Is it too late for my liver?

[TimeForChanges123]

I've been drinking really heavily since the start of 2020. I've cut down compared to what I was like but I still drink just over the recommended weekly allowance. I binge too, so it's all over the weekends and no alcohol at all throughout the week. I know it's been awful and I'm putting various things into place to keep cutting back but I do still fall off track sometimes. At my worst, a couple of years back, I was doing up to 60/70 units every single weekend. If I was 25 I'd shrug it off but I am 38, is it too late? Will my liver forgive me? I'm worried about cirrhosis.

You need to stop drinking all together and see your GP. AA can help.

The liver is a tough beast, but also a tricky one - it keeps going, giving you no symptoms, no matter how much you abuse it. Until the day it doesn't, and then it's often irreversible and dangerous.

The only way to find out how bad your liver is, is to see your GP, be brutally honest about how your drinking has been and get yourself referred for testing, including a scan.

You must also give up alcohol. Contact AA or go fo SMART Recovery instead (this is a CBT based alternative that doesn't have the faith side of it).

There's no way of telling whether or not you have done irreversible damage, but it's good that you have given yourself this wakeup call. Alcohol attacks a lot more than the liver and giving it up will do you the world of good.

Of course it's absolutely worth it!! The liver is a very strong organ, with immense potential for recovery. The sooner you stop, the better - not just for your liver, but for your quality of life.

There is a huge amount of information about stopping drinking, and the resulting benefits, out there. Have a look at This Naked Mind/Annie Grace and Alcohol Explained/William Porter on YouTube.

The liver is very forgiving, and you’ve done really well to cut down. Keep going !
Tneres no reason you can’t explain this to your GP and just get it checked. Don’t be embarrassed.

It is embarrassing 😳

It's not embarrassing. Admitting you have a problem with alcohol use is a huge act of courage. Having a problem with alcohol can happen to anyone, it's so common that it's shocking. We really need to take the stigma out of it.

If you don’t want to see GP you can get liver function tests through Thriva. Honestly, it sounds like you need the accountability of saying it out loud to someone to trigger a change in behaviour.

I wish my mum had gone to the doctor instead of drinking herself to death. I spent my first month of mat leave hysterical, planning her funeral instead of my child’s birth. Please look after yourself and do for yourself what she couldn’t manage.

Please don't be embarrassed, you will not be the first or last person the GP sees who has a problem with alcohol. It's rife but is such a secret illness, go to the GP and be honest. It's the best thing to do.
My liver was enlarged and fatty. It's now in perfect health. But it needs you to cut alcohol so that it can save itself, a remarkable organ.

Not embarrassing. It's a brave thing to do

You can never know this without testing.

Some people's livers cope with decades of daily alcoholism others don't.

It is good and important that you keep under the limit from now on but if you were within safe limits until 2020 and you're 38 now you really won't have done as much damage as anyone I've personally heard of with liver issues.

Thanks everyone. I'll be honest part of the reason I posted was because I hoped you'll all laugh it off and tell me I was fine... at which point I'd crack open the bottle I bought earlier that's chilling in the fridge. Even though I drank two last night.

You haven't laughed it off so I'll be finishing this episode of Motherland and having an early night. No drinking tonight.

x

You should go to your GP and ask to have a liver function test. Get your drinking under control. The liver can regenerate itself even if it isn't in top condition. But its better you know rather than putting your head in the sand over this.

I'm 7 weeks into my new journey! I had a medical emergency caused by the state of my liver - due to alcohol. Spent nearly 2 weeks in hospital trying to stabilise and been home since.
I can honestly say your embarrassment becomes a luxury you just don't have when you are facing a massive health crisis. I'm now on daily medication, regular bloods and outpatient appointments, and I don't give a toss talking about it in front of any of the hcp's i come across.
I have a long way to go, am still unsure what the permenant damage is, or what the future looks like.
But I will tell you this. I don't feel alone. I feel listened to. I know there are non judgemental people keen to help me get to the best place possible.
Please do yourself a favour and ask for help.

Yes you need to stop and you know it.
But yes your liver will recover if you treat it well and stop drinking.

Definitely go to the GP and get liver function tests. Fingers crossed that your liver will be able to repair - but whatever you do, do not drink the bottle from your fridge.

Don't be embarrassed. It's a good thing you have posted on here and it's a good thing to go to the GP to get help. Tell the GP that you struggled in lockdown - there will be thousands who also did this - and also tell the GP that you are trying to cut down but struggling sometimes.

Be kind to your liver. If you are kind to it now and stop drinking, it may fix itself. But do stop. Every single unit you drink must be processed by your liver - so it's not ok even to have one drink - because you want that liver to be repairing itself, not working to process a unit.

Nobody should judge you for this, least of all the GP. If they do, it reflects badly on them. Please get the help you need and deserve.

I am definitely not drinking the bottle in the fridge x

Yes please please do get help. It's not easy to admit you have a problem but it's a really important step towards recovery.

A friend of mine who was a heavy drinker died at 40 leaving her young son without a mother growing up. She never admitted she had a problem - even when hospitalised due to liver failure.

That's a serious quantity of alcohol. The amount someone can drink without getting liver disease is an unknown quantity, but you have been drinking as much as several patients I've had with end stage/stage 4 liver failure.

If you go down that route, you will turn yellow. Your stomach will swell up with fluid and you'll have to have a needle stuck in it to drain it every week or more. And you'll lose your mind completely. Your friends and family will watch you slowly die and you won't be eligible for a liver transplant.

Don't be reassured by normal blood tests. If someone's been compensating for alcoholism, it just takes a bit more to push your liver over the edge and you're fucked.

alkohol dependency is an illness.
nothing to be embarassed about.
see your gp.
seek therapy.

all the best!

Honestly if you carry on.. yes.

But I had a drinking problem for 10 years, I ended up on a drip for a week with inflamed liver and high enzymes. I thought it was all over. I quit completely 4 years ago and luckily my liver is completely recovered. The liver is amazing it can heal better than any other organ as long as you change your lifestyle

What a wonderful post @tactum

Massively well done.

I hope OP can see a lot of inspiration there.

This has scared the shit out of me. If I can't be reassured by normal blood tests, what can I be reassured by?

By stopping drinking, going to AA tonight/tomorrow and seeing your GP.

If you're drinking every day you should cut down gradually and not stop suddenly as that can be very dangerous.

No, the all weekend benders (Friday lunchtime to Sunday afternoon) are a thing of the past that stopped last year. I drink on a Saturday night now although I'm not tonight as I drank last night. Not making any excuses just being factual. Thanks for your posts.