New here and scared.
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2022
Posts: 13
Hi everyone, I am doing ok. I am feeling a little better than when I posted this the other day. I cut back on what I usually drink, I didn't take any shots yesterday or the day before, and I didn't go into the heavy, higher alcohol content rum that I drink sometimes. I'll start going heavy into the shots and start going heavy on the 93 proof rum I have when I don't feel any affects from the usual vodka with Kool-Aid that I drink. I'm not really hurting today, I feel slight discomfort still. Overdoing it with shots and multiple strong drinks on top of sipping on vodka all day is very much overdoing it and my body has had enough. I do understand that I have to quit it all regardless, I know it isn't ok just because I am feeling a little better from drinking less that I can continue because I am an alcoholic, and I have to stop it all to keep it under control.
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Join Date: Sep 2020
Posts: 31
Pain in your abdomen could very well be alcohol related or it could have nothing to do with alcohol but regardless of the cause it can signal serious illness so you should make a bee-line to see a doctor as soon as possible and be honest about your issues. It could be anything, some issues not that bad or harmless, others rather deadly and there's very little the people on this forum can do to help you with such an issue other than give you moral support. Well now you have it, so call your doctor if you do have one or find one if you don't that's the only way you will get to the bottom of this. Don't forget to just report your pain but the extent of your alcohol use as well asking for help with that too.
Don't forget to look up 12 step meetings in your area it's a huge help if you're struggling to remain sober.
Understand that there is no safe dose of alcohol. Even 3 drinks a week (that's like 1/2 a bottle of wine, or 1/2 a six pack of beer, basically NOTHING) increase your risk of breast cancer by 25-30% with another 10-15% increased risk for every drink per week consumed after that. Same with brain function especially after 40yo. Same with circulatory risk/heart attack or stroke. Mind boggling. So don't bother moderating. The only right answer for every human alive is complete abstinence. Check it out, do the research yourself, it's what prompted me to quit almost 3 years ago. Very scary but also liberating because it makes it basically absolute that sobriety and abstinence is the correct answer for you and everyone on this planet.
It's a journey, welcome to the start!
Don't forget to look up 12 step meetings in your area it's a huge help if you're struggling to remain sober.
Understand that there is no safe dose of alcohol. Even 3 drinks a week (that's like 1/2 a bottle of wine, or 1/2 a six pack of beer, basically NOTHING) increase your risk of breast cancer by 25-30% with another 10-15% increased risk for every drink per week consumed after that. Same with brain function especially after 40yo. Same with circulatory risk/heart attack or stroke. Mind boggling. So don't bother moderating. The only right answer for every human alive is complete abstinence. Check it out, do the research yourself, it's what prompted me to quit almost 3 years ago. Very scary but also liberating because it makes it basically absolute that sobriety and abstinence is the correct answer for you and everyone on this planet.
It's a journey, welcome to the start!
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2022
Posts: 13
Originally Posted by Gcesp 
Pain in your abdomen could very well be alcohol related or it could have nothing to do with alcohol but regardless of the cause it can signal serious illness so you should make a bee-line to see a doctor as soon as possible and be honest about your issues. It could be anything, some issues not that bad or harmless, others rather deadly and there's very little the people on this forum can do to help you with such an issue other than give you moral support. Well now you have it, so call your doctor if you do have one or find one if you don't that's the only way you will get to the bottom of this. Don't forget to just report your pain but the extent of your alcohol use as well asking for help with that too.
Don't forget to look up 12 step meetings in your area.
It's a journey, welcome to the start!
Don't forget to look up 12 step meetings in your area.
It's a journey, welcome to the start!
Member
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Boston, MA
Posts: 205
Mira, have you ever quit alcohol for a day or two in the past? If so, what has happened? In your case, I think going cold turkey could be dangerous and that is why I would really encourage medical help. My history is similar to yours and I suffered from grand mal seizures when I went cold turkey. It was not my choice to stop drinking like that. I just could not hold down anything, even water. Is going to rehab a possibility you would consider?
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Join Date: Mar 2022
Posts: 13
Originally Posted by soupcon
Mira, have you ever quit alcohol for a day or two in the past? If so, what has happened? In your case, I think going cold turkey could be dangerous and that is why I would really encourage medical help. My history is similar to yours and I suffered from grand mal seizures when I went cold turkey. It was not my choice to stop drinking like that. I just could not hold down anything, even water. Is going to rehab a possibility you would consider?
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Join Date: Sep 2020
Posts: 31
Originally Posted by Mira7453
Thank you. I did have some blood work taken recently, it was labs for a physical, it has been close to 2 weeks now. I haven't heard anything back about the results but I know they can take time. They said they'd call if they found anything abnormal, so maybe they didn't. I highly doubt that if they test all organ function though, so most likely I am still waiting for results. I am going to call Monday to find out and go from there.
So it's in your best interest come Monday to pick up the phone, or if your provider/practice has a portal write them electronically or both to inquire about your results now that you know there's probably a 20% chance that they were ordered but no one ever got the results and it's sitting there in limbo, normal or abnormal as it may be.
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2022
Posts: 13
Originally Posted by Gcesp
Do not ever assume no news is good news. In healthcare most people in this industry given the increase in regulations and the low quality of electronic records are beyond burned out. Tests will be ordered and maybe the provider or doctor gets them back ~80% of the time. The other 20% no one ever thinks about. Sure it's their responsibility to follow up but no one ever does on tests that were ordered but no results ever came back. Basically it's a case of the "computer ate it". Thankfully in most (but not all) cases the lab or imaging entity will call the ordering entity to notify but only in something really bad or extreme, like you're doing to die very soon from that finding. Medium findings that can kill you in 6 months, or 1-2 years or more are often never followed up if the result never arrives. That's just the breaks. You are allowed to hate how that is but your feelings are meaningless to your disease(s). Now that you know there are steps you can take to counter this liability.
So it's in your best interest come Monday to pick up the phone, or if your provider/practice has a portal write them electronically or both to inquire about your results now that you know there's probably a 20% chance that they were ordered but no one ever got the results and it's sitting there in limbo, normal or abnormal as it may be.
So it's in your best interest come Monday to pick up the phone, or if your provider/practice has a portal write them electronically or both to inquire about your results now that you know there's probably a 20% chance that they were ordered but no one ever got the results and it's sitting there in limbo, normal or abnormal as it may be.
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Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Boston, MA
Posts: 205
I am able to access my medical records online and often see the results of blood tests the same day the blood was drawn. Do you have a something like that through your doctor or hospital's website?
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Join Date: Sep 2020
Posts: 31
Originally Posted by soupcon
I am able to access my medical records online and often see the results of blood tests the same day the blood was drawn. Do you have a something like that through your doctor or hospital's website?
List is too long to explain but make sure that your doctor gives you at least some lip service explanation of the results and where to take it from there.
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Join Date: Apr 2021
Posts: 398
Hi Mira
I was very similar to you. I started drinking on weekends years ago and always had the idea that I didnt have a problem as I only drank on weekends! This escalated in 2020 and I started drinking in the week. I then drank heavily all the time since then. Last year I hit a block and everything went wrong. I nearly lost everything because I was drinking so much and making decisions that were not who I was. I was thinking I could handle it all! I wasnt telling anyone what was going on. I chose to hide in my alcohol and lie instead. In the end I had to admit to my partner, friends and loved ones that I had a problem and that I needed help. I realised that I couldnt do it alone. It was the hardest thing in the world to tell people that yes I had this addiction. But what I can tell you is that that was the best thing I could have done. I expected people to think badly of me and to look down on me. They didnt. They walked beside me and helped me through the beginning. Without my partner, my mum, my sister and my best friend I would have given up and gone back to drinking. They held me up when I couldnt cope. They say it takes a village to raise a child. I actually think it takes a village to get through a lot of things in life. Here is a village too! Talk to us on hard days. I would tell your partner as he cant help support you if he doesnt know.
Its not easy but you can do this. Talk to your dr as well as they can refer you for assistance if needed. It is always a good idea to have their input as sometimes its not easy to quit and they need to help. AA meetings were very helpful for me. They do online ones now as well as face to face. I found that really helpful as at the start I really struggled to talk about my addiction even to people who were in the same position and understood. Take it one day at a time. Thats my moto even now after almost 11 months of sobriety. It is very true when people say its taking that first drink that starts it off. I know categorically that if I have a first drink it will lead to more. So I dont have that first drink.
Well done on posting here. Thats the first step. We are all here to support you so keep posting and talking to us all. There is such a wealth of experience here and everyone is so lovely and helpful.
Sending you love as you start your journey xx
I was very similar to you. I started drinking on weekends years ago and always had the idea that I didnt have a problem as I only drank on weekends! This escalated in 2020 and I started drinking in the week. I then drank heavily all the time since then. Last year I hit a block and everything went wrong. I nearly lost everything because I was drinking so much and making decisions that were not who I was. I was thinking I could handle it all! I wasnt telling anyone what was going on. I chose to hide in my alcohol and lie instead. In the end I had to admit to my partner, friends and loved ones that I had a problem and that I needed help. I realised that I couldnt do it alone. It was the hardest thing in the world to tell people that yes I had this addiction. But what I can tell you is that that was the best thing I could have done. I expected people to think badly of me and to look down on me. They didnt. They walked beside me and helped me through the beginning. Without my partner, my mum, my sister and my best friend I would have given up and gone back to drinking. They held me up when I couldnt cope. They say it takes a village to raise a child. I actually think it takes a village to get through a lot of things in life. Here is a village too! Talk to us on hard days. I would tell your partner as he cant help support you if he doesnt know.
Its not easy but you can do this. Talk to your dr as well as they can refer you for assistance if needed. It is always a good idea to have their input as sometimes its not easy to quit and they need to help. AA meetings were very helpful for me. They do online ones now as well as face to face. I found that really helpful as at the start I really struggled to talk about my addiction even to people who were in the same position and understood. Take it one day at a time. Thats my moto even now after almost 11 months of sobriety. It is very true when people say its taking that first drink that starts it off. I know categorically that if I have a first drink it will lead to more. So I dont have that first drink.
Well done on posting here. Thats the first step. We are all here to support you so keep posting and talking to us all. There is such a wealth of experience here and everyone is so lovely and helpful.
Sending you love as you start your journey xx
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2022
Posts: 13
Originally Posted by Gcesp
Do not ever assume no news is good news. In healthcare most people in this industry given the increase in regulations and the low quality of electronic records are beyond burned out. Tests will be ordered and maybe the provider or doctor gets them back ~80% of the time. The other 20% no one ever thinks about. Sure it's their responsibility to follow up but no one ever does on tests that were ordered but no results ever came back. Basically it's a case of the "computer ate it". Thankfully in most (but not all) cases the lab or imaging entity will call the ordering entity to notify but only in something really bad or extreme, like you're doing to die very soon from that finding. Medium findings that can kill you in 6 months, or 1-2 years or more are often never followed up if the result never arrives. That's just the breaks. You are allowed to hate how that is but your feelings are meaningless to your disease(s). Now that you know there are steps you can take to counter this liability.
So it's in your best interest come Monday to pick up the phone, or if your provider/practice has a portal write them electronically or both to inquire about your results now that you know there's probably a 20% chance that they were ordered but no one ever got the results and it's sitting there in limbo, normal or abnormal as it may be.
So it's in your best interest come Monday to pick up the phone, or if your provider/practice has a portal write them electronically or both to inquire about your results now that you know there's probably a 20% chance that they were ordered but no one ever got the results and it's sitting there in limbo, normal or abnormal as it may be.
What I am most worried about with the things she did read off was what my iron said. She read it off as saying iron HH and then she responded she doesn't know what that means, and to come pick up the results. I didn't know either, but looking that up it means Hereditary Hemochromatosis which is a bad sign for my liver, and has me very worried. It would explain the pain I am having as well.
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Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Boston, MA
Posts: 205
Are you supposed to consult with the nurse or doctor when you pick up the results? This looks like a warning sign to quit alcohol. My niece and nephew have HH so I have some knowledge of this. What is your next step?
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Join Date: Mar 2022
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Originally Posted by soupcon
Are you supposed to consult with the nurse or doctor when you pick up the results? This looks like a warning sign to quit alcohol. My niece and nephew have HH so I have some knowledge of this. What is your next step?
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I'm sorry that the test results were not what you hoped for, and that you're scared. Could you make an appointment with your doctor for when you pick up the test results so you can get his/her interpretations of the results? You know that staying sober is the best way to deal with this. (((Mira)))
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