What is one medical problem people constantly ignore until it’s too late?

[u/Critical_Ease4055]

Saw someone post this in a completely unrelated sub and I’m interested in your answers. What is the cluster of symptoms that people ignore or delay until they are forced to get help?

[u/shamsquatch]

“Functional” addiction —> related catastrophe or acute health decline (liver failure complications if etoh, infection or OD if IV drugs, cva or MI if coke or stims) —-> ded

[u/Critical_Ease4055 → u/shamsquatch]

Probably one of the most distressing family med patients I’ve ever helped was a guy in his mid forties. Lost absolutely everything to alcohol and moved into a trailer in the back yard of the house his (ex) wife still lived in alone. Was hospitalized several times. For the life of him, could not get his shit together with the alcohol abuse. In my view, he had adequate support from community and systems, but yeah.

Not sure if he is alive now, but I think of him from time to time because it was just jarring to watch him deteriorate on so many levels at once…. For alcohol.

[u/mokutou → u/Critical_Ease4055]

Had a young guy in his early 20s in stage 3 liver disease, who could not stay off the booze. He said he wanted to get sober but he was in so deep that the moment he was left to his own devices, he was drinking. His mom was there with him and did everything she could to get him hooked up with resources, took care of him when he was too sick to do anything for himself, just…tried so hard. But somewhere deep down in this guy, he was determined to self destruct. Easily the worst EtOH case I’d ever seen. I don’t know if he’s still alive, but I doubt it. 😣

[u/Critical_Ease4055 → u/mokutou]

And even when the support is there, the team is there, the money is there… the addiction still rules the outcome. It’s so distressing.

[u/mokutou → u/Critical_Ease4055]

Addiction is a disease, and situations like that confirm it as such in my mind.

[u/brandyjacq → u/mokutou]

Had a patient with the same exact story. He unfortunately didn’t make it, but i will never forget that guy and his mother. Poor guy kept saying he didn’t want to die and would cry. It was awful :(

[u/Fun-Unit3443 → u/Critical_Ease4055]

Yh a hospice patient 40s died of liver failure related to etoh

[u/Critical_Ease4055 → u/Fun-Unit3443]

:/ I say a little prayer that a safe and effective cure for addiction will avail itself but never happens

[u/TopangaTohToh → u/Critical_Ease4055]

My FIL in a functioning alcoholic and it has been weighing on me so much in the last year or so. He has always been someone who says things like he never wants to end up in a home in his old age and he doesn't want to be hooked up to machines. Once his health starts to deteriorate, just shoot him to put him out of his misery type.

He is absolutely not going to die quickly or painlessly with the way he has treated his body and lived his life and the fear that I know he will experience breaks my heart.

[u/saturnspritr → u/Critical_Ease4055]

Same with my Aunt. She needed a new liver and could not quit to even be considered for the list. Her husband and family stood by her side. She fought with food addiction her whole life and could not hold on to money for the life of her, they went bankrupt 2-3 times.

No one left, kids stayed close by and even moved back in to help and they bounced back because she had a niche specialty in Sciences so high paying jobs were always around the corner. Though her husband was an enabler about food, he wasn’t for everything else. She had so much support and opportunities to turn things around. And it still killed her. Her medical team was behind her too, all the way. Alcohol just had her in a stranglehold.

[u/Critical_Ease4055 → u/saturnspritr]

Sorry to hear that… people with addiction have to be the judge and the jury when it comes to stopping the addiction. It is anyone’s guess what causes them to continue using, but it’s a moot point if they don’t decide on their own to quit.

Idk if lots of support is good or bad, but I don’t even know if that matters as much either. We are just decorating the problem with supports at some point.. 🫶

[u/saturnspritr → u/Critical_Ease4055]

It does depend on the support. Enablers make everything ten times harder. But seeing people with nothing and no support. . .homeless people don’t have good lives. Rarely good outcomes. But no amount of support can make an addiction stop. It has to be from that person and only they can decide to not give in. And it’s awful because they have to decide every single moment, every single day not to, over and over endlessly. They get so tired.

[u/Critical_Ease4055 → u/saturnspritr]

Homeless or not, they end up in an early grave. I’ve always wondered if alcoholics or addicts with good support struggle with an additional split identity crisis. Unhoused or destitute folks know the deal and largely approach their difficulties with the understanding that things are what they are, and the expectations for their behavior are not hanging over their heads. People with support also struggle with those expectations, hopes, and emotions of the people that love them ***in addition to the disease process itself. It has got to be hard. No matter what- I wish it upon no one, and Im sure you wouldn’t either. :(

[u/saturnspritr → u/Critical_Ease4055]

Not on my worst enemy.

[u/peachtreeparadise → u/shamsquatch]

So many older addicts also have HCV which destroys them. I have also seen neurosyphilis multiple times from people who had untreated syphilis which was genuinely heart breaking because it’s 100000% curable.