Hello all.
I am new to this forum.
Nearly a year ago I went really red and itchy mainly my lower legs,heavy drinker,so they gave me a ultra sound, and found some cirrhosis.
I was horrified and upset, I have lfts when I want, and the doc is always happy with now.
Now...I feel fantastic,and drinking again on and off.
Advice and thoughts please?
I am afraid if you already have cirrhosis it will not go away and any form of alcohol will just speed things up.
WHY don't you get some help to stay off what will eventually kill you.
Dear Steve
Thank you for joining our forum and we are very pleased to hear that you have made changes and are feeling better at present.
We would advise that you read our publication on alcohol and the liver as there is some really useful information in there about how damage forms etc. Please see: britishlivertrust.org.uk/li...
Unfortunately once you have permanent liver damage the only way to prevent it getting worse is to stop drinking completely. Eating a healthy diet and taking regular exercise will also help maintain your liver health.
I hope this helps.
Best wishes
Carol
I'm surprised you're drinking again. You need to check this out with your consultant. Of course ultimately it's up to you, but if it's further damaging your liver you might run into all sorts of issues if you ever need to be put forward for transplant.
Not sure what you mean by 'some cirrhosis'; either it is or it isn't i'm afraid. I can only urge you to stop the drinking altogether; this is far from easy for some people i know; but the end result, sooner or later, if you don't stop... will be death. If you havn't done so already go get some treatment for your addiction. Good luck.
Thanks very true.but sooner later comes death anyway.i am near to 58
The people on here who have watched their loved ones die from cirrhosis will tell you it isn't a pleasant way to go, even living with cirrhosis is nasty as it advances.
My hubby is 55, his cirrhosis isn't due to alcohol and there is hee haw that he can do to reverse the damage an auto-immune illness has done to his liver - my goodness if there was, he would do ANYTHING to have his life back. Almost overnight, he went from a super fit long distance walker who worked hard week in week out in heavy engineering into someone who can no longer work due to chronic fatigue, has hand tremors, concentration issues that mean he can no longer drive, he can barely walk 4 miles without needing bed rest, he nearly bled to death from a massive internal bleed, he's super confused at times and has times where he can't string a sentence together, he's dependent on benefits and has regular battles with DWP to to prove how poorly he is, he has no sexual function or interest, gets little sleep at nights. At this stage his condition is said to be compensated and he's doing too well for transplant yet has an absolutely garbage quality of life.
You have it in your power to tackle your condition, 58 is no age in this day and age and you can live to a ripe old age even with some cirrhosis. However, if you continue to assault your liver it will eventually fail on you and really the symptoms of end stage liver disease are not something you would wish on your worst enemy. A chap across the road from us just watched his 46 year old (drinker) daughter die in a hospital bed, bloated with ascites and oedema so much she hadn't realised she'd had a broken ankle and dislocated knee for months, oozing fluid through her pours, bleeding from both ends, a massive kidney infection, breathless, confused and suffering eventually from multiple organ failure.
You don't need to go that way!
At the end of the day it is your choice but if you continue to drink and your liver does give up on you then you won't be considered for a transplant if you can't prove your abstinence and willingness to stay sober.
There are folks on here who've managed to go sober and received the gift of life that transplant brings.
Give it some serious thought, you came here for support and folks who know are giving you it.
Katie
Alot of what your hubbie is going through Ayreshire sounds like someone I know; so sad and horrifying. Best wishes to your hubbie x
Thank you so much! Its like I need a real wakeup call now and again.thanks
I agree with you after long spells in hospital I watched many patients die from this young and old , and its a horrible way to die. I was on the brink of this with all the above symptoms, so distressing for the family.
Hi Steve, thats true, but then again there is death and there is also death from cirrhosis; bloody horrific , literally in many cases, can be very slow, lingering, or all of a sudden you have massive bleeds ; you have seen below the details. You are still very young; there is someone i know whom has similar outlook to you; not in denial exactly but seems oblivious to the horrors that will most likely come ; but i do understand how difficult it is to quit, and stay off, especially if its a life long addiction you have. But, its essential people realise how awful this disease is and understand the processes, the horrible things that it does to your body and your mind; eventual outcome if warnings are not heeded; and then make an informed choice. Try to think about your family too in all of this. You have done well to cut down at least; but i would suggest you think more about what you do from here on. Best wishes, whatever you choose.
You still have chance of leading a normal healthy life. You can do this ,there is life after alcohol. I had liver and kidney failure the first time i spent 5 months in hospital and an inpatient on and off for 4 years and now tube fed I have cirrhosis, I dont drink anymore and am now medically retired from a job I loved (social worker )I became ill without warning (but the warning were on the wall I choose to ignore them ,we I didn't think it applied to me). I am now 59 and I choose to live by not drinking. I'm not being self-righteous, it was hard but life is so much better . Just take that step.
Hi Steve
Glad that you're feeling good now. Cutting out/ down on alcohol will help you, without doubt. Everyone will tell you that. My thoughts are more around looking at your family and friends. Sadly if your health deteriorates it will affect your relationship with them.
Take some time out, and think.
My thoughts are with you, take care x
The graphic images that people are portraying on here, are not helpful. Not helpful to Steve, who has the capacity to make his own decisions about what he does with his life, and the behaviours he engages in. Steve's outlook may not be the same as other people's, but it is HIS outlook. We are not in a position here to act as saviour to everyone.
Try to consider for a moment, the impact of the images shared above, on those who have either just been diagnosed, or are going through tests to confirm or refute a diagnosis. Often, those people are silently reading through, to gain some hope for their own future. A glimpse of something that will encourage them to continue in their battle to remain healthy, to make healthy choices and to battle on through difficult times.
I'm sure those individuals aren't ignorant enough not to know that there are complications and how their illness may go, should disease progress. I just think that we should be a little more considerate of the many people who remain silent and who are struggling, not through the choices they are making, but through the transition of not knowing, to knowing - about their illness.
I have given a review to the BLT about these blogs. Most are really helpful and very supportive. There are a few 'pseudo-medical professionals' who think they know more than the specialists. Some of these individuals prophesise and offer some very worrying advice to others who venture here. There are assumptions made about other bloggers diagnoses and advice given accordingly (and in my view, wrongly). I would suggest that it is not helpful to do this.
Perhaps there should be a page just for 'newbies' to blog, or for those currently undergoing initial assessment/investigations? But perhaps what's really needed, is a little more consideration about how information may impact on people, and perhaps sharing more specific information through a private message?
Thanks.
Steve
You are entitled to have that view Steve. I certainly don't claim to know more than any professional . I do think that some people actually don't realise how bad things can get. Not everyone is informed of the bad stuff. I just think maybe it's better to know everything. Of course I'm sure many people can live long and productive lives if they follow the specialists advice etc. And of course it's up to Steve what he chooses to do. If someone doesn't know what could happen then personally I think they should be informed.
Sorry Steve, cirrhosis is no walk in the park and it also doesn't have to be a life sentence. I'm living proof that it can get as bad as it get's but you can get treatment, change life style, even have transplant and then live a relatively normal life. I don't think one person on this page said he can't drink but are just informing him of the possible consequences. He already said his cirrhosis was caused by alcohol. I can talk from experience here because I had cryptogenic cirrhosis (cause unknown). I was advised by a Dr many years prior to transplant that I could drink in moderation, and I did until a few years before I got really ill. When I needed a transplant this then became a big issue, and I had to convince consultants and a psychiatrist that I was not going to drink again, and I genuinely thought I'd blown it.
As you correctly point out this site isn't just for people who have just been diagnosed, people at all sorts of stages ask for help and in my opinion on the whole get good advice by people with experience at being either patients or carers for patients.
I don't know which posts or posters you're referring to and I don't know who you're talking about claiming to be semi professional but I take offence that you are suggesting people shouldn't be allowed to write about their own experience's.
"I have given a review to the BLT about these blogs." - Really, good for you, if you don't like the advice you're seeing on here I would suggest you don't log on. You'll find many people with all stages of liver disease grateful for the advice they get here.
Thanks for your responses. And I sincerely mean this and I sincerely apologise for any offence I may have caused. As you may have read between the lines, I am struggling a lot at the moment with my current situation. ON the one hand, I don't want to go into 'denial', on the other, I am very very new to this and hearing such realities at this stage, is very worrying.
I don't for a minute wish to silence people. I take your point that it may not be the right place for me to be visiting right at this moment. I am perhaps fragile and vulnerable from a mental health point of view, and need to take time to stabilise and gain some strength before trying to digest what people are sharing about their own experiences. I genuinely believe that sharing experiences is a good thing, but perhaps I am trying to run before I can walk with regards to reading through and trying to understand this and also relate it to my current situation and also, my future.
Thanks so much for your understanding, and apologies once again.
Steve
SteveNW, you still have a place on here to ask about specific points which may be worrying to you as regards your own liver health.
I apologise if things I said in my post were scary to you but I won't apologise for the tone or content of my reply to Steveuk57. Yes sadly it was graphic but I was merely providing the 'gruesome picture on the cigarette packet' as regards the POTENTIAL route of his health if he did make the choice to continue drinking. He had replied to another poster that as he was near 58 he was going to die soon anyway which isn't necessarily the case and he certainly doesn't need to die due to alcohol related liver disease - it is in his power to turn this around where sadly many folks with other forms of liver disease don't have that chance and that was sort of my point, he has the option whereas the love of my life doesn't but would do anything to get his life back but there is no treatment barring transplant that might potentially return him to any degree of fitness.
I do take a little offence if I am the one being referred to, I certainly make no claim to be any sort of medical professional and ALL my posts are based on factual evidence from things I have witnessed or experienced during the past 5 years when I have been with my hubby every step of the way of his liver journey including transplant assessment and time on the list. I also research any other answer I give and 9 times out of 10 will always refer people to their own doctors and the British Liver Trust website's various pages about specific conditions. I make no diagnosis or prognosis just speak from experience and/or learned knowledge.
I know you have posted earlier about your new diagnosis or not yet diagnosis and it is a scary time. This was a specific post aimed at a specific poster and he himself has thanked me for giving him a bit of the wake up call he needed. He can now make an informed decision about his future and his health.
I wish you well and hope you get your diagnosis soon and your condition improves for you going forward.
All the best, Katie 
My advice would be to take one day at a time. Liver disease can take years to progress and it may have even stabilised.
All you can really do is not drink alcohol, lower salt intake generally eat healthy and try and stay as physically and mentally fit as possible.
Unfortunately patients mental states aren't taken into account as part of their treatment. It's up to you to seek the help you need, a good place to start is your GP.
I've found that sometimes a mental adjustment of my situation might be enough. Although difficult, a number of times I've had to reassess my situation and accept where I am and simply focus on staying as fit as possible.
You gotta stop drinking mate,i've still got itchey legs 5 years on thats just a storm in a tea cup,wanna visit hell keep on drinking,sorry for being harsh but beleave me it's for the best,i have'nt put on here whats wrong with me having chirhosis google it,i've got it all,stable now still got the ailments but off transplant list,please dont drink,5 years without a drink wish i had done it 30 years ago.best of luck.
Thanks blue.
Cirrhosis 
Liver cirrhosis
Alcoholic Cirrhosis 
