Liver pain

[Worriedpartner]

My partner is not an alcoholic and does drink socially not as much as he used to. 5 pints on a friday night is enough. He has constant pain in his liver the hospital said he has damaged his liver over the years and he did have hep c which they cured with medication a couple of years ago. He is still in pain with his liver and it sometimes swells up but he wont go to the gp because if he doesn't eat dinners for a while and replaced dinner with cereal it eases. I believe theres more to it than he says but he wont talk about it.

[Laura009]

Hi.

Considering your hubby has already had hep c / damaged liver, to be still drinking 5 pints on a Friday is too much and causing him pain. I too would be a worried partner. There maybe other gastro problems going on too as eating little and often maybe does ease the pain for him. It would be worth getting him to the GP to discuss his pain and get some dietry advice. If he wont go, perhaps make an appointment for you to see the GP on his behalf first.

Good luck... hard work getting these men to the docs isn't it ? !

[Worriedpartner in reply to Laura009]

Definately hard work getting him there. I just hope it's not too late

[Amethyst91]

I have just been diagnosed with mild fatty live to which all my drs think should cause me no issues but I have a ton. I would definitely get him to a dr but realize that it will take many many many trips to the dr to get any sort of answers as mine still ignore my horrible upper right quadrant pain and I’ve been going to them for the same issues for 6 years.

I think eating light is good as when I don’t consume food I feel the best.

I hope the drs out there are more on it than out here and I hope he can get proper care and info for continuing forward.

[Worriedpartner in reply to Amethyst91]

Thanks for the reply. He is the same as you. The drs dont want to know and dont seem to understand that eating less is the way to feel better. It's wrong but that's why he wont go drs. All through lockdown hes not had a proper drink maybe 6 cans of fosters over 3 months. He has got fatty liver but I'm just worried it's more serious and I need to know what to look out for or what I can cook so he is still eating a dinner.

[Laura009 in reply to Worriedpartner]

I dont know what must have happened to our doctors over the last 10 years but my husbands diagnosis was immediate and dealt with as immediately as is possible for an alcoholic in denial. I cannot fault the care and attention from all the medics treating and looking after him for 4 years right up to the minute he died in intensive care.

Maybe all the good doctors only work at the Norfolk and Norwich hospital !!

[briccolone in reply to Laura009]

I think you might be right there laurie- all the knowledge I've built up over the last years has been from this forum. I've recently had GPs saying your alt is fine so no liver issues. I've finally found one who's thorough and following up.

[Hidden in reply to Laura009]

Sorry to hear that your husband had died first time I had read that. Did he not have a transplant and what was he's full diagnosis. Karen

[Laura009 in reply to Hidden]

He managed to give up drinking with the help of an amazing councellor, who incidentally was not an ex addict himself. Sadly he died after 3 months of quitting. To get on the transplant list you have been dry for 6 months. He would have needed his liver and kidneys transplanted as all organs had failed. He also developed broncho pneumoniae and died a horrible death after 10 days in intensive care .

[Hidden in reply to Laura009]

That is so sad so sorry to hear xx

[Laura009 in reply to Hidden]

No worries. 10 years ago. life for us all is now wonderful.

Thanks

[Hidden]

Hi,

We would suggest to get more information about the 'liver damage' A doctor will be able to perform blood tests and scans to determine the extent of the damage and then diagnose.

If the liver has been damaged already by Hep C, drinking alcohol will only worsen the liver function.

If you would like a further chat and you are in the UK, do call our nurse led helpline on 0800 652 7330 10 am to 3pm

Trust1

[richymac]

I am now 23 days (I count every one) into not having a drink. I never considered myself a "heavy" drinker but was certainly drinking every day from one / two glasses of wine to a full bottle most days and with the good weather in lockdown probably went to more than that. I have had that dull ache / pain or bloated feeling under my right rib for sometime - about 16 months. Like a lot of people (or is it just me) I lied to my doctor about how much I was drinking and putmyself through terrors of what it might be. So reluctantly had ultrasound all around the organs on my RHS and a gastric endoscope which I can assure you is no fun. Anyway - doctors have said all clear and its up to you. Quitting drinking has definately helped if not some days completely made it go away. It doesnt happen straight away you have to give your liver time to heal. I had a almost "clear" week and then felt the ache again yesterday afternoon, but its getting less and as I am loosing weight - intentionally - now I think I can crack this and hopefully have a better less anxious life going forward

[Laura009 in reply to richymac]

The docs l have had to deal with on the subject of drink know to at least double the quantity patients claim to drink.

Good luck with staying off it.

[TT-2018 in reply to Laura009]

I heard that they double it, so to “play safe”, I would quarter it and then round it down a bit. The tactics got me to decompensated cirrhosis.

[richymac in reply to Laura009]

Thats my plan !

[briccolone in reply to richymac]

Hi there , I'm similar to you. I stopped drinking mid October last year- the longer it gets the easier it gets...I hardly think about it these days - was a life long wine drinker and bon viveur. Good luck