Cirrhosis Support Group

I was a heavy drinker for 11 years i detoxed on November of 09 went a month without drinking and then started slowly again until i was were i was all over again. i have since been sober for 88 days Today and do not plan to start back.I have a lot of motivation a supportive wife and 3 little girls. about six moths ago i started having upper right abdominal pain. and 4 Months ago my palms of my hands stated to turn reddish (palmar erthema)i have since started seeing the spider viens on my arms below my elbow 4 total, alot of muscle twitching, and the bottom of my feet feel like they are on fire and the hands are somewhat inflamed at times. I have had a CBC, LFT's, ultra sound, and also a CMP blood test, the doc says everything is normal but i just do not see it with the color of my hands and the spiders coming up, ETC. Other than that i feel good and healthier than i have in the last 11 years.just wandering if anyone had any suggestions?

Thanks

Jay2121

If you are concerned have your Doctor re-test you again in 3 month's. In the meantime welcome to the group. I am sure many more people will be along to give you some other advice. Congrats on the sobriety!

Cheryl

Post edited by: iwiham1027, at: 07/27/2011 06:33 PM

Thanks Cheryl i will have them done again in 3 months.

Hey Jay!

I agree with Cheryl, but also thought I'd pass along that you may still be withdrawing from the physical side of alcohol abuse. It can take a long time for your body to heal. While the symptoms may still indicate you may have some level of liver problems, your labs indicate good news, at least for now! Just stay positive about your recovery--it is the best "gift" you can give to your family!

Keep us informed about your progress!

Dennis

Hi jay, Welcome to the group! First I want to congratulate you on 88 days of sobriety. That is a major accomplishment and will go a long way toward achieving good health for you.

Did you happen to share with your doctor the facts about your alchol usage? In other words, was he/she looking specifically for liver damage when your bloodwork and other tests were run? If not, I would suggest you think about making another appointment to discuss your situation. You needn't be too specific if you have concerns about that, just say that you're making some lifestyle changes and want to make certain that your liver is in good shape. My first guess, and I'm certainly not a doctor, would be that if anything had been grossly abnormal with your liver, the abdominal ultrasound and LFT's (Liver Function Tests) would have caught that.

The symptoms you are having now can be reflective of other problems unrelated to liver disease, so making another appointment is a good idea. Those symptoms should be checked to make sure they are not caused by another rare, or serious problem.

You are a good daddy to be concerned about yourself at this early stage, and to have made the wise decision to stop drinking. Did you know that even if some liver inflammation has already occurred, abstaining from alcohol forever can give your liver a chance to fully recover?

I hope your mind is eased a bit, and once again, welcome to the group. Keep us posted about your decisions, and remember we're here for you!

Bobbi

Thanks Dennis and Bobbi,

Bobbi yes i did tell the doc. about the heavy drinking.

That put my mind at ease for now but it is always in the back of my head.

One thing i did not mention earlier is that i did have a endoscopy and the were no varcies or portal tension but i did have non bleeding gastric erosion in 1 part of my stomach, the doc said that just had to do with the prolonged drinking for so long.

i just recevied a call from from my primary doctor earlier, they are sending me to a nuerologial doctor tommorrow about the red palms and discomfort with my hands and feet.

Also my gastro doctor is sending me to get a hydascan for my abdominal pain next Thursday.

Thanks,

Jason

just wandering about palmar erythema

Does it come and go?

Does it Stay all the time?

Does it itch, burn, make your hands feel tight like the are swollen or inflammed?

Mine come and go thru out the day depending on if my hands are below my chest area or if i am working with them or if they are hanging below my waist area, or above my chest..

Sometimes thet are really red and blotchy with white looking spots or circles on them.

sometimes it is the hole palm and other times it is not.

some times they are normal color

sometimes they are pinkish

and somtimes they are just red around the pinky and thumb area

sometimes they arte really tight itchy and burning

but they are not the same all the time

spider nevias

once you get the red dot how long does it usually take for the spiders to come from them?

thanks for any input.

Jason

As for the palms, I never experienced that symptom with my cirrhosis. However, it used to be every time my wife would say "Let's go to the mall" My hands would act exactly the way you are describing them. Itchy, blotchy, swollen, so it may not be cirrhosis. Spider nevias, I know I had little red dots, but I never noticed red lines coming out from them.

Hi Jay, I have cirrhosis, Palmer erythmea, spider veins and shrunken testicals, on a cold day or cold shower they will go up inside me, apparently I don't have portal hypertension, but to answer your question and every case is indepented, my Palmer erythmea comes and goes depending on several factors, temperature arms above head or below waist and the spider veins are fairly small and do blanch with pressure don't get them confused with cherry angiomas anyway the docs explained to me they are a result of altered sex hormones, my liver can't sustain a high level of testosterone so there is more estrogen in my body, just remember my puffy man nipples which are also a result of this but if you go to the beach you'll see most men over 35 seem to have this condition, btw I just turned 40 and was diagnosed by biopsy in 2008 2 years after I quit drinking so good on you for quitting and take care of yourself. PS there are a couple of members on here, Jimmyw and Mike 3232 one claims to be a chiropractor who have similar questions maybe they can help you.

Hello MikeG130! Welcome to the Group. Thank you for your input, and we're glad you're here.

Bobbi