She went into ICU in February and the doctors told her then she better stop or she is gonna die. Because she also had pancreatitis but she has continued to drink heavily every day since getting out of hospital. Drinks at least 3 handles of Vodka a weekend. Couldn't tell you how much total during the week but I have been noticing her vomiting sometimes in a.m. and she's hiding her drinking from my whole family... and even my poor brother. She comes up with every excuse as to why she has to use my brother s money. Now that she finally got a job. She makes a drink.. every a.m. before she goes in a 7/11 cup filled with vodka. She leaves and goes to the "store" every morning at 7 sometimes 6:30. I am the only one that witnesses this and has been monitoring her daily moves because she is tearing up my family and lies, steals, and now she has people convinced that she has stopped drinking, but she hasn't. When is the madness gonna stop? She's driving every one crazy.
My sister in law has been diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver. Not sure what stage?
Question posted by Vickiakins1 on 3 June 2018
Last updated on 21 January 2023 by laurab-7
Answers
I am so sorry this is happening. You need to keep telling your brother about her drinking. She definitely needs to stop drinking. Sadly, alcoholics and drug users are usually also liars and thieves.
My 59 year old brother was diagnosed with ESLD due to cirrhosis and Hepatitis C, at the end of October. He was living in Oxford, MS, at the time, he has been there over 15 years. He moved in with me in Minnesota Nov. 30. He says he quit drinking over 5 years ago. Yesterday he lost consciousness for the third time in a week and he was brought to the ER by ambulance. He was combative and agitated and they have needed to sedate him several times. When I called in the middle of the night last night to see how he was doing his nurse said he tox screen came back showing cocaine in his system. This will make him ineligible for the transplant list. I am beside myself. My husband and I have been taking him to many appointments and procedures, feeding him, buying his low sodium groceries, new clothes, etc., etc., etc. He got mad at me because I read him the riot act when he didn’t follow his doctor’s instructions after having an endoscopy and getting 5 varices banded so he won’t bleed to death. Now he’s in the hospital and I don’t know if I want him back in my home. I can’t believe he sacrificed his life, literally, for a cocaine high! Who thinks I should forgive him and take him back? My husband and I both retired this past year and bought a travel trailer. We were supposed to be in Texas right now!
First of all, I am sorry that you have to manage this stress in your life. I can't say that I personally understand everything you're going through, but I have dealt with addiction in my family, and it is not a pretty sight, no matter what the drug of choice might be.
Second, this sounds like a discussion that you might want to have with a health care professional. I'd recommend seeing a psychiatrist and seeking their professional advice on how to best manage this situation, as they are trained in these types of situations extensively and see similar cases more frequently than probably anyone online.
Last, I am a 6th-year pharmacy student. I can offer any advice available from a pharmacological treatment perspective, but I may be lacking answers in other areas. I am not entirely sure what your question is, to be honest, but I feel like maybe you were just seeking someone interested in listening to your story and offering any help they might be able to offer. I can certainly listen, but I cannot promise that I will have all the answers you're seeking, and I may not have a large deal of time in the near future, but you can ask anything else you might feel necessary on here and I'll do my best to reply.
Again, sorry for your struggles. I know from personal experience that it hurts to watch someone go through something like that and the effects it has on everyone around them. I can't put myself in your shoes, but I know the feeling. Feel free to pour out your questions and stresses in this forum as you feel comfortable and I'll do my best to follow this thread.
Best of luck.
Well basically I just wanted to vent..she's just getting one over on our family..and no one sees all this but me... and it's my brother's girlfriend and he loves her so... I've said all I can say... but I do have a question..Im wondering where she's hiding the vodka bottles..and when she drives my brother s car and crashes into something or someone.while driving under the influence..my brother would be liable yes?
Well basically I just wanted to vent..she's just getting one over on our family..and no one sees all this but me... and it's my brother's girlfriend and he loves her so... I've said all I can say... but I do have a question..Im wondering where she's hiding the vodka bottles..and when she drives my brother s car and crashes into something or someone.while driving under the influence..my brother would be liable yes?
I definitely understand the need to vent. I can say that this is a good place to do so, a community of helpful individuals and some medical professionals here and there to help when they can. I'm glad you reached out.
I can't say for sure where she would be hiding the vodka bottles. I do know (again, from personal experience with family/peers that dealt with alcoholism and drug abuse) that some people will try to hide their alcohol in the freezer. Alcohol (standard 40% liquor) typically won't freeze (at standard freezer temperatures), so many alcoholics will put their bottles in boxes in their freezers. I've seen friends hide their bottles in old popsicle boxes or ice cream containers in the freezer in their garage/shed/etc., as hardly anybody ever checks these places. I've also seen family and friends buy 2-liter bottles of soda (or other large beverage containers) and pour their alcohol into these bottles. A 2-liter Mountain Dew bottle filled with vodka looks almost exactly like regular Mountain Dew. This way, they can dispose of the other bottles before getting drunk. It's all speculation, but this is what I've seen family and friends do to hide their habits.
The second question about your brother's liability if she were to wreck his car... Well, this is more of a legal question, and definitely one that I'm not qualified to answer. I would guess that he would not be liable unless he offered the car to her. For example, if he said, "Sure, you can drive my car," and he knew that she was an alcoholic, or at least had a reason to believe that she would be irresponsible, then he would probably have a harder time getting out of some legal issues. I would imagine he could always just say, "I never gave her permission to use the car," and that would end most of his issues. Again, pure speculation on the legal side of things, but I can't imagine he'd be held accountable unless he willingly provided her the keys to the car with the knowledge that she was currently intoxicated or likely to be intoxicated.
Again, I hope this helps. These comments and replies might help this thread get more attention, too.
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