Pain all down my right hand side

[Lhannam]

Hello

I'm 25 I've drank heavily for the past three years possibly every day all but a few.. Ive started to get pain in my right arm, shoulder, back and under my right rib cage (also feels tender to touch) So badly that I called an ambulance I as in so much pain. I am worried I've damaged my liver badly and although my blood tests have come back all clear I still don't feel right - the doctors said I have s viral infection because of my high temperature at the time but I think it may be somethong worse.

Please can anyone advise me on what I should do next? I'm feeling hopeless and really worried.

Thanks

Lydia

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Hi Lydia, & the kind of drinking you describe can very likely lead to fatty liver.

An alcoholic fatty liver will swell in size and stretch "Glisson's Capsule" (the membrane surrounding the liver) which is full of nerve endings that register pain. Fatty liver can also push out on the lower ribs, which are not attached to the sternum (breast bone) in front. These ribs are however attached to the spinal vertebra in the back and cause back pain by "torquing" (twisting) the spinal vertebra.

Fatty liver is the first stage of alcoholic liver disease, but typically is fully resolvable through a little clean living. 25 is very early to have developed advanced disease (cirrhosis) but when your liver is trying to tell you something, a wise person will listen!

Daily/heavy drinkers can run into trouble with withdrawals if they try to quit too swiftly, but a brief taper may help you avoid a medical detox. Avoid drinking during the day, and try to start your evening tipple a little later each day for a couple of weeks. Once you're down to 3-4 drinks a night for a week or so, the jump to sobriety should be able to be managed safely.

If a taper doesn't work for you, a medical detox with benzo meds may be your best option. A checkup with blood labs with your doc may be wise once you're clean to be sure you don't have any chronic inflammation going on.

Times like this are a good time to start thinking about where you want to be 10 or 20 years from now. I'm betting you've dodged the bullet and can escape without lasting damage, but if this alcohol sickness becomes a chronic and reoccurring issue, you'll need to start thinking about dealing with chronic illness some day.

Get free, stay healthy, be happy; and live is good!

[Kpexxx]

Sounds like it could be fatty liver, you should get an ultrasound to confirm. And make lifestyle changes, youve had a short drinking career so stopping now would be a major benefit to you and might even reverse it.

[Kristian]

Lets not jump to conclusions here. Your doctor, taking into account all your symptoms and tests results says you've probably got an infection. The most likely cause of your current symptoms therefore is just that, an infection.

However, having said that, drinking the amount you are doing is not going to do you any good in the long term. You are right to worry about your liver. If you carry on in that manner, then you may as well assume that at some stage you probably will end up with some liver damage. So its up to you really. I'm sure you don't need me to tell you that you need to cut down on the drink A LOT. Sooner rather than later is advisable. If you need help doing so, I would advise you get it. But you still need the will power. Just because you may have an infection this time, doesn't mean you are going to dodge the bullet every time.

Good Luck

[Hidden]

Hello Lydia, and well done in having the fortitude in posting your experience onto this page. Hopefully you will find the answers you seek, as there are plenty of very knowledgeable people here.

In my opinion there are two things that need to be addressed here. Firstly the medical condition you now have, and secondly the mental aspect that's driving this desire to want to drink so much.

I think you are very wise at the rip young age of 25 to seek advice at this stage in your life. The liver, as you'll most likely know, is a very tolerant, and forgiving organ. It is responsible for carrying out and looking after over 500 different function. It is the only organ in our body that can regenerate and repair it's self. But it does have to put up with, and take a lot of abuse, all without complaint. The liver it's self doesn't have any pain receptors so it can't tell you when it's becoming damaged. When damage does start, the liver may well begin to swell and become enlarged. Metanoia, is quit right when he refers to the "Glisson's Capsule". This is a thin membrane that surrounds the liver. This membrane does have plenty of pain receptors, and these receptors will normally tell you when the liver becomes swollen. (Having said that, some people never experience any pain, and can go on to have cirrhosis without even knowing it.)

I'd be a little cautious when it comes to Liver Function blood tests, as some results can be misleading. There is a new type of blood test being rolled out across the UK. This is the ELF test which is proving to be very reliable. This involves GPs requesting ELF markers a blood test to screen fibrosis, and bloods to screen for other causes of liver disease. Along with this, a fatty liver pathway has been developed that will enable pathologists to identify fatty liver. In my particular area (North Staffordshire) this blood test has been available to GP's for the past four months, but I think GP's maybe slow in using this test. Anyway, I'm sorry I digress. In your case, it certainly wouldn't do any harm just to request a fibroscan and if possible a ELF test. The fibroscan will just highlight any stiffness of the liver, and if need be, further tests maybe required. Have no fear, these are all positive steps.

The second thing that concerns me is why you've been going on the "bender" in the first place? Something must have happened 3-years ago, to trigger this response. A person doesn't just wake up one morning and develop a drinking issue. In my experience there's always a reason for this abuse. (If you'd prefer to message me privately that would be fine, and sometimes these things can be both traumatic and very personal).

People will often turn to alcohol as a form of self-medication, or an emotional crutch. The problem is that alcohol is in its self is a depressant, so a terrible cycle begins. Sadly you wouldn't be the first person to end up going down this road, and you want be the last.

I, like so many others have been down here. I personally have suffered with all the medical conditions associated with alcohol abuse. Varices, Ascites, Hepatic Encephalopathy, right through to liver cancer and having to have a liver transplant as a result.

My donor liver and I are now on a crusade of awareness of alcohol-related liver disease, and to this end I put together and posted up my own website, I hope you find this useful in addressing some of your issues and concerns. This can be viewed at: taep.co.uk

I sincerely hope that some of this is of help to you.

Best wishes.

Richard

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I agree with what everyone has said. You certainly need to get to the route cause. Hope you manage your detox, I'm sure you will. Love and hugs Lynne xxxc