Liver Damage and Ultrasound

[scampi2122]

Good morning folks, I posted a while back about my son’s problems with alcoholism and have made little progress. Have been unable to get him admitted to hospital as he wasn’t bad enough! ( despite alcoholic neuropathy in his legs, a rash all over his body and constant diarrhoea and an inability to function without alcohol. ). A&E lost his blood tests and it took 6 weeks to get more. The GP is now flagging up he has liver damage .

We tried a home supervised private detox but it didn’t work, as a 40mg dosage of Librium would not ‘hold’ him safe. We’re advised he need a hospital detox, but this is not available in mid Essex unless you engage with a recovery program for 12 weeks.

the GP has arrange an Ultrasound for 1st August, he is managing to cut down slowly, but his GGT is 20 times the top range and his Ferratin x2 . There are a number of other tests which are abnormal too his Haemoglobin was A1c level. Continuing to wean off alcohol slowly seems crazy.

Sorry for the long post, but I know many here have so much knowledge, should I be pushing him to cutdown quicker or requesting more urgent treatment?

I feel I am fighting a losing battle. As a recovering alcoholic I know how hard it is to continue to cut down when you are still drinking. He is very depressed and despondent about the whole situation and is constantly unable to got out or do anything because he is permanently struggling with his health.

[AyrshireK]

When you say " We’re advised he need a hospital detox, but this is not available in mid Essex unless you engage with a recovery program for 12 weeks." Is there a reason why he can't just go ahead and do this 12 week programme - surely better than trying to go it alone and failing. A medically supervised detox is what is required and probably the only way he'll completely go alcohol free, failing that his liver is going to get ever worse and it'll end up he's admitted to hospital on an emergency basis when some serious symptom of cirrhosis/liver failure takes him in there.

Katie

[scampi2122 in reply to AyrshireK]

Thanks for the reply. To me, the 12 weeks seems a long time to engage and continue to drink at a level you still require a medically supervised detox. Unfortunately he hasn’t been up to attending and the GP referral didn’t go thru’ by email a couple of weeks ago, this has now been remedied.

In AA we talk about the ‘Phenomenon of Craving’ the continued drinking just makes the craving worse, but still he is managing to cut down, albeit slowly, it is just a long slog! Now of course he has another anxiety with his test results, and waiting for an ultrasound. I might look into the possibility of a private ultrasound on Monday.

I am probably too impatient and anxious myself tbh, being in recovery and dealing with a family member, is much harder than helping someone at arms length and of course it impact on his siblings and the rest of the family. I seem to be doing a lot of juggling.

[AyrshireK in reply to scampi2122]

I guess the 12 week programme deals with the psychological reasons behind the drinking to make sure the person actually wants to stop and perhaps gives the coping mechanisms before the costly medically supervised detox. If they aren't ready to or willing to stop then detox is just going to fail. Weaning is obviously safer when coming from the situation he's in but I can see that 12 weeks is a long time.

Best wishes to him and yourself.

Katie

[Daveydedwood]

all they do in a hospitable detox setting is give you Valium and vitamin b. I’ve been twice. You can duplicate this at home. Not that I am advocating that.

[Aotea2012]

It’s a difficult situation for you and I hope you are ok. I can only imagine how challenging it must be for you. I know I could never cut back successfully. It took a hospital admission for acute on chronic liver failure for me to stop. I did have a hospital detox as a result of the admission and haven’t touched a drop in 2.5 years. I have cirrhosis but that hospital admission saved my life. I’m now symptom free, well compensated and living a normal life. Most of all I’m abstinent and so much happier without alcohol. I’m lucky that I don’t have cravings for it…to be honest the smell of alcohol these days makes me feel sick. I did have some help after I left hospital from Turning Point, which was helpful. If your son could engage with a programme I’m sure he’d find it enormously helpful too. It may be enough to quit just by itself, without the need for a hospital detox. Without trying he won’t know. Far better to try than to get to the state I got myself into….I nearly didn’t get out of hospital. I spent many years cutting back, successfully at times, only to find myself back up to previous levels after a while. I wish now I sought help with reducing rather than trying to do it alone as it may have helped me. Go back to the GP and see if they’ll refer him. At the end of the day though, its a decision he has to take for himself. It was only me who could quit, no amount of pleading from anyone else worked.

[scampi2122 in reply to Aotea2012]

Thank you so pleased to hear you are doing well. I am just so grateful that I am dealing with my son’s issues sober and well. I am not familiar with the signs of liver failure but I think that is the only way they would admit him.

[Ubwa]

if he is that dependant and it’s making him that ill they should admit him and detox him from A&E imo. I have never heard of such a long detox before. However I would do what ever is on offer to start something, regardless if you think it’s too long- he could already be in treatment while dithering is happening. All of course assuming he wants to.

[scampi2122]

Just wanted to give a happy udate on this my son is approaching 3 months sober. Miraculously he seems to have escaped permanent damage to his liver. Good blood test ms all normal fibroscan 4.2kpa IQR 21%. Just waiting for results of chronic liver screen otherwise signed off by consultant.

He got sober at a rehab which we funded privately and now is following AA 12 step recovery plan.

Thank you for yr help and support. He is well aware if how lucky he is to come out of this with his physical health, mentally it will take sometime for him to come to terms with the past year.