I’m new to this forum and finding it fascinating and extremely helpful. I’m overwhelmed by the knowledgable answers to pretty much anything liver related. I won’t go into a huge amount of detail, but I was diagnosed with cirrhosis in March 2021. I was admitted to hospital with pneumonia and sepsis, but also had a number of ,what I now know, were the red flag signs of a struggling liver. I’d been ill for a number of weeks, struggling to breath, very weak, not eating. I thought I had Covid! My family persuaded my then partner to call an ambulance. The crew took one look at me and said I was coming into hospital. I was pretty sick, had lost a lot of blood, and by then was turning yellow. Large tummy and even larger ankles meant I was immobile. I went through all the usual tests and I was told I had cirrhosis and that my liver was struggling. To cut a long story short I was treated by some fabulous doctors and nurses and by week three in hospital was recovering. Discharge plans were being drawn up and it was then my partner told me he wouldn’t let me come home to our jointly owned home and that our 11 year relationship was over. I remember being devastated. The whole experience in hospital was enough for me to completely abstain. I haven’t touched any alcohol since March – over 6 months now. I feel like I’ve had an out of body experience where none of the things were really happening to me. I’ve had some counselling support which has been helpful, but I vowed to myself that I never wanted to be in that situation again. So stopped. I’ve done everything my doctors have told me to do, eaten well, exercised (when I was mobile enough again), taken my medication, and flagged when I was concerned about anything. My family have been fabulous and haven’t judged. The upshot is an improving picture with normal bloods, 2 grade 1 varicies with no red flags of bleeding, and a consultant who is pleased with my progress. My alcohol misuse that caused this, crept up slowly on me, I drank a lot of wine but in the 11 years I was with my partner, 9 of them were with me working in a stressful career and bringing up his kids from his first marriage. It was pretty full on. Then 2 years ago I lost my job, and shortly afterwards we went into lockdown and that’s when my alcohol consumption rocketed. I’d lost all sense of structure. I’d taken a package with work and paid off my side of the mortgage. I’d worked hard all my life but I felt rudderless. The bottle became my crutch – albeit a very wobbly and rotten one! I don’t suppose being with me like that was much fun. Most days I started drinking at lunchtime and went through into the evening. I did manage to cook dinner until about 3 weeks before being admitted to hospital and had managed to keep the house running with the help of a cleaner and supermarket deliveries. I’d even managed to do a lockdown Xmas. So I wasn’t completely out of it, but I was lost, including to myself. In the end I was discharged home from hospital and on the day I arrived home he had left a few hours before. He has forced me to put the house on the market and we’ve now sold so I’m having to move home too. He won’t talk to me, only communicates via email and then only about the house sale. I don’t know if anyone else has been through this. I’ve got back on my feet but am struggling to find answers to what’s happened. Some wise words would really help me.
Often we are the culprits of all our own health problems, especially if we lead unhealthy lifestyles, abusing alcohol for example. I helped my friend when I found drug treatment programs in los angeles and for many people this will be really useful information. If you feel that you are not coping with addiction, you should not wait until the point where it is very difficult to get help.
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