Being Honest With Your Doctor About Your Alcohol Use
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Up until last month, I had never been honest with my doctor about my alcohol use, ever. I would avoid physicals at all costs but eventually would go to get it over with. I would always get asked the question "do you drink?" and I would ALWAYS say "yes, occasionally." Knowing damn well that two bottles of wine 5-6 times a week was not occasionally. My doctor would order labs, give me the sheet to take down there for a blood draw and I would throw it in the trash and never go. I was always too afraid to get the results, it was like I would rather not know.
For a few years, I would notice a dull pain in my upper right abdomen especially after a night of drinking. I chalked it up to inflammation from drinking so hard the night before. I figured it was nothing a ton of water and healthy eating that day couldn't fix. I figured I was right because the pain would go away later that day. This happened off and on until this past November 2020. I woke up one morning (after drinking the night before), and the pain was more intense and at times would stop me in my tracks. I knew something wasn't right and it couldn't just be inflammation. I thought I'll just stop drinking and fix it on my own and see if it goes away. Two days went by with the same level of pain and I started getting scared. I wrestled with calling my doctor for an appointment. I would dial the number and hang up. I started Google diagnosing myself which I DO NOT recommend. I googled upper right stomach pain and instantly it told me I was dying. The results from my search were "cirrhosis," "severe liver damage," "liver failure," "liver disease." I was positive I had one of these issues.
I decided to put on my big girl panties and call my doctor and I'm so glad I did. I was completely honest with her, so honest that she asked me if I needed referrals for rehab. I said no and the issue wasn't pushed any further. I was sent to have my lab work done and then wait a week for her call. That week felt like it drug on forever, but it finally came and I got life-changing news. My cholesterol, kidneys, basically everything that shows up on a full blood panel came back normal except my liver.
She told me that the normal range for ALT is 6-29 and I was 178!! That's 6 times the normal limit. AST normal range is 10-30 and I was 85! That's two times the normal limit. I felt like I was having an out of body experience and I wasn't really digesting this information. I was thinking about all of the people I knew that clearly were just as bad alcoholics if not worse than me and were fine. She suggested that I immediately get an appointment for an ultrasound on my liver so I did. I had to wait another week for that appointment and the whole time I kept telling myself I have cirrhosis and I'm dying. After my ultrasound, I had another round of blood work done just focusing on my liver enzymes. This was done about 25 days after my first blood test. During that time I didn't have a drop of alcohol, I cut out red meat, limited cheese, and stuck to mostly plant-based foods. Basically, I ate a whole lot of crap I didn't want to eat. I also exercised every day and drank gallons of water.
Of course, I had to wait for ANOTHER week before my doctor would give me the results of my ultrasound and 2nd blood test. Every day up until that 2nd call I prayed to God. I still used Google to tell me I was going to die and had maybe two years to live. I did self-inventory and realized how much time I spent worrying and caring about stupid shit and how precious life was. I thought about how I had been such an idiot thinking I was invincible to getting sick from drinking too much. I kept telling myself "well, you did this to yourself and this is God punishing you. There's nothing you can do about it now."
4 days before my doctor was supposed to call me I decided to go online and see if my results were available to view anyway. I had my results from my past blood draws on there but not my recent one which I saw as a sign that things were bad. I requested a copy and I swear, it didn't show up in my email or online until 1 hour before my doctor was supposed to call me. I was so scared to even open it but I did. When my doctor called she confirmed the news.
My ALT dropped from 178 to 30 and my AST from 85 to 18. I was non-reactive for Hepatitis A, B, C. My ultrasound came back normal and that I didn't even have any fat deposits on my liver. I literally couldn't be happier and am in awe at how can this even happen? Does this mean I'm going to start drinking again now that I have a healthy liver? No. Does this mean I'm never going to ever drink again? I can't say that. What I can say is that today is Friday, December 18th, 2020 and I am not drinking today. Please don't lie to your doctor or feel embarrassed. Your life could be at stake. Yes, my story is a hopeful one for me. However, if I hadn't called my doctor when I first started feeling those pains, I would be drinking today. Don't put it off because you are too afraid of hearing the truth. By the time you get the courage it may be too late.
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