Withdrawal seizures: Hi, first post in... - British Liver Trust

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Withdrawal seizures

tgillies profile image
10 Replies

Hi, first post in here so forgive me. I went on a 3 month booze binge due to some distressing events that occurred in my life once again. Did the same thing 2 yrs ago and doc said I had AH. But no meds or recommendations to do anything but cut down?! Which I did and went first 3 months of this year sober. Anyway last week after my binge I tapered down due to doc's advice but on day 3 had to be rushed into a&e as had 3 bad seizures but I still had drank two small glasses of wine that day?!! As was tapering off....I told them I had AH but when hosp did liver scan, just shows mild fatty liver and nothing else? I'm confused, can you have both? They only know about the previous diagnosis of ah because I mentioned if you see what I mean. Been detoxed on Librium and now on small doses of diazepam. Can you see my confusion as fatty liver will hopefully disappear with abstinence for a while but ah won't? So can you have both? 😳 Any help much appreciated, tia.

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tgillies
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tgillies profile image
tgillies

Also counsellor said reason for seizure was I didn't drink enough not to have one from what I was drinking and my family are saying I have wet brain and now will have a seizure if I so much as sniff a wine cork ever again? But if just fatty liver that goes away then surely I wouldn't? Sorry it's so long.

MisterX profile image
MisterX

Hi,

You drink alcohol you directly inflame and damage liver cells as the alcohol is processed into acetone (if I remember correctly) in your liver. The inflammation (any inflammation of the liver) is called hepatitis and because it's caused by alcohol it's called alcoholic hepatitis.

Also as you drink, the alcohol is highly calorific so it causes fat to accumulate in the liver - i.e. fatty liver.

So with AH you get destruction of liver cells directly and fat accumulation.

The way to stop AH is to stop putting alcohol in your body. Drugs can't fix it. Over time the liver will repair the damage - even if it doesn't it will mean that the rest of your liver will not be damaged and so can do the necessary work.

Given this...

"I went on a 3 month booze binge due to some distressing events that occurred in my life once again."

You have an alcohol problem. You need to stop - not reduce but stop (you know the difference) and find a different coping mechanism. You can't drink.

Sorry if I'm being a bit direct but you have a really simple straightforward situation to deal with - and there really is only one answer.

I have cirrhosis. If you don't yet have cirrhosis, trust me you do not want it. It's rubbish and it's much more serious than people sometimes think from bandying the word around casually.

Best of luck.

tgillies profile image
tgillies in reply to MisterX

Thank you so much for your reply. Am sorry you have cirrhosis :( I did go to my GP to ask for help with stopping drinking 2 days before the seizures. But he didn't offer any help at all! Even though I told him I was drinking two bottles of wine a day or night or the middle of the night - my favourite time to drink on my own. I haven't drank for 2 weeks which is nothing but been avoiding socialising with friends and just sticking with going for a coffee with my mum. It's working for now but worried my will power won't be strong enough for my friends wedding in November to not even have one glass of wine but am so scared that if I do ill have a seizure again just by having one but even that is still crossing my messed up alcoholic mind :( Having counselling once a week but they said since ultrasound showed I only have fatty liver then I should be ok eventually to moderately drink again after a few months? It's so confusing....

MisterX profile image
MisterX in reply to tgillies

That's very kind of you, very much appreciate the sentiment - fortunately for me I'm doing reasonably well (but my cirrhosis wasn't caused by alcohol).

You have to separate two things, the first is the effect the alcohol is having on your body, which is pretty severe and secondly the nature of your drink problem - which is alcohol dependency.

If you had fatty liver and alcoholic hepatitis because you'd been eating too much and badly and drinking too much for a while then stopping for a time to recover and resuming drinking moderately would be fine. The liver can usually cope with a bit of alcohol as long as it's not relentless.

But.... in your case, and as you recognise, you a) depend on alcohol to get you through difficult times, b) don't trust yourself not to drink.

This means you have alcohol dependency - they are really really clear signs, brightly lit with neon and everything. You're always likely to have alcohol dependency - basically it's the way you're wired. So you can't drink.

And that's without factoring in the seizures. So separate the seizures and AH from the alcohol dependency. You need to fix all three and the fix is the same (I can't speak for the seizures but will assume it is).

If you can you might want to consider going and talking to alcoholics anonymous. There are quite a few resources for helping people to give up alcohol and people here with a full understanding of the struggle.

I really do wish you the best. Keep your chin up, it's better to know you have a problem and deal with it before you do too much damage - you can't fix it in the afterlife :)

dckimberly profile image
dckimberly

You can absolutely have detox seizures and not have more than a fatty liver. One has nothing to do with the other, not really, until it does. Only alcoholics have withdrawal seizures, because that type of tolerance and dependency is not found in normal drinking.

Might I suggest a 12 step program? It's the most successful in the last 100 years of battling the disease. Alcohol is not just a body problem, it's emotional, spiritual, etc. AA can and does help with all that. I'm a member and have been sober nearly 7 years.

I have so many friends in the rooms, here and in the US. A lot of my socializing is with others who are recovering..not all, but it took me a few years to be able to be around folks who drank. If your already having seizures, it's serious. Very. Don't let anyone tell you any different!

Good luck!

Cheering you on!

tgillies profile image
tgillies

Thank you! That gives me hope, still not drinking but only been two weeks. Tried AA once but I didn't get on with it, seemed very cliquey but that may have just been that one meeting I went to. Well done you on your recovery! An inspiration x

susieanna profile image
susieanna

Hi, if you are having seizures due to alcohol withdrawal, you are dependant on it and do have a problem; the question is....do you want to stop drinking altogether? or just drink occasionally? If, at the moment you cant bare the thought of giving up altogether; then you should, at the very least, cut right down; don't binge drink; maybe have 6 months not drinking and then see how things are. Re the seizures; if you have so much booze and then just stop (or don't cut down at the right levels/ or have medication to get you through, you could actually die). It is an incredibly hard thing to think of your life without booze at all; but sometimes, in the end, the choice is the booze or possible death. You are still in a fortunate position; so think long and hard; cirrhosis is absolutely horrendous and some of the stories on here of how it can affect you and the frightening things that can happen will make you see what it can be like. Have you seen any specialist about the seizures? Might you have developed epilepsy now on a permanent basis due to the drinking? I suggest doing a diary of your seizures and if you do drink , do a drinking diary too. If your GP has no empathy, then change your G.P. Did you detox yourself at home on valium/Librium? Have you ever considered a Rehab (6 months); Rehab would have a higher success rate than a weeks detox; it can get to the root of many problems and give you time to think about things and look at your life. If you are now abstinent from drink, that's great.....but if you go the wedding and have one glass of wine...can you stop at one glass? How would you feel being at the wedding with most people drinking and you not drinking? Such situations like this are difficult to deal with....perhaps go for a while, but don't stay long? or don't go at all if you think it means you might 'hit the bottle' . It can be very very difficult for an alcoholic to go somewhere with everyone else boozing and have nothing at all! unless perhaps you have been off the booze for many years. Do all of your friends drink? I guess this all depends on what you want yourself. I guess you would like to be able to drink socially and at normal levels ; this may be possible; though most people will tell you someone like you should not drink at all. But we all know this is easier said than done. Do you ever drink due to boredom? Try and thing of things to do other than drinking; take up a hobbie; if you see your friends, don't go to he pub, arrange non alcoholic places to go if possible; go out to lunch/ treat yourself to some new clothes (the money that would have been spent on alcohol).

Re AA; it works for many people but for others it does not work. I personally wouldn't advocate the AA, though as I said, it does work for some; do you go to any group therapies?

You have a lot of thinking to do and in the end the choice is yours; but believe me, you would not want to end up with cirrhosis.

Good luck!

scottyboy40 profile image
scottyboy40

Hi mate i'm afraid if you look at the number of likes you have on your post.

Pretty much tells ya.Hope you get yourself sorted out,you have a long road in front of you.But you'll get there it takes time m8.

scottyboy40 profile image
scottyboy40

Hi there,I meant to say mister x's post.ie "LIKES".

17949lennie profile image
17949lennie

no stop right their you drank because you wanted to you used a bad time in your life as an excuse to relapse i have a long history of drug abuse but ive been clean for 6 years now its hard i truly understand you just have to say NO dont allow life events to enable you to relapse its not a justification stay strong

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