I was diagnosed with stage 4 alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver in May 2016 at age 32. At the time I was deep in alcoholism and weighed over 300 pounds. I had basically every symptom that comes along with cirrhosis; jaundice, ascites filled my belly, swollen legs, tender belly, brown urine, rarely urinating, very little energy, pain in my ride side etc. I was hospitalized for 8 days. There were times that the doctors weren't sure if I was going to make it.
Just like most of us with this disease I left the hospital sad, confused and defeated. I didn't think cirrhosis was a reality for me. I was faced with 2 choices. Keep living the way I had been living and maybe only be around for a few more months or follow doctors and fight. I choose the latter. I decided I didn't want to just hang in there; I wanted to fight like hell.
Once I returned home I followed ever order the doctor gave and also went above and beyond. As with many of us, I couldn't sleep all night and then could barely stay awake during the day. I took advantage of those late nights and spent hours upon hours in this group and other cirrhosis Facebook groups as well using many other online resources researching how to combat this illness.
Slowly but surely I began to get better one day at a time. I am going to skip A TON but for the sake of making a long story a little shorter, I'm going to fast forward to the after picture.
Last Sunday I ran my first half marathon. Yep, 2 hours of nonstop running. I was not able to do that even before cirrhosis. Heck, I was not able to do that when I was 20. My doctor told me that I probably wouldn't be able to accomplish that goal because the liver provides a lot of energy and because a low sodium diet is not always conducive to long distance running. I have an appointment this morning and I can't wait to tell him that not only did I do it. I finished with a pretty good time for a first timer.
I know all of our stories are different. We get diagnosed at different points, we have other conditions etc. but I share to give hope. God knows I was absolutely hopeless early in my diagnosis. My biggest advice would be don't touch alcohol, be VERY CAREFUL about anything you put into your body, follow doctors orders, do additional research, make your health your primary job because without it we have nothing.
66yrscared
Stoping NASH/ Fatty Liver before Cirrhosis.
Hepatic Encephalopathy 
Numbers Through The Roof!
