How many of you have had health problems?

[FarfallaP]

How many of you have had health problems?

Oh, "lesions" verges on being a code word for cancer, imho, which put a pretty good scare into me, too. True fear can be a powerful motivating force! FF

[FarfallaP]

How many of you have had health problems?

And, I had had the "racing heart" which Running4Life mentioned, but THAT wasn't enough to scare ME...oh no, I was tough, I could handle my "little problem" just fine...ha. FF

[matti1024]

How many of you have had health problems?

I've been drinking pretty heavily most of my life, and when I stopped for over a year all my symptoms (blood pressure, cholesterol etc.) went back to normal, including liver enzymes. Then I fell off the wagon, and thought it would be good to see a cardiologist at age 50. He told me that I had possibly a mild heart attack! All tests were normal, but it scared me enough to stop again, and again --- you know the drill!

THEN, about a month ago I went into the hospital with acute pancreatitis. Pain across the whole abdomen. I was sure then that if I didn't stop for good I'd eventually die from it.

The detox was the worst I ever had, but I suffered through it and am now about a month with no alcohol. Yay! My mind is clearing up, and my body feels fine.

The truth is it'll getcha one way or the other. Quitting sooner than later is highly recommended!

Good luck,

Matti1024

[Arrii]

How many of you have had health problems?

I tend to also get a racing heart the morning after...quite scary and uncomfortable

[kentia]

How many of you have had health problems?

As you can see I have been a member here for a while but have not posted - I used to come here late at night after drinking too much and cry as I read posts and not be able to type anything even vaguely coherent. I felt trapped and useless and I hated myself. I felt I was dying inside. I had even given up on trying to go a day or two without drinking as I had previously failed every attempt I had made.

I am 50, and I have been drinking socially since I was 15, however in the last 8 yrs I had really increased my intake. In the last few years I have been drinking up to 2litres of cask wine a night. I have long passed the time of hangovers and vomiting, and have simply felt a little foggy in the morning.

Last week I woke in the morning and went to the bathroom as usual. I guess there is no 'pretty' way to put this so I will be honest. I had two bouts of explosive black diarrhoea. I felt extremely faint and went back to bed, knowing there was something very wrong happening inside my body. Later that night I was taken by ambulance to the local hospital. The next day after a test with a camera down my throat I was diagnosed with a Mallory-Weiss tear. I had been leaking blood into my intestines for what could have been up to 2-3 months. No wonder I felt so lethargic and I had put that down to drinking too much the night before. Well every night before if I am honest.

I also had damage and scar tissue in my oesophagus. It was explained to me that when you drink and then lay down to sleep, a slight reflux occurs with the acid from your stomach. The stomach has some protection but the oesophagus doesn't. This acid had slowly burnt away over time (years probably) and finally broke through a blood vessel causing the gastric bleed.

I wasn't allowed home as my blood levels were so low I need a transfusion. They were scary days and I cried most of the first two days I was in hospital. I have done real and obvious damage to my body, and I can only imagine how my brain has been affected.

I haven't had a drink since and I am determined that I never will again.

I think of it as my wake up call. I look in the mirror each day now and smile and am so thankful and happy and looking toward my future. Weeks ago I could only see a road leading no where. I am strangely grateful this happened if you can believe it.

I just wanted to add that I had been doing lots of reading on here (especially threads about long term abstainers and how good they felt to be free) and I had also read the Jason Vale book a couple of times (but never seemed to get around to 'the last drink'). I believe all the stars aligned for me at a time when I was feeling ready to make a change - it was getting too painful to continue how I was living. The hospital stay was just the push I needed and it has been such a reality check.

[FarfallaP]

How many of you have had health problems?

cds helped me

My goodness, what a terribly scary experience you have had! And, congrats on several AF days already.

At first, after my "fatty liver" CT scan and MRI, I was very angry at Fate for "making me" give up my "quick relief/best friend, AL" but after a while, I was able to be grateful for the wake-up call. I admire that you are already in the grateful mode!

One thing that really helped me to re-program my mental condition was the cds available on this website. Another thing that helped me was to try to re-program my beliefs via the use of techniques put forth by a woman named Byron Katie, which you can google if it interests you.

Thank heavens you received medical care promptly. Good luck! FF

[Mootsbill]

How many of you have had health problems?

Hi mauri,

I see you are in the uk too? I sent off for the starter pack from the health store 2 weeks ago, did you order anything and how long did it take?
I hope you are doing well this evening ;0)

[aihflvt]

How many of you have had health problems?

I also had high blood pressure and elevated triglycerides. Several months of abstention, a pescatarian diet (supplemented by fish oil capsules) and intense exercise 5 days a week (cardio, strength training, or both) returned them to a normal-ish (still a little high of ideal) level.

The triglyceride angle is interesting, and in my opinion, under discussed. Even when drinking at my heaviest, I was always a long distance runner. But I never lost any body fat. No alcohol, healthy diet, bam, lost 30 lbs. in about 6 months.

[albinomonkey]

How many of you have had health problems?

Hi, Yes I've just joined and am trying to stop drinking at the moment!

I have alcoholic hepatitis and a stomach ulcer as well as depression and still can't stop!

[mauritiusdodo]

How many of you have had health problems?

Thanks for the replies everyone wishing you all future good health!

[duncan]

How many of you have had health problems?

I have a theory that the reason so many on here mention high triglycerides, high blood pressure and weight is that there is a second pathway leading to Syndrome X aka Metabolic syndrome. (This is a disorder marked by stubborn weight gain that refuses to come off, fatty liver, slightly elevated liver enzymes, high triglycerides, high blood pressure). Though the root cause is generally though to be diabetes, I believe there is a second pathway to Syndrome X which I label "alcoholic Syndrome X" is triggered by the high and sustained cortisol stress hormone produced by hangovers. Cortisol induces high insulin just like diabetes. When alcoholics such as myself drink every night and have a hangover every morning, the daily cortisol ->insulin effect has the same effect as if I were diabetic and producing too much insulin.

I reached this hypothesis when I went to the doctor's a few weeks ago. I have been struggling with my weight for the last 2 years in which I put on 50 pounds. My labs showed all of the classic signs of Syndrome X - slightly elevated liver enzymes, weight gain that stubbornly refuses to drop with exercise, high blood pressure, high cholesterol. The doctor never even mentioned it. On a follow up visit I asked why and they said I'm not diabetic so I can't have metabolic syndrome. I clearly do have it and I think my overweight, cellulite bulging obese body with all of the other markers, is the result of liver damage and insulin resistance due not to diabetes, but the second pathway from the high alcohol and daily hangovers.

I realize I have done a terrible degree of damage to my body and I am so angry at myself. Unlike other organs your liver can't warn you when it's slowly being killed. I began drinking about 8 years ago and in the last 3 years it has been a bottle of wine every night, sometimes two. If only the liver had some kind of early warning system the way a damaged heart will give you chest pain or a damaged nerve will twitch. I could have gone on another 5 years wondering why I was getting fatter and blaming it on too many carbs or laziness rather than realizing it was the effect of liver damage and cortisol by my drinking causing nearly permanent metabolic changes in my body!!!!

I am just so grateful I finally figured out the problem and not too late. This is my 7th day without a drink and I am horrified that I spent years of my life, even as recently as a week ago giving myself permanent fatness, high BP, and fatty liver via the nightly bottle of wine. In these 7 days I have already dropped about 5 pounds. I feel the mortification and horror a smoker who just got a lung cancer diagnosis must feel but thank God, my problem is mostly cosmetic and at age 32 I can still reverse this. No more fun and games, I am sick of being fat. Wine has caused so much damage to my once beautiful body and figure, it makes me want to cry now that I see what it has done and how.

And that I was so ignorant all those years, I mean I thought wine was just a few 'empty calories' and I was mystified how I could gain so much weight when I hardly ate real food. The heavy wine drinking, specifically the liver damage and hangover was metabolically changing how I process food, making me insulin resistant and making my fat cells super efficient at getting fatter. I can't believe how ignorant I was, if only someone had warned me this could happen.

[shueaddict]

How many of you have had health problems?

Duncan,

I relate to so much of what you said, I am 36 and have done the "bottle a night" for about 4 years - resulting in putting on about 20lbs, have zero energy or will to work out. Nevertheless, I am happy it is not too late.

Stick around with us. Read as much as you can. This addiction is cunning. You will find that even if your brain has processed all the info on Alcohol, i.e. "it is poison ", your body will still develop a "thirst". We all drink for a reason ( or several). I had to do a lot of introspection and change quite a few things in my life in order to accomodate AF living ( alcohol free that is).

Come to "Newbie's nest" , look in the "tool box" for ways to keep sober - and AF Daily.

https://www.mywayout.org/community/f1...249-30074.html

https://www.mywayout.org/community/f1...box-27556.html

Monthly Abstinence - My Way Out Forums

Be well, MWO is a wornderful place for getting info and support, you will find many buddies here.

:h

[Cupcake]

How many of you have had health problems?

Great post

That's a tremendously informative post Duncan, and throws a lot of light on the 'not losing weight' problem that so many of us struggle with. I have gained around 40llbs through excess drinking and although I'm at the 36 days without any alcohol stage, not a lot has happened on the weight loss. Could be due to the metabolic syndrome you describe. There's probably all sorts of internal damage - lets hope I've stopped the damage before it became really serious.

[mauritiusdodo]

How many of you have had health problems?

Duncan thank you for that insight, I too have put on loads of weight (around 2 stones) and I am desperate to lose it! I have always thought of my wine as 'empty calories' but also never really believed they could make me fat - after all they are only liquid how could they?- they have though!!!

[mauritiusdodo]

How many of you have had health problems?

Mootsbill;1349647 wrote: Hi mauri,

I see you are in the uk too? I sent off for the starter pack from the health store 2 weeks ago, did you order anything and how long did it take?
I hope you are doing well this evening ;0)

No I haven't ordered anything so I can't help sorry, has it arrived now?