Liver Damage
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2018
Posts: 7
Liver Damage
While I have been drinking I have avoided and somewhat neglected my health. I was always worried that my liver was damaged. I was going through a wine bottle to a wine bottle and a half a night with way more on weekends. I took 2-3 nights off most weeks. I got my first blood work in 10 years. My blood work shows everything is perfect... ALT was 31 and ALT was 33. My triglycerides, cholesterol and lipids are all good. Does this mean my liver somehow is still healthy ?
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Join Date: Feb 2018
Posts: 513
Alcohol abuse attacks considerably more than the liver, the mind included. As alcoholics, the only way to avoid this is to never drink. The liver can heal itself with time provided it's not irreversibly damaged and drink is never touched again, but there are some areas of the body that won't recover.
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Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: sydney nsw
Posts: 785
Your liver results are perfect. Why wait for them to be bad and then freak out. My readings were in the hundreds, now back to your numbers which is below average. My drinking was affecting everything from blood pressure, weight gain and general mood swings. Since quitting everything is back to normal. As the saying goes "your body is your temple" . Many have irreversible damage so consider yourself lucky and stop before it is too late.
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Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: UK
Posts: 732
Liver function tests are generally ok until all of a sudden they aren't. I used my recovered liver as an excuse to feel it was still ok to keep drinking but it has gone to my brain and heart so NerfThis is right. I hope you do better than I did and stop before more damage is done xx
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Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: UK
Posts: 782
When you see a liver specialist they usually consider the following:
- history of alcohol use
- physical examination
- blood work
- ultrasound scan if warranted
All of these things together with the specialist's own experience combine to give you a verdict. In the early stages damage is reversible.
- history of alcohol use
- physical examination
- blood work
- ultrasound scan if warranted
All of these things together with the specialist's own experience combine to give you a verdict. In the early stages damage is reversible.
Member
Join Date: Aug 2016
Posts: 1,645
Alcohol abuse is bad for everything alcohol touches; your entire digestive tract (mouth, stomach, intestines, etc), your veins and arteries, your heart, your brain, your entire nervous system, and of course, your liver.
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Join Date: May 2019
Posts: 365
Normal liver enzymes do not mean your liver is fine. It means your liver still has enough functioning cells to do its job. They've autopsied people who had normal liver tests even though their liver was 50% scar tissue.
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Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 211,439
I don't have the qualifications to decipher the results Golfnut 
I'd caution you against ever thinking things are ok so I can drink some more...things can change very quickly if we drink enough...
good to hear from you again
D
I'd caution you against ever thinking things are ok so I can drink some more...things can change very quickly if we drink enough...
good to hear from you again
D
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2018
Posts: 7
Thanks guys I am done drinking! It’s been several weeks now and suddenly the things I used to love have replaced the need for my nightly drinks. The best part of not drinking is how much better my mood is. When I was drinking the next day my anxiety was insane and I felt jittery doing anything. Actually having dreams when I sleep is also amazing. I am grateful I escaped any health issues.
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Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 4,251
My very first boyfriend, just the sweetest guy ever, died from alcoholic pancereatis. I was close to his family and they know my struggle so they shared with me that he had completely normal liver numbers but his death was due to pancreatis due to habitual alcohol abuse.
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Join Date: May 2019
Posts: 49
You sound very much like me when I was drinking. Did that for 17 years and I'm only on day 80.
I had a scare recently as was getting pains in my kidney area. Went to the Dr and had blood and urine tests which were fine, like you. Also had an ultra sound which showed a lump in my liver. Got a CT scan which showed 3 lumps. Luckily all benign but was a wake up call. Stay clean and sober and don't push your luck... not worth the risk
I had a scare recently as was getting pains in my kidney area. Went to the Dr and had blood and urine tests which were fine, like you. Also had an ultra sound which showed a lump in my liver. Got a CT scan which showed 3 lumps. Luckily all benign but was a wake up call. Stay clean and sober and don't push your luck... not worth the risk
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Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Right here, right now
Posts: 3,973
So glad you are done drinking, golfnut! As you know and as others have posted, alcohol doesn’t just damage the liver. It damages the heart, the brain, other internal organs, it increases the risk of several cancers, etc I played with numbers a lot in the beginning, thinking if the blood work was fine, then it was ok to still drink. Until a couple more years went by and the numbers were no longer good. Liver numbers were elevated and early diabetes. What damaged me the most, though, was my spirit and knowing deep down what I was doing to myself wasn’t right or consistent with my values.
I don’t play that game anymore, and now after over two years sober, my numbers are back to being good. What matters more, though, is my emotional and spiritual health.
I don’t play that game anymore, and now after over two years sober, my numbers are back to being good. What matters more, though, is my emotional and spiritual health.
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Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: liverpool uk
Posts: 198
Originally Posted by Forwards 
When you see a liver specialist they usually consider the following:
- history of alcohol use
- physical examination
- blood work
- ultrasound scan if warranted
All of these things together with the specialist's own experience combine to give you a verdict. In the early stages damage is reversible.
- history of alcohol use
- physical examination
- blood work
- ultrasound scan if warranted
All of these things together with the specialist's own experience combine to give you a verdict. In the early stages damage is reversible.
the liver can replenish itself in time-thats the one thing they did tell me in the clinic so i know it's not a myth, just takes a while.
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