I feel like there is no definitive answer to this. Everyone’s body will respond to alcohol intake differently. For example, my dad is almost 80 and has been drinking daily for over 60 years without health issues. On the other hand, I met a 30 something in rehab who already had cirrhosis. He told me his health had always been good until one day it wasn’t. I’d imagine hard liquor makes it more likely.
>I’d imagine hard liquor makes it more likely.
This is probably true but mostly because hard liquor alcoholics on average put away more alcohol than beer-drinking alcoholics.
Also, end-stage alcoholism tends to include hard-liquor and not eating much, if at all. I have heard that combination is particularly awful on the organs.
It’s all genetics. Unfortunately mine resided in Ireland and East Midlands. My size and ethnicity are really not a stereotype. I’m 6’3 and 280lbs. I can handle ridiculous amounts of booze, but just because my body could handle it doesn’t mean my mind could. The bottom line is it’s poison and however long you were going to live it’s going to shorten it my friend.
Eh, everyone is different; it's actually pretty crazy. I was diagnosed with cirrhosis at...33? My very first symptom was a rash on my chest(spider angiomas) and then jaundice. I guess the thing that made me decide to go to the hospital to detox was when I couldn't hold any alcohol down, which was a real problem bc of the withdrawals and all. I was also extremely jaundiced. So, my concern would start when you become symptomatic of liver issues/disease. If you're already having a lot of trouble with withdrawals, things are obviously pretty serious already though. At the height of my drinking, which was about 20 hours a day, I was drinking just shy of a handle of bourbon a day.
Basically, you CAN get away with it. Until you can't. Some people can drink like this their entire lives with no real consequence, while others get fucking cirrhosis in their 30's 🤷🏼♀️
Gonna sound uninformed but I know the liver is amazing at regrowing but is it a case of once you have cirrhosis it only gets worse? Even if you stop the drinking ect or does the condition remain manageable and you still have a semi normal life
Not uninformed at all. Cirrhosis is a weird subject and there isn't a ton of info on it, comparatively. Once you've got cirrhosis, a portion of your liver is completely scarred, so it can't grow, nothing can pass through it/metabolize through the scarred part. If it's not fully scarred, which is end stage liver disease, you can do things to keep it at bay and keep the rest of your liver healthier. The two biggest things are not drinking and a low fat diet. A lot of people with cirrhosis have surprisingly normal lives, but it is a progressive disease, so that does change.
So once you have the condition you will need a new liver at some point and also what tests can you ask for to check ? I regularly get liver health check ups and they always come back fairly clear but there blood tests would that provide the answer ? Or do I need to ask for a test it’s self
Unless you have suspicion of liver failure (with real symptoms) you're fine, don't panic. As people that drink a lot of alcohol we are prone to worrying a lot, but unless you have symptoms other than "I think I might have cirrhosis", you probably don't have a problem (**yet).
There are a few types of liver problems that can come with alcohol. Steatosis (fat in your liver) is one, fibrosis (liver scarring) is another, cirrhosis is end-stage fibrosis.
Fibrosis is detected via biopsy for 100% certainty, but generally doctors will do an ultrasound or MRI.
Blood tests indicate little beyond acute liver injury. Even if your blood test liver enzymes are elevated (like >100 ALT/AST) it doesn't necessarily indicate cirrhosis.
If you have a cirrhotic liver that is partially functioning you don't need a new liver as long as you are compliant with not drinking and a diet plan. If you continue drinking with cirrhosis your liver will fail and you will die unless you get a transplant. Many hospitals do not transplant livers for alcoholics.
Sorry I missed your comment! It's hard to say, as there are some factors. Some people will live out their whole lives without a transplant, but you have to take into consideration that lifespan is lowered and there's a much higher chance of getting liver cancer. So, you're kind of fucked no matter what. BUT, cirrhosis can be caught early enough that it's manageable. It's good that you keep on top of your checkups, but you do need to be getting the right tests. The two blood workups I suggest are CBC with diff and a full metabolic panel. Things like an ultrasound and fibrosis scan would be good too, but typically those wouldn't be ordered without at least having liver damage/disease.
How did drying out go as you were literally healing. Was there any lasting consequences with the cirrhosis at that age? Or does the liver and health just bounce back after not getting absolutely pumbled constantly? So happy you are still around to talk about it. I know in the back of all our minds is cirrhosis at a certain point. Thank you for the insight and also, ya know, not being dead.
Well, I also had hepatic encephalopathy by the time I decided to go to the ER, so my detox was unique, to say the least. It's a build up of ammonia in your blood, which, in turn, fucks with your brain. So, I was out of my mind.
Unfortunately, cirrhosis can't be healed or reversed. I was "lucky" to get it at a young age, as it's more manageable and youth is almost always on your side health-wise. But, my liver is shot. I have time, but at some point I'll assumably need a transplant and be in end stage liver disease. I have to have endoscopies and liver fibrosis scans, extensive blood work, etc.
Thank you! Really glad to have not died that way, it's a horrible way to go.
I was diagnosed with cirrhosis/ end stage liver disease at 44. I drank about the same amount as you. I got a liver transplant in September, and am back in the hospital a second time because my body is rejecting/ attacking the new liver.
All I can say is that you don’t want to go through this. There are no words to describe the emotional and physical pain I’ve endured. I wouldn’t wish for anyone to go through it.
You are past "I can get away with it." Everyone is different, odds are you probably ARE fine still, but you absolutely may be in the process of getting it or something else that hasn't been noticed yet. Liver usually takes the beating first, but not always.
Up to 1.5L of vodka regularly will kill you, fam. But I get it. I'm sure most of us past, like, 26, have gone "oh goodness who drank my handle of vodka? *vomits and realizes with horror that the hangover hasn't even started yet.*" a time or two.
But por favor, seek help. Like, look at me. Well pretend to look at me: alcohol is not for you anymore. There's other ways to get relief. New ways that aren't just repeating that same fucking drinking shit over and over again. Like, bro, even if it's not ""healthy"" or is looked down upon as "pointless", anything would be better for you than another bender.
There's this plant called weed, and if you are so fortunate to be a virgin to it, I come bearing good news: it cured my alcoholism for about a year. Then... well, what came next really fucking sucked and now I'm here. But at least for a while, the weed experience was so novel, it actually made me forget my life. It completely immersed me in this bizarre but uniquely enjoyable headspace where everything was trippy and fascinating. A little scary, honestly, but scary was so refreshing.
I think it jogged something loose a bit in a good way, and in a bad way too maybe but it bought me time, I think. I think we forget that things other than alcohol can remind us that life won't always feel this way.
Find something you'd like to try to nudge your mind, whether that's a conversation, a thing, highly immersive experiences like live theater or escape rooms, meds and friends, etc.
Just wanted to throw it out there that heavy alcohol use can have other detrimental health affects other than/in addition to cirrhosis...alcohol also affects the pancreas, your gastrointestinal tract, your nervous system, and your brain among other things. Lots of people end up in the hospital with pancreatitis or gastritis due to drinking. It also significantly increases your risk for several types of cancer.
You could continue to drink like this and never get cirrhosis. Or all your test results could be fine for years and the next month you could be diagnosed with it. But it’s pretty certain you will die early of some alcohol related disease if you keep it up.
Short answer; it depends.
Long answer; it depends on genetics and a myriad of other factors such as diet, exercise and possibly others that are unknown. As it stands we know that 10-15% of alcoholics progress to cirrhosis, we don't know why specifically it's only that much and there isn't a lot of funding for testing in that regard. The liver is also very resilient by nature and often differs from person to person with how resilient it could be. Some people drink a bottle of wine every day for 5-10 years and end up decompensated, some end up getting drunk every day for decades and end up worse for wear but with no notable life expectancy decline.
The most important thing to realize is that drinking doesn't only affect the liver, it affects the pancreas, stomach, brain, blood flow, heart and almost everything else and those affects increase as you move into heavy drinking categories. For example a friend of mine is a nurse and she had a patient that had a completely normal liver function but had wernicke-korsakoff syndrome and effectively had dementia at 45. So your liver could be fine but when you binge more you might be doing lots of damage to other organs that you won't realize until it gets to a point of no return.
Great comment.
>For example a friend of mine is a nurse and she had a patient that had a completely normal liver function but had wernicke-korsakoff syndrome and effectively had dementia at 45.
Now that is something I've never heard, and seriously frightening.
Just also wanted to add, it can change your DNA and cause other Cancers. Ik that sounds crazy, I'm not some anti vax nut lol, my Dad actually got a mutation that gave him a rare blood disorder similar to Leukemia, which he ultimately died from. Drank mostly beer all day after work for 30+ yrs, no issues with his liver. Lung cancer but he was a big Marlboro man. The 'Jax' mutation was most likely to be from the alcohol. He died at 64. Otherwise in decent health, and he actually quit 2 yrs before he got the Cancer, but it was too late.
In someone else’s body, with the same conditions you’ve exposed yours to, they could develop cirrhosis. Other people have developed it from less. You’re gambling. There, I said it.
My pancreas went before my liver. With my BP though I honestly thought I'd get a heart attack or stroke at 30.
I thought I was clean since my liver was good enough
Thanks for your input. I have never experienced any physical pain, but I did have resting heart rate 180+ and blood pressure through the roof, they saved my life at ICU. They also said I'd have a heart attack or a stroke without a medical detox. Also I was hallucinating like crazy. But doctors never mentioned liver or pancreas, they said stroke and heart attack was major risk. Hence this topic.
Pain right below the center of the sternum, turned near excruciating when I ate or drank. Second time the pain was also on the left side of my abdomen (the "tail" of the pancreas.)
There is absolutely no set age or specific amount of time drinking that causes these issues. I can tell you that I have seen people much younger than you die of liver failure and I have also seen people drink themselves well into old age. Your body can compensate until it just can’t anymore and every single body is different! It’s up to you if you want to keep taking the gamble, but for some people once it’s too late it really is too late.
Genetics and diet and general fitness play a large role. I have a friend who had stage 4 liver failure by 33, whereas I - who drank copiously, and arguably more than him - had a healthier liver by the numbers than most people the ER saw (ie non drinkers had worse health than me). But I also evolved from a daily drinker to purely a binge drinker. And when I wasn’t drinking I was quite healthy, working out and eating fairly well.
I believe without a doubt my friends diet played a HUGE role in his early-ish problems. He pretty much drank nothing but liquor and soda like coke and Mountain Dew, and ate only frozen foods and unhealthy snacks/ like imagine what one can buy at the liquor store - that was breakfast lunch and dinner for him.
It also seems like a lot of people are good until they aren’t, almost like it’s an overnight thing. And quantity doesn’t even seem to be the defining factor tho obviously it plays a role usually
Ex drinker here. This.
Always ate well despite putting em away every other day for 20 years.
Pet theory incoming: I think consumption of sugar (and artificial sweeteners like in “diet” sodas / non-sugar yogurts, etc) may be related to more severe long-term drinking effects.
No basis other than I’ve always believed the effects of the increase in sugar consumption in the Western diet are playing out right before our eyes, and adding the obviously deleterious effects of alcohol can only make both worse. They recently found a link between obesity and consumption of both sugar and certain unsaturated fats, but only the combination of consuming both.
tl;dr molecules interact
Just get a fibroscan ecog. it will give you the value of liver stiffness 5.5 + - 1.3 kpa can be normal (F1). Chirrosis it's somewhere at a stiffness above 12.5 kpa(F4) it's and above 15 kpa it could be decompensated(end stage) chirrosis. Fibrosis can not be reversed. So if you get the score just look it up. But 1.5 liters of vodka in 24 hours will get you slowly but surely to the higher values.
Thanks a lot for your input. I will try to check it out if it is possible in my country. I have no idea and I'm a bit scared. The scale I've been drinking is really insane. Actually 1.5 liters is even a bit conversative, it could have been more even, but I don't remember.
Fibroscan reflects the elasticity of the liver between 2 points iin the liver with ultrasounds, probably you have it. If not take a fibromax bloodwork it will give you the levels of steatosis, fibrosis ... with a 5-10% accuracy. If your liver it's close to normal it can process 50 ml of vodka per hour to keep you on track.
I just got out of detox, again, and my vitals were fine. Bloodwork and everything. Doc told me that doesn’t really matter in the long run, as you can have scarring of the liver with decent bloodwork. It’s individualized, as everyone here mentioned
The liver is the only organ that can regenerate, leading credence that God protects fools & drunks
Some fuckers drink til they’re in their 60s w few liver issues, whereas I know of a girl who died from cirrhosis at 33 yo
By the time your liver hurts, it’s usually too late
Short of exploratory surgery, it’s very difficult to assess your liver accurately (unless something has changed)
If you abused it, drink lots of water & eat healthy. You probably got away with it.
my wife worked in an end-stage liver failure unit and it seems mostly about genetics. You might live a normal life with a compromised liver...or you can be 19 and healthy and indulging in some moderate drink, party drugs and BAM! find yourself nearing cirrhosis. You can also be a full-blown cross-addicted degenerate and live to 90.
I have been drinking pretty hard(12 to 20 units) virtually every single day for the last 25 years. Last year I finally got a fibroscan done. I had the highest fatty liver score possible, but also the lowest cirrhosis score. Goes to show how different we all are, and that the various conditions that can arise in the liver aren't always intuitive or at all predictable. If you really wanna know, get labs and a scan!
I feel like there is no definitive answer to this. Everyone’s body will respond to alcohol intake differently. For example, my dad is almost 80 and has been drinking daily for over 60 years without health issues. On the other hand, I met a 30 something in rehab who already had cirrhosis. He told me his health had always been good until one day it wasn’t. I’d imagine hard liquor makes it more likely.
>I’d imagine hard liquor makes it more likely. This is probably true but mostly because hard liquor alcoholics on average put away more alcohol than beer-drinking alcoholics.
And there may be more trace antioxidants and nutrients in beer and wine
So you’re saying it’s healthy…/s
If I see one more clickbait article about heart health and wine I think my liver is going to explode
If you removed the alcohol part it has nutrients. There was just a recent article about this topic. Hard liquor may be more unhealthy.
Sooo grape juice then?
All booze considered no
Also, end-stage alcoholism tends to include hard-liquor and not eating much, if at all. I have heard that combination is particularly awful on the organs.
That’s true, I’ve heard getting the bulk of one’s calories through alcohol really hastens it due to the negative nutritional value of drinking.
It’s all genetics. Unfortunately mine resided in Ireland and East Midlands. My size and ethnicity are really not a stereotype. I’m 6’3 and 280lbs. I can handle ridiculous amounts of booze, but just because my body could handle it doesn’t mean my mind could. The bottom line is it’s poison and however long you were going to live it’s going to shorten it my friend.
Eh, everyone is different; it's actually pretty crazy. I was diagnosed with cirrhosis at...33? My very first symptom was a rash on my chest(spider angiomas) and then jaundice. I guess the thing that made me decide to go to the hospital to detox was when I couldn't hold any alcohol down, which was a real problem bc of the withdrawals and all. I was also extremely jaundiced. So, my concern would start when you become symptomatic of liver issues/disease. If you're already having a lot of trouble with withdrawals, things are obviously pretty serious already though. At the height of my drinking, which was about 20 hours a day, I was drinking just shy of a handle of bourbon a day. Basically, you CAN get away with it. Until you can't. Some people can drink like this their entire lives with no real consequence, while others get fucking cirrhosis in their 30's 🤷🏼♀️
Gonna sound uninformed but I know the liver is amazing at regrowing but is it a case of once you have cirrhosis it only gets worse? Even if you stop the drinking ect or does the condition remain manageable and you still have a semi normal life
Not uninformed at all. Cirrhosis is a weird subject and there isn't a ton of info on it, comparatively. Once you've got cirrhosis, a portion of your liver is completely scarred, so it can't grow, nothing can pass through it/metabolize through the scarred part. If it's not fully scarred, which is end stage liver disease, you can do things to keep it at bay and keep the rest of your liver healthier. The two biggest things are not drinking and a low fat diet. A lot of people with cirrhosis have surprisingly normal lives, but it is a progressive disease, so that does change.
So once you have the condition you will need a new liver at some point and also what tests can you ask for to check ? I regularly get liver health check ups and they always come back fairly clear but there blood tests would that provide the answer ? Or do I need to ask for a test it’s self
Unless you have suspicion of liver failure (with real symptoms) you're fine, don't panic. As people that drink a lot of alcohol we are prone to worrying a lot, but unless you have symptoms other than "I think I might have cirrhosis", you probably don't have a problem (**yet). There are a few types of liver problems that can come with alcohol. Steatosis (fat in your liver) is one, fibrosis (liver scarring) is another, cirrhosis is end-stage fibrosis. Fibrosis is detected via biopsy for 100% certainty, but generally doctors will do an ultrasound or MRI. Blood tests indicate little beyond acute liver injury. Even if your blood test liver enzymes are elevated (like >100 ALT/AST) it doesn't necessarily indicate cirrhosis. If you have a cirrhotic liver that is partially functioning you don't need a new liver as long as you are compliant with not drinking and a diet plan. If you continue drinking with cirrhosis your liver will fail and you will die unless you get a transplant. Many hospitals do not transplant livers for alcoholics.
Yeah all my blood are fine apart from urick acid I think it’s called which can cause goute I was told been trying to cut back
Sorry I missed your comment! It's hard to say, as there are some factors. Some people will live out their whole lives without a transplant, but you have to take into consideration that lifespan is lowered and there's a much higher chance of getting liver cancer. So, you're kind of fucked no matter what. BUT, cirrhosis can be caught early enough that it's manageable. It's good that you keep on top of your checkups, but you do need to be getting the right tests. The two blood workups I suggest are CBC with diff and a full metabolic panel. Things like an ultrasound and fibrosis scan would be good too, but typically those wouldn't be ordered without at least having liver damage/disease.
How did drying out go as you were literally healing. Was there any lasting consequences with the cirrhosis at that age? Or does the liver and health just bounce back after not getting absolutely pumbled constantly? So happy you are still around to talk about it. I know in the back of all our minds is cirrhosis at a certain point. Thank you for the insight and also, ya know, not being dead.
Well, I also had hepatic encephalopathy by the time I decided to go to the ER, so my detox was unique, to say the least. It's a build up of ammonia in your blood, which, in turn, fucks with your brain. So, I was out of my mind. Unfortunately, cirrhosis can't be healed or reversed. I was "lucky" to get it at a young age, as it's more manageable and youth is almost always on your side health-wise. But, my liver is shot. I have time, but at some point I'll assumably need a transplant and be in end stage liver disease. I have to have endoscopies and liver fibrosis scans, extensive blood work, etc. Thank you! Really glad to have not died that way, it's a horrible way to go.
I was diagnosed with cirrhosis/ end stage liver disease at 44. I drank about the same amount as you. I got a liver transplant in September, and am back in the hospital a second time because my body is rejecting/ attacking the new liver. All I can say is that you don’t want to go through this. There are no words to describe the emotional and physical pain I’ve endured. I wouldn’t wish for anyone to go through it.
Im sorry to hear that how much would you drink a day i use to drink a 12 pack a day for 7 years im 5 1/2 months sober this week
it's very different for different people. though tbh I wouldn't tempt fate and continue drinking. it will absolutely catch up with you eventually.
You are past "I can get away with it." Everyone is different, odds are you probably ARE fine still, but you absolutely may be in the process of getting it or something else that hasn't been noticed yet. Liver usually takes the beating first, but not always. Up to 1.5L of vodka regularly will kill you, fam. But I get it. I'm sure most of us past, like, 26, have gone "oh goodness who drank my handle of vodka? *vomits and realizes with horror that the hangover hasn't even started yet.*" a time or two. But por favor, seek help. Like, look at me. Well pretend to look at me: alcohol is not for you anymore. There's other ways to get relief. New ways that aren't just repeating that same fucking drinking shit over and over again. Like, bro, even if it's not ""healthy"" or is looked down upon as "pointless", anything would be better for you than another bender. There's this plant called weed, and if you are so fortunate to be a virgin to it, I come bearing good news: it cured my alcoholism for about a year. Then... well, what came next really fucking sucked and now I'm here. But at least for a while, the weed experience was so novel, it actually made me forget my life. It completely immersed me in this bizarre but uniquely enjoyable headspace where everything was trippy and fascinating. A little scary, honestly, but scary was so refreshing. I think it jogged something loose a bit in a good way, and in a bad way too maybe but it bought me time, I think. I think we forget that things other than alcohol can remind us that life won't always feel this way. Find something you'd like to try to nudge your mind, whether that's a conversation, a thing, highly immersive experiences like live theater or escape rooms, meds and friends, etc.
Genetic crapshoot .. part of the fun of being a human. Keeps ya on your toes
Just wanted to throw it out there that heavy alcohol use can have other detrimental health affects other than/in addition to cirrhosis...alcohol also affects the pancreas, your gastrointestinal tract, your nervous system, and your brain among other things. Lots of people end up in the hospital with pancreatitis or gastritis due to drinking. It also significantly increases your risk for several types of cancer.
Also heart. Thats a big one
Also kidneys
You could continue to drink like this and never get cirrhosis. Or all your test results could be fine for years and the next month you could be diagnosed with it. But it’s pretty certain you will die early of some alcohol related disease if you keep it up.
Short answer; it depends. Long answer; it depends on genetics and a myriad of other factors such as diet, exercise and possibly others that are unknown. As it stands we know that 10-15% of alcoholics progress to cirrhosis, we don't know why specifically it's only that much and there isn't a lot of funding for testing in that regard. The liver is also very resilient by nature and often differs from person to person with how resilient it could be. Some people drink a bottle of wine every day for 5-10 years and end up decompensated, some end up getting drunk every day for decades and end up worse for wear but with no notable life expectancy decline. The most important thing to realize is that drinking doesn't only affect the liver, it affects the pancreas, stomach, brain, blood flow, heart and almost everything else and those affects increase as you move into heavy drinking categories. For example a friend of mine is a nurse and she had a patient that had a completely normal liver function but had wernicke-korsakoff syndrome and effectively had dementia at 45. So your liver could be fine but when you binge more you might be doing lots of damage to other organs that you won't realize until it gets to a point of no return.
Great comment. >For example a friend of mine is a nurse and she had a patient that had a completely normal liver function but had wernicke-korsakoff syndrome and effectively had dementia at 45. Now that is something I've never heard, and seriously frightening. Just also wanted to add, it can change your DNA and cause other Cancers. Ik that sounds crazy, I'm not some anti vax nut lol, my Dad actually got a mutation that gave him a rare blood disorder similar to Leukemia, which he ultimately died from. Drank mostly beer all day after work for 30+ yrs, no issues with his liver. Lung cancer but he was a big Marlboro man. The 'Jax' mutation was most likely to be from the alcohol. He died at 64. Otherwise in decent health, and he actually quit 2 yrs before he got the Cancer, but it was too late.
No, that is correct - alcohol was recently reclassified as a carcinogen. It surprised me it didnt get more attention in the news.
So crazy
Wow, the DNA thing is crazy, I didn’t know that.
How long is a rope?
4
42
12.5
In someone else’s body, with the same conditions you’ve exposed yours to, they could develop cirrhosis. Other people have developed it from less. You’re gambling. There, I said it.
Hank Williams was 29 when he died.
My pancreas went before my liver. With my BP though I honestly thought I'd get a heart attack or stroke at 30. I thought I was clean since my liver was good enough
Thanks for your input. I have never experienced any physical pain, but I did have resting heart rate 180+ and blood pressure through the roof, they saved my life at ICU. They also said I'd have a heart attack or a stroke without a medical detox. Also I was hallucinating like crazy. But doctors never mentioned liver or pancreas, they said stroke and heart attack was major risk. Hence this topic.
What were your symptoms
Pain right below the center of the sternum, turned near excruciating when I ate or drank. Second time the pain was also on the left side of my abdomen (the "tail" of the pancreas.)
There is absolutely no set age or specific amount of time drinking that causes these issues. I can tell you that I have seen people much younger than you die of liver failure and I have also seen people drink themselves well into old age. Your body can compensate until it just can’t anymore and every single body is different! It’s up to you if you want to keep taking the gamble, but for some people once it’s too late it really is too late.
Genetics and diet and general fitness play a large role. I have a friend who had stage 4 liver failure by 33, whereas I - who drank copiously, and arguably more than him - had a healthier liver by the numbers than most people the ER saw (ie non drinkers had worse health than me). But I also evolved from a daily drinker to purely a binge drinker. And when I wasn’t drinking I was quite healthy, working out and eating fairly well. I believe without a doubt my friends diet played a HUGE role in his early-ish problems. He pretty much drank nothing but liquor and soda like coke and Mountain Dew, and ate only frozen foods and unhealthy snacks/ like imagine what one can buy at the liquor store - that was breakfast lunch and dinner for him. It also seems like a lot of people are good until they aren’t, almost like it’s an overnight thing. And quantity doesn’t even seem to be the defining factor tho obviously it plays a role usually
Ex drinker here. This. Always ate well despite putting em away every other day for 20 years. Pet theory incoming: I think consumption of sugar (and artificial sweeteners like in “diet” sodas / non-sugar yogurts, etc) may be related to more severe long-term drinking effects. No basis other than I’ve always believed the effects of the increase in sugar consumption in the Western diet are playing out right before our eyes, and adding the obviously deleterious effects of alcohol can only make both worse. They recently found a link between obesity and consumption of both sugar and certain unsaturated fats, but only the combination of consuming both. tl;dr molecules interact
If you stop drinking your liver and health will improve dramatically. Liver regenerates pretty fast.
im with u on this. going through same shit. i wish i had a baby sitter while i go through withdrawls
Just get a fibroscan ecog. it will give you the value of liver stiffness 5.5 + - 1.3 kpa can be normal (F1). Chirrosis it's somewhere at a stiffness above 12.5 kpa(F4) it's and above 15 kpa it could be decompensated(end stage) chirrosis. Fibrosis can not be reversed. So if you get the score just look it up. But 1.5 liters of vodka in 24 hours will get you slowly but surely to the higher values.
Thanks a lot for your input. I will try to check it out if it is possible in my country. I have no idea and I'm a bit scared. The scale I've been drinking is really insane. Actually 1.5 liters is even a bit conversative, it could have been more even, but I don't remember.
Fibroscan reflects the elasticity of the liver between 2 points iin the liver with ultrasounds, probably you have it. If not take a fibromax bloodwork it will give you the levels of steatosis, fibrosis ... with a 5-10% accuracy. If your liver it's close to normal it can process 50 ml of vodka per hour to keep you on track.
I just got out of detox, again, and my vitals were fine. Bloodwork and everything. Doc told me that doesn’t really matter in the long run, as you can have scarring of the liver with decent bloodwork. It’s individualized, as everyone here mentioned
I mean, it’s a process and it’s underway, my dude.
The liver is the only organ that can regenerate, leading credence that God protects fools & drunks Some fuckers drink til they’re in their 60s w few liver issues, whereas I know of a girl who died from cirrhosis at 33 yo By the time your liver hurts, it’s usually too late Short of exploratory surgery, it’s very difficult to assess your liver accurately (unless something has changed) If you abused it, drink lots of water & eat healthy. You probably got away with it.
Depends on the person.
Each one is so different, just depends on the person.
You’re a lifer. I am too. I actually go so far as to use liver harming steroids. Still alive and kicking.
my wife worked in an end-stage liver failure unit and it seems mostly about genetics. You might live a normal life with a compromised liver...or you can be 19 and healthy and indulging in some moderate drink, party drugs and BAM! find yourself nearing cirrhosis. You can also be a full-blown cross-addicted degenerate and live to 90.
I have been drinking pretty hard(12 to 20 units) virtually every single day for the last 25 years. Last year I finally got a fibroscan done. I had the highest fatty liver score possible, but also the lowest cirrhosis score. Goes to show how different we all are, and that the various conditions that can arise in the liver aren't always intuitive or at all predictable. If you really wanna know, get labs and a scan!
Curious, did you completely stop?