Flowerbomb

I'm a 36 year old woman from London England.

I have been seeing alcohol workers on nhs in england for 5 month now and my name is still not on a waiting list. I had my liver checked in June and my liver enzymes were in the 300s. My gp said they would go down after abstinence from alcohol, but name still not on waiting list.

I had another blood test on september 16th and my liver enzymes all 3, alt, ast and gamma gt were all in the 300s again. The nurse said they would go down after detox but my gp said I might have cirrhosis and has booked me in for an ultrasound next month.

I'm very scared. I had an ultrasound last april and all was fine but a fatty liver.

My fasting lft results over the past few years have been normal or just slightly raised.

My liver in January this year was only 64 and this was taken first thing in the morning but these last two results in June and September were taken in the evening by the alcohol services after I had drank almost half a bottle of vodka so I don't think the results are accurate.

I'm scared of getting the ultrasound, I don't want cirrhosis.

Rob32u

Flowerbomb, I hope the Ultrasound is ok. How long have you been drinking? And how much? I've had some recent scares myself.

lexilynn

Good luck Flowerbomb, Hugs!

doggonecarl

What have you been waiting five months for? Supervised detox?

There are things you can do to get your recovery kick started. Have you looked into AA? London must be packed with meetings and recovered alcoholics.

dancook99

hi i heard cirhossis takes a long time to develop so if your liver test was ok in january this year and no cirhossis in april, in my non-expert opinion, your liver wont be too bad now. but its good to get reassurance with the ultrasound!

Flowerbomb

Thank you. I've been drinking everyday for 11 years but from morning to night since 2009.

Yes I'm waiting for a supervised detox and they keep telling me to drink whilst waiting. I've spent £2000 in the last 5 months while waiting and now wish I went private.

They should have put my name on the waiting list in June after my last tests but didn't. I'm very angry with them.

Been sober two days now after this scare from my gp on Monday. I'm going to make another appointment tomorrow and explain to him that all my bloods tests fasting were normal or slightly raised but these last two tests were taken after drinking almost half a bottle of vodka and they were taken in the evening.

ScottFromWI

I'd see a different doctor if you can, any doctor that would tell you to keep drinking a bottle of vodka a day is not giving very good advice in my opinion. That is unless you weren't being honest about how much you were actually drinking?

Bottom line, you can't change the past but you can change today. 2 days sober is a great start, and I think that keeping your doctor in the loop would also be a good decision. And whatever the results of your tests are, your health has a much better chance at recovery when you are not drinking...that should be your absolute #1 priority now.

August252015

Keep drinking?! WOW.

I, too, have had liver problems. I was possibly an infinitesimal amount near cirrhosis. I am sober going on 8 mos and after sky high tests when I first stopped drinking, my levels were normal after 3 months. Complete abstinence is critical. I say this as someone who was drinking a handle of vodka every two days (that's the really big size, in whatever measurements Brits use).

Please get proper care. And please just stop drinking - the longer you put it off, quite simply, the worse it will get. No question there.

Good luck.

dox

The ultrasound won't give you cirrhosis.
But more drinking, the way you have been, will.

If you haven't already had a medical detox on the NHS,
some A&E departments used to be able to help us.
Worth phoning your local hospital to find out?
I'm sure that some hospitals still take in alcoholics, for detox, through the A&E department.
Only one time though.

Have you a plan to stop drinking?
Or, are you relying on fear alone?

Sounds like you are willing to go to any lengths in order to recover from alcoholism.
And that, believe it or not, is a good thing.

SnazzyDresser

It sounds like you need to be way more proactive about quitting drinking, for your liver's sake. The clock is ticking.

TulsaGentleman

If you are still drinking like this, you should be scared. It's hard, but if you want to live, you must stop drinking. I don't know what services your NHS offers you, but there are AA groups everywhere and those people will understand your challenges and will help you get and stay sober. There are resources available here on Sober Recovery that can support you.

It is not too late, but you must stop drinking. I encourage you to take responsibility for your own sobriety. Your life does depend on it.

Flowerbomb

I'm two days sober after this scare. I phoned my alcohol worker, told him what the gp said and he told me to carry on drinking whilst waiting for a medicated detox. The waiting list is 3 months and my name isn't even down yet. Next appointment on the 19th.

So yes they're telling me to carry on drinking for another 4-5 months or so before getting a detox, so I just did it myself.

ScottFromWI

Have you considered phoning the Samaritans hotline or perhaps AA? There's a lot of resources you could use right now instead of waiting for the med worker to get you access to detox. I would stay in touch with your doctor closely too if you have simply quit cold turkey...detox can be potentially dangerous.

Forward12

Any doc that is going to tell you to keep drinking, let alone for the next 4-5 months while your liver numbers are that high is nuts. I would find another doc or take on everything you can for sobriety yourself be it going to the ER, AA, having your doc prescribe some detox meds for a home detox,.. there are many options.
Continuing to drink is the worst possible thing you can do.

EndGameNYC

Did your alcohol worker tell you to continue drinking at least a half-a-bottle a day of vodka for the next several months?

You never responded to the speculation here that you may not have been completely forthcoming about your drinking with your doctor or your alcohol workers.

SoberCAH

I'm glad you're 2 days sober.

Most of us have been there ourselves.

Please don't drink again.

You may die from it.

I know that it will kill me if I drink again.

Flowerbomb

I don't have it. My fasting liver in February was perfect plus two ultrasound last April and endoscopy was perfect no scarring. They're just scaring me.

Funny how my fasting lft results were normal but after drinking half a bottle of vodka before bloods in the evening were elevated

ScottFromWI

That's actually not funny or surprising at all. Drinking half a bottle of vodka at a crack is tremendously stressful on your liver. And doing it over a long period of time repeatedly will eventually cause permanent damage.

MattM316

Well for many, continuing to drink or 'tapering down' is the only option.
After the last drink you have a 48 hour window before you are 'out of the woods' in terms of having withdrawal seizures, but those 48 hours are horrific.

I could never taper down so I had to tough those 48 hours out because for whatever reason my GP never prescribed Librium or whatever the drug is called.

MattM316

Surely not for another 4-5 months?!

Tapering down is an option, so gradually cutting down bit by bit, day by day which allows your body to get used to it.
Otherwise if you just suddenly stop your body can react like a coiled spring and you could be in a lot of trouble.

Obviously the best option is to get some kind of detox but if that means drinking for the next 5 months....