Alcoholism (liver) And Predictable Lifespan
May 8, 2016
When someone is has been heavily drinking for years.and has already had a triple liver by pass, and relapses off and on, She is in her early 50s and has regular check ups to check the status of her liver (say every 3 weeks) she has diplayed signs of liver failure like yellowing of the whites of eyes and spider-vains becoming more common and prominent on the skin. My question is; How soon would a doctor usually tell the patient she has "X" number or years to live, say 1 or 2? or would they not mention that till it gets down to months?
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I have been a social drinker up until about 3 years ago. I was going thru a bottle of vodka every 2 to 3 days. I started having discomfort in the liver area with nausea fatigue and dry mouth. Had an lft done all normal. Still felt sick and went to the hospital lft normal except elevated bilirubin ultrasound normal. Had another lft couple of weeks after bilrubin down to 1.3. And another normal ultrasound. I still deal with right quadrant pain fatigue and nausea. I have read cirrhosis can be missed on an ultrasound and labs can be in the normal range
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My mother is a 65 year old female, 136 lbs, and on peritoneal dialysis for 3 years due to End Stage Renal Disease. Last week, she began experiencing severe abdominal pain that was a burning/gnawing pain. She went to the hospital and a CT Abdomen was taken without contrast. All was normal.
Over the next four (4) days, the pain persisted, particularly during dialysis exchanges at home. She returned to the hospital who admitted her. Another CT Abdomen was taken at this time which showed "nodular contour on the liver", free air in transverse colon which appeared to be dilated. She was also constipated for several days during this period. The CT impression suggested clinical evaluation for chronic liver disease.
A standard liver panel was taken and all results were normal. Nothing even close to elevated. She has never had a history of any liver issues and never had anything show on a CT for liver. After a day in the hospital, all stomach pain disappeared, she was able to use the restroom, and all stool samples/GI tests were normal without blood. She is naturally anemic due to ESRD with low iron/protein. Her last ANA/autoimmune panel was in December, all clear. No history of any hepatitis.
An Ultrasound Right Upper Quadrant was performed and the impression was no biliary obstruction, moderate ascites (tends to be normal due to peritoneal dialysis fluid), and "heterogeneous liver." The impression suggested referral for cirrhosis evaluation.
She began taking Hydralazine (25mg/3 times daily) in the last 3-4 months. She also takes a host of other blood pressure medicines.
QUESTION: She is currently awaiting a kidney transplant and very worried about this. A blood test will be taken in a couple weeks by a specialist that is supposed to diagnose Cirrhosis. Given this presentation alone, what other causes could explain this imaging results? Should we fear the worst?
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I had an abdominal ultrasound done for some abdominal pain and it was noted in the report as an impression that I had an echogenic appearing liver (such as non alcoholic fatty liver). My doctor at that time didn't tell me and just said my report was normal. When I went in for my Colonoscopy that was unrelated, it was mentioned again and when I did some research I realized what fatty liver actually was. I switched doctors.
My new doctor is considering giving me a CT scan but is checking with the GI department to see if they think its needed, etc. etc. But that there is no treatment for it besides diet modification.
Here's the thing. I don't have any of the risk factors. I am not overweight. I'm actually underweight slightly (BMI is 18, I weigh 110 lbs). I don't drink any alcohol, never did. And I don't have diabetes or hepatitis. The only thing I could do and what I have been doing is change my diet. I stopped eating processed foods, watched my sugar/carbs, and eat more vegetables than I ever have.
I'm a very anxious person and I'm not sure I want to know what the scan says. If it's worse than what I thought, I'm going to be so upset and stressed out. And I can't treat it anyway. It's not like they can give me a medication and make it go away. I think knowing the extent of it will just cause me mental anguish and I'm already stressed out about it as is.
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My Cholesterol was 7.8 and I was put on Statins 3 years ago. Because they gave me pains in my legs and other areas I stopped them.
A year ago my Cholesterol was still high and I had changed doctors and was prescribed Atorvastatin 10 mg after 2 months my doctor sent me for blood tests and in a phone call when I was at work he told me that Atorvastatin had caused Liver damage. He said I should stop taking the tablets immediately, pity this advice was not put on my notes so that when I phoned for my blood results a week earlier the receptionist could inform me to stop Atorvastatin. She just said Doctor will be in touch via phone call next week
He referred me to a Liver Specialist.
I went to see Liver Specialist after having Liver Ultrasound. Fatty liver was diagnosed and Liver Specialist promptly put me back on Atorvastatin claiming this would help my fatty liver. I couldn't believe it but what could I do?
Local GP had advised me to have bloods done again after being on tablets for 2 months. When my results came back the Locum doctor I saw said "whoa your Liver is not happy" STOP the tablets and have a blood test in 2 weeks.
2 weeks later Liver levels are coming down so thats a good direction. Dilemma is I have to see my Liver Consultant 16 June 2015. Wish me luck!
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this isn't about me but is about my girlfriend who is about to have gastric sleeve surgery.
She is a 40 year old women that has had a full hysterectomy and has type 2 diabetes. she has had a history of thyroid and weight issues. she is 5,7 weighs 225 LBS. she has an enlarged fatty liver of 27cm and the Doctor said that she needs "emergent" gastric sleeve surgery to bring down her enlarged liver. this was claimed on this past thursday. I have been looking high and low for documentation and statistics on using the surgery for reducing fatty livers but can't find any information. Does this sound right? has there been a history of using this procedure for such cases, I'm worried and scared for her.
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Been feeling lightheaded and brain foggy and a bit sick recently with some stomach grumbling and pain. Went to the doctors who did repeat blood tests over the course of 8 weeks and have said my enzymes are slightly up which could be the result of mild fatty liver. My question is does this sound related? He's also just tested me for celiac, but told me in the beginning that I could be fighting a virus. I'm worried that the 3 diagnoses he's given are so different I don't know what to believe, also does this mean I should be less worried about the tests because they are low enough to be anything?
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I've recently had 2 LFT that both showed raised enzymes, I've had a scan and it shows I have gallstones, however I am currently undergoing investigation into whether I have Reactive Hypoglycaemia, my question is that if I do have RH, would this cause my liver enzymes to elevate?
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IiIt was picked up by chance thaI have fatty liver, could have had this for years without knowing about it, how do I find out how much damage has been done already if any? My GP does not seem too concerned about it, all my LFT have come back normal so what can I do about it apart from lifestyle change which I'm doing already?
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My father in law has always been an alcoholic. Over the past couple of years, his drinking got out of control and his behavior was increasingly strange. My mother in law left him several times, but returned with his promises to cut back on the booze. Right around this past Christmas, we managed to keep him sober for several days, long enough to see that his behavior problems were not the result of being drunk. He was diagnosed with alcohol induced dementia.
Since then, we've been on a roller coaster of good and bad days, but the bad days are now the norm. He lives with my MIL, who is younger than him and in good health. He does a lot of screaming at her, says he hates her and wants her to die. He says he wants a divorce and wants to move to be near his favorite drinking spot. Usually these fits are preceded by his request to go out for a drink, which she denies.
A few months ago, my FIL figured out he could walk to a somewhat close area of restaurants and liquor stores. He will provoke my MIL until she gets fed up and leaves for a break, then he starts the long walk to get a drink. MIL used to follow him in her car and go into the liquor stores and restaurants ahead of him and ask that he not be served alcohol. This would lead to him calling her and screaming at her. Now she just lets him go but refuses to pick him up and drive him home after he has his drinks. Once, she wasn't home when he arrived from a drinking binge so he took all of her clothes and threw them in the back yard. He tried to dismantle her computer and threw away any food in the house that he saw as "hers." We are very concerned for his safety, obviously, and for MIL's emotional and mental well being.
Lately MIL is at her breaking point. She wants to leave. FIL is very demanding, verbally abusive. We try to give MIL a break by taking FIL shopping, going over for meals, taking the kids to see him, etc. He can't live on his own because he can't manage his meds (yesterday he took two days of his blood pressure, antipsychotic, and antianxiety meds because he kicked MIL out of the house and she wasn't there to help him). He does OK cooking for himself but can't pay bills, no longer can drive, needs help shopping, and is just starting to have issues with managing his own hygiene. His short term memory is bad. He will call each of us in the family over and over again, especially when he's been drinking. He seems to want to have MIL around to entertain him and drive him places, but then drives her away so he can attempt to drink. He has fallen more than once -- one time, he fell while walking home from the liquor store and a passing driver called an ambulance.
FIL is not bad enough to qualify for any services, even home care. He flat out refuses to cooperate with any sort of caregiver or adult day care. He thinks the doctors are wrong about the dementia and insists he can take care of himself. Every attempt at getting help for him has been a dead end, from social services to Alz. support groups. MIL is working on getting POA and conservatorship so she can control his access to money. She is thinking of getting FIL his own small place (which he wants), managing his finances, and giving him a small allowance that we all know he will quickly spend on booze (he averages $30 a day on "lunch" when he is alone and walks to restaurants). We feel like we can't control him and have no options and just have to wait for him to decline further or land himself in the hospital. MIL will have to go back to work, at least part time, to be able to afford to support him as well as have her own place.
Does anyone who's been through this have any ideas on options for us? FIL can't live with any of us because we have kids, jobs, etc. and aren't around to monitor him. I also can't have him behaving and talking the way he does around my kids -- it's bad enough what they see and hear when we visit. My in laws' income is limited to social security (less than 2500/mo total), plus my MIL has about $60,000 in a retirement fund. They don't own their home.
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It's been about a year now that we've moved to Germany. At first I would try one beer a night 2-4 times a week. Slowly it's gotten worse to the point that every night I now drink at least 4 half liters (17oz each) every single night and I can't remember the last time I didn't drink. It seems like everyday I wake up and promise myself I won't drink today but I just can't not drink.... The beer is just so damn good I can't get enough of it; and it's super cheap too.
It hasn't caused any problems with my family or daily routine aside from me being tired all the time.
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I am a 35 year old woman and really suffer badly with alcohol paranoia.
I also have OCD (worrying all of the time and complete rituals to overcome the anxiety of it) this can sometimes be debilitating. I always worry what we people think of me and always want to be liked by everyone, even though i know that this isn't possible. I have been like this all of my life and i have had OCD since i was a small child.
I can drink alcohol and be fine, but sometimes i get drunk and i have complete black outs the next day. I can't remember conversations i have had, how i got home sometimes and it is really worrying. At the time i feel in control and i drink more, its not until i wake in the night i start to panic and wonder what i said or did. My husband is really supportive and tells me i am being silly but i shouldn't drink so much so i don't have blackouts. I will lie awake for hours worrying and going over conversations that i have had- embarrassing ones from my past and i don't know why i tell people them- i just want them to laugh and enjoy my company but i end up pulling myself down. I don't know why i do this? I don't think i have a drink problem, as i don't crave alcohol and i don't drink everyday only on social occasions but if i have one to many, or if i haven't ate enough in the day, my paranoia is really bad. It gets to the point where i hate myself.
My OCD also gets worse the next day and i can't concentrate on anything. Why am i like this? why do i care so much of what people think of me?
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Diagnos w/ Fybro myalgia, 2012.
NORCO-ADDICTION- MAKES ME FEEL INVINCIBLE
LYRICA-TURNING MY MIND INTO HAMBURGER , ATIVAN- WORKS GREAT-I WILL KEEP IT
I desire to get off the NORCO, LYRICA. and manage my fybro thru CHIRO, ACUPUNCTURE ,MASSAGE.
Did the herbs work with detox? Anyone else go this route after deciding to get off the mind altering drugs? I started detox today, I have only had 5, NORCO today! That's real big for me.. usually by now 8 hours into my day I'm on 10. Loving a chance at my life again without the drugs.
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I am a 61 years old male alcoholic and my memory is very bad. Is this normal?
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Every time I drink alcohol I always wake up and fear that I have done and said something horrible. My friends all say that I am quite and a good drunk and always assure me that i did nothing wrong. Even when I don't do anything wrong I convince myself that I did. I make up things in my head and then I can't tell if it's an actual memory or a made up thought in my head. It scares the sh*t out of me. I get anxious and depressed after drinking. I feel like a total loser. I feel like I am an awful person. i do not drink a whole lot but i do black out even after small amounts of alcohol. i know i shouldn't drink but you know how social events are. im normally shy and quiet when sober im very responsible and may have a little social anxiety. i still worry about things i think i might have done a year ago but nothing has ever come of it so really i should probably just drop it but im having a hard time. am i the only crazy person out there?
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I get a feeling that something is standing right in the middle of my chest, sometimes i catch myself involuntarily reach to my chest with my hand like i'm wiping something of the middle of my chest. It almost feels like there is a bloon in the middle of my chest and it is getting ready to explode. And my breathing is very difficult like i am smothering. i have to keep taking in deep breaths to get that feeling of satisfaction that i am breathing. Sometimes i catch myself staring at anything while the thoughts are racing through my mind, thoughts of death or trying to figure out what is wrong with me. There is profound weakness in my limbs Severe shortness of breath, tunnel vision, numb/tingling in the arms.
i looked down at my hand and it was jerking involuntarily. And sometimes i get thoughts that if someone was to notice or ask me what is wrong i feel that i will lose my mind. So i try my best to hide it. I have noticed that while driving in a car it can become unbearable. Alos i get a feeling of pressure in my skull like my brain is going to explode. Last Night all i wanted to do was go to sleep and wake up feeling better but every time i tried to sleep i would wake not breathing gasping for air. At one point i felt hopeless and that i would fall on my face dead. I believe this to be withdraw from all the drinking that i have been doing. I was in the er a few days ago for this and my bp was high and heart racing. At times is feels as if i am going to lose all control of my body and i will go in to convulsions at any moment. The breathing thing started as a young kidd. Im not to good at explaing this so i did my best. My heart goes out to all the people that goes through this.
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What I think is crazy is I only had one drink since like forever and now I cry over anything that is little, my brain feels kinda fuzzy and I refuse to go out to places with a lot of people. I drank alcohol about a week ago and it just started yesterday and it's getting a little bit better
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I am 22 and I liked to have a glass of wine once in a while. However, one day I had about half a glass and started to feel very itchy between my eyebrows. I chose to ignore it because wine commonly made me go a little rosy and feel hot. However, the next time I had this same wine (new bottle) I had 2 sips and felt this itching again in the same place. When I looked in the mirror, my face was becoming red and blotchy, and soon covered my entire face (even my eyelids!). It felt like it was on fire and was clearly a tad swollen. It eventually spread to my chest. I tried to cool the areas with ice and twenty minutes later, my skin was fine. At first I thought this might have been caused by this specific wine since the bottle said it contains sulfites. I tried to have a glass of wine that boasts absolutely no preservatives, just grapes, but the same thing happened off a couple of sips. This is not a grape allergy. I commonly eat grapes and have no problem with them.After a week of avoiding alcohol altogether, which was difficult because it was during the holidays, I wanted to see if beer was also off limits now. Yes, it is. I had barely finished the neck when I felt the itching between my eyebrows. Sure enough, within minutes my face was bright red and hot to the touch.I am not any kind of heavy drinker, but I'm still young and I would like to be able to drink with my friends! This is very frustrating for me and confusing to say the least. I'm not sure what to do, and I'm sure a doctor would scoff at me if I came to them with my troubles. I read online that alcohol allergies are rare and rapid onset of any allergy suggests a problem with the adrenals.
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My boyfriend and I have been dating for a few months now, and we are both 18. When we first started dating i knew he had a drinking problem before because he went to rehab. When we first started dating everything was great he didn't drink for the first two months of our relationship. When he did start drinking we drank casually, i thought everything is okay because he would only drink with me. But then he started drinking with old friends that he would drink heavily with. I thought everything would be okay but then he started freaking out on his parents and his anger was out of control. I told him that i don't think i could deal with any of this right now and he said he would stop drinking. which only lasted about a week. he was never mean to me, but he did threaten me saying if i was to break up with him he would kill himself. he just recently went to rehab and said he isn't coming back but he still wants to be together. i love him and care about him alot but not being able to see him kills me and i don't know how to deal with it. when i told him one night that i cant do it, the whole not seeing him thing he got very emotional. This is my first real serious relationship and i just need some advice on what to do. I don't have anyone to talk to because no one understands how i feel.
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I am a 42 yr. old female who started drinking at about 31 yrs. old. I started drinking the 5 litre boxes of wine and by 2 yrs. in I was drinking at least 2 of those boxes of wine a week. Present day I am drinking about 2 bottles of vodka a week for about 2 years now. I do not drink during the day. For awhile now I have had really bad night sweats and now I am sweating all day long and I can't tolerate heat. Would not drinking during the day cause this? Maybe menopause? I have had the basic blood work done recently and for my liver, all came back normal. Is my body trying to get rid of toxins?
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I put myself in rehab for 30 days in 2002. I quit drinking for 11 years. In August of 2013 I guess I got curious and started again. First, I used to drink socially, then weekends, then it just picked up after that. I'm not at the point of blackouts or missing work. I do not drink in the morning. I do not go to the bar rooms. I drink approximately 4-6 beer a day. Each day I say I'm not going to drink but I feel like I need to just to take the edge off. I thought it's time to do something before it does get out of control like it was in 2002. I've been calling about detox but my deductible is over $2500. Is there a safe way that my doctor can help me get through this at home. There is a time coming up soon that I have 6 days off of work.
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