What does this cluster of symptoms suggest in an alcoholic who has been heavily drinking for 35 years?

Question by Speed°Madness°Flying Saucers: What does this cluster of symptoms suggest in an alcoholic who has been heavily drinking for 35 years?
When my neighbor visited this morning, he looked unwell and described the following symptoms:
a) dry heaves upon arising, in the bathroom or at the sight of food in the morning, b) chills and sweats, c) tenderness under ribcage and d) shaking hands. These symptoms are not out of left field: he has been describing them for several weeks now.

Please don’t scold me for not seeing the obvious, as I do!

I explained to my neighbor of 17 years that I’m not a doctor, but have carried enough cases on my caseload as a mental health worker to recognize that he possibly has hepatimegaly, or enlargement of his liver and that it is no longer able to accommodate his considerable daily Canadian Mist intake.

Asking him to stop drinking is roughly the equivalent of asking Iran to host an Israeli delegation in Tehran on Yom Kippur. I’ve suggested climbing down the ladder step by step, which he’s more receptive to-until he’s healthier. He did a stint in rehab in 2006 but obviously relapsed. While in rehab, he learned the concept that “relapse is part of recovery” and may be using this as carte blanche.

For those more qualified than I, are these symptoms consistent with liver damage/disease (as they resolve themselves before noon just in time for the drinking to start) or is it a still relatively healthy liver sending notice that this is “gotta stop.” At this point, there is no jaundice or oddlycolored feces/urine reported that would suggest things are even more seriously awry.

He’s a sweet guy, only 54, imminently likable, but I wonder where these ominous symptoms will take him and will they resolve themselves if he stops the daily assault on arguably the body’s third most important organ.

Thanks for any professional input. Again, I’m not playing doctor or counselor, but Ray is allowing me to mirror back to him what I’m seeing. Help me explain the dynamic to him, please. He’s rather concrete and only believes that his liver will hurt on one side only if it’s ill, when in reality, the organ traverses the upper part of the GI tract and is initially rather tolerant of abuse.

Best answer:

Answer by Ieva Bugenyte
Next time he gets drunk kidnap him abt trow straight into rehab

Answer by no name
My late husband had same problem and same symptoms – sounds like you have a good handle on the situation. A liver biopsy IS NOT A FUN EXPERIENCE but if your friend knows the consequences of his actions then you’ve done all you can do. It’s hard watching someone you care about drink themselves to death. But that’s what he is doing. My late husband had to have injections of Pegasus daily ( to ward off liver failure). His liver was so psoriatic and still he continued knowing it didn’t just affect him, it affected our entire family. My husband passed away from liver failure – it wasn’t pretty to watch him deteriorate, but he did. His liver would swell to football size and still he drank himself blind. I feel sorry for you and your friends family – he’s putting them through a lot.

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