Guest Posted July 26, 2004 Report Share Posted July 26, 2004 Living in LOS I've gotten fond of drinking ridiculous quantities of scotch on nights out. I haven't noticed a mental or physical toll, but don't really know what to look out for. What are the signs to watch out for health wise if you drink too much? Are there any early warnings or can you get big health problems without warning? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khun_Kong Posted July 26, 2004 Report Share Posted July 26, 2004 Escape Rabbit said:Living in LOS I've gotten fond of drinking ridiculous quantities of scotch on nights out. I haven't noticed a mental or physical toll, but don't really know what to look out for. What are the signs to watch out for health wise if you drink too much? Are there any early warnings or can you get big health problems without warning? Oh man, I feel sorry for you. It appears that you have already reached the stage where, as hard as you try, you cannot recognize that EVERY SINGLE WORD in your post was misspelled. The loss of this ability is a clear, early warning sign. Let'z jost hopw tha nobady els iz sufering frum thiss horrable effliction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kamui Posted July 26, 2004 Report Share Posted July 26, 2004 You might become an alcoholic without even realizing it. And you might check your liver occasionally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiery Jack Posted July 26, 2004 Report Share Posted July 26, 2004 Escape Rabbit said:Living in LOS I've gotten fond of drinking ridiculous quantities of scotch on nights out. I haven't noticed a mental or physical toll, but don't really know what to look out for. What are the signs to watch out for health wise if you drink too much? Are there any early warnings or can you get big health problems without warning? Try giving up alcohol completely for at least 2 weeks, and see how you get on. You will encounter alcohol withdrawal symptoms (as listed here), the nature and severity of which will be a fairly reliable indication of the extent to which your body (liver in particular) has become dependent on alcohol and is functionally impaired as a result. You might also want to get a blood test (best to get this done before you stop boozing then the reading will be more accurate), telling them that you are worried about your boozing and want particular attention paid to liver functions: the Gamma-GTP reading plus a couple of others (AST/GOT + ALT/GPT) will allow a doctor to assess the condition of your liver and whether or not you have a problem that needs addressing. I have done both the above things more than once. Don't be scared. I'm in my early 40s and have been drinking heavily for 20 years but results were a pleasant surprise for me, though I know I need to take my foot off the gas pedal if I don't want to have a big problem from now on. Anyone who drinks regularly to excess should be armed with the knowledge that the above procedures can provide: in Japan, at least, the liver is known as "the silent organ" i. e. for most folks, there are no warning signs on the road to irreversible and life-shortening cirrhosis. You don't know you're fucked until it's too late. Good news though is, depending on age, a lot of liver damage is reversible ? the organ can regenerate itself ? if caught in early stages: that's why it's best to know exactly where you stand sooner rather than (too) later. I am not a doctor, nor am I pretending to be one here. I am an alcoholic, however, so I am giving you considered advice based upon my own history. Good luck. I'm sure you're okay, mate. Be well. jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Hippie Posted July 26, 2004 Report Share Posted July 26, 2004 I like Jack am an alcoholic, medically diagnosed. I can controll it to a good point, but when I step off, it is bad, and takes awhile to clean up again. I was up to about 2 liters of hard booze a week+ beers wine etc before I decided to stop. I sucks, and is not easy. spent the first few days feeling worse than I ever felt drinking. Had tremors which required medication etc, truely sucked. Sobriety (not making light here) sucks also, I hate it. But I need to do it at least for awhile. My advice to you is if you think you have a problem, than go and get some help, at least an evaluation as Jack said. The liver will sneek up on you and kill you, no 2 ways about it. So best to stay on top of it. Might just save your life! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiery Jack Posted July 26, 2004 Report Share Posted July 26, 2004 I'll go with what OH says about being able to control it most of the time (and about sobriety sucking ): same same me. I also just re-read my previous post, and ought to add that, when I say my liver tests were a "pleasant surprise", I don't mean that all came up smelling of roses. I mean that I expected my liver to be totally irreparably fucked, and I was very happy to learn that, against all odds, it wasn't. It [/i]is definitely damaged[/i], however but, fingers crossed, not irreversibly if I can proceed with caution from now on. NB. I had absolutely zero symptoms physically (no aches, no pains, no fatigue, no nausea, no fuck all) to indicate that my liver was not firing on all cylinders, so that's exactly why it's worth anyone who is a boozer having the blood tests. It's the only way you'll find out what's going on inside and if you need to adjust your lifestyle to counter it. On the bright side, I had another MOT on the liver recently, after a year of moderate temperance (including a few crashing tumbles from the wagon ) and it's amazing, and reassuring, just how much, even in 12 months, the liver's repairing itself. Almost back to 100%. Be good to yourself. You deserve it. And, by the way, if it turns out you do need to put the brakes on, fuck A.A. and all that shite. :: I looked into it: fucking Jehovah's Witnesses/Mormons in disguise preying on the weak and fucked-up. If you gotta do it, do it yourself, pal. I am. Cheers, jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Hippie Posted July 26, 2004 Report Share Posted July 26, 2004 Jack, Oddly, my liver tests came up o.k. no signs of damage...but what is or was down the road, who knows? yes, A.A. is BS but it does work I think, at least for awhile, and yes, religious types in disguise... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zorro Posted July 26, 2004 Report Share Posted July 26, 2004 OH from your handle i would have assumed you were a wacky baccy man! Regarding the liver there are a few things you can take that are effective in regenerating the liver like the herb milk thistle and dandelion tea. Continuous heavy drinking has so many bad effects that waiting til you get sick before you change your ways is not a sensible course of action. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Hippie Posted July 26, 2004 Report Share Posted July 26, 2004 Exactly right dude! As for wacy baccy, FAA mandated drug tests... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiery Jack Posted July 26, 2004 Report Share Posted July 26, 2004 Old Hippie said:Oddly, my liver tests came up o.k. no signs of damage... Yeah, mine were basically OK too, i.e. nothing to panic about, but the gamma-GTP was quite a bit higher than it should have been, indicating over-fondness for the ale and what's known in the trade as a "fatty liver" (confirmed by a body scan). Means there's fat deposits clogging up the organ, these due to too much liquor and/or greasy-food diet ? booze in my case I reckon, as I live in Japan and my seaweed and raw fish diet's thus fairly healthy. According to my quack, the majority of adults who drink regularly have fatty liver but don't know about it. It's reversible if one adjusts one's diet and alcohol intake accordingly. On the other hand, if one chooses to ignore it and carry on getting shitfaced ad infinitum, then a fatty liver can be the first step on the slippery slope to alcoholic hepatitis thence the killer cirrhosis. (Again, I'm not a doctor, but doctors have told me this.) I feel very lucky that I found out about it so early in the game (through a routine work medical 2 years ago...). As I say, the last liver-test results I had, about a month ago, came back perfectly normal. At the risk of repeating myself, I'd advise anyone who's over 40 and a regular boozer to have similar tests. Better safe than sorry. If you worry that you're drinking too much or have a drink issue, then you probably are, and you probably do. jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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