Do you notice liver damage?
 

Ok, now that I'm going through withdrawal, I'm beginning to worry about whether or not I've damaged my liver. Next week I'll be talking to my doctor, but to calm my anxiety about it, I wanted to ask it here as well.

Btw, I know that medical advice is not allowed on here. But I hope that I can get some answers, maybe links from you guys as well.

Also btw, this is based on heightened anxiety due to the withdrawal. It started 5 minutes ago and I know it will go away. Still, I think the question I have is a useful one nevertheless.

Ok, I've been doing some research on my own regarding alcohol-related liver damage. And there are lists of signs and symptoms that would potentially indicate liver problems. I have none of them. But then there's that one line they add in: "sometimes the individual doesn't notice anything".

If I have a fatty liver, I'm ok with that since that will heal.

My question is: if you have something worse than a fatty liver because of the alcohol, will you definitely notice symptoms? Since it's more severe, my guess would be yes. And I couldn't determine from the literature if the "doesn't notice anything" line refers only to a fatty liver or also to the next phases.

Also, if I only get my blood checked (which I'm guessing is the first thing they'll do) and it comes back clean, does that definitively rule out liver problems? Or, if there are problems, will it *always* be visible in the blood test?

Weird, I have a tendency towards anxiety, but it's going through the roof right now. :) So I would really like to get some peace of mind and knowing the answers to the above, whatever those answers are, would give me certainty instead of this cycle of thinking about it I'm in now.

One things for sure, any more drinking won't help.

I think you are going to be ok, none of us can tell you what shape you are in.
The doctor will check you out. Try not to worry about things that you can't do anything about right now.

As for me I have been checked out ok and I am 50. I drank plenty over the years.

Thanks. That's great! Must have been a relief to hear that you were ok!

What kinds of tests did they do?

I don't know the answer to your question. Your Dr., obviously, can answer your questions. I was worried about that, too, but all has checked out just fine.
It has been amazing how all the anxiety has faded away without any alcohol to stir it up.
I'm happy for you, it sounds like you're getting through the roughest parts.

It's common in early recovery for your anxiety to be awful and for your emotions to be all over the place.

Ask your doctor for a complete physical exam, including blood tests for liver function.

I would advise you just two things: don't worry about it so much; and also, stay sober - it's the best thing you can do for your health. :)

Have you booked a Dr apt to get checked out ?

Yeah, this is a rough part. But it's part of it. I remember Dee talking about acceptance and that really helps.

I'm going to make an appointment with my doctor first thing Monday.

I'm happy for you that all has checked out just fine. What did they do? What kinds of tests?

Will do so first thing on Monday.

I had tests done a few months after I got sober. They all came back good. :)

True. :) And I'm staying sober, no matter what.

I'm asking everyone: what kinds of tests did they do?

I guess I need to stop asking now and let it go. :)

It is kind of funny that you've read all over the internet about the signs of liver damage and you don't have any. But, you're focusing on that one little disclaimer that says "sometimes the individual doesn't notice anything"!
Good to go get the final word from a medical professional.

I don't know the specific names of the tests they did, I left that up to the doctor. I only know that my liver is working just fine now. :)

I wouldn't worry about it too much, Mike. It is possible to have severe damage and not show any symptoms but only your doctor will be able to tell if this is the case.

The blood test will check two primary enzymes from your liver. If they are elevated, that's a sign of damage (either fatty liver or scaring). Both of my numbers were highly elevated in my blood test. One of them was supposed to be between 10 and 40 and came in at over 300. That puts it into the severe damage category. I got tested again months later and the number was down to 278. My doctor said as long as the numbers are improving, that's a sign the liver is healing itself but needs to be closely monitored. I'm due for another checkup in three weeks. If they don't come back to normal range after awhile, I will need to see a liver specialist and have further testing done.

This was just my case and my doctor's opinion so it should not be taken as medical advice. You need to see your doctor as they know what to be looking for in other aspects of your health and test results in conjunction with the liver numbers. Blood pressure is another concern as it's often elevated along with heart rate after long term heavy drinking. That's an easy fix, though as long as you don't drink, eat better, exercise and, in some cases, get on some meds to control it.

It's easy to let the anxiety get the best of you so don't dwell on it. You will feel much better after you see your doctor.

AST and ALT are the two enzymes I've been tested for several times. Not sure what they stand for.

AST is Aspartate Aminotransferase and ALT is Alanine Aminotransferase. I did a lot of reading up on it after I got my results.

Totally get the anxiety; alcohol jacks with your GABA neurotransmitter (the one that calms your nervous system down) and it takes a while for the body to reboot the normal chemistry. I believe initially in WD a person's GABA levels plummet.

Don't read too much online about health ailments as it will drive your anxiety higher. Just get to the doc and get the blood work done for peace of mind! Good news about the liver is that it is an organ that can heal itself! :)

I went through the same thing. And this was after 25 years of drinking. I was totally freaking out about what I thought I had done to my insides. After just 10 months of sobriety, I had a full physical with all the blood panels they do on a 50 year old, and everything checked out ok.

Make sure you're completely honest with your GP about your drinking.

Hang in there, my friend, it only gets better.

For liver & kidney function it will be bloodtests really simple stuff mike it won't be complicated

Best thing to do is not freak out. I had blood tests just prior to going sober. At 30 days enzymes were still much higher than normal but going down. At about 70 days they were back in the normal range. The key is to stay sober. I'm 58 and drank for over 30 years. BUT, everyone is different. It's all too frequent that you see people in there 20's dying of cirrhosis of the liver.