1. Alcohol as a public health issue

Transcript

Alcohol abuse counsellor (C): When do you feel that alcohol first became a problem?

Patient (P): 2002 when I had an epileptic fit at work.

C: Ok, what happened? Where were you working?

P: In a restaurant in town.

C: OK so you’re in town working and the next thing you’re…

P: I was serving some chips on to the counter and then I had an epileptic fit at work. They didn’t put it down to alcohol at first. So, then in April 2003, I was admitted to hospital, where they did no end of tests and I got found out then that I had cirrhosis of the liver.

C: And how old were you then when you found out your cirrhosis of the liver?

P: 39.

C: 39, wow that is very young to get cirrhosis of the liver. What was your journey, how did you manage to get chirrosis of the liver at 39?

P: After my mum died, I took to alcohol in 1999. I was told that I got cirrhosis of the liver in 2003, when it normally takes…

C: 8 to 10 years normally.

P: I got in done in 4.

C: So how much were you drinking?

P: 24 cans of Stella a day.

C: Wow, ok, and would you drink from the morning to the evening?

P: From half past 10 in the morning until about, until I went I went to bed at night and then I went on to 4 bottles of Lambrini.

C: So Lambrini would be...

P: In between.

C: Wow, so you were drinking well over 50 or 60 units of alcohol a day.

P: aha.

C: So tell me about the, with your mum passed away, was it a sudden thing your mum passing away?

P: Yeah, it was sudden. I didn’t see her die. She died at home.

C: Yeah, yeah, and the shock. What made you drink?

P: It was probably to black me out, black it out that she had died, all of a sudden. Because I didn’t see her.

C: So you really used it as a way of blocking out emotion…

P: Comfort drinking.

C: Comforting drinking, yeah. When you were admitted to hospital in 2003, you weren’t aware of how poorly you were?

P: No, doctors tried to tell me. Then they took all my sisters into the room and my husband, and father-in-law and told them if I didn’t pack up drinking I would be dead in 3 weeks.

C: You were very yellow, you had jaundice, you had ascites, so the fluid around your liver. You were very poorly.

P: I was 17 and a half stone.

C: Yeah 17 and a half stone and that wasn’t fat that was water. Water retention, yeah.

P: Fluid. Right down to the bottom of my feet.

C: So physically you have been left with the epileptic fits. You’ve still got the cirrhosis of course, your liver cirrhosis.

P: Still scarred.

C: Yeah, because you’ve got cirrhosis of the liver, what does that mean?

P: Mm it’s some tablets and I don’t tolerate. I was in hospital last year with overdose because they stored a bit on my liver.

C: So your liver can’t cope with normal medication. That’s one of the side effects of having cirrhosis. What’s another side effect of having cirrhosis?

P: I’m not sure. I know it’s the tablets, most tablets I can’t take. The doctors prescribe me with Ibuprofen, I’ve been told can’t them either, 4oomg.

C: Right. Do you have to have scans?

P: I am going back in September to see…

C: Liver nurse?

P: Mm.

C: And that’s to have another scan of your liver?

P: Mm.

C: Do you have an endoscopy as well at all?

P: I’m supposed to be having one of them and all. I haven’t had one this year touch wood.

C: Does living with liver cirrhosis cause tiredness at all. Do you feel tired at all?

P: Sometimes I feel tired.

C: When you were on F floor you were hallucinating weren’t. Can you tell me about the hallucinations you used to have?

P: Ha-ha. Cats, dogs. You was on the bed with me once weren’t you?

C: Yeah.

P: And I said to you there’s cats and dogs and bats flying about and it was sun shining.

C: Yeah. You were seeing lots of creatures weren’t you.

P: I was seeing all sorts. They were coming for me weren’t they?

C: And the babies one as well that you saw. Babies falling past the window as well.

P: Yeah, I thought someone was jumping out the window.

C: Yeah. I remember personally having to heavily sedate you.

P: You ended up phoning my husband up didn’t you and telling him I was in a right mess.

C: How do you think your drinking affected your family, your relationships with…?

P: My husband was going to leave me… because he had had enough… and my daughter by birth was keeping quiet and don’t be telling dad I was buying drinks. He was on an alright paid job then.

C: Will you ever go back to drinking?

P: No…I’ve got to much aint I.

C: Yeah you have yeah.

P: I’ve got everybody watching me. I go to church so…

C: Yeah. Do find church a comfort? And what other support have you had a round?

P: Well my family, my sister and I talk to you most days don’t I?

C: Yeah, we have long chats don’t we.

P: When I feel a bit down.

C: Yeah that’s really important isn’t it, having someone to phone up when you have that low spot.

Transcript

Alcohol abuse counsellor (C): When did you first realise that alcohol had become a problem?

Patient (P): Err at about 10 years ago. Erm and I went to the doctors and had a liver test and he just said if I carried on the way I was going I would be ill by 40 and dead by 50.

C: You really didn’t feel as if you were dependent on alcohol?

P: No.

C: It was more a lifestyle choice wasn’t it?

P: Yeah, because we lived the forces life and straight from an early age. 19 I got married and we were in the forces and so many people were drinking really, really heavy that drinking a bottle of wine or so didn’t really seem to be that much.

C: Yeah it’s quite interesting from my point of view that we’ve already heard of people calling themselves alcoholics but you certainly weren’t that, you certainly weren’t physically dependent on alcohol but it was a problem.

P: Mm.

C: How many unites were you drinking and how far have you cut down?

P: I was drinking about 120. Erm I’ve cut down to about 65 but I know that’s still high but I am still working on it.

C: What kind of strategy have you put in? Have you got your drink diaries which are really useful?

P: I’ve had lots of brilliant strategies. Erm sometimes when I come from work the first thing I do is reach for a drink and I know that’s habit.

C: Yeah.

P: But I tend to try and sit there without opening it, that’s another strategy. So I go sometimes an hour or an hour and half and before I even realised that I haven’t even opened it. So that sort of bit is the habit bit but broken it by a couple of times shocked my daughter by asking for a cup of tea when I’ve got in.

C: Yeah, yeah.

P: So there are lots of strategies you can use.

C: As you said there a lots of different ways people can help out.

P: Definitely.

C: What’s been the biggest thing that has helped you?

P: The drink diaries are a really good help.

C: Yeah.

P: Erm, your training.

C: Ha-ha thank you.

P: I really think you should take it around schools and things.

C: Did alcohol ever have an impact on the wider family at all or is that you’ve been able to keep it together?

P: I feel I have raised my family well. Erm, beginning to feel that now some of the arguments and all that that have been around the house could have been because of drinking.

C: Yeah.

P: That sort of thing does hit you, but whether it would of happened anyway or not, you never know unless you lived your life again and did it the other way.

The element that I do want to get rid of is the need for wanting to have a can when you finish work or something like that.

That chill out zone and having a cup of tea the other day and watching the reaction on my kids face made me feel even more like yeah I can do this more….so erm I think erm no I don’t want to give up drinking but I do want to cut it down even more.

So I’m not sure I will ever get to the governments levels but I would be pretty happy to get it down to sort of 35 and I think that would be my aim.

C: Ok, thank you.

P: Thank you.