Cirrhosis, and former mild stroke.

[velvet007]

Hello, my husband is an alcholic, he will never stop (we haveall accepted it now after 20 years), the problems are massive, one thing at the moment is he had a brain scan, they found that 2 years ago he had a mild stroke and it has left him with scarring on the left side of brain, I feel this explains his mood swings. When he has a few drinks (mainly GIN) he cannot walk, pees himself, gets nasty, it really is unbearable to see him like this, the doctor, hospital is aware but they say unless he helps himself there is nothing we can do. (he will not see professionals). Has anyone else had brain scarring and found that they cant hold their drink, ...thanks for reading.

[AyrshireK]

Having cirrhosis also reduces alcohol tolerance levels so the more advanced his condition the worse he's likely to be. There is possibly some Hepatic Encephalopathy present or even alcohol related dementia (WKS) or possibly vascular dementia if he's had a stroke which can also severely change a persons personality and mood.

It must be awful to live with especially when he can't/won't help himself or get the medical help he needs.

Katie

[velvet007 in reply to AyrshireK]

Thank you for your reply Katie, you have confirmed what i have been reading about, very sad how from being a successful man, enjoying socialising, very smart, has turned into someone i hardly recognise. Thanks again for your reponse. Lisa

[Aotea2012]

I’m sorry to read this. I’m with Katie, it sounds as if there’s Hepatic Encephalopathy at play here. There’s a really good article on the BLT website about it. I’m assuming he’s on lactulose to help. If not it may be worth asking his doctor about it.

[velvet007 in reply to Aotea2012]

Thank yu, i will read it now x

[BritishLiverTrust4]

Dear velvet007

If you are in the UK and would find it useful to talk things over, our nurse-led helpline is open Monday to Friday from 10am to 3pm on 0800 652 7330 (excluding bank holidays)

Best wishes

British Liver Trust

[velvet007 in reply to BritishLiverTrust4]

Thats so kind of you, i will call when i have some private time x Thankyou very much x

[Cat-B]

Hi, you need to stop worrying about him, see if you can get some sort of care at home. You need to concentrate on looking after you and your family. It’s very sad if he won’t stop drinking, but ultimately that’s his choice so please don’t let it dominate your life, go out and visit friends or do something you enjoy. I know I sound harsh but I couldn’t stop drinking without professional help and refusing to get help and expect you to look after him is absolutely selfish. Maybe if you’re not around 24/7 to clean him up he might realise that he needs help. Good luck,my heart goes out to you.

[Dogbot]

Hi velvet007 as I’m the alcoholic in our marriage it might just be the alcohol that courses the mood swings, I stopped drinking nearly 19 years ago and the group I used to drink with had many different alcoholic’s and I sorry to hear but your husband sounds like, what we called a bad tempered drunk. But out of all of this you must make sure you look after yourself that is so important. My wife says it’s a matter of finding a way to survive through it she stopped expecting things from me and got on with life with the kids. I was what is called a high functioning alcoholic always worked but no excuses it was a bad time. Our thought’s go out to you 💕💕

Stay Safe All

Dogbot 🐶🌈Dave

[Porcupine_Tree]

All I can say, is well done for contacting this forum. It has provided a great source of help and understanding to me and my wife.May I suggest you contact the Brirish Livet Trust nurses who are excellent. They are often willing to provide non-medical advice and point you in the right direction. Most importantly (for me anyway) is that they are good listeners.

Good luck and I sincerely hope you can find solutions for your husband.

[velvet007 in reply to Porcupine_Tree]

Thank you all so so much for taking the time to reply, sometimes i have felt so alone hiding / covering up for my husbands actions. I do appreciate all you have said, its very sad because we used to be very happy, he cant see what he has done wrong, I have moved into the spare room because i cannot sleep when he get s up in the middle of the night, and i have to work. Strange i am 65 now and always thought we would have a lovely retirement, alcohol has ruined that. Thank you all and i will keep in touch, i hope this blog may help others in this traumatic situation xxx

[Positive001 in reply to velvet007]

Thinking of you. You are going through a very hard time. All the best to you x