The Liver Life Project
Other Points of Interest
Other Points of Interest
I
mentioned
in
the
Liver
Transplant
section
my
tremendous
feeling
of
guilt
and
my
post-transplant issues with Survivor’s Guilt. Just to expand on this.
A
person’s
ArLD
journey
is
riddled
with
guilt.
There
may
be
other
factors
outside
of
their
control
that
drive
these
feelings
and
emotions.
I
also
spoke
of
people
becoming
victims through the actions caused by others.
Seeking
solace
with
alcohol
and
using
it
as
a
form
of
self-medication
adds
fuel
to
the
fire,
as
alcohol
in
itself
is
a
depressant.
But
then,
because
of
these
actions,
more
guilt
is
added.
“It’s
all
your
fault,
nobody
made
you
drink
that
stuff,
you’ve
only
got
yourself to blame”.
When
we
end
up
in
the
hospital
due
to
alcohol-induced
liver
damage.
Those
feelings
of
guilt
and
blame
are
even
stronger.
This
emotional
cycle
needs to be broken. This is where that inner strength needs to be called upon.
On
the
first
page,
I
spoke
of
that
“Wake-up
Call”
moment.
This
is
where
you
need
to
ask
yourself,
“This
is
what’s
broken,
now
what
do
I
need
to
do
to
make
it
right?”
What
comes
next
is
the
start
of
positive
thoughts.
It
may
be
painful
or
emotionally
uncomfortable,
but
there
is
a
need
to
revisit that time when it all began. To help resolve all this, we need closure and acceptance.
If we can fix the cause, then the use of alcohol becomes redundant.
My
variceal
bleed
back
in
2014
was
my
wake-up
call,
and
I’ve
not
touched
alcohol
since.
Back
then,
my
GP
put
me
on
antidepressant
medication,
which didn’t help as those unprocessed memories and guilt were still there.
This
next
bit
is
going
to
sound
completely
wacky,
but
there
comes
a
time
to
let
go
and
stop
carrying all this guilt.
When
I
had
my
liver
transplant
in
2016,
I
remember
lying
in
that
hospital
bed,
just
thinking
stupid,
random thoughts. For some unknown reason, I began to think of the phantom limb syndrome.
The
Phantom
limb
syndrome
is
when
a
person
loses,
say,
an
arm
or
leg,
and
the
brain
continues
to
send
out
signals
to
the
missing
limb;
the
person
then
still
feels
pain
in
the
missing
limb,
even
though the it’s no longer there.
The
cure
is
to
trick
the
brain
into
thinking
it’s
there
by
use
of
a
mirrored
image
of
the
still
connected arm or leg. The brain then sees two images and then stops sending out the pain signals.
Here is a video of an experiment which helps illustrate this point.
As I lay there thinking of this, I wondered if I, too, could also trick my brain.
I
told
myself
that
the
brain
has
a
limited
storage
capacity
and
that
some
of
our
memories
are
stored
for
safekeeping
in
other
organs
in
the
body.
So,
I
started
to
tell
myself
that
all
those
painful,
unprocessed
memories
from
my
past
used
to
be
stored
in
my
liver.
My
liver
was
now
gone,
and
so
were
all
those
painful
bits.
I
kept
telling
myself
this.
After
sleeping
on
this,
it
was
as
if
a
dark
cloud
had
been
lifted;
I
had
found
a
new
inner
peace.
The
following
day,
I
stopped
taking
the
antidepressant medication, and I’ve not taken again for almost 10 years.
What
this
has
taught
me
is
that
we
all
need
to
find
our
own
way
of
dealing
with
the
things
that
hurt
us.
It
doesn’t
matter
how
crazy
or
unconventional it is; it’s about getting closure and being able to accept something and move on.
Many
people
who
have
received
a
liver
transplant
will
talk
of
being
reborn.
This
rebirth
is
an
opportunity
to
get
rid
of
all
that
pain,
injustice
and
those skeletons in the closet, and start this rebirth afresh.
After all, the day following that liver transplant will be the first day of the rest of your life. Embrace it.
Here, Danny talks with special guest Lisa Woodcock about the mental health aspects of having a liver transplant.
Many people have found this helpful.
Has having had a liver transplant changed me in any way? You better believe it. I now totally understand the true value of life. I now no longer carry
any bitterness in my heart towards those who have hurt me during my life’s journey. It is very much like being reborn again. Although I wrote a
letter of condolence and gratitude to my donor’s family, understandably, I didn’t receive a reply. Unfortunately, this can sometimes happen as
feelings and emotions can still be raw for those who have lost a loved one.
In some strange sort of way, I just want to reach out and help others who find themselves going down that similar path in their lives that I’ve been
down. I have therefore started this crusade, and if anyone out there wishes to join me, they are more than welcome.
Over these past few years, I have spoken of my liver disease in two local newspapers and one national newspaper. I’ve also featured in a Reader’s
Digest article. All in the name of raising awareness of the alcohol-related liver disease.
The internet can be a wonderful place for information and help. But there can be some downright scary
sites, too. If by chance you do have any problems with your liver, then the “Liver UK” website is the place to
go. Here you’ll find lots of help and support. There’s even a section where people have submitted their own
stories, which is always very interesting (yes, mine’s there too). Just click on the Liver UK logo to visit their
site.
Liver UK also oversees a “HealthUnlocked” forum site, which is there to help those people from all over
the world who are in search of help, support and advice from those people who have first-hand
knowledge and personal experience of liver disease. Having that empathy can be a wonderful way to
help someone. Once again, just click on the image and register your details.
Finally, a word of advice. If you happen to reside in the UK, please try and stick to reputable UK websites.
Some of the American websites can be rather frightening and also misleading. For example, many
American sites talk about the use of Milk Thistle as a supportive aid for liver disease, but here in the UK,
such remedies are not advised, as they can do even more damage. (See Liver UK advice on
this:
https://liveruk.org/about-liver-disease/living-with-a-liver-condition/medical-care/alternative-
therapy/)
Avoid the temptation to go in search of wondrous miracle cures. There are no magical formulae or
mystical
cures for liver disease. There are, however, plenty of unscrupulous
people out there willing to
sell you wondrous herbal remedies. Some of these so-called remedies can end up doing more harm than
good.
When you think about it, human beings have been around for over 200,000 years. Liver’s have been
working just fine throughout that time without the need for detoxification.
I hope this site has been useful. If I can help in any way, or if you’d like
some more information,
then please contact me by email at:
liverlifeproject@gmail.com
.
For
those
people
who
have
become
interested
in
learning
about
their
liver
disease,
I
can
strongly
recommend
taking
a
look
at
the
two
liver
courses available for
FREE
on the “FutureLearn” website. These are called,
“Liver Disease: Looking after Your Liver”
and
“Liver Transplant: the Ins and Outs”
.
These
courses
are
all
conducted
online
over
three
weeks.
You’ll
be
required
to
set
aside
three
hours
a
week
to
watch
videos
and
learn
about
liver
disease.
I
wanted
to
have
a
certificate
at
the
end
of
the
courses
and
paid
the
one-off
payment
of
£39.
Both
of
these
courses
are
well
worth
doing. Just click on the relevant link below for details.
Danny Hiles Podcast
Liver Transplant and Mental Health
Now for something completely bonkers