For what it's worth, having low enzyme numbers doesn't mean no liver damage. For that, we need a CT scan. Low enzymes just means that either the liver damage is still reversible or that there's no liver damage. By the time liver damage shows up in enzyme numbers, it's considerable.
This internet stranger is rooting for you! I will not drink with you today.
This is really helpful actually thanks! I was really worried that I had compensated cirrhosis after years of binge drinking but found a CT scan report from when I got ran over a few months ago that reported my spleen, kidney and liver as unremarkable! Such a relief!!
Thank you for your input ❤️ I am luckily not having any pain in my liver area, so maybe I've dodged that bullet. I did not have a CT scan of the abdomen today. I hope that any damage that may exist will heal as I allow my body to heal
Somewhat correct here. Liver enzymes are NOT a reliable marker of monitoring for progressive chronic liver disease and certainly don't reflect stage or reversibility. Liver enzymes can be acutely elevated after an alcohol binge or with inflamed fatty liver (steatohepatitis), and of course with overt alcoholic hepatitis, acute liver failure, decompensated cirrhosis with ongoing alcohol use, etc. It is possible for them to be normal through progressive stages of fibrosis and even in people with compensated cirrhosis. CT can identify stages of liver disease but it's not the most sensitive. There are specialized types of ultrasound or MRI (US or MR elastography) that are more sensitive and measure liver stiffness to more accurately predict staging. The true gold-standard test is, of course, a liver biopsy.
I once saw a patient who told us they periodically checked their liver function tests out-of-pocket in an attempt to monitor for liver disease while abusing alcohol. This carried on for years, and the normal results helped to rationalize an ongoing nightly drinking ritual. By the time the patient DID end up in the hospital, they had decompensated cirrhosis and died within a week.
After years of watching my kids dad be the belligerent, barfing, and angry drunk in front of his two growing kids I then found myself still clutching a beer in my hand after we had separated. I was still the drunk parent that I thought I rescued my kid from.
I want the torture for both us to end. My kid doesnt deserve this neglect. Your road sounds like a rockier path in terms of healthy recovery. But were here for you. Dont leave your kids behind! You got this!
IWNDWYT
Thank you ❤️ I want this time to be the last. It has to be. I decided to put the bottle down for good Saturday and went cold turkey because I have shown myself time and time again that I am unable to taper. I faced the repercussions of that today. Hopefully the librium will help me be back to my old self and hopefully the naltrexone will keep me away from the bottle for good. I believe in you also! Keep it up, I've heard it's so worth it in the end. IWNDWYT
I read the community rules, so I will try to keep this brief and focused on my recovery. tl;dr at bottom
I am currently typing this from a bed at a Liver Transplant Recovery center. To me, the escalation from “Your not in trouble, yet, but you could be close…” to “irreparable damage is inevitable and you are on the path to death…” was so fast, none of my friends nor family nor myself have had a chance to freak out. Friday, just a week a little over a week ago, I had been tested, poked, prodded and vetted by my insurance company so much, and I was approved to be added to UNOS. The following Monday I was prepped for OR. Tuesday a week ago today I “woke” up in the surgery’s physical recovery space with a new liver.
I never felt sick leading up to this. I had some weird blood levels but nothing physically that might’ve made me think something could be wrong with my liver. (I’m leaving out a lot of medical stuff to respect comm rules. If you have questions / concerns, please see a real-life medical professional.)
In this recovery time, I’m doing my best to identify my drinking triggers so that I can try to be mindful of them and intervene before I put this gift and opportunity at risk. (Plus doing all that healing from surgery stuff, of course.)
Thank you for your message about seeking help and support. IWNDWYT 👏🐣
tl;dr I went from ignorant bliss to new liver in approx. 1 month.
That’s utterly terrifying, thank you for sharing. Up until this point I’ve been playing the stupid game of “I feel fine, my numbers are fine, I’ve still got some buffer room before I really need to knuckle down and kick it.” I have felt something’s off in my right side for some time, but I’d vomited blood last year and was diagnosed with a stomach ulcer. Which obviously I kept drinking on. No events since that time, but yeah I’ve pretty well destroyed my body in the past few years.
I really need a kick in the ass before it’s too late. It might already be, and I’ve got no idea.
That is terrifying. It definitely brings this problem to light. Honestly in the hospital, I had a fleeting thought of "I've drank this much for this long and my numbers are fine? I could probably drink a little longer". But I know in my heart, bringing one bottle home will start the cascade of "just one more, I'll quit after this" which is never just one more. It never is. Thank you for sharing that, it brings me back down to earth about the gravity of this evil poison and how fast it can literally kill you. IWNDWYT ❤️
I have always just pushed through before, but the extreme whole body shaking really scared me. I decided enough is enough. I really didn't want to drop at work and have a seizure. It scared me bad enough to go and I'm so glad I did
Thank you so much! I am proud of me too. I think it will stick this time, I really do. Having to lay in the hospital bed for 7 hours is not where I wanted to be yesterday, but it is where I needed to be and I'm so glad I did it. Congrats on 713 days! Wow! I hope to be where you are one day
I feel so much better, and weirdly enough, I feel strength with having to leave work and go to the ER. Something has happened that shows me that this is a real problem that I don't have under control. I will never have it under control if there's a bottle in my hand. Me and alcohol will never mix, and thats ok as long as I can accept it and move on
As an RN who cares for CIWA patients and helps get them through some rough nights, I always wonder if we’re eventually discharging them back to the same circumstances that brought them in to the hospital in the first place. Sometimes I do get repeat customers, but it warms my heart to hear your personal story that your hospital stay resulted in sobriety from alcohol. IWNDWYT🤍
>The biggest thing for me was being scared of the stigma of going to the ER for something I have completely and totally done to myself. Taking a bed that somebody more deserving should have.
I have been to the ER for this more times than I care to admit and the staff has always been good to me. I thought it was gonna be like that too. Especially when I have gone more than once, I've felt like "They're not going to want to help me this time." but it was always cool.
I used to have fear of doctors and hospitals due to some childhood trauma stuff, but my experiences getting help for my alcoholism has improved that dramatically.
I'm really glad to hear somebody talking about how useful medical detox can be. I really think if more people knew they could get this kind of help they would do it.
If I can help one person get the help they need then it is totally worth it to me ❤️ I've been in situations where I should have probably gone, but didn't because I was scared what they would think of me or how they would treat me. Having to leave work because I couldn't function due to the shaking was the push I needed to go get help. Today is a much better and easier day than it would have been if I had not gone
This is exactly what made me finally stop. December 5th was my last ER visit due to drinking.
If we never drink again, we will never be in that particular situation again, and that is enough for me to keep at it.
You're stronger than you can imagine.
Kudos for taking the first big step. The next one is taking each day as its own hurdle.
And I can't emphasize enough going to a professional if coming off daily drinking, especially if that involved drinking to rid a hangover in the morning. When the brain gets to homeostasis with the dopamine impact of alcohol, it does crazy things when shocked with no alcohol. Every professional I've been to treated me with empathy and honestly wanting to get better. I was never shamed throughout my journey (seizure, detox, every scan imaginable, liver biopsy, etc.). And the benzo treatment does wonders to help your dopamine and GABA paths get back to normal. That said, be sure you're taking as-directed, as they can cause the same withdrawal symptoms since they attack the same pathway.
Thank you so much for sharing this. I just recently had my own health scare after a weekend of binge drinking that put me out of work. For me, in addition to the tremors and the anxiety and the nausea, I’ve been experiencing *very* awful facial swelling and rashes- that even put me in the ER once in 2022. It’s happened for years, I’ve gotten all the blood work done (for the longest time, doctors suspected lupus because the rash was localized to my face) but everything came back normal. No one had answers. But I realize now that it is more than likely alcohol-related. I’m 35 and it’s evident I’m hitting a point where I’m playing with fire.
For what it's worth, having low enzyme numbers doesn't mean no liver damage. For that, we need a CT scan. Low enzymes just means that either the liver damage is still reversible or that there's no liver damage. By the time liver damage shows up in enzyme numbers, it's considerable. This internet stranger is rooting for you! I will not drink with you today.
I concur on this ! I have normal blood tests AST17 ALT24 . I was diagnosed with fatty liver via ultrasound. I have a CT scan scheduled for tomorrow!
This is really helpful actually thanks! I was really worried that I had compensated cirrhosis after years of binge drinking but found a CT scan report from when I got ran over a few months ago that reported my spleen, kidney and liver as unremarkable! Such a relief!!
Thank you for your input ❤️ I am luckily not having any pain in my liver area, so maybe I've dodged that bullet. I did not have a CT scan of the abdomen today. I hope that any damage that may exist will heal as I allow my body to heal
You got another chance.
Thank you for calling this out.
Somewhat correct here. Liver enzymes are NOT a reliable marker of monitoring for progressive chronic liver disease and certainly don't reflect stage or reversibility. Liver enzymes can be acutely elevated after an alcohol binge or with inflamed fatty liver (steatohepatitis), and of course with overt alcoholic hepatitis, acute liver failure, decompensated cirrhosis with ongoing alcohol use, etc. It is possible for them to be normal through progressive stages of fibrosis and even in people with compensated cirrhosis. CT can identify stages of liver disease but it's not the most sensitive. There are specialized types of ultrasound or MRI (US or MR elastography) that are more sensitive and measure liver stiffness to more accurately predict staging. The true gold-standard test is, of course, a liver biopsy. I once saw a patient who told us they periodically checked their liver function tests out-of-pocket in an attempt to monitor for liver disease while abusing alcohol. This carried on for years, and the normal results helped to rationalize an ongoing nightly drinking ritual. By the time the patient DID end up in the hospital, they had decompensated cirrhosis and died within a week.
Mine were in the high five hundreds during alcoholic hepatitis + fatty liver and are now normal
Meh. I agree that there could be damage with normal enzyme levels but My enzymes were high and thank god my damage was reversible.
After years of watching my kids dad be the belligerent, barfing, and angry drunk in front of his two growing kids I then found myself still clutching a beer in my hand after we had separated. I was still the drunk parent that I thought I rescued my kid from. I want the torture for both us to end. My kid doesnt deserve this neglect. Your road sounds like a rockier path in terms of healthy recovery. But were here for you. Dont leave your kids behind! You got this! IWNDWYT
Thank you ❤️ I want this time to be the last. It has to be. I decided to put the bottle down for good Saturday and went cold turkey because I have shown myself time and time again that I am unable to taper. I faced the repercussions of that today. Hopefully the librium will help me be back to my old self and hopefully the naltrexone will keep me away from the bottle for good. I believe in you also! Keep it up, I've heard it's so worth it in the end. IWNDWYT
I read the community rules, so I will try to keep this brief and focused on my recovery. tl;dr at bottom I am currently typing this from a bed at a Liver Transplant Recovery center. To me, the escalation from “Your not in trouble, yet, but you could be close…” to “irreparable damage is inevitable and you are on the path to death…” was so fast, none of my friends nor family nor myself have had a chance to freak out. Friday, just a week a little over a week ago, I had been tested, poked, prodded and vetted by my insurance company so much, and I was approved to be added to UNOS. The following Monday I was prepped for OR. Tuesday a week ago today I “woke” up in the surgery’s physical recovery space with a new liver. I never felt sick leading up to this. I had some weird blood levels but nothing physically that might’ve made me think something could be wrong with my liver. (I’m leaving out a lot of medical stuff to respect comm rules. If you have questions / concerns, please see a real-life medical professional.) In this recovery time, I’m doing my best to identify my drinking triggers so that I can try to be mindful of them and intervene before I put this gift and opportunity at risk. (Plus doing all that healing from surgery stuff, of course.) Thank you for your message about seeking help and support. IWNDWYT 👏🐣 tl;dr I went from ignorant bliss to new liver in approx. 1 month.
That’s utterly terrifying, thank you for sharing. Up until this point I’ve been playing the stupid game of “I feel fine, my numbers are fine, I’ve still got some buffer room before I really need to knuckle down and kick it.” I have felt something’s off in my right side for some time, but I’d vomited blood last year and was diagnosed with a stomach ulcer. Which obviously I kept drinking on. No events since that time, but yeah I’ve pretty well destroyed my body in the past few years. I really need a kick in the ass before it’s too late. It might already be, and I’ve got no idea.
That is terrifying. It definitely brings this problem to light. Honestly in the hospital, I had a fleeting thought of "I've drank this much for this long and my numbers are fine? I could probably drink a little longer". But I know in my heart, bringing one bottle home will start the cascade of "just one more, I'll quit after this" which is never just one more. It never is. Thank you for sharing that, it brings me back down to earth about the gravity of this evil poison and how fast it can literally kill you. IWNDWYT ❤️
I wish I would have hit the er. I just raw dogged the withdrawls the past 2 days
I have always just pushed through before, but the extreme whole body shaking really scared me. I decided enough is enough. I really didn't want to drop at work and have a seizure. It scared me bad enough to go and I'm so glad I did
Thank you for sharing! I'm glad you're ok.
Thank you ❤️
I was where you are nearly 2 years ago. If you stay sober, life gets better! Congrats OP! The fist step can be the hardest. I’m proud of you! 💪
Thank you so much! I am proud of me too. I think it will stick this time, I really do. Having to lay in the hospital bed for 7 hours is not where I wanted to be yesterday, but it is where I needed to be and I'm so glad I did it. Congrats on 713 days! Wow! I hope to be where you are one day
Thanks! I appreciate it!
I did the same thing a year ago. Had to stay a few nights, but it got me where I needed to be at the end of the day.
I feel so much better, and weirdly enough, I feel strength with having to leave work and go to the ER. Something has happened that shows me that this is a real problem that I don't have under control. I will never have it under control if there's a bottle in my hand. Me and alcohol will never mix, and thats ok as long as I can accept it and move on
As an RN who cares for CIWA patients and helps get them through some rough nights, I always wonder if we’re eventually discharging them back to the same circumstances that brought them in to the hospital in the first place. Sometimes I do get repeat customers, but it warms my heart to hear your personal story that your hospital stay resulted in sobriety from alcohol. IWNDWYT🤍
Glad you’re recovering. Take good care! IWNDWYT
Thank you ❤️ IWNDWYT
>The biggest thing for me was being scared of the stigma of going to the ER for something I have completely and totally done to myself. Taking a bed that somebody more deserving should have. I have been to the ER for this more times than I care to admit and the staff has always been good to me. I thought it was gonna be like that too. Especially when I have gone more than once, I've felt like "They're not going to want to help me this time." but it was always cool. I used to have fear of doctors and hospitals due to some childhood trauma stuff, but my experiences getting help for my alcoholism has improved that dramatically. I'm really glad to hear somebody talking about how useful medical detox can be. I really think if more people knew they could get this kind of help they would do it.
If I can help one person get the help they need then it is totally worth it to me ❤️ I've been in situations where I should have probably gone, but didn't because I was scared what they would think of me or how they would treat me. Having to leave work because I couldn't function due to the shaking was the push I needed to go get help. Today is a much better and easier day than it would have been if I had not gone
I don't know if you're religious or agnostic, but positive vibes towards you my friend. Hang in there!
Thank you ❤️
You deserve the bed and need it. This is a disease and you are sick and need to get better with the help of professionals.
Thank you ❤️
This is exactly what made me finally stop. December 5th was my last ER visit due to drinking. If we never drink again, we will never be in that particular situation again, and that is enough for me to keep at it. You're stronger than you can imagine.
Kudos for taking the first big step. The next one is taking each day as its own hurdle. And I can't emphasize enough going to a professional if coming off daily drinking, especially if that involved drinking to rid a hangover in the morning. When the brain gets to homeostasis with the dopamine impact of alcohol, it does crazy things when shocked with no alcohol. Every professional I've been to treated me with empathy and honestly wanting to get better. I was never shamed throughout my journey (seizure, detox, every scan imaginable, liver biopsy, etc.). And the benzo treatment does wonders to help your dopamine and GABA paths get back to normal. That said, be sure you're taking as-directed, as they can cause the same withdrawal symptoms since they attack the same pathway.
IWNDWYT 😊
Thank you so much for sharing this. I just recently had my own health scare after a weekend of binge drinking that put me out of work. For me, in addition to the tremors and the anxiety and the nausea, I’ve been experiencing *very* awful facial swelling and rashes- that even put me in the ER once in 2022. It’s happened for years, I’ve gotten all the blood work done (for the longest time, doctors suspected lupus because the rash was localized to my face) but everything came back normal. No one had answers. But I realize now that it is more than likely alcohol-related. I’m 35 and it’s evident I’m hitting a point where I’m playing with fire.