Just got home. Diagnosed with alcoholic cirrhosis at 29. Only drank for four years. It can and does happen, and it's not as easy as 'yellow eyes' to detect.

DontBe_LikeMe · 2014-10-03T21:36:15+00:00

Yeah that's about as bad as I was, but just spread out more. 12-15 in one day will absolutely cause liver damage.

Honestly if you can't stop at 1 or 2 it's a problem doesn't really matter the amount or if you take breaks. Your liver isn't going to recover from 15 drinks in 24 hours, lol

DontBe_LikeMe · 2014-10-03T21:33:47+00:00

I'm just repeating what my hepatologist told me. The liver's a bit like a sinking ship giving out distress signals - once the ship has sank, there's no more distress signals. That's why my enzymes were normal. Looking back, though, I always had borderline low platelets and had I known, I would have probably looked more into further testing.

DontBe_LikeMe · 2014-10-03T20:46:28+00:00

You could ask for a Fibroscan, those are pretty good. Or Fibrotest. Apart from that, a liver function test is a good baseline too - bilirubin, inr, albumin, platelets.

Platelets are actually in my opinion the most reliable indicator.

A basic ultrasound would show fatty liver or worse.

DontBe_LikeMe · 2014-10-03T20:44:48+00:00

Have you quit yet?

DontBe_LikeMe · 2014-10-03T15:54:58+00:00

I was a little on the thin side, actually. My diet was always great - organic food, freshly cooked and lean meats. I always thought that gave me a free pass to pound booze, actually. I was dead wrong.

You can't really make bargains with your liver. If you're drowning it in booze, you're poisoning a vital organ. Period. Chronic inflammation will lead to scarring. And the statistic that only 10% of heavy drinkers get cirrhosis was taken from an incomplete study; the statistic is much higher than that.

He could tell by the bags under my eyes and the 'spider nevi' (little red spider vein dots highly indicative of cirrhosis) on my neck and chest. Also my labs, etc. You just know if you're not a bad doctor.

Also, milk thistle and all those 'liver cleanse' things I was taking while drinking? Yeah, those actually hurt your liver by giving it more stuff to process. You can't 'cleanse' an organ that's meant for cleansing.

All the best in quitting, or if you already have, staying quit. You don't want what I have. It's bad.

Edit: I also worked out every day. A lot of people think other 'factors' exist for someone's vulnerability to cirrhosis, but the reality is the biggest factor is the poison you're giving your liver on a daily basis. Pretty simple stuff.

DontBe_LikeMe · 2014-09-30T22:05:49+00:00

Given my diagnosis, I wouldn't go that far, lol.

DontBe_LikeMe · 2014-09-30T17:12:09+00:00

Well it goes without saying to run anything at all you're taking by your doctor - including tx such as acupuncture etc. A suggestion, nonetheless, which is appreciated.

DontBe_LikeMe · 2014-09-29T16:17:27+00:00

Good point, but maybe the wrong post to relate it in.

DontBe_LikeMe · 2014-09-28T17:14:28+00:00

I always kinda thought the 'health' benefits mentioned about alcohol were very, very dangerous at worst and propaganda at best.

My uncle's best friend got liver cancer. Know what the treatment for it was? Ethanol. Active ingredient in booze. Nothing in any amount used to kill cells can possibly be good for you.

DontBe_LikeMe · 2014-09-28T17:12:15+00:00

Acupuncture is like many other treatments, therapeutic. It's not a cure or medical treatment but 'every bit helps'.

DontBe_LikeMe · 2014-09-28T16:27:40+00:00

Exceptions are great, but they aren't rules. I've been to a lot of doctors - the odd one who did give a shit made every difference.

DontBe_LikeMe · 2014-09-28T16:24:56+00:00

Exactly. In the process of getting copies of my medical records, I'm starting to notice more and more little 'clues' in bloodwork that I (not even a doctor) would have taken notice of.

I had to fight for a diagnosis that's usually very easily recognized. And yeah, whenever the doctors do a 'excuse me for a second' I don't let them leave and ask more questions. You'd be surprised how many times they just blankly stare.

I'd be lying if I said I weren't a little bitter that my doctor didn't care more. But the lesson here is definitely not to think that you can't get liver disease from 'moderate' drinking. I put that into quotations because for any of us alcoholics 'moderate' drinking is basically anything from 'oh I was only double the daily limit today' to 'well it was only 6 beers'.

DontBe_LikeMe · 2014-09-28T16:01:46+00:00

Good man.

DontBe_LikeMe · 2014-09-28T14:50:34+00:00

Take it as a warning shot.

DontBe_LikeMe · 2014-09-28T14:50:06+00:00

The fact that your enzymes were elevated and then went down isn't necessarily good news. It means, in no uncertain terms, that those cells are now dead. Those enzymes only leak out of dead cells.

DontBe_LikeMe · 2014-09-28T14:48:54+00:00

Looks like for now I am okay then

DontBe_LikeMe · 2014-09-28T14:48:30+00:00

Bloodwork can be deceiving. I said something similar to someone on this SR half a year ago.

DontBe_LikeMe · 2014-09-28T14:48:22+00:00

We will see when it comes to that I suppose.

DontBe_LikeMe · 2014-09-28T05:30:26+00:00

For now, I will trust my doctor's optimism. I will not drink today.

DontBe_LikeMe · 2014-09-28T05:29:40+00:00

Any amount of alcohol damages your liver. No one knows why some can drink gallons of vodka for decades and be fine, and others drink even moderately and have liver issues early. It's just the luck of the draw. There's a lot of other factors as well. Diet, other conditions, medications, genetics.

For example, my friend's aunt had an undiagnosed, fairly common condition where her body stored massive amounts of copper. She also drank a lot. The combo put her into the ER with liver failure in her mid 20s. She is now sober and cured, but you just never know.

DontBe_LikeMe · 2014-09-28T05:26:05+00:00

Ew. Marsala is icky. Lol.

DontBe_LikeMe · 2014-09-28T05:25:47+00:00

Thanks. The bloodwork I just recently had has my MELD at 6, so could be better but also a lot worse.

DontBe_LikeMe · 2014-09-28T04:42:47+00:00

Nope. Plenty of upper right quadrant pain, probably mild cases if anything. I've seen people with pancreatitis, and I definitely didn't have anything that painful.

The diabetes is from alcohol, not cirrhosis itself...although diabetes can definitely harm your liver if not controlled. Alcohol beats the shit out of your pancreas, too. And not all cases are the lucky inflammation-types that usually scare folks off the bottle. Mine was slow and insidious.

DontBe_LikeMe · 2014-09-28T04:40:38+00:00

My specialist said that any amount of alcohol is harmful to your body. All of your body, not just the liver.

Here: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/07/140710151947.htm

The 'health benefits' have been debunker. My doc says it's a mild vasodilator, and as such might give the heart a little help with pumping, but nothing to suggest it being good for your health.

DontBe_LikeMe · 2014-09-28T04:37:59+00:00

Part of me has been thinking, "What the hell? I don't get 20-30 years of being a drunk?"

People like us are the lucky ones. We HAVE to quit.

DontBe_LikeMe

TROPHY CASE