Worried

[Popsicle82646]

Can anyone tell me if having normal liver function test results means you are highly unlikely to have permanent severe damage to the liver please?

I have health anxiety and worry about one thing then another, currently I'm hyper focused on my liver.

I am having counselling for my health anxiety.

I had blood tests done last week that were normal including liver function all within the normal limits.

I just wanted some personal experience on liver function enzyme levels in correlation to how much you drank for them to be raised and level of damage?

I need some perspective to stop myself from going down another all to familiar rabbit hole about my health. I'm worried about cirrhosis and Hepatitis as I've felt nauseous today.

Thank you and please be kind 🥺

How much do you drink?

3 bottles of wine a week

No. You can have normal liver function tests with many stages of liver disease. As I’m sure you know or have been told people who regularly drink more than the recommended amount are most at risk of developing Alcohol Related Liver Disease, the more over the maximum you drink the higher the risk. The limit is 14 units, 3 bottles of wine is 30 units.

If your health anxiety is so bad, especially regarding liver.... stop drinking so much.

Lol why are you on this forum exactly?! We are meant to be supportive and this is not! Plenty of people get into a viscous cycle of worrying about there health…then reach for the bottle to make them forget there worry’s and the cycle continues! And that’s how serious alcohol problems start with anxiety disorders to self medicate. Why don’t you educate yourself a bit better!

Haha! Educate myself? You have miss used THERE. It's actually THEIR in the context you are speaking. Please don't talk to me about education. Never said she's not got an alcohol problem but these people need the truth not a rub on the back! Hopefully she will see doctors and professionals more now than Mumsnet. Tough love!

In my personal experience, even elevated liver function tests do not mean permanent damage. I was drinking very heavily (200 units a week) and my liver function tests were about 3x higher that normal. Serious permanent damage is usually when they are about 10x higher than normal. I stopped drinking. They went back to normal and I have no permanent liver damage.

Your liver can function well with cirrhosis. It's called compensated liver disease. If you have cirrhosis and stop or reduce your drinking, generally outcomes are good. Prior to getting cirrhosis is a stage called 'Fatty Liver Disease', which is reversible. This is also detectable in blood tests. So, my gut feeling is that, if your tests have come back clear and normal, then you are probably ok. You might want to question it with the dr to check that. I'm not sure how cirrhosis shows up on tests. However, 3 bottles of wine a week is over the recommended amount and women, particularly when going through or having gone through the menopause because the body is less good at processing alcohol then. So, it sounds like you are fine, but cutting down drinking a bit would benefit your health and anxiety. Every little bit helps.

Having just looked it up, cirrhosis can indeed be picked up through blood tests (i assumed that it would be). How much info you get will depend upon which blood tests you have had, but even a basic one can pick up signs of the liver not functioning as well as it should. I really don't think that you've got anything to worry about. I would still cut down though for peace of mind x

And you have misused 'miss used'. Typos and predictive text can catch many people out, but are not reflective of how educated someone is.

I'm just curious as to how you know this, given that my quick research has said otherwise? I know that your liver can function normally with some damage, but a quick google said that it can still be picked up on blood tests. That's apparently, the first indication that people know they have compensated liver damage.

Cut down to 1 bottle per week as soon as possible. Try to wean down to 1 glass per week. You’ll feel far far better, it will help with your anxiety too. Alcohol is dreadful for our bodies so do yourself a favour and move away from it.

Direct quote from NHS website, the page specifically giving into on diagnosis & Alcohol Related Liver Disease.

“But liver function tests can be normal at many stages of liver disease.”