Liver damage symptoms - help

[Dandelions18]

Hi

8 days since I had my last drink. Can anyone tell me any liver damage symptoms they had and their diagnosis? Has anyone had symptoms and they have healed?

I get discomfort/dull pain intermittently in my upper right quadrant, also the left. I feel some burning patches that come and go in a couple of different places in my abdomen.

I have resigned myself to the fact there is permanent damage, I suppose I'm just trying to figure out how bad it is as I have children. I have been trying to get a GP appointment to get bloods taken but the phone is constantly engaged and when I eventually get through there aren't any left. Will obviously keep trying every morning but are you able to get them done privately?

How long do results take to come back? (I've had them done before but I can't remember!)

Didn't want to read and run. So far as I'm aware I don't have any liver damage issues, so can't comment on symptoms etc.

I'm sure not having alcohol is a very good step whilst you undergo tests and receive a diagnosis. Well done on making that start.

In terms of blood tests, this might be useful to you.

Liver Function Blood Test

It says it's a two day turnaround which is the same timescale from my GP, but GPs probably vary don't they?

Good luck with staying off alcohol and getting your tests/results.

Thank you very much x

Water, rest, good food and a vitamin B complex. Not a cure as such but certainly will not hurt. I can't remember what they were but my liver function test results were high before I paid for a private scan and had a little bit of fatty liver. Which is now reversed.

Keep calling the GP that's the only thing that will tell.

The liver will forgive a lot, but not everything and not forever.

Thank you. What were you drinking/how long for?

Mostly wine, at least a bottle per night. Sometimes gin, sometimes the little bottle of vodka. Consistently drinking every night for about 3 years at the point. I had age on my side though I was 28 at the time.

Our NHS Trust runs a drop-in service for liver health checks. The do a fibroscan with instant results and appropriate advice.

Might be worth checking whether you can access a similar service.

Stay off the alcohol and the pain goes. Took about 6 weeks for me. It's a sign your liver is inflamed/fatty.

lots of water and coffee (coffee in any form is a protective factor for the liver). Green veg, vitamin b complex.

have you managed to stop drinking before for any period of time?

Thanks for your response @alco

@thistimelastweek I've to get bloods taken next week and they're sending out an appointment for an ultrasound but that is useful info, thanks.

@Iudncuewbccgrcb I drank a lot in my teens then barely drank at all for about 5 years (although on the rare occasion I went out I really over did it). Once I started it steadily grew and apart from the couple of years around I was pregnant and youngest dc was really young the longest I've managed to abstain is a couple of months. The amount goes up and down but always grows to the point of 2 bottles of wine most days.

That's good you have the bloods booked and the ultrasound. That should let you know what's going on.

It's good you've had breaks here and there. You'd be surprised how quickly your liver can start to heal itself. Obviously to a point. But and I am NO EXPERT OR MEDICAL PERSON. But I'd say you'd have to be drinking the 2 bottles of wine nightly for quite a few years before any long term damage.

There is no miracle detox/ clear/ what ever you want to call it drug. Well there is, it's water. That is the only thing that will help your liver clear itself.

These gave me some peace of mind before - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Family-Health-Screening-Kidney-Urinary/dp/B00HQEYFA4/ref=asc_df_B00HQEYFA4/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=309889597107&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=7728198066624584801&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=20487&hvtargid=pla-698553592241&psc=1

But are not a substitute for going to the GP and getting proper bloods

Thank you!

She did say that it MAY be gallbladder related instead. She couldn't feel anything during the stomach exam, is that a good sign? Should she have been able to feel something or does it tend only to show up in ultrasound?

Also, do they give you ultrasound results there and then? Sorry, I forgot to ask her as I was a bit upset during the appointment.

Sorry another question...those tests, what is it I should be looking for to be raised? Anything or is there something in particular?

Liver function tests come back really quickly. Think they can all be raised if there are issues but I'm not a medics.

The ultrasound depends on who is scanning you. I had one (not alcohol related) and they told me what they could see then and there.

That is a good sign, I think. The GP couldn't feel any swelling on my stomach either. Swelling is bad, I've heard people say they looked 6 months pregnant from liver swell. Fatty liver is actually pretty common and caught early reversable. It is more common for non alcohol issues apparently - dr google.

The private scanner told me what she was looking at. She did all my organs. She was very kind. The public one said the Dr would discuss later so I was crapping myself. Only to be told it was all gone.

This roadshow is offering free FibroScan of the liver https://britishlivertrust.org.uk/information-and-support/love-your-liver/roadshow/

Did you get your US done, OP?

Hope all is well with you, OP. Just to reassure you, liver function tests that are just slightly out of range are perfectly fine and will return to normal very quickly if you stop drinking or reduce your drinking to healthy levels.

To give you an idea, my AST (which is different than ALT, but they didn't do that one for some reason) and my GGT were in the low 100s (like 130/140 ish). They should be below 30/40. Mine were back to normal within a month of stopping drinking. People with long-term liver damage tend to have results that are much, much higher even than mine.

If you are drinking heavily, you're actually quite likely to have GI (stomach/bowel) issues which could account for the abdominal discomfort as alcohol is very rough on the gut. Our guts are actually much more sensitive and easily damaged than the liver, which is actually incredibly resilient as organs go. Hope you are feeling better though and you've been able to get to the bottom of it.

"I am NO EXPERT OR MEDICAL PERSON. But I'd say you'd have to be drinking the 2 bottles of wine nightly for quite a few years before any long term damage."

This is completely untrue. I really hope no one reads this and reassures themselves that really dangerous levels of drinking won't cause damage quickly. Much less than this can. It varies so much.

Definitely get bloods done as a priority - don't be fobbed off. Acute and subacute failure happens sometimes and liver symptoms can be very subtle. They're things like tiredness, malaise, spontaneous bruising, abdominal swelling, water retention, itching (pruritis), etc. Not necessarily all of them, or all at once. Glad there are mobile clinics looking at this and hope there's one near you, but demand an emergency GP appointment if you think you need it.

Well done for staying off and ask for support with that too - the stress of being tested takes its own psychological toll, and you'll need to examine the underlying causes of why you're struggling that you're using unhealthy coping mechanisms.

Hope you get seen soon

I have a similar pain and I was wondering how are you feeling? Did you managed to get tests done and what were the resulst?