Silk Road forums
Discussion => Drug safety => Topic started by: Fillet steak and chips on October 10, 2012, 09:49 pm
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Ok, so quite basically I had a nasty fall on the 30th of september and ended up in hospital. I got given some pills 10mg codeine and 500mg paracetamol. to cut a long story short i have been taking 8 pills most days and but because I haven't been at work and its been a few of my friends birthdays, i have been drinking really heavily, in the region of 15-20pints every day since the 30th of september with 1 day off and a couple of days where i only had a few pints 3-5.
I have only just realised my eyesight has really deteriorated, and my skin has gone abit yellow (my mum even joked to me asking if i had liver failure)
so I am 17, weigh 87kg, in really good shape and eat a really good diet.
So am I in trouble
p.s please don't lecture me about how stupid I have been, I know!
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and i had diorreah, but that is probably from alcohol and a few abdominal pains
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Ok, so quite basically I had a nasty fall on the 30th of september and ended up in hospital. I got given some pills 10mg codeine and 500mg paracetamol. to cut a long story short i have been taking 8 pills most days and but because I haven't been at work and its been a few of my friends birthdays, i have been drinking really heavily, in the region of 15-20pints every day since the 30th of september with 1 day off and a couple of days where i only had a few pints 3-5.
I have only just realised my eyesight has really deteriorated, and my skin has gone abit yellow (my mum even joked to me asking if i had liver failure)
so I am 17, weigh 87kg, in really good shape and eat a really good diet.
So am I in trouble
p.s please don't lecture me about how stupid I have been, I know!
Hey buddy,
I would strongly urge that you cut back on the drinking and APAP intake. Excessive APAP (tylenol, acetaminophen, paracetamol, etc) intake, especially in excess of 4000mg/day, is quite harmful to your liver. I have survived 7,475mg acute overdose of APAP without treatment when I took 23 5/325 Percocets at once, but some people are not so lucky. If you value your life, you should cut back, even if you're in a bit of pain or if a meager 80mg of codeine puts you in a good place.
To further complicate things, you've been drinking a lot, as you are aware. If you don't know, your liver is responsible for taking care of both alcohol and APAP. So abusing both alcohol and prescription medications containing APAP affects your liver doubly in a bad way. To top it off, combining opiates like Codeine (or other opioids) with alcohol can lead to respiratory depression, which is bad.
The yellow skin you speak of is indicative of a symptom called jaundice. Jaundice is a key sign of liver disease or failure, as your mother noted. Acute liver failure can be fatal.
I'm not trying to scare you or anything, but I would recommend ceasing this dangerous behavior immediately if you value your life. Just take a few days off and see if you're seeing better and less yellow. You might be less comfortable but you and your liver can deal without the alcohol, codeine, and APAP for a while. It might be worth seeking medical attention if you think that's necessary.
I hope you recover well from your fall and heed my advice carefully.
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The above poster said everything that needed to be said and in a well constructed way.
The only thing I have to add is, well firstly, how on earth can you endure that much booze? And secondly, you were very lucky not to ingest so much Paracetamol that you OD.
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Dinosaurpoop hit the nail on the head -- if you don't stop drinking and taking paracetamol IMMEDIATELY, your next stop may be the hospital, for a liver transplant, if they will even consider giving you one. In the part of the world where I live, the type of behavior that you have engaged in is enough to disqualify you from a getting a liver transplant. If your liver fails, and you can't get a transplant, put your affairs in order, because your days will be numbered.
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Liver failure is no joke, even if it was not cause by the combination of alcohol and paracetamol, which i'm inclined to doubt given the short duration of your problem.
It really does not matter though - if you are experiencing symptoms of jaundice, you need to seek medical attention right away. The cause could be in using alcohol and painkillers at the same time, but also something external like parasite infection.
If you experience symptoms that include yellowing of the skin and white parts of teh eye, that would be reason to visit a hospital today, not tomorrow. It doesn't mean you are about to die per se, but the risks are very real, and getting checked up asap is of utmost importance. I don't mean to scare you, but on some occasions these symptoms can kill you within the day, but even if its not that acute getting help sooner then later will be beneficial to your recovery.
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Thanks for the advice guys, I havent had any codeine since monday 8th and i havent had any alcohol since tuesday 9th, its my eyesight im really worried about.
TheStealtyRacoon, Its been a few of my friends birthdays and iv been off work, so most days we have been starting drinking at 12pm and finishing at 12am (as we are all turning 18)
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Thanks for the advice guys, I havent had any codeine since monday 8th and i havent had any alcohol since tuesday 9th, its my eyesight im really worried about.
TheStealtyRacoon, Its been a few of my friends birthdays and iv been off work, so most days we have been starting drinking at 12pm and finishing at 12am (as we are all turning 18)
I'd get to a doctor, ASAP. When you see them, tell them everything -- don't hold anything back. With any luck, the condition will be temporary.
Let us know how things work out, eh?
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Thanks for the advice guys, I havent had any codeine since monday 8th and i havent had any alcohol since tuesday 9th, its my eyesight im really worried about.
TheStealtyRacoon, Its been a few of my friends birthdays and iv been off work, so most days we have been starting drinking at 12pm and finishing at 12am (as we are all turning 18)
Acute liver toxicity is no joke, and is an extremely painful way to die. Chances are if you were going to die, you would of done so already so the good news is you should (hopefully) start to recover.
However, just so you know what to look for and when to go to the hospital, acute liver toxicity happens in 3 stages usually. The first phase starts soon after the damage occurs, generally you get nauseous, tired, dizzy and all around terrible. Also a distinct pain in the upper right part of your abdomen.This is the time in which you need to go to the hospital, as this is the only chance you may have to save your liver, and your life. The second phase starts after the first day or two, and will usually find the you feel better and is no longer suffering from as many symptoms. This is the latent stage of liver failure, where the hepatocytes in your liver will basically start to self-destruct as they work themselves to death trying to process all the toxins now building up in your body. You may have kidney failure at this stage, though that is not very common. Eventually you reach the third stage in about 3-5 days, which is widespread hepatic necrosis in the liver. This is a sure death sentence unless you get a liver transplant. Once your liver goes it will start to kill off your other organs, so you will get kidney failure, hypoglycemia, cerebral edemas, seizures, sepsis, coma and death. Not a fun way to go, and from what I've read a hell of a painful way. You can linger on for a day or so in a sort of delirium called a hepatic encephalopathy which basically involves you undergoing strange personality changes, mental changes, and a diffuse coma from which you probably wont wake up. Not fun.
Take it easy for a while mate, you have definitely done some damage to your liver with your binging, but the good news is that the liver is a hardy organ and can actually regrow itself. You should be out of danger now, though still pay attention to see if you get any more symptoms or the ones you have get worse.
Stay safe out there people
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Please go see your doctor or health care provider immediately. Let them know how much you have been taking and drinking. You do not want to end up with liver failure.
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Indeed! or don't tell them anything if you are embarrassed.
Liver failure can be detected by a fairly simple blood test that only requires drawing a few ml of blood for analysis. Generally this is taken as part of a series of tests that requires about 3 tubes of blood to be taken (through the same needle) which will also test for deficiencies and cardiac failure indicators. Such tests are not expensive to run (if you are not insured for them) and will provide a definite answer to your concerns.
Having complete bloodwork done may also re-assure you. I've had it done a few years ago and getting the result that there is nothing abnormal in your bloodwork can be a great relieve, especially if you have been mucking about with substances for quite some time :)