[Nurby]

I've been lurking and reading here for quite some time. Probably a year or so. Thought it time to make my first post, although I've been tempted to respond to others many times.

I'm 33 years of age and have been drinking all of my adult life. It started out at 15 or so and basically amounted to getting drunk on whatever I could get my hands on at parties on Saturday nights. By 16 or so I was pretty much hammered at least once a week with school friends. Once at uni at legal age (18 in Australia) it became a bit more regular. Thursday nights was always a big student night out. We'd drink quanities that amaze me to think about today.

When I was 21 or 22 and had finished studying I went to work and live overseas for about 3 years. Drinking became an almost everyday thing and in huge volumes. I was having the time of my life and I was always the "party guy". Day time, night time, didn't matter. I was here for a good time, not a long time. This was and is until very recently the only time in my life I felt the negative effects of alcohol abuse (beyond a hangover). I started getting the shakes. I knew it wasn't good and remember thinking on my 23rd birthday that I was was probably an alcoholic.

When I returned home I worked crappy jobs for a year or two before starting a real job. This period was pretty out of control too. Once I had a good job earning good money, affording to drink was never a problem. In fact I'd always made pretty decent money and always afforded it without too much drama. The huge nights out continued and the nights in between were very rarely alcohol free.

I met a woman who is probably my soul mate and who enjoyed to drink as much as me. We moved in together and the drinking continued. We'd often polish off 3 bottles of wine between us on a random week night. Much more on Friday and Saturday night. I still functioned fine and held down my job, albeit with a hangover all too often. Somewhere about 28-30 I started to recent myself for the stupid shit I'd say or do when I was drunk. I was embarressed by the fact that I had alcohol on my breath in the mornings....well up until lunchtime on weekends I'm sure. I started to loath who I'd become. Very slowly the fun started to leave what I was doing and the self pity set in.

Fast forward to the beginning of last year. I cheated on my love with a woman from work I'd known for years. This happened of course in a bar while quite drunk. I became confused as to what I wanted and left my partner of 5 years for this new fling I had found. I now lived alone again and began drinking heavier again. Each night was a couple of beers and a bottle of wine and a lot more on weekends. For the second time in my life I started to feel the physical effects. I've always exercised and stayed in ok shape, but I had become more bloated and overweight. I basically felt really terrible, so went to the doctor. I ordered a full set of blood tests. The results were not great and I had a fatty liver. My Gamma GT was 267, my ALT 200 & AST 78. i can't say I was overly surprised, but I was concerned.

I tried to slow down the drinking, did more exercise and eat better food. I can honestly say I've had a lot less alcohol in the last 12 months, but I'm miles from happy with myself. I still drink almost every day, but it seems to swell during the week. I can go Sunday or sometimes Monday with none, then a beer or 2 on Tuesday and so it grows to a few more and often a full bottle of wine will sneak in by Wednesday or Thursday night. The weekends are still often a free for all unless I have something to do early in the morning and I make a special effort to go to bed early. About a month ago I started to get a dull pain just under my right ribs. I'm pretty certain it's my liver, but did not realise it could start to cause pain like this. It's not bad pain, just a great worry to me. I am posting today because I am going back for more blood tests tomorrow morning.

So in short, drinking hasn't really destroyed my life like some of the tragic stories I've read in here, but I am very concerned about my health. To be honest, if it wasn't for my health I wouldn't be all that worried at the moment. Although a struggle I certainly am managing to moderate better than I ever have before. Sorry for the long intro, but I figure I might need some help once I get these results. Anyone who has experienced this liver pain, I'd appreciate your comments on the subject.

Thanks for listening.