Can anyone share here liver function test if you've had one please?

[LiveLifeToTheFull2]

I apologise if this is not the right place to post but I was hoping to get some like minded insight as to if anyone who has drank x amount for x amount of time has had a liver function test and if their enzymes were ok?

Basically I have quite bad health anxiety and have been over indulging for about 6 months, a bottle of wine a night 4ish nights per week.

I've recently cut right back to just having a couple of glasses of wine on a Friday and Saturday night.

I had a liver function test as part of a routine blood panel in October and all levels were fine.

I'm now terrified because of my over indulging the last 6 months I've caused irreversible liver damage 😫

I have started to feel a slight twinge when I bend in certain movements in the right hand upper rib area and I'm spiralling into thinking the worst.

I guess I'm wondering if anyone has been drinking the same amount or more and their levels have been ok?

I know everyone is different I'm just looking for a rough idea as I'm so anxious.

Please be kind and thanks for reading ☺️

I’ve not been in your shoes, but replying from a scientific perspective as well as with sympathy and support on a Friday night!

Firstly - massively well done on cutting down so successfully and drastically. It sounds as though you’ve recognised your problems, faced them head on, realised that alcohol isn’t the answer and got it under control.

But to give you the scientific side: the liver is an amazing organ. It does do much good, but additionally it is amazing at re-generating from a really low level all the way back to normal. The standard advice is to make sure you have two or three nights (and days…) off alcohol every week, ideally consecutively so you have a clear 48 hour stretch and that allows your liver time to recover.

Obviously if you hit it hard and often it will take longer to get back to full power, but from the alcohol consumption you’ve described here as “recent”, that should not be causing a liver function problem.

How is the rest of your diet? Are you taking any medications that could affect it?

@LiveLifeToTheFull2 - I’m a binge drinker and could get through 2 litres of vodka in 3 days but then have weeks/months AF. At my worst, I was averaging 10 bottles of vodka a month - my liver enzymes were only very slightly off. On their own, liver enzymes can be unhelpful as people can drink huge amounts and them still be normal.

It’s great that you’ve cut right back and we are all biologically and genetically different- plus there’s medication people might be taking - but I’d be surprised if you’d done significant irreparable damage at the level you were drinking at. Only advanced liver scarring / cirrhosis is irreversible I believe. Most likely you will have a degree of fatty liver which is reversible if you cut right back /take a complete break from drinking.

The liver is incredibly resilient and also bounces back quite quickly. If your liver was healthy in the autumn and you drank heavily for 6 months, your levels may have been slightly raised, but unlikely to be any permanent damage and they will return to normal quite quickly when you are drinking moderately or not at all.

I drank heavily for 20 years, in the last couple years, I'd say 100-200 units a week. Three bottles of wine a day on average. My ALT/GGT were about 3-4x the normal range when I quit. So I think they are usually meant to be around 30 and mine were 120. They can be in the 1000s when there is serious damage. They were normal again 4 weeks after I quit drinking.

It is perfectly possible to have both good LFT results and irreversible damage. Blood tests are only part of the picture, and you'd need an ultrasound and a fibroscan, MRI or biopsy to be sure.

If you are drinking heavily enough to make you concerned then the only answer is to cut back, which you've done. Nobody knows which drink will be the one to tip them into liver damage, but when you've drunk it the damage is done. The liver will regenerate up to a point, but there's no need to test it to destruction. I speak as someone with ARLD, so I'm not preaching. It's just that the beliefs that drinking to excess will be fine as the liver will always regenerate, and that LFTs are reliable indicators of liver disease are false. My LFTs are normal and I have fibrosis.

Liver test results on their own are not conclusive. I recently had an abnormal test result and it was concluded that was due to the fact I had a bacterial infection (chest infection) at the time - which can skew results.

You would need a full examination and follow up tests if the GP was concerned.

It sounds like you've got health anxiety about your recent drinking so you should go to your GP and discuss with them and hopefully put your mind at rest.