Whats the worst case scenario here - help me be prepared

[Isthisitallandeverything]

I've been a functional alcoholic for around 23 years - daily drinking wine and spirits - between 1-1.5 bottle of wine and 4 large vodka and sodas a night, sometimes less sometimes more.

I have self referred for support 3 times and have asked my gp for medical help to reduce slowly and stop. So far not much has come from that.

I have now received these elevated lft results and am thinking is this it? The damage is done and what does this mean for me.

I have been asked to do a iLFT blood test tomorrow and have an ultrasound booked for Monday.

I'm barely coping with the anxiety of what's to come. I'll post My results here. Weird thing is some were OK. The only other thing that may have effected the results is I had the tests after My first 2 weeks on wegovy and was having quite pronounced pain on my left upper abdomen and back which may be related to the wegovy and cause temporary spikes according to chat GPT. All liver results were fine in August 2024.

These recent results are from Novmever 2025.

I'm talking to My GP again for support this week, just want to prepare for the worst I suppose.

Also this one normal**

Healthcare professional's comment

• advanced fibrosis excluded.

Your result FIB-4 (Fibrosis-4) index score: 0.9

I'm guessing it's liver disease. There's no way you wouldn't have that. Hopefully it's not gone to cirrhosis levels yet.

Are you able to try and drink as little as possible. Gradually reduce? Our liver results will improve if you radically cut down or abstain. Though I know it's not easy.

I would go to the GP and ask him to explain the levels to you. I had liver damage when I stopped drinking (can’t remember what the levels were as it was 24 years ago) which reversed itself once I stopped. I also got a strong warning not to start drinking again as I might not be so lucky next time.

Definitely ask GP to explain them fully and hopefully now they will offer you some support to cut down or stop.

Is wegovy having any effect on how much you drink? Mounjaro really killed my desire for wine

I had to stop taking the wegovy as it was causing pancreas issues. It didn't have much effect on my alcohol intake anyway to be honest, maybe a tiny bit. I'm terrified it's too late and the damage is irreversible.

I have already started to gradually reduce some days, but I'm still having terrible psychological cravings on the days I do. It's been such an ingrained habit my whole adult life. It started to numb depression and anxiety in my early 20s and never stopped. It's all habitual, every evening. I can go to the pub and have a soft drink, I don't drink more than some of my family at events etc. But that lone quiet time alcohol is such a part of me I don't know If I've got the strength to even moderate or stop. But this may be my biggest motivation yet although there have been many over the years hence why I've asked my gp for support before.

I understand fully. I used to drink at that level, and worse. I managed to reduce down to about 3-4 glasses of wine a day. With a day off a week. It's not fantastic but much better.

Have you tried AA? It is actually really helpful even if you're not getting fully abstinent.

You should take thiamine and b vitamins and folic acid to help combat how alcohol depletes those minerals. If you're not already.

Sending all my love and support x

A relative of mine was a heavy drinker. Late in 2023 he was admitted to hospital for ascites, ( fluid retention, ) they took 11 litres of fluid from him . Later on another 7 litres were removed. He was diagnosed with liver disease, and stopped drinking straight away. At one point the doctors were thinking about putting him on the transplant list. However he is now much better and the doctors are very pleased with him, he will have to be on the diuretice medication for the rest of his life, so glad that he gave up on the booze .

Thanks so much, I'd love to get to that level at the moment to be honest. How do you handle the one day off in particular?

I take b12 and am due to start folic acid too after being prescribed by gp as deficient on check- no surprise really. I will add thiamine in too.

I have made another referral to local support service today and this time I will chase it. I will get through this blood test and ultrasound on Monday and see how bad things are. If I'm lucky enough to be able to turn things around I will do everything I can to cut right down if not stop when that seems less daunting.

You need to stop drinking. There is no point worrying about liver disease whilst still drinking alcohol. Yes ask for help and support but you have to want to stop.

I drink too much and have certainly drunk similar levels to you in the past.

I do still drink but much less. It sounds really simplistic but I started running every other day. I run in an evening so can't drink before and I actually don't fancy it after so I now have at least three alcohol free days a week. Its made it much easier to cut down on the other days too.

I still need to do more but it's a step in the right direction and reducing every week.

Have you researched alcoholic death? It can be really really nasty. Lots of leaking out of body fluids from every orifice and a lot of pain while dying. Really not a nice way to go. Please don’t let that be you.
Could you pay for a private rehab facility or find one that is part funded? My friend went to one but had to convert to Christianity to get a subsidised place. He’s not sober now, as addiction changed from alcohol to weed, but he was for a few years. Being in a residential facility might give you the best chance to re set? It’s not easy when you’re in the same environment where your bad routine is.
Good luck to you I hope you find answers and help.

I can’t answer your question as I’m not a medical professional however I’ll tell you my parent does the same and if you think you aren’t hurting those around you, let me tell you you are.

let that not your health be your motivation to stop

Thank you. Yeah it's not easy at all is it. But you're not alone and you've done nothing wrong. Addiction is easy to get into and difficult to break.

Day off is hard, lol. I try and speak to sober people or invite them round. Try and do exercise or gardening, laundry, cleaning. Then plenty of sleep. I take mirtazapine which helps me sleep. You should maybe get something to help you sleep. Zooiclone is pretty addictive so they may not give that.
Magnesium oil on your legs before bed too.

Can you try and stop buying neat vodka? I now won't keep it in the house.

Swap home pour for a can of vodka soda or whatever? Drink lower alcohol wine? Buy smaller glasses? These things all helped me.

Also emotional freedom technique. It's like this tapping thing. Google it. Itf you do it it kind of takes your mind off addictive or compulsive behaviours.

DH used to drink like Oliver Reed. A Colossal binge drinker. What you say you’ve been drinking OP wouldn’t have touched the sides with DH. Then he started getting symptoms associated with liver damage 14 years ago, although strangely apart from a CT scan showing an enlarged liver (which was subsequently dismissed as a subjective opinion) all other tests have returned normal. He gave up drinking when these symptoms started 14 years ago regardless.

In addition to the drinking, I would advise you watch any medication you take very carefully to make sure it is gentle on the liver.

DH won’t even take a paracetamol these days lol.

Good luck!

Try not to panic yourself. They’re a little high, but absolutely not liver damage high. It looks like mild to moderate inflammation that will normalise when you stop drinking.

To give you an idea, mine were in the 200s and they went back to normal within 4 weeks after I stopped drinking. I have no liver issues. Where there is liver damage that isn’t reversible, they will be in the low 1000s. It means you’ve caught this in time and it’s a great sign that you can be back to good health if you choose to be alcohol free.

Thank you so much 💓

Don’t panic! It’s great that your trying to reduce, keep at it if you can! Fabulous that you have referred to a local support service, presuming it’s an addiction service? Throw yourself into all the help you can get! How old are you of you don’t mind me asking? It’s not necessarily liver disease, but of course it might be. Bloods such as AST, ALT, GGT can all get better through abstinence. Focus on reducing with the aim to stopping all together. It’s likely you will need some psychological support, addiction service can be very good at providing this as long as your willing to engage. Give yourself some grace, you are not the first person in this situation (and many of us have been in worse), acknowledging you have a problem is a massive step. But it is a long hard road ahead and you will need support. Don’t despair, there is a way. You may want to get some vitamin B1/thiamine as this is good for brain function, alcohol depletes the body of it. Have you been using alcohol as a coping mechanism for something else? Stress, anxiety, depression, trauma??? Yes alcohol exacerbates these things but often one or more has triggered the cycle. There is all sorts of medication that may be useful, antidepressants, anti craving meds etc……. But support and talking therapy really need to be utilised along side them, it can be life changing …… believe me.
I know you say you want to prepare for the worst, I get that, but what’s done is done, focus on what you will do moving forward. (That’s not to say don’t go for tests, it’s still important you do). Try looking up SMART recovery too. That is a program that focus on recovery and coping strategies, they don’t use labels such as alcoholic or addict.
wishing you all the best xxxx