[Teedub]

For the past day or so I've had a sort of weird pressure located roughly where the liver is, right hand side of abdomen, just under ribs. Of course, it could be anything; Muscle strain, wind etc - however it could also be something more serious, like a swollen liver.

I'm not overweight, my diet is OK, but I drink a lot, almost every day too. Probably like one day in fourteen where I don't have something. It's why I've bought the Allen Carr book BB recommended for controlling or stopping drinking.

Has anyone else had this weird pressure thing, and do you think it will pass?

Either way, it's a been a scare for me to finally address the drinking.

[Handsome Creepy Eel]

You could also have mononucleosis (in which case alcohol is absolutely a no-go).

Have you been sick recently? Mono often manifests itself as a sharp case of tonsilitis that passes, followed by "invisible" symptoms such as tiredness and swollen liver.

Either case, I recommend seeing a general practicioner if it doesn't pass within a day or two.

[Teedub]

Not been sick recently at all, well apart from a common cold that's gone. I need to add that this pressure is only mild, it doesn't hurt or anything. It sort of feels like when you've eaten too much, but not on the front of the stomach, on the side, very slightly higher up. Basically where the liver is!

[Aliblahba]

The only way you're going to set your mind at ease is to get a liver function test.

http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/liver...n-test-lft

[Teedub]

If it doesn't go by Tuesday I'll call my doctor. Even if it's nothing, it's made me definitely want to severely curtail my alcohol consumption. Something I wanted to do anyway.

[Aliblahba]

My liver's been sore after an extended bender. That in itself was enough to cut back on the liquor and concentrate more on a healthier lifestyle. Surefire ways to burn it out is to mix booze w/ acetaminophen. Or drinking again the next morning. The liver needs time to filter the first batch of alcohol and take a breather. My rule of thumb is after a hard night of drinking, take at least two nights off. I might have one or two drinks on those off nights, but not overdo it.

Milk thistle works, I've been on it twice and felt better. Also, eat before drinking in excess. Food is necessary to help facilitate the alcohol through the liver.

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/09/13/...80715.html

And of course, Acv:

Quote:

Many natural health proponents such as Dr. Linda Page, author of "Healthy Healing's Detoxification," also recommend a routine "liver cleanse" to help rid it of accumulated toxins and recharge its efficiency. One of the most common and widely praised methods of liver cleansing is the use of apple cider vinegar (ACV), which Dr. Page calls a "powerful remedy for resolving liver stagnation and indigestion." Practitioners of liver cleansing say ACV's combination of vitamins, minerals and alkalinity help rid the liver of harmful substances and help keep the body's pH levels from becoming too acidic, a condition that can make a person more vulnerable to disease. Here are some ways to use apple cider vinegar to cleanse your liver.

http://www.ehow.com/how_4760174_liver-cl...cider.html

Strictly broscience of course, so take at your own risk.

[Teedub]

Thanks man.

[Thomas the Rhymer]

Could also be the gall bladder and the stomach (depending on how your stomach lies in the abdomen). Or the base of the right lung.

If your body is telling you that it's the alcohol, it probably is the alcohol.

[Teedub]

About lungs...I smoke when I drink (so, daily), but I doubt it's smoking related at my age (27). The age thing is also why I'm not in panic mode as even alcoholics don't start fucking up until 40+, after decades of heavy drinking in the morning etc.

[Aliblahba]

How much do you drink daily? And don't fib, or the Queen will find out.

[Teedub]

Haha, she will! With all the surveillance and nanny-state bullshit. Most days around 15 units. More on weekends, perhaps 20-25. So, a lot by any standard.

Edit - I still get up around 8-9 and it doesn't affect my day to day stuff and I never drink before the evening.

[Aliblahba]

(12-08-2013 03:08 PM)Teedub Wrote:  

Haha, she will! With all the surveillance and nanny-state bullshit. Most days around 15 units. More on weekends, perhaps 20-25. So, a lot by any standard.

Edit - I still get up around 8-9 and it doesn't affect my day to day stuff and I never drink before the evening.

15 units=240 oz=20 U.S. beers.

25 units=400 oz=33 U.S. beers.

That's coming up on a case a night or more. Yeah, you might want to call the doc. A friend of mine in his mid 20's killed himself on that schedule.

[Teedub]

I'm not ill or had any other effects from it and I've been doing it for some time. I had my blood pressure checked a few months back and it was fine. Had an ECG too, which was perfectly normal. However it is a lot of alcohol for my body to process daily.

20 beers for 15 units? That is a lot! In the UK, I'm talking about 6 500ml cans of 5% lager. Are the unit calculations the same in both countries? Just tried to work out the math, but I got confused as I'm dreadful at calculations. I certainly don't think I'm drinking the amount you stated.

[cardguy]

Yeah - I had this once.

Too much white bread.

[Thomas the Rhymer]

(12-08-2013 02:17 PM)Teedub Wrote:  

About lungs...I smoke when I drink (so, daily), but I doubt it's smoking related at my age (27). The age thing is also why I'm not in panic mode as even alcoholics don't start fucking up until 40+, after decades of heavy drinking in the morning etc.

A lot of my younger patients are shocked to find that they are in fact not invincible and even at a 'young' age bad lifestyle habits can wreck your body.

[iknowexactly]

(12-08-2013 02:17 PM)Teedub Wrote:  

About lungs...I smoke when I drink (so, daily), but I doubt it's smoking related at my age (27). The age thing is also why I'm not in panic mode as even alcoholics don't start fucking up until 40+, after decades of heavy drinking in the morning etc.

Sorry for the following sarcasm, but I work in health care and the huge risk and many damages from smoking cause me to face palm with great vigor. I think only 2% of doctors smoke at this point. I am an offender in a different way, the below source says being fat increases risk too. But I ate almost no carbs today, I'm moving in the right direction.

The stresses that cause cancer usually start long before one cell successfully goes renegade and leads to that uncomfortable moment when the doctor comes in and looks uneasy.

Smoking and drinking together multiply the risk you will get to prove how tough you are in the face of very final news while only in your 40's.

http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/cancer-h...eal-cancer

From the above:

Smoking and drinking alcohol
Smoking tobacco and drinking a lot of alcohol are some of the main risk factors for oesophageal cancer. Cigarettes contain nitrosamines and other chemicals that increase the risk of cancer. Pipe smoking also increases the risk of oesophageal cancer. When you smoke, you always swallow some of the smoke as well as breathing it into your lungs.

Drinking alcohol increases the risk of one type of oesophageal cancer – squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Smoking increases the risk of the two main types of oesophageal cancer – SCC and oesophageal adenocarcinoma. Your risk increases the longer you smoke.

If you smoke and regularly drink more than the recommended limit (3 units of alcohol a day for men and 2 units for women), your risk of squamous cell carcinoma is greater. The combined risk is greater than the risk of just smoking plus the risk of just drinking. But your risk gradually starts to reduce after you stop smoking or drinking.

Chewing tobacco, snuff or betel quid (also called paan or pan) also increases your risk of cancer of the oesophagus.

[iknowexactly]

(12-08-2013 11:40 PM)Thomas the Rhymer Wrote:  

(12-08-2013 02:17 PM)Teedub Wrote:  

About lungs...I smoke when I drink (so, daily), but I doubt it's smoking related at my age (27). The age thing is also why I'm not in panic mode as even alcoholics don't start fucking up until 40+, after decades of heavy drinking in the morning etc.

A lot of my younger patients are shocked to find that they are in fact not invincible and even at a 'young' age bad lifestyle habits can wreck your body.

I'm not a medical doctor like Thomas but my understanding is at least some of the damage to the lungs from smoking is irreversible. Gunk gets down there and never comes out. Never.

[thadude]

drink more coffee, and by more i mean shitloads, preferably black.
I'm in the same boat, i think when you start feeling that discomfort, it's your liver trying to repair itself, so take a day off.

[Teedub]

Thanks guys, the sensation has gone now, although it was enough of a wake up call to sort myself out. That stuff iknowexactly posted is scary! How do you explain people like 'Lemmy' from Motorhead though...been on a bottle of whisky and 40 cigs a day for most of his adult life! He had to stop this year though due to health. He's 67.

[iknowexactly]

(12-09-2013 02:45 AM)Teedub Wrote:  

Thanks guys, the sensation has gone now, although it was enough of a wake up call to sort myself out. That stuff iknowexactly posted is scary! How do you explain people like 'Lemmy' from Motorhead though...been on a bottle of whisky and 40 cigs a day for most of his adult life! He had to stop this year though due to health. He's 67.

In medical research circles these stories are dismissed with the phrase "N of one" meaning there is only one person referred to in the story.

You need larger numbers to find out trends.

For instance, there's a blind corner on a road. You can probably go around it on the wrong side of the road 3-4, 15 times except in rush hour.

3000 times at all hours of the day? No.

[Thomas the Rhymer]

(12-09-2013 02:45 AM)Teedub Wrote:  

Thanks guys, the sensation has gone now, although it was enough of a wake up call to sort myself out. That stuff iknowexactly posted is scary! How do you explain people like 'Lemmy' from Motorhead though...been on a bottle of whisky and 40 cigs a day for most of his adult life! He had to stop this year though due to health. He's 67.

Yes, but he doesn't sound like the kind of guy who already had funny liver sensations at the tender age of 27.

[Teedub]

(12-09-2013 03:44 AM)Thomas the Rhymer Wrote:  

(12-09-2013 02:45 AM)Teedub Wrote:  

Thanks guys, the sensation has gone now, although it was enough of a wake up call to sort myself out. That stuff iknowexactly posted is scary! How do you explain people like 'Lemmy' from Motorhead though...been on a bottle of whisky and 40 cigs a day for most of his adult life! He had to stop this year though due to health. He's 67.

Yes, but he doesn't sound like the kind of guy who already had funny liver sensations at the tender age of 27.

I don't know if it was my liver.

[2014]

go to doctor and get blood and liver tests obv

[birdrussell]

is your skin or eyes yellowing? if so then you need to seek medical assistance immediately if not I still recommend you lay off for a bit and see a doctor anyway it's good to have these things looked at and your in England so it's no skin off your nose.

[Teedub]

(12-09-2013 05:19 AM)birdrussell Wrote:  

is your skin or eyes yellowing? if so then you need to seek medical assistance immediately if not I still recommend you lay off for a bit and see a doctor anyway it's good to have these things looked at and your in England so it's no skin off your nose.

Haha no man, if that was the case I wouldn't be posting questions on an internet forum!