Liver Pains- should I get help?

[Magic113]

Hi there.

On saturday I had what is called a mamoth session where I drank in excess of 15 pints of cider 5%.  Prior to that I had gone to my doctors and he had told me to either stop drinking or seriously cut down.  I have to admit I tend to have 2-5 beers a night with the occasional night off- work is very stressful.

For the two days that past I have been getting sharp, pulsating type pains on the left hand side of my body in the stomach area and a slight pain around the back ache (on the right).  Now I feel a little dizzy from time to time during the day and feel tired more than usual and the pains haven't gone away, but have died down a little.

Should I be concerned as I really don't get on with my doctor and am not sure what to do next

thanks.

[susieq87]

Please get it checked out, if you wait until it's too late, you are in trouble. Find a doctor you can talk to, he probably offended you with his bluntness about drinking.  

[Jacker]

I am no expert - I've only been sober since the end of December.  I only recently started posting on this site, when i find someone who is dealing with issues that are similar to things that I've dealt with recently.

Don't forget your liver is on your right side (right under the rib cage).  I began to feel pain there regularly when I was drinking.  It woud get better and worse - always worse when I drank more.  I also began getting dizzy last May.  Again, it would improve when I eased back on the beer consumption.  Last May, I got so dizzy that I stopped drinking for about 3 weeks, and cut back for 2 months.  My dizziness lasted for about 5-6 weeks, before it went away.  

The problems did not really leave until I quit in december.  In fact, I still have some pain and occational dizziness, but every week seems to be better.  I have some years of drinking behind me, and it will take some time to undo the damage.

If you don't like your doctor, go to another one.  I went to an internal medicine specialist (you shouldn't need a referral) instead of my standard GP.   Get a blood test and a CT Scan (or sonogram) on your liver to see where you stand.  Beyond that, lay off the alcohol 100% for right now - at least until you feel completely better.  

I tried easing back last summer, but it wasn't enough.  I had to stop.  I have a few issues as a consequence, but I believe I'm going to get through them  The body can repair itself up to a point.