I’ve just read an article in Closer and now I want a liver function test.

[DingleBerries]

I don’t usually buy these magazines but I’ve got an essay to do and wanted to use something that was ‘easy reading’ to break up the time.

There’s an article in there a mother 42 has liver cirrhoses, after just a few years of drinking, a short time (weeks) of drinking two bottles of wine per night during a nasty break up but just a couple of glasses of wine a night before and after that, over a space of just 6 years. And now she won’t live past 60

I’ve had an unhealthy relationship with alcohol since I was 17! I was in the pub with friends every night.

I’ve never got as bad as two bottles on wine in a night but I drink most nights and when shit hits the fan, I tend to drown my sorrows.

I’m 35 now and recently experienced a bereavement and I turned to wine. It got bad briefly so I sought different things to help instead, counselling etc and cut down.

However, after reading that article I’m shit scared that all my years of drinking have done irreversible damage! Especially since I seem to have done significantly more than the woman in the article.

I stupidly thought cirrhosis was caused by people who drank spirits straight and from they wake up until they go to bed.

I had NO idea it was so serious.

I want to call my GP tomorrow and ask for a liver function test. They already know about me turning to alcohol during my bereavement and have been very helpful in changing that for me so they know my history.
Would that test be a good idea? If I’ve done damage then better that I know now?

Just last night I had two mugs of mulled wine and I was going to have a glass of wine with tapas tonight and now I’m feeling terrible and guilty and ashamed.

Has anyone had a test after years of drinking?

[DingleBerries]

Found it.

[DingleBerries]

Could someone link me to the most recent one? I’d be super grateful.

[DingleBerries]

Oh. I could chAnge my personal settings to smaller pages.

[DingleBerries]

I have. But they get very long and my phone and laptop can’t cope with long threads. It takes a very long time to load of its past 500 or so.

Is there anyway of fixing that?

[ptumbi]

Have you looked at the 'Dry' threads?

[DingleBerries]

I’d really like to join a support group. A group of like minded people in the same boat.
Does something like that exist in all areas?

I don’t want to do the AA programme because I believe therapy and talking is what will help me.
But I think a group would also be beneficial.

[Theresamayscough]

Well done op

[Theresamayscough]

Well done op

[Mrsdraper1]

Well done OP, sounds like your doctor is a brilliant person to confide in. Great to know you have someone who knows what you are going through in your corner.
I wish you all the best for a bright future

[SisyphusHadItEasy]

What a positive appointment, and a great plan.

I am cheering you on from across the pond.

[HeteronormativeHaybales]

Oh, and well done, Dingle.

[HeteronormativeHaybales]

A 'couple of glasses a night' could easily be the best part of a bottle.It's far too much. If I start getting through more than a bottle every week/10 days or having fewer than 3/4 alcohol-free days a week, I see it as a warning sign and cut down.

Yes to liver function not being affected solely by alcohol - my dh has slightly raised enzymes and has been teetotal for 20 years. He's a bit overweight and carries most of that around his middle, which is probably the reason. Also, some people do tend towards slightly raised enzymes for no real reason.

[ptumbi]

So - if you have a Liver Function Test and it's bad, the DVLA will remove your driving licence? How do they find out? And how do you get it back?

I've been told (not sure if it's true) that if you have a HIV test, or even a cholesterol test, that your Health insurance premium goes up - even if te test is negative? Like - if you're worried enough to have the test, then your lifestyle is 'high-risk'.

[DingleBerries]

I actually feel excited now. Like I can see a happy future. Not just one where I’m constantly trying not to buy wine.

I want a life where it doesn’t even cross my mind, like when I’m pregnanct.
Alcohol for me is a total non-issue when I’m pregnant. So easy not to drink.

I just need to be good for the next month.

[Tanfastic]

That's fab op! Well done on being proactive and good luck.

[whiskyowl]

Wow, well done Dingle. And fab to hear about a GP doing a brilliant job.

[IJustLostTheGame]

well done OP, that can't have been easy at all.

[Imsorrynow]

Wish I had a GP like yours Dingle.
Good luck and we’ll done.

[DingleBerries]

Update:

Wowzers I wasn’t expecting that conversation but I’m glad it happened.

So I spoke to my usual GP who is fantastic. Turns out he has a family history of alcoholism and is hyper aware of it in his own family. He says he has to buy a bottle of wine to share with his wife and have no more in the house because of there was three, he would drink three.

This made me feel better in confessing my worries (he already knew 99% of it).
So I tell him I read the article, that I freaked out.
Without even me asking, he said he would take a blood test and send me for a scan.

I asked about the tablet and he said yes I can have that too, whilst I fix the underlying issues.

However (!) he said not to have the blood test for a month because if it it very bad then the DVLA will take away my license.

I personally don’t think it would be that bad (but very likely when I had my bereavement and I wasn’t driving then anyway) but not so much now.

Also, if the enzymes are high in my liver then I cannot take the tablets because they can be hard on the liver as well so ironically my liver needs to be in a good state to start all this.

SO. No alcohol for a month, get the blood test and get the tablets for total abstinence for 3-6 months whilst I get my shit together and figure out ways to abstain all by myself.

I feel empowered now.
Like I have a Real Plan.

[colouringinagain]

Food for thought OP thanks for posting, and wishing you all the best.

[IrritatedUser1960]

Not just drinking but painkillers. I take lots of analgesics and duloxetine for nerve damage and I'm really worried about my liver.

[Candlelight234]

Ignore everyone saying words to the effect of 'your liver will let you know if it's not ok', this only happens just before it packs in, i.e well into the process of failure.
You are doing the sensible thing of getting it checked now, and pouring your booze away. Well done.

[DingleBerries]

Tanfastic no this is good. I want to be scared. That’s what I need to hear.

I don’t crave alcohol physically. Mine is purely mental. But a pill that would make me hurl would work very well.

[Tanfastic]

You don’t have to be an alcoholic (or the public perception of an alcoholic) to have cirrhosis. My dad died from cirrhosis of the liver and I never considered him to be more than a heavy drinker and he never drank spirits, just lager.

He didn’t know he had cirrhosis until he suffered a major episode of vomiting blood from a ruptured oesophageal vein (caused by the enlarged liver). There are very little signs until it’s too late in lots of cases unfortunately. He stopped drinking after this scare but the damage was done and he lived another ten years sober but not without some major health problems one of which killed him eventually as a result of his damaged liver.

I don’t mean to scare you but you are doing the right thing.