Cirrhosis Support Group

I'll try this for a 2nd time...My name is Dave, and I'm 41. Although my blood work and CT scans show normal liver functions, I feel differently...Infrequent urination, infrequent bowel movements, gaining weight, apple shaped tummy, etc...loss of appetite....Looking for advice on additional tests to have conducted, that could determine the state of said liver....Looking for honest advise...Don't want to go the biopsy route yet, for it seems invasive....Anyway, feedback is always good....Thank you. (I consume probably 1,300 calories a day in food, and another 1,800 to 2,000 in beer).....Just giving as much honest info as I can

Give up the beer and you will feel better, at this rate you are GOING to have liver problems if you continue on this course. My husband has cirrhosis, his is from a genetic disorder and I am here to tell you... you do NOT want it. So please get help and stop drinking!Wishing you the best!

Nina

My husband had that "homer simpson" belly, and when he stopped drinking he lost alot of it. He feels so much better, and it enables him to address his condition in a positive manner. You don't want cirrohsis, stop drinking now, its your only way out.

Dave70,

Please please seriously try to stop drinking. My mother has been an alcoholic most of my life. She is very sick now with chronic HE stage 2-3 and every other complication there is except jaundice and itchy skin, she has terry's nails, liver flap, enlarged heart, thickened gall bladder walls, varices, ascites, portal hypertension, portal vein thrombus, bruising, hair loss, fatigue, weakeness, no appetite, poor sleep patterns, she is confused daily about any number of things and can not handle any of her own affairs, I bathe her and wash her hair, she is incontinent and paranoid.

I am an only child (in my 30's) taking care of her. She is estranged from the whole family and has no friends. Cirrhosis is ugly ugly ugly. You do not want to put your loved ones through this, it is brutal to the patient and to the caregiver, especially when you are already aware something is going on and you continue doing the same thing.

My mother was diagnosed in 1992 with cirrhosis, malnutrition and ascites, she stopped drinking and was sober for 9 years, she drank again for a year after that and has been having ever worsening complications since 2003. Plus dealing with her pill popping habits when she conveinently broke her foot 3 times and drank nyquil to sleep and popped tylonol pm's for years. (during her 'sober' years)

I have given up my entire adulthood to take care of her. I can't go out, she can't be left alone, my 15 yr old son has to watch me scrub poop off the floors..My mother was beautiful and brilliant and now is a shell of her former self. She can not take care of herself at all and if it becomes too much for me, well I don't know what I will do. She never dealt with the reasons she drank and I consider her to be very selfish. She has no health or life insurance and blew her inheretance that would of made it so she was more comfortable and able to not struggle so much. I love her but I don't know her. It makes me sad that she has always been so miserable and unwilling and unable to help herself, she has robbed herself of her health and mental peace, she has robbed me of a mother and support system and she has robbed my son of a grandmother.

This disease can last a very long time and move slowly...do you really want to go through it? If you don't understand what I mean please PM me and I will share the details of this hell that I am going through.

As far as tests to get, I only skimmed your other posts, and it seemed like you had everything.

CBC

Liver blood tests

abdominal CT

UA

Do you really want to wait for 'proof' of what damage you are doing? Is that what it will take? Your body is already telling you something is not right. I don't mean to sound harsh, but if you are aware of what can happen and you still do what you do...what more is there to say about it?

Good luck to you.

Post edited by: krishemp, at: 04/12/2012 06:15 AM

Honesty coming....stop drinking! you are doing the damage to yourself and I, for one who can't stop the cause of my liver damage, think you are wasting a perfectly good liver when I would give anything to have the opportunity to take it and baby it. All the tests in the world won't matter if you won't stop the drinking. What are you waiting for? the tests that says you don't have liver damage? or the test that says you do? You WILL have it if you continue drinking. There is no miracle cure for your cirrhosis, if you have it. The cure is in yourself, take control of what you can and put down the beer. Is it worth your life. I hate having this disease, I am in pain, my future has completely changed and you have the opportunity to make yours better and you aren't taking it? Serious??

QUIT DRINKING.

No test in the world is going to matter if you continue to put the most harmful toxin into your liver. You have it down to the amount of calories you consume in alcohol???? And you feel sick???

No wonder.

Quit drinking. Stop looking at how sick you might GET when you can stop all the damage to your liver TODAY but not drinking. Simple.

I cannot change/slow down/reverse my liver damage. You have a CHOICE. Do you know how lucky you are?? Many many many of us don't with autoimmune or genetic or other means of developing cirrhosis.

That is about as honest and blunt as I can be.

STOP DRINKING

plain and simple. My dad has cirrhosis from drinking, he wasn't an alcoholic, wasn't really a big drinker in his later years but he was a social drinker in his younger years and now he is paying the price. If you keep drinking you are being selfish, depriving your family of you and depriving yourself of a future.

sorry if you are offended but you are lucky you have a chance now to make a change, protect your future and be healthy. Other than the tests already mentioned that is the only tests that are routinely done.

Good luck, your future is in your hands x

Hi Dave70 - just a reminder to check out www.mysickliver.weebly.com - a wealth of information and under Misc pictures of some of the complications (they can be brutal). Also please check out www.smartrecovery.org (on-line quit drinking site that worked fantastic for one of our members here. Nice that it's convenient being that it's on-line and also has a different basis and approach than AA - worth checking out! You;ve made the first step already - realizing you have a problem. Don't wait to wuit like I did - others have said you have a choice - I've learned just how painful this disease is and to imagine our members here with an autoimmune causes etc. and dealing with this ugly painful Cirrhosis NOT because they were drinkers is just terrible! I'm so touched that they accept me for me without judgement since mine is apparently alcohol induced Cirrhosis. I don't know if this will help but I thought about it this way. Some people are born blind. Some become blind. If I had the opportunity to do something for my body that would prevent becoming blind - you bet I'd do it! Same with the damage from alcohol. It's not easy but I LOVE living without alcohol. Never thought I could say that. And more than that - I LOVE living! If your Liver is TALKING....LISTEN! (I realize I keep saying that to you but it's so true Keep posting and learning and listening and venting too...and hopefully you've looked at some discussions or joined the AA Group. Bangbang - a Group Leader in the AA group knows the ropes. As do our Group leaders here in the Cirrhosis Group. They didn't become Group Leaders for nothing - they're A+++++ people here! Ru

The general theme here Dave, seems to be

QUIT DRINKING.

I think that is all the honesty you need.

I want to thank each and everyone one of you for being so honest, and in my face......The reality is I have a problem, and that problem needs to be fixed....For what it's worth, I'm selfish for I don't want to stop..As well, you are all beautiful for numerous reasons, including listening to me question the obvious. I take for granted what I was given, and know that my addiction stems from painful memories (probably commonplace)....Anyway, thank you all again....Your words and honesty give me strength, and it is interesting that my family and friends don't take the time to offer that......LOVE YOU.....!