision you will never regret.

PuckLuck

Goodness you moved mountains to get those 2 years of sobriety. You should be very proud of yourself. If you can do it with the constant temptation in your face, literally, then we all can. Very inspiring.

Hodd

I remember one morning at work in mid-2017 not being able to walk straight such was the pain, like a pulled muscle on my entire right hand back and rib cage. I was working away from home and drinking a bottle of wine a night plus one or two beers. I wasn’t in a good place. Some major swelling must have been going on around my liver.

I hadn’t even thought about quitting at that point, but like countless others before me, I’d given up for two to three weeks at a time and started again.

I was also obese and deciding to lose weight was what straightened me out to start with. I started going to the gym in the mornings so had to cut down on booze as the gym was hard enough without a hangover. The weight fell off, and I was pretty fit and healthy before long, but I still drank too much although less than before.

So all of 2018 was spent living healthily. I was now slim and athletic and a light/heavy drinker and had a medical in December of that year. Bloods were excellent, but I had a mild fatty liver.

Then I quit, and a fibroscan in August 2019 showed all OK. I would’ve liked to see a lower score than 7KPa, but that’s in the normal range so I’ll take that, plus all the fat had gone.

Seeing as I could barely walk that morning in late 2017 due to presumably swelling around the liver, to get an all clear 20 months later shows that the liver really can regenerate with a bit of help from us.

Maybe my liver fibroscan score of 7KPa is a good thing. The average is 5.3Kpa. My score of 7KPa is only just below the range where fibrosis is suspected. It will only get worse if I get really unlucky and get a non-alcohol related liver problem or of course, I take up drinking again.

I think I’ve dodged a hell of a big bullet. My liver doc said all was good, but I reckon I have some slight scarring. That’ll do no harm as long as it stays that way.

Bonniefloyd

I don’t have much to add here, just wanted to say hi from one mom (My kids are 10-21) with a drinking spouse to another. I’ve been sober nearly a year and a half, and I can tell you it’s worth it. And you hubby will adjust. Mine even tried to quit for a while (it obviously didn’t take), but he is still generally supportive. It wasn’t easy at first, and sometimes I needed to just be in the other room when he was drinking. But these days we can just hang out together like we always have, only difference is I feel fabulously relaxed and clear headed because I’m sober.

Anyway, I’m glad you’re posting here. You can do this.

MissPerfumado

I had all the signs of a damaged liver: dull pain in my side, nausea, unable to digest certain foods properly etc. Also had elevated liver enzymes on medical tests but ignored them for a couple years. Dodged the doctor's questions about my drinking.

I knew I had to quit but was in massive denial.

A beautiful angel of a friend gave me the name of her doctor who'd helped with mental health issues. I decided to call that doctor and made an appointment that day. I sat in the doctor's office and she asked me why I was there. I took a deep breath and said I was worried because I was drinking too much. She asked me how much. I paused and I swear that time froze for a few seconds. I knew the answer that came out of my mouth would be the truth and that, when I told the truth, the game would be up and there could be no more denial.

So I told the truth, and the doctor looked at me and said: You have to stop. Immediately.

What I felt at that moment was relief. No more denial, no more pretending, no more lying, no more running away from myself. A massive white wave of that relief came washing over me and I surrendered. I knew I would do whatever it took to quit.

I'd signed up to SR the year prior and lasted 8 days sober. So I came back and joined the class of Dec' 2015 and renewed my commitment and I made a plan like Dee is always saying we should and I wrote here everyday and supported others and was supported so kindly by others here.

In December this year, I'll celebrate 5 years sober. I'll always remember sitting in that doctor's office and knowing that was the day it was all over and I would finally somehow get my life back.

And the liver enzymes ... ? The doc tested them and they were of course incredibly high. 3 months later we tested them again and they were normal. They have been normal since.