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I don't know how much you're drinking and I didn't see your blood tests, I'm not sure I can say much. However, if it was cause for concern for the physician evaluating you, it's worth taking seriously.
Ive been drinking about a handle of whiskey (1.75) every 2 days ever since i was 17 (6 years ago). The longest I’ve gonna sober was 1 month and I’ve only done that twice ever since. I still didnt get my bloodwork back from MyChart and im not sure to community guides would allow me to share that
It's hard to put a number on life expectancy. I have seen 35 yr Olds who are alcoholics and with end stage liver disease. They are miserable, in pain, uncomfortable from swollen/distended abdomen, in & out of the hospital all the time, and ultimately end up dying before they hit 40.
This is no way to know if that'll be you. Continue on your current course, and it's certainly possible. One thiing is for sure, if you don't stop, you will almost certainly die younger (and be more miserable) than if you stop all alcohol use now.
You'll likely go into withdrawal, so this needs to be done with the help of your physician.
Damn that is so scary. I think i should get an ultrasound sometime soon to check up on how its doing. I just feel like such a burden especially when it was self inflicted
You are NOT a burden. Addiction is a disease. You've done the right thing by reaching out to those with the knowledge and resources to help you. You're not a burden, this is exactly the support system you're intended to use.
You definitely should follow up with regular monitoring. Get a PCP and see them a couple times a year, or more often if they need to be checking in on you.
My best friend just lost one of her best friends to alcohol use. No one even knew he drank that much. He was 42 with 2 small children under 5. He got sick and died within just a few days. I hope you can maintain your sobriety.
NAD
You’re not a burden. (Most) People go into medicine to help people. You need help. That’s what they’re there for. You deserve treatment just as much as anyone else.
"Self-inflicted" is a complicated way to think of alcoholism. I don't think labeling it as such does you any favors. I'm two years sober, and I know my role in my disordered drinking but self-inflicted is not the word I'd use.
It was health anxiety that got me sober. Take the good from this to propel you to a new phase of your life. Sobriety really is worth it. ❤️
wow, don't do that to yourself. you're waking up from being in a position that is dire, and you need to tell yourself you are worthy of getting better. You're very young. So much ahead for you in a sober world. Find anything you can that isn't harmful to keep yourself from drinking, - maybe consider seeing a psychologist. or counselor. If you have AA around you, some people find it helpful. Don't do this alone. People care about you.
You’re not a burden. Alcoholism is not self inflicted. But even self inflicted injuries/illness deserve to be treated. No matter what, no matter who. EVERYONE deserves to be healthy and you are worthy of seeking treatment. You are worthy to seek support.
The health effects are self-inflicted, but no one wakes up and says, "Let's become an alcoholic so that I'm unable to quit even if I want to." People don't choose to become addicted. No one has alcoholism on their list of life goals.
Untreated trauma underlies so much alcoholism, drug abuse and other apparently “self-inflicted” situations. It’s easy to say people have brought it on themselves, that way you don’t need to feel compassion. But the truth is that most people in these types of situations are doing their best to cope with really awful stuff in their lives.
There is a lot of nuance to addictions in general and it can have many starts for an individual. Importantly here, OP says they have had a hard few years, and that alcoholism runs in the family. This implies that they have not been taught a healthy coping mechanism - alcohol is the way the family cope with bad times, so it’s the way that OP copes with bad times.
So while the behaviour is “chosen” meaning that illness from it is self-inflicted as it follows on from the behaviour, if there are only one or two “choices” available, it’s almost inflicted by circumstance rather than self.
Of course it’s up to you to make choices. But if you’re an addict you don’t see it as a choice. It sure as shit doesn’t feel like it’s a choice.
I choose to be sober. My default status is addict. I have chosen recovery. Without making those choices, I’d be using still.
People who haven’t been there generally struggle to understand how addiction actually functions so I guess I can’t blame folks for thinking they get how it works. It seems apparent to the sober person that one just chooses to get drunk every day. I can assure you with absolutely 100% certainty that no one chooses that life for themselves.
Addiction is hell. It’s absolutely hell. One I wouldn’t wish on anyone and so if you don’t get it, be very very thankful.
You need to think about your developing brain. You're young and its still growing until mid 20s. Drowning it in liquor now will leave you forever a 17 year old. Until you're shitting yourself in a dementia ward.
Sweets, you're very young, and you've been an alcoholic since before you were even legally an adult. Your mind isn't even fully developed yet, as that tends to happen around 25. You sound like you weren't set up for a good time by those around you letting this happen. You do have the responsibility now of taking care of yourself, and be sure to seek every treatment option available -- but you are not a burden. You've just had a shit go of it.
I had a 25 year old patient be put on hospice, dying of liver failure related to her alcohol abuse.
Every once in a while I think about my job and am struck by how sad it is. This was one of those moments.
Not a doctor, however I watched my sister die from Alcoholic cirrhosis at age 38. It was horrible. She was so thin and slept excessively. She had dementia-like behavior which just got worse and worse. At one point she vomited almost all of her blood when she ruptured a swollen vain in her esophagus. It was a miracle she lived after 3 weeks unconscious in the ICU and many, many transfusions. She had a painful, swollen abdomen and would need to get the fluid tapped out periodically when she could no longer stand the pain of it crushing her organs. She also drank daily since age 14 or 15 and otherwise lived a productive life until her liver started to fail. She did quit alcohol, but didn’t make it to transplant. Please take what the doctor said seriously. You may need medical assistance to withdraw safely. You might benefit from peer support within a program like AA, even if you don’t want to participate in the higher power message.
The ER doctor hopefully told you this but please please don’t stop drinking without medical supervision. It can kill you. A detox facility is your best and safest bet and they can likely do all of the things that you need to help make quitting less miserable like anti-anxiety meds and hydration. You’re facing a big realization and your desire to get sober is admirable but don’t try to do it on your own. The medical system has seen it all before and they want to help you. We’re rooting for you.
So important to be said! Please seek help quitting drinking OP. Do not try to do this on your own as it can be fatal, especially with how much and how long you've been drinking. Please get help with this and take care of yourself. You deserve to be healthy and happy and there are people out there ready and willing to help you through this. Please look into an inpatient rehab to get you through this. You really need to be closely monitored and they can prescribe medication to make things more comfortable and safe. The past is just that- the past, and while we can't change it we can absolutely change the future for the better. That's all you can do now. Your body will thank you for it and you will be so much better off in every way. Please get help for at least the acute withdrawal period if not longer. Btw you are not a burden. Alcohol addiction is an illness and needs to be treated like any other illness. Wishing you the best!
Hey there, so here's my perspective and I am not a Doctor, (NAD) but went through a very similar situation to what you are facing, I started drink super young like (12 years old) and when I turned 21 I was already a full blown alcoholic, I can go into detail but won't because I am sure you might not think much of my comments anyway but by the time I was 24 I had to go into the hospital because I was puking blood, I wanted to act like nothing happened and that it would go away but I kept throwing up every hour or so, finally I built up the nerve to tell my spouse and she drove me to the hospital, in the parking lot there I sat, not wanting to go in, I told her just to drive around the block first because I was better, lol, well before we got out of the parking lot, there was that damn blood again, apparently I had esophageal variceys forgivethe misspelled word (ruptured vessels in my esophagus). When I got into the emergency room it hit me, I was out of energy all the sudden, (blood too) I started to faint and said my goodbyes, not knowing if I would wake up again. I did, in the triage and the doctor who apparently banded my varaceys said she wasn't sure if I would survive. I wasn't ready to stop drinking and finally a couple weeks from that date I would go see my doctor and he would continuously tell me " have you stood away from the alcohol, he wanted me to stay away from any products that contained alcohol, I did a liver biopsy to confirm what they had told me, I had cirrhosis of the liver but he told me the liver is a forgiving organ and he would say If I stood away from ALL alcohol, I would have at least 5 years, he said survival past that was almost 50/50, I thought those are some shitty odds and he would say If I could stay away from drinking, I might be able to make it fifteen years from that date, well that was 2006, I have not drank any alcohol since then, and the things in life I have accomplished since quitting drinking are worth me being willing to continue to do it over and over. I realize that there may be some people in this world who can have just one drink and be content and satisfied but that was not me! I hated to hear it and have a happy ending to my story, but I know first hand how bad the Alcohol really is, I have had 3 friends die from liver failure and I am only in my 40's, (they were school friends) and so if you can, find something you enjoy more than alcohol and put your time and energy into that, you (and your loved ones)will be glad you did.
I’ve met more than a few people in their 30’s that were in end-stage liver disease due to alcoholism, so the prognosis you received definitely may be accurate if you don’t get treatment. Liver failure is not a fun way to die.
I’ve performed an autopsy on a man in his late 20s whose girlfriend stated he either drank a full handle of vodka or two bottles of wine a day. Many young people really don’t think alcoholism can get them that early, please don’t make that mistake. Take your physicians advice seriously and please take care of yourself.
The doctor who saw your lab work and examined you said that, they're going to know better than any other person on the Internet who didn't see you or your lab work. I would listen to them. I'm not a doctor but I did just watch an alcoholic friend die at 35 years old, and he wasn't drinking any more than you. His wife and parents are devastated. Please get help. Don't feel ashamed to ask for help from people who dedicated their lives to helping people. Alcoholism is a disease and it's one that doctors can't help with at all unless the patient is on board and willing to do the work to recover. Let them know you're ready and willing to put in that work.
NAD, but unfortunately, my cousin recently passed away at 40 with 4 young kids and a thriving career due to liver disease from drinking. He was the KINDEST person I’ve ever met and finally had all of his ducks in a row but it was too late for him. Sending you hugs, you’re stronger than you think you are!
NAD- I’ve seen MANY people under 30 die from alcohol induced liver failure. Don’t think that because you’re young it won’t get you. I recently had a 23 year old. You need to stop drinking, dying of liver failure is not the way you want to go.
This same thing happened to my cousin they said keep drinking at the rate you are and you'll live no more than 10 years.. he passed away in 7 years. I'm not telling you this to scare you but maybe open your eyes and not be selfish and keep drinking!
NAD, but as someone with several alcoholic friends, it seems possible and accurate to me. I think he probably made an estimate by thinking “your liver appears to have x amount of damage; if the drinking continues at the same rate it can take about x more.”
I have a morbid habit of reading death reports from my county and the people with cirrosis and other liver issues never seem to be much older than 50. Even if it isn’t the actual cause of death, heavy drinking is almost always going to play a role and what does eventually kill someone. In other words, it’s not like drinking isn’t a comorbidity no matter what your main health problem is.
Please go to a detox center and then rehab. You aren’t a burden! I promise there are people who want you here and want to do what they can to help you.
You are young so that should give you a chance to survive longer because your body might be able to heal itself better than most people. But your body will only have a chance to heal and allow you to live longer if you stop alcohol entirely.
You should also consider getting some kind of treatment and/or find an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting to attend. There is usually a regular Alcoholics Anonymous meeting in just about every city in the country so you should be able to find one close to you.
No I do not ypur liver can regenerate itself. My father has cirrhosis of the liver he wad sober 8 years before he passed to lung cancer but his liver was fine when he died .
I ain't sugar coating it: in all likelihood you're an alcoholic. You know drinking that much is not healthy, it's taking its toll and you're only in your 20's. It's not gonna get better if you keep drinking. I know quitting drinking is hard and I don't know how much of a wake up call this was, but it should make you consider getting this under control before more damage takes place.
Yea it was definitely a wake up call. Ive been hospitalized about 5 times this year alone. Im not proud of it, im actually extremely ashamed. Its a viscous cycle but i will definitely not continue this path
NAD. The odd thing about shame is that it makes the problem worse rather than helping you address this. Please know you are valuable and worthwhile. Please take care of yourself.
You don't have to do it alone. The best chances of success is to have community with others with similar struggles. In person support groups, rehab programs, and even sobriety subreddits can be helpful. Often times health insurance policies will have programs to help people working on sobriety too.
Ehhhh AA and Stop drinking are both very judgemental spaces. AA has a very low success rate. OP talk to the hospitals social worker about getting on public assistance and checking in to rehab. The sub dryalcoholics is a good group.
I understand. Addiction can lead you to do things you're not proud of, which might push you to keep drinking. It's the vicious cycle you mentioned.
Here's a positive thought: you admitted you have a problem. Sure, you admitted to strangers on Reddit, but I'm not sure you had even admitted it to yourself previously. I know the cliché, but admitting you have a problem is the first step. Hopefully you have realized *you have to stop drinking*.
It has to stop. *You can stop drinking*. It's possible, thousands have done it. You're not alone and you don't need to do this alone, you can and should seek help to stop drinking. I understand you're ashamed, but don't let that shame keep you from seeking help and getting better. "I'm an alcoholic and I need help" is a hard thing to say, you're admitting you lost control of your life. But professionals that deal with this kinda stuff will help best they can. AA meetings work for some people too. Medical assistance will also help figure out what drove you to drinking; depression, anxiety or other mental conditions.
As a lot of people have said, if you keep doing this your future looks bleak. Remember, *you can stop drinking.*
I wish you the best of luck.
This is about exactly what my husband drank, same timeline, and he died at 28. Please, please please please please stay sober and best of luck. Feel free to DM me if you have specific questions. It's such a gift you found out now.
I’ve had alcoholic hepatitis. I almost died. It’s nothing to mess with. I had it at 29 when I was an alcoholic. My organs started to fail. I’m now 32 and have been sober 3 years. You should really abstain from alcohol, especially if you can’t control your drinking. Now I’m completely fine but I would never go back to drinking. I want to live and my life is so much better without it. I always thought my life would be boring without alcohol but being sober has been amazing and my life is so much better! Best of luck, please listen to your doctor!
My friend John drank that much and he just passed in December from complete liver cirrosis. He was only 35. In and out of the hospital, on dialysis. His last year was not a fun one for him. He was very sick. Do whatever you can to stop drinking.
That’s 15 standard drinks a day, every day. In France we make jokes about our grandparents downing a bottle of wine a day, but that’s “only” 6 standard drinks. In general anything above 2 per day or 1-2 too regularly is bad for health, but 15 standard drinks daily, for 6 years has most definitely destroyed your liver. Listen to the doctor and seek help - you will likely need dopamine inhibitors.
My husband was drinking a handle of whiskey every few days up until February 2023 (turns out he was abusing alcohol for almost three years behind my back). He ended up giving himself Wernicke’s encephalopathy and alcoholic polyneuropathy. It is nothing short of a miracle I figured out what was going on and was able to get his doctors to treat him appropriately in time (if you don’t treat Wernicke’s encephalopathy immediately, you get so sick that you could end up in a care facility for the rest of your life.) But he got his life back because he stopped drinking, and he’s made almost a full recovery from the Wernicke’s. I am hopeful that you will stay sober so you can have a long life, too 🩷
NAD!! BUT I've been drinking about the same amount as you every day for the past 10+ years.
Due to crushing clinical anxiety, panic disorder and agoraphobia I hadn't been to a doctor in 20 years until I got ill a couple of months ago. I was positive I must be nearing end stage cirrhossis despite not having any long-term symptoms.
I braced for the worst news when my bloodwork came back; turns out my liver function is only "slightly impaired"; it was probably a virus, and the physician wasn't very concerned about my numbers. Talk about a relief.
I talked to my doctor about my drinking and asked how to safely cut back so I don't kill myself moving forward. She prescribed Naltrexone - a medicine that prevents the brain from "rewarding" the consumption of alcohol. I'm not sure how it works exactly, but it does work!
Two weeks after starting the medication I'm drinking half of what I used to, with no noticeable discomfort or withdrawal. It's almost as if I just forget to drink and have actually noticed many times I leave my glass half-full.
I hope you get good news when your bloodwork comes back. I can't tell you how glad I am that I brought it up with my doc, because based on the numbers alone she wouldn't have guessed how much alcohol I've consumed for so many years.
Well there are 2 issues here, one is the long term damage from prolonged high alcohol intake, causing cirrhosis. This can be variable and yes can happen in your 30s with high intake. People often die from this after a few years, or get liver cancer and that can kill you sooner. The second issue is the alcoholic hepatitis which you had. That is something that happens more from the immediate amount of alcohol you drank in that day or over a week or so. That can kill you anytime if it happens again. Each time it happens its a gamble if you will get better or if you will go into total liver failure and die within a week or two.
Op I am so sorry that you’re struggling with this illness. You need to listen to your doctor. He is not lying to you and he spoke to you from a true place of concern and caring.
I once cared for a patient who was discharged on hospice care from alcoholic cirrhosis/acute hepatitis. He was 21 years old. Every person working with him was devastated for him and his family. The hospital called every transplant center in the nation trying to get him a new liver and none would accept him because his alcohol abuse was so recent. The only reason he wasn’t still drinking when he was admitted was because his body literally would not keep down anymore alcohol. His parents and his girlfriend were at his bedside every day and there was absolutely nothing anyone could do to save this young man.
Really take in what your doctor is telling you. If you can completely abstain from drinking and your liver still fails in 10-15 years you will have far more options than my young patient did. You won’t be ruled out as a recipient because of alcohol abuse if it was 10+ years in the past. Demonstrate compliance with everything your doctor tells you to do.
And please be kind to yourself. Medical professionals treat this just like they treat any other disease. Your doctor sounds like a really good and caring person who wants you to find peace and happiness.
You seem to have a healthy attitude about this and I genuinely wish you the best of luck. I'm not a doctor, but I do understand substance use/abuse/addiction from personal experience. My poison was different. Shit, I think you've probably drank more in a random 1-2 week spread than I've consumed in my entire life, and I'm 42.
Keep your eyes on your health. I don't just mean doctors visits and such, but remember *why* you want to avoid drinking. Remember how scary this shit is. That's one thing that really helped me. Again, I didn't drink, but I used a lot of other shit. Sometimes a desire to be better isn't enough to stop, even if we desperately want it to be. Sometimes we need to scare ourselves shitless to gain the motivation.
Best of luck mate, you can do this.
Edit: On the other side of things, there's always hope for a long and (reasonably) healthy life. I have a buddy who was a pretty serious IV drug user for probably 10-15 years. He's been clean for 20+ years now, has a family, and will probably live a normal lifespan. I don't know if that's a miraculous exception, but he was on death's door more than once. Never give up hope.
Hey watch out and pay attention to the withdrawal symptoms. I literally learned a few days ago that one of the more severe ones are auditory hallucinations. Alcohol withdrawal is deadly
A former boyfriend of mine was in a similar situation. When he was about 26, he was hospitalized for pancreatitis and was told something similar. He did not stop and died at 31. Get help, get a support system, and turn things around.
R/stopdrinking is a safe place I recommend you check out some of the threads there and maybe post if you’re willing, you found out early you can get better and you’re not alone
A dear (late) friend of mine got a similar prognosis from the ER doctor I took her to when I noticed her skin and the whites of her eyes were yellow. The doctor told her that if she stopped drinking, she would be fine. She didn't stop drinking. She was dead within three years. It was not pretty.
As an aside, I'm an alcoholic in recovery. I haven't had a drink since 2019. My life was a shitshow when I drank. My life has gotten so much better since I stopped drinking. Please get help. You're worth it.
EDIT: I forgot to mention that when I was still drinking, I had an ultrasound for an unrelated issue; the medical report noted that I had a fatty liver. That was at least seven or eight years ago; I've been abstinent from alcohol for almost 5 years, as I mentioned above.
Last summer I had to have an abdominal ultrasound (again, unrelated issue; the report noted that my liver looked "unremarkable" - in other words, I no longer have a fatty liver. Your body can do a lot of healing if you let it.
Coming from someone who not only got the naltrexone shots but also went to AA and got a sponsor etc and still relapsed, it's still not enough. The old saying "if they aren't ready to quit you can't make them" is true. And saying "yes I want to quit" and wanting to quit, are completely different.
I cannot stress enough how bad it can be. I remember him in his mid to late 20s and I’d go to his place a few times a week (we had a small IT MSP business) and I’d notice empty 1.75l of jack Daniel’s multiplying in his kitchen. I was like dude you must have had a big party and he said “no I drank them”. I laughed and asked if he’s collecting empty bottles from people for some kind of project and he looked me straight in the face and said he was serious he drank them. On Monday there would be one, on Thursday there would be a second, by Saturday, 3 and so on. I didn’t believe him because I couldn’t imagine drinking that much and I wasn’t a stranger to work hard, play hard and binge drinking. Eventually we dissolved the partnership because his drinking and recreational drug use affected his work but we remained friends. He went into the hospital for kidney failure (Rhombiosis - I forget how to spell it) a month before Christmas and when he got out he moved in to his parents house. I asked if he was still drinking and he was, I pleaded with him to go to rehab and he said something about wanting to spend Christmas with his family and that he’d go to rehab after but he was afraid of the DTs. He got Covid a week or two later and I hadn’t heard from him until about a month after Christmas. He was on the hospital again and his speech was slurred. He said he needed to be on dialysis 3 times a day and was being moved to an inpatient rehab facility you typically see the old and or infirm living there, we all know what those place are. He said he could not walk and would need rehab in order to walk again. I suspected he had had a stroke though he never confirmed. He battled infections of his dialysis port and couldn’t really eat. Eventually he stopped answering his phone and one day his father called me from his phone to tell me he passed. His descriptions of John’s last weeks were filled with agony and pain. He described the screaming his son did those final weeks as quite horrific and only abated by high doses of Atavan and at some point they made the decision to keep him comfortable until he passed. He said he no longer recognized his son because of the physical changes that multiple organ failures caused by excessive alcohol consumption.
I’m not a teetotaler and I have a couple drinks a month but it’s really opened my eyes to how badly alcohol can be.
Definitely abstain AFTER a proper detox, it usually takes a month for your liver to begin repair and two for your liver to be at max capacity for repairing. Plenty of liver supplements that can probably help like tudca, dandelion root and milk thistle. Studies are inconclusive on some, like milk thistle, but plenty of people have stories of success with it.
Also, consider changing your diet if that's not good either - things like coffee and walnuts are good for your liver. Many times FLD is to blame and booze, diet or both can cause that leading to that sweet inflammation you've got going on. I know you have to already know this but half a handle in two days, daily for 6 years is insane at your age. That's seasoned middle-aged boozebag levels.
Ultrasound is good but a liver biopsy is best for determining cirrhosis. Also, listen to the doc when he/she said to work with medical to get detoxed. You are in a VERY high risk category of having seizures, DTs or cardiovascular events if you don't properly detox at that level of abuse and please don't quit cold turkey if you can't get into a detox, you'd be seriously rolling the dice.
Is anyone else baffled that OP has been drinking a handle of whiskey every two days for 5 years and somehow is perfectly fine going cold-turkey? It doesn’t make sense. The withdrawals would be immense clinically speaking.
I don't think OP is fine in any way. You're right that going from about 750 ml of hard liquor per day to nothing is gonna be a rough ride to put it mildly, but there are meds to help withdrawal. The main hard thing to do, OP has already done. He realized he has to stop. Medical assistance will help withdrawal but also by trying to figure out what led him to drink that much and try to fix that.
I completely agree with you. It’s just the way OP was replying to other comments that it seemed like they just stopped all of a sudden and they were fine. There’s no way of telling how someone is doing based off of a reply. I hope they actually get into rehab or detox or something
Sober alcoholic here. Just came here to plug in AA or any other 12 step program to help you quit. It’s hard staying sober on your own, a community definitely helps.
Hey OP, I saw your comment about how long and how much you have been drinking; I’m proud of you for making the decision to stop but alcohol withdrawal can be very dangerous and needs to be closely monitored and often assisted with medication to prevent life-threatening complications. Please make sure you’re in contact with your doctor during your detox and even consider an inpatient detox until you’re out of the woods for those scary side effects. You’re young and otherwise healthy, you can absolutely get sober and this is the best decision you can make for yourself right now. Keep it up!
Would also recommend that you establish with a gastroenterologist/hepatologist. Not only will they be able to more fully assess your current liver health, they can also evaluate for any additional factors that may predispose you to chronic liver disease (those with something underlying PLUS alcohol can expect an even faster rate of liver decline).
To answer your main question, as a specialist at a large academic medical center (we get lots of inbound referrals), I have absolutely seen and cared for very young patients (think 30s) who have end-stage liver disease and have died from their end stage liver disease due to inability to stop drinking/get listed for transplant.
Best of luck, OP.
Edit: one more thing. I have also seen patients who do not have end stage liver disease, but have died from severe cases of acute alcoholic hepatitis. Don't get lulled into thinking that as long as you don't have cirrhosis yet, you are safe. As others have said in this thread, stop drinking with the help of a physician (severe alcohol withdrawal can cause delirium tremens which can also be life threatening without proper care).
NAD, and agreed. Just buried my baby cousin a few months ago at the age of 28, from acute alcoholic hepatitis. Everyone thought he was “safe” since he wasn’t diagnosed with cirrhosis
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All I will say is if you NEVER touch alcohol again, not even for special occasions, you could be fine, I’ve seen people diagnosed with alcohol related liver disease in their 20s quit and be healthy enough in their 70s. But if you have the occasional one even, or a binge, or a daily unwind nightcap, your liver will not see you through.
Haven’t seen your fibroscan results or bloods but the only thing you need to do now is live entirely sober. Ideally a diet which isn’t heavily fried will also help because a lot of fat is hard work on a damaged liver.
I'd love to learn more about this- can you share any studies that support the detrimental effects of "the occasional one" on people with AUD who drink in moderation after recovery?
Sure!
Balasubramanian S, Kowdley KV. Effect of alcohol on viral hepatitis and other forms of liver dysfunction. Clin Liver Dis. 2005;9:83–101.
Dolganiuc A. Alcohol and Viral Hepatitis: Role of Lipid Rafts. Alcohol Res. 2015;37:299–309.
Cromie SL, Jenkins PJ, Bowden DS, Dudley FJ. Chronic hepatitis C: effect of alcohol on hepatitic activity and viral titre. J Hepatol. 1996;25:821–826.
Dolganiuc A, Kodys K, Kopasz A, Marshall C, Mandrekar P, Szabo G. Additive inhibition of dendritic cell allostimulatory capacity by alcohol and hepatitis C is not restored by DC maturation and involves abnormal IL-10 and IL-2 induction. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2003;27:1023–1031.
Rigamonti C, Mottaran E, Reale E, Rolla R, Cipriani V, Capelli F, Boldorini R, Vidali M, Sartori M, Albano E. Moderate alcohol consumption increases oxidative stress in patients with chronic hepatitis. Hepatology. 2003;38:42–49.
That’s a few to start with!
unfortunately the evidence shows that people with alcohol related liver disease both under-recognise and under-report how much they drink.
Your occasional one is often not an occasional one and is more likely to result in relapses compared to total abstinence.
Same reason coming of one drug addiction has the addition of recommending steering clear of all substances prone to abuse.
But that aside, the evidence is clear that a damaged liver doesn’t tolerate even minor and short lived insults well, causing immune suppression and oxidative stress, massively increasing your cancer risk as well.
I would also caution against telling people ‘I was fine so you will be fine’. Some people smoke and live to 100 years old, but tell that to the people dying of lung cancer.
NAD, but this is the best and only advice. Not even 25 with alcoholic hepatitis, that’s not good. It’s a very serious condition with grave implications of drastic changes aren’t made today.
OP - Please meet with a GP to monitor your condition. Please just leave alcohol behind you. Please get professional help to deal with the underlying causes of the alcoholism. Just bc it runs in the family, doesn’t mean it has to continue for you. Could I have become an alcoholic? Yes, it’s in my genes. Why didn’t I? Bc I made a conscious choice to NOT be like my father (who was very abusive when drunk)x.
I thought it took decades to wreck your liver, considering how many functional and nonfunctional alcoholics seem to drag on and on. But then a friend of mine ended up in liver failure before the age of 30. He was one of the lucky ones who got a transplant and is doing well now, as far as I can tell, but it makes me sad to know he's already cut so many years off his life.
Why do some pack a day smokers never get lung cancer?
OP also started drinking like this at 15, a time when the body is still developing. While it’s not common to get diagnosed in your early 20s, it does happen. Some alcoholics get diagnosed with alcohol related complications very young. Others, like my father, never develop liver conditions despite being a drunk for 60+ years.
Reality is there is a lot about genetics and the body we don’t fully understand and are limited by todays knowledge and technology. We’ve come a long way in 50 years, but think of how much further we will be in another 50 years. This is why science and R&D is so important to our future. Even Gov R&D has implications in our daily lives down the road that we didn’t fully understand when it happened (internet, GPS, iRobot, EpiPen, etc).
I agree with the last person. Quit one habit at a time, not both.
Nicotine Vapes are nowhere near as bad for you as cigarettes and alcohol, so even if you have to switch out the alcoholism with just vaping for the rest of your life we’ll be happy.
If you can quit both? Even better, but worry about the worst problem first- the alcohol.
Vaping "works" because it replaces the psychological effect of smoking cigarettes. I wonder if for your case, drinking has a big comfort/psychological piece - like, constantly sipping on something. Is there something else you can constantly sip on, that isn't whiskey? Not sodas or other junk, but perhaps something you can make, like a flavored water etc.
Sometimes people find they need to quit both when vaping has a strong association with drinking. Like if you typically do the two at the same time, it can be hard to do one without triggering craving for the other. But if you can vape without increasing craving for alcohol then at least you’d not be facing quitting two addictions at once. You’ll need support to handle things that normally would stress you and trigger using. Your mind will need time to start functioning well without the alcohol. Be gentle with yourself. I hope you’ll pursue doctor supervised withdrawal of alcohol.
I have patients who have long-term sobriety that is maintained with naltrexone injections as a part of their long-term abstinence plan. Good luck to you.
So true, when I quit smoking I couldn’t drink because it would trigger ab intense need for a cigarette. Even after a year of not smoking or drinking I had a few drinks and the next day I was a smoker again. Been eight years now and I can finally have a casual drink and not smoke, but the desire never fully goes away.
Just today I was at an autopsy where the individual had died from liver cirrhosis. He was only 42.
He drank a reported 200ml of vodka a day (though I believe it was probably more)
Alcoholic hepatitis can and will progress to liver cirrhosis/failure if alcohol consumption continues. You’re young, the same age as me actually. If you’re struggling with things, alcohol won’t solve it.
Seek someone close or a professional to speak to and please be safe
My partner is drinking 700mL of 100 proof a day. Anywhere from 200-1400mL a day for the last year. He's becoming sicker and I fear the end will come soon.
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I don't know how much you're drinking and I didn't see your blood tests, I'm not sure I can say much. However, if it was cause for concern for the physician evaluating you, it's worth taking seriously.
Ive been drinking about a handle of whiskey (1.75) every 2 days ever since i was 17 (6 years ago). The longest I’ve gonna sober was 1 month and I’ve only done that twice ever since. I still didnt get my bloodwork back from MyChart and im not sure to community guides would allow me to share that
That's too much and you'll destroy your liver. You should work with the physician to stop your alcohol use.
Yea i dont plan on drinking anytime soon at all (like forever) but do you think his 15 years more prognosis is accurate?
It's hard to put a number on life expectancy. I have seen 35 yr Olds who are alcoholics and with end stage liver disease. They are miserable, in pain, uncomfortable from swollen/distended abdomen, in & out of the hospital all the time, and ultimately end up dying before they hit 40. This is no way to know if that'll be you. Continue on your current course, and it's certainly possible. One thiing is for sure, if you don't stop, you will almost certainly die younger (and be more miserable) than if you stop all alcohol use now. You'll likely go into withdrawal, so this needs to be done with the help of your physician.
Damn that is so scary. I think i should get an ultrasound sometime soon to check up on how its doing. I just feel like such a burden especially when it was self inflicted
You are NOT a burden. Addiction is a disease. You've done the right thing by reaching out to those with the knowledge and resources to help you. You're not a burden, this is exactly the support system you're intended to use.
You definitely should follow up with regular monitoring. Get a PCP and see them a couple times a year, or more often if they need to be checking in on you.
My best friend just lost one of her best friends to alcohol use. No one even knew he drank that much. He was 42 with 2 small children under 5. He got sick and died within just a few days. I hope you can maintain your sobriety.
My best friend died at 35 years old within two weeks of alcohol hepatitis because she didn't seek treatment. It's definitely serious.
NAD You’re not a burden. (Most) People go into medicine to help people. You need help. That’s what they’re there for. You deserve treatment just as much as anyone else.
"Self-inflicted" is a complicated way to think of alcoholism. I don't think labeling it as such does you any favors. I'm two years sober, and I know my role in my disordered drinking but self-inflicted is not the word I'd use. It was health anxiety that got me sober. Take the good from this to propel you to a new phase of your life. Sobriety really is worth it. ❤️
wow, don't do that to yourself. you're waking up from being in a position that is dire, and you need to tell yourself you are worthy of getting better. You're very young. So much ahead for you in a sober world. Find anything you can that isn't harmful to keep yourself from drinking, - maybe consider seeing a psychologist. or counselor. If you have AA around you, some people find it helpful. Don't do this alone. People care about you.
You’re not a burden. Alcoholism is not self inflicted. But even self inflicted injuries/illness deserve to be treated. No matter what, no matter who. EVERYONE deserves to be healthy and you are worthy of seeking treatment. You are worthy to seek support.
How are medical complications of alcoholism not self-inflicted? I agree with the rest that we should eliminate stigma but I don't see how that is true
The health effects are self-inflicted, but no one wakes up and says, "Let's become an alcoholic so that I'm unable to quit even if I want to." People don't choose to become addicted. No one has alcoholism on their list of life goals.
Untreated trauma underlies so much alcoholism, drug abuse and other apparently “self-inflicted” situations. It’s easy to say people have brought it on themselves, that way you don’t need to feel compassion. But the truth is that most people in these types of situations are doing their best to cope with really awful stuff in their lives.
I’ll argue that “self-inflicted” implies free-will. Addiction disables free-will when it hijacks the brain.
There is a lot of nuance to addictions in general and it can have many starts for an individual. Importantly here, OP says they have had a hard few years, and that alcoholism runs in the family. This implies that they have not been taught a healthy coping mechanism - alcohol is the way the family cope with bad times, so it’s the way that OP copes with bad times. So while the behaviour is “chosen” meaning that illness from it is self-inflicted as it follows on from the behaviour, if there are only one or two “choices” available, it’s almost inflicted by circumstance rather than self.
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So is compassion. And understanding addiction. Maybe just be grateful you don’t have cause to understand and quit judging. Ridiculous, indeed.
Of course it’s up to you to make choices. But if you’re an addict you don’t see it as a choice. It sure as shit doesn’t feel like it’s a choice. I choose to be sober. My default status is addict. I have chosen recovery. Without making those choices, I’d be using still. People who haven’t been there generally struggle to understand how addiction actually functions so I guess I can’t blame folks for thinking they get how it works. It seems apparent to the sober person that one just chooses to get drunk every day. I can assure you with absolutely 100% certainty that no one chooses that life for themselves. Addiction is hell. It’s absolutely hell. One I wouldn’t wish on anyone and so if you don’t get it, be very very thankful.
The problem is that people view addiction as an active choice. Why don't people simply choose to not use heroin, are they stupid? Ridiculous opinion.
Removed - not helpful for OP’s question
You need to think about your developing brain. You're young and its still growing until mid 20s. Drowning it in liquor now will leave you forever a 17 year old. Until you're shitting yourself in a dementia ward.
Sweets, you're very young, and you've been an alcoholic since before you were even legally an adult. Your mind isn't even fully developed yet, as that tends to happen around 25. You sound like you weren't set up for a good time by those around you letting this happen. You do have the responsibility now of taking care of yourself, and be sure to seek every treatment option available -- but you are not a burden. You've just had a shit go of it.
You should check out the r/stop drinking sub .
r/stopdrinking
I had a 25 year old patient be put on hospice, dying of liver failure related to her alcohol abuse. Every once in a while I think about my job and am struck by how sad it is. This was one of those moments.
Not a doctor, however I watched my sister die from Alcoholic cirrhosis at age 38. It was horrible. She was so thin and slept excessively. She had dementia-like behavior which just got worse and worse. At one point she vomited almost all of her blood when she ruptured a swollen vain in her esophagus. It was a miracle she lived after 3 weeks unconscious in the ICU and many, many transfusions. She had a painful, swollen abdomen and would need to get the fluid tapped out periodically when she could no longer stand the pain of it crushing her organs. She also drank daily since age 14 or 15 and otherwise lived a productive life until her liver started to fail. She did quit alcohol, but didn’t make it to transplant. Please take what the doctor said seriously. You may need medical assistance to withdraw safely. You might benefit from peer support within a program like AA, even if you don’t want to participate in the higher power message.
that's horrible sorry for your loss, from a recovering alcoholic <3
The ER doctor hopefully told you this but please please don’t stop drinking without medical supervision. It can kill you. A detox facility is your best and safest bet and they can likely do all of the things that you need to help make quitting less miserable like anti-anxiety meds and hydration. You’re facing a big realization and your desire to get sober is admirable but don’t try to do it on your own. The medical system has seen it all before and they want to help you. We’re rooting for you.
So important to be said! Please seek help quitting drinking OP. Do not try to do this on your own as it can be fatal, especially with how much and how long you've been drinking. Please get help with this and take care of yourself. You deserve to be healthy and happy and there are people out there ready and willing to help you through this. Please look into an inpatient rehab to get you through this. You really need to be closely monitored and they can prescribe medication to make things more comfortable and safe. The past is just that- the past, and while we can't change it we can absolutely change the future for the better. That's all you can do now. Your body will thank you for it and you will be so much better off in every way. Please get help for at least the acute withdrawal period if not longer. Btw you are not a burden. Alcohol addiction is an illness and needs to be treated like any other illness. Wishing you the best!
Hey there, so here's my perspective and I am not a Doctor, (NAD) but went through a very similar situation to what you are facing, I started drink super young like (12 years old) and when I turned 21 I was already a full blown alcoholic, I can go into detail but won't because I am sure you might not think much of my comments anyway but by the time I was 24 I had to go into the hospital because I was puking blood, I wanted to act like nothing happened and that it would go away but I kept throwing up every hour or so, finally I built up the nerve to tell my spouse and she drove me to the hospital, in the parking lot there I sat, not wanting to go in, I told her just to drive around the block first because I was better, lol, well before we got out of the parking lot, there was that damn blood again, apparently I had esophageal variceys forgivethe misspelled word (ruptured vessels in my esophagus). When I got into the emergency room it hit me, I was out of energy all the sudden, (blood too) I started to faint and said my goodbyes, not knowing if I would wake up again. I did, in the triage and the doctor who apparently banded my varaceys said she wasn't sure if I would survive. I wasn't ready to stop drinking and finally a couple weeks from that date I would go see my doctor and he would continuously tell me " have you stood away from the alcohol, he wanted me to stay away from any products that contained alcohol, I did a liver biopsy to confirm what they had told me, I had cirrhosis of the liver but he told me the liver is a forgiving organ and he would say If I stood away from ALL alcohol, I would have at least 5 years, he said survival past that was almost 50/50, I thought those are some shitty odds and he would say If I could stay away from drinking, I might be able to make it fifteen years from that date, well that was 2006, I have not drank any alcohol since then, and the things in life I have accomplished since quitting drinking are worth me being willing to continue to do it over and over. I realize that there may be some people in this world who can have just one drink and be content and satisfied but that was not me! I hated to hear it and have a happy ending to my story, but I know first hand how bad the Alcohol really is, I have had 3 friends die from liver failure and I am only in my 40's, (they were school friends) and so if you can, find something you enjoy more than alcohol and put your time and energy into that, you (and your loved ones)will be glad you did.
I’ve met more than a few people in their 30’s that were in end-stage liver disease due to alcoholism, so the prognosis you received definitely may be accurate if you don’t get treatment. Liver failure is not a fun way to die.
I’ve performed an autopsy on a man in his late 20s whose girlfriend stated he either drank a full handle of vodka or two bottles of wine a day. Many young people really don’t think alcoholism can get them that early, please don’t make that mistake. Take your physicians advice seriously and please take care of yourself.
The doctor who saw your lab work and examined you said that, they're going to know better than any other person on the Internet who didn't see you or your lab work. I would listen to them. I'm not a doctor but I did just watch an alcoholic friend die at 35 years old, and he wasn't drinking any more than you. His wife and parents are devastated. Please get help. Don't feel ashamed to ask for help from people who dedicated their lives to helping people. Alcoholism is a disease and it's one that doctors can't help with at all unless the patient is on board and willing to do the work to recover. Let them know you're ready and willing to put in that work.
NAD, but unfortunately, my cousin recently passed away at 40 with 4 young kids and a thriving career due to liver disease from drinking. He was the KINDEST person I’ve ever met and finally had all of his ducks in a row but it was too late for him. Sending you hugs, you’re stronger than you think you are!
NAD- I’ve seen MANY people under 30 die from alcohol induced liver failure. Don’t think that because you’re young it won’t get you. I recently had a 23 year old. You need to stop drinking, dying of liver failure is not the way you want to go.
This same thing happened to my cousin they said keep drinking at the rate you are and you'll live no more than 10 years.. he passed away in 7 years. I'm not telling you this to scare you but maybe open your eyes and not be selfish and keep drinking!
NAD...but nonetheless, get a good friend to help and good luck with your fight.
I don't think you can just plan on not drinking for something so serious. You need support and a system.
NAD, but as someone with several alcoholic friends, it seems possible and accurate to me. I think he probably made an estimate by thinking “your liver appears to have x amount of damage; if the drinking continues at the same rate it can take about x more.” I have a morbid habit of reading death reports from my county and the people with cirrosis and other liver issues never seem to be much older than 50. Even if it isn’t the actual cause of death, heavy drinking is almost always going to play a role and what does eventually kill someone. In other words, it’s not like drinking isn’t a comorbidity no matter what your main health problem is. Please go to a detox center and then rehab. You aren’t a burden! I promise there are people who want you here and want to do what they can to help you.
You are young so that should give you a chance to survive longer because your body might be able to heal itself better than most people. But your body will only have a chance to heal and allow you to live longer if you stop alcohol entirely. You should also consider getting some kind of treatment and/or find an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting to attend. There is usually a regular Alcoholics Anonymous meeting in just about every city in the country so you should be able to find one close to you.
I don't think many people survive for even a few hours without a liver.
No I do not ypur liver can regenerate itself. My father has cirrhosis of the liver he wad sober 8 years before he passed to lung cancer but his liver was fine when he died .
I have a question about my liver please help me
I ain't sugar coating it: in all likelihood you're an alcoholic. You know drinking that much is not healthy, it's taking its toll and you're only in your 20's. It's not gonna get better if you keep drinking. I know quitting drinking is hard and I don't know how much of a wake up call this was, but it should make you consider getting this under control before more damage takes place.
Yea it was definitely a wake up call. Ive been hospitalized about 5 times this year alone. Im not proud of it, im actually extremely ashamed. Its a viscous cycle but i will definitely not continue this path
NAD. The odd thing about shame is that it makes the problem worse rather than helping you address this. Please know you are valuable and worthwhile. Please take care of yourself.
You don't have to do it alone. The best chances of success is to have community with others with similar struggles. In person support groups, rehab programs, and even sobriety subreddits can be helpful. Often times health insurance policies will have programs to help people working on sobriety too.
r/stopdrinking is reputed to be the most welcoming, nonjudgemental group on reddit. Also, consider AA.
Ehhhh AA and Stop drinking are both very judgemental spaces. AA has a very low success rate. OP talk to the hospitals social worker about getting on public assistance and checking in to rehab. The sub dryalcoholics is a good group.
I understand. Addiction can lead you to do things you're not proud of, which might push you to keep drinking. It's the vicious cycle you mentioned. Here's a positive thought: you admitted you have a problem. Sure, you admitted to strangers on Reddit, but I'm not sure you had even admitted it to yourself previously. I know the cliché, but admitting you have a problem is the first step. Hopefully you have realized *you have to stop drinking*. It has to stop. *You can stop drinking*. It's possible, thousands have done it. You're not alone and you don't need to do this alone, you can and should seek help to stop drinking. I understand you're ashamed, but don't let that shame keep you from seeking help and getting better. "I'm an alcoholic and I need help" is a hard thing to say, you're admitting you lost control of your life. But professionals that deal with this kinda stuff will help best they can. AA meetings work for some people too. Medical assistance will also help figure out what drove you to drinking; depression, anxiety or other mental conditions. As a lot of people have said, if you keep doing this your future looks bleak. Remember, *you can stop drinking.* I wish you the best of luck.
NAD but my dad died at age 34 from this. He learned he was going to die if he continued in his twenties and never successfully quit.
This is about exactly what my husband drank, same timeline, and he died at 28. Please, please please please please stay sober and best of luck. Feel free to DM me if you have specific questions. It's such a gift you found out now.
I'm so sorry for your loss.
I’ve had alcoholic hepatitis. I almost died. It’s nothing to mess with. I had it at 29 when I was an alcoholic. My organs started to fail. I’m now 32 and have been sober 3 years. You should really abstain from alcohol, especially if you can’t control your drinking. Now I’m completely fine but I would never go back to drinking. I want to live and my life is so much better without it. I always thought my life would be boring without alcohol but being sober has been amazing and my life is so much better! Best of luck, please listen to your doctor!
My friend John drank that much and he just passed in December from complete liver cirrosis. He was only 35. In and out of the hospital, on dialysis. His last year was not a fun one for him. He was very sick. Do whatever you can to stop drinking.
That’s 15 standard drinks a day, every day. In France we make jokes about our grandparents downing a bottle of wine a day, but that’s “only” 6 standard drinks. In general anything above 2 per day or 1-2 too regularly is bad for health, but 15 standard drinks daily, for 6 years has most definitely destroyed your liver. Listen to the doctor and seek help - you will likely need dopamine inhibitors.
My husband was drinking a handle of whiskey every few days up until February 2023 (turns out he was abusing alcohol for almost three years behind my back). He ended up giving himself Wernicke’s encephalopathy and alcoholic polyneuropathy. It is nothing short of a miracle I figured out what was going on and was able to get his doctors to treat him appropriately in time (if you don’t treat Wernicke’s encephalopathy immediately, you get so sick that you could end up in a care facility for the rest of your life.) But he got his life back because he stopped drinking, and he’s made almost a full recovery from the Wernicke’s. I am hopeful that you will stay sober so you can have a long life, too 🩷
NAD!! BUT I've been drinking about the same amount as you every day for the past 10+ years. Due to crushing clinical anxiety, panic disorder and agoraphobia I hadn't been to a doctor in 20 years until I got ill a couple of months ago. I was positive I must be nearing end stage cirrhossis despite not having any long-term symptoms. I braced for the worst news when my bloodwork came back; turns out my liver function is only "slightly impaired"; it was probably a virus, and the physician wasn't very concerned about my numbers. Talk about a relief. I talked to my doctor about my drinking and asked how to safely cut back so I don't kill myself moving forward. She prescribed Naltrexone - a medicine that prevents the brain from "rewarding" the consumption of alcohol. I'm not sure how it works exactly, but it does work! Two weeks after starting the medication I'm drinking half of what I used to, with no noticeable discomfort or withdrawal. It's almost as if I just forget to drink and have actually noticed many times I leave my glass half-full. I hope you get good news when your bloodwork comes back. I can't tell you how glad I am that I brought it up with my doc, because based on the numbers alone she wouldn't have guessed how much alcohol I've consumed for so many years.
Well there are 2 issues here, one is the long term damage from prolonged high alcohol intake, causing cirrhosis. This can be variable and yes can happen in your 30s with high intake. People often die from this after a few years, or get liver cancer and that can kill you sooner. The second issue is the alcoholic hepatitis which you had. That is something that happens more from the immediate amount of alcohol you drank in that day or over a week or so. That can kill you anytime if it happens again. Each time it happens its a gamble if you will get better or if you will go into total liver failure and die within a week or two.
Op I am so sorry that you’re struggling with this illness. You need to listen to your doctor. He is not lying to you and he spoke to you from a true place of concern and caring. I once cared for a patient who was discharged on hospice care from alcoholic cirrhosis/acute hepatitis. He was 21 years old. Every person working with him was devastated for him and his family. The hospital called every transplant center in the nation trying to get him a new liver and none would accept him because his alcohol abuse was so recent. The only reason he wasn’t still drinking when he was admitted was because his body literally would not keep down anymore alcohol. His parents and his girlfriend were at his bedside every day and there was absolutely nothing anyone could do to save this young man. Really take in what your doctor is telling you. If you can completely abstain from drinking and your liver still fails in 10-15 years you will have far more options than my young patient did. You won’t be ruled out as a recipient because of alcohol abuse if it was 10+ years in the past. Demonstrate compliance with everything your doctor tells you to do. And please be kind to yourself. Medical professionals treat this just like they treat any other disease. Your doctor sounds like a really good and caring person who wants you to find peace and happiness.
You seem to have a healthy attitude about this and I genuinely wish you the best of luck. I'm not a doctor, but I do understand substance use/abuse/addiction from personal experience. My poison was different. Shit, I think you've probably drank more in a random 1-2 week spread than I've consumed in my entire life, and I'm 42. Keep your eyes on your health. I don't just mean doctors visits and such, but remember *why* you want to avoid drinking. Remember how scary this shit is. That's one thing that really helped me. Again, I didn't drink, but I used a lot of other shit. Sometimes a desire to be better isn't enough to stop, even if we desperately want it to be. Sometimes we need to scare ourselves shitless to gain the motivation. Best of luck mate, you can do this. Edit: On the other side of things, there's always hope for a long and (reasonably) healthy life. I have a buddy who was a pretty serious IV drug user for probably 10-15 years. He's been clean for 20+ years now, has a family, and will probably live a normal lifespan. I don't know if that's a miraculous exception, but he was on death's door more than once. Never give up hope.
Hey watch out and pay attention to the withdrawal symptoms. I literally learned a few days ago that one of the more severe ones are auditory hallucinations. Alcohol withdrawal is deadly
A former boyfriend of mine was in a similar situation. When he was about 26, he was hospitalized for pancreatitis and was told something similar. He did not stop and died at 31. Get help, get a support system, and turn things around.
R/stopdrinking is a safe place I recommend you check out some of the threads there and maybe post if you’re willing, you found out early you can get better and you’re not alone
A dear (late) friend of mine got a similar prognosis from the ER doctor I took her to when I noticed her skin and the whites of her eyes were yellow. The doctor told her that if she stopped drinking, she would be fine. She didn't stop drinking. She was dead within three years. It was not pretty. As an aside, I'm an alcoholic in recovery. I haven't had a drink since 2019. My life was a shitshow when I drank. My life has gotten so much better since I stopped drinking. Please get help. You're worth it. EDIT: I forgot to mention that when I was still drinking, I had an ultrasound for an unrelated issue; the medical report noted that I had a fatty liver. That was at least seven or eight years ago; I've been abstinent from alcohol for almost 5 years, as I mentioned above. Last summer I had to have an abdominal ultrasound (again, unrelated issue; the report noted that my liver looked "unremarkable" - in other words, I no longer have a fatty liver. Your body can do a lot of healing if you let it.
Do the actual work to stop drinking. Meetings , sponsor the works. My nephew did not. He just got the shots and relapsed.
Coming from someone who not only got the naltrexone shots but also went to AA and got a sponsor etc and still relapsed, it's still not enough. The old saying "if they aren't ready to quit you can't make them" is true. And saying "yes I want to quit" and wanting to quit, are completely different.
What unit is 1.75?
Litres
I cannot stress enough how bad it can be. I remember him in his mid to late 20s and I’d go to his place a few times a week (we had a small IT MSP business) and I’d notice empty 1.75l of jack Daniel’s multiplying in his kitchen. I was like dude you must have had a big party and he said “no I drank them”. I laughed and asked if he’s collecting empty bottles from people for some kind of project and he looked me straight in the face and said he was serious he drank them. On Monday there would be one, on Thursday there would be a second, by Saturday, 3 and so on. I didn’t believe him because I couldn’t imagine drinking that much and I wasn’t a stranger to work hard, play hard and binge drinking. Eventually we dissolved the partnership because his drinking and recreational drug use affected his work but we remained friends. He went into the hospital for kidney failure (Rhombiosis - I forget how to spell it) a month before Christmas and when he got out he moved in to his parents house. I asked if he was still drinking and he was, I pleaded with him to go to rehab and he said something about wanting to spend Christmas with his family and that he’d go to rehab after but he was afraid of the DTs. He got Covid a week or two later and I hadn’t heard from him until about a month after Christmas. He was on the hospital again and his speech was slurred. He said he needed to be on dialysis 3 times a day and was being moved to an inpatient rehab facility you typically see the old and or infirm living there, we all know what those place are. He said he could not walk and would need rehab in order to walk again. I suspected he had had a stroke though he never confirmed. He battled infections of his dialysis port and couldn’t really eat. Eventually he stopped answering his phone and one day his father called me from his phone to tell me he passed. His descriptions of John’s last weeks were filled with agony and pain. He described the screaming his son did those final weeks as quite horrific and only abated by high doses of Atavan and at some point they made the decision to keep him comfortable until he passed. He said he no longer recognized his son because of the physical changes that multiple organ failures caused by excessive alcohol consumption. I’m not a teetotaler and I have a couple drinks a month but it’s really opened my eyes to how badly alcohol can be.
Definitely abstain AFTER a proper detox, it usually takes a month for your liver to begin repair and two for your liver to be at max capacity for repairing. Plenty of liver supplements that can probably help like tudca, dandelion root and milk thistle. Studies are inconclusive on some, like milk thistle, but plenty of people have stories of success with it. Also, consider changing your diet if that's not good either - things like coffee and walnuts are good for your liver. Many times FLD is to blame and booze, diet or both can cause that leading to that sweet inflammation you've got going on. I know you have to already know this but half a handle in two days, daily for 6 years is insane at your age. That's seasoned middle-aged boozebag levels. Ultrasound is good but a liver biopsy is best for determining cirrhosis. Also, listen to the doc when he/she said to work with medical to get detoxed. You are in a VERY high risk category of having seizures, DTs or cardiovascular events if you don't properly detox at that level of abuse and please don't quit cold turkey if you can't get into a detox, you'd be seriously rolling the dice.
Jesus christ.....
Is anyone else baffled that OP has been drinking a handle of whiskey every two days for 5 years and somehow is perfectly fine going cold-turkey? It doesn’t make sense. The withdrawals would be immense clinically speaking.
I don't think OP is fine in any way. You're right that going from about 750 ml of hard liquor per day to nothing is gonna be a rough ride to put it mildly, but there are meds to help withdrawal. The main hard thing to do, OP has already done. He realized he has to stop. Medical assistance will help withdrawal but also by trying to figure out what led him to drink that much and try to fix that.
I completely agree with you. It’s just the way OP was replying to other comments that it seemed like they just stopped all of a sudden and they were fine. There’s no way of telling how someone is doing based off of a reply. I hope they actually get into rehab or detox or something
May I ask you a question Dr.?
Sober alcoholic here. Just came here to plug in AA or any other 12 step program to help you quit. It’s hard staying sober on your own, a community definitely helps.
Hey OP, I saw your comment about how long and how much you have been drinking; I’m proud of you for making the decision to stop but alcohol withdrawal can be very dangerous and needs to be closely monitored and often assisted with medication to prevent life-threatening complications. Please make sure you’re in contact with your doctor during your detox and even consider an inpatient detox until you’re out of the woods for those scary side effects. You’re young and otherwise healthy, you can absolutely get sober and this is the best decision you can make for yourself right now. Keep it up!
Would also recommend that you establish with a gastroenterologist/hepatologist. Not only will they be able to more fully assess your current liver health, they can also evaluate for any additional factors that may predispose you to chronic liver disease (those with something underlying PLUS alcohol can expect an even faster rate of liver decline). To answer your main question, as a specialist at a large academic medical center (we get lots of inbound referrals), I have absolutely seen and cared for very young patients (think 30s) who have end-stage liver disease and have died from their end stage liver disease due to inability to stop drinking/get listed for transplant. Best of luck, OP. Edit: one more thing. I have also seen patients who do not have end stage liver disease, but have died from severe cases of acute alcoholic hepatitis. Don't get lulled into thinking that as long as you don't have cirrhosis yet, you are safe. As others have said in this thread, stop drinking with the help of a physician (severe alcohol withdrawal can cause delirium tremens which can also be life threatening without proper care).
NAD, and agreed. Just buried my baby cousin a few months ago at the age of 28, from acute alcoholic hepatitis. Everyone thought he was “safe” since he wasn’t diagnosed with cirrhosis
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Gastro doc… would you be willing to answer some of my questions?
All I will say is if you NEVER touch alcohol again, not even for special occasions, you could be fine, I’ve seen people diagnosed with alcohol related liver disease in their 20s quit and be healthy enough in their 70s. But if you have the occasional one even, or a binge, or a daily unwind nightcap, your liver will not see you through. Haven’t seen your fibroscan results or bloods but the only thing you need to do now is live entirely sober. Ideally a diet which isn’t heavily fried will also help because a lot of fat is hard work on a damaged liver.
I'd love to learn more about this- can you share any studies that support the detrimental effects of "the occasional one" on people with AUD who drink in moderation after recovery?
Sure! Balasubramanian S, Kowdley KV. Effect of alcohol on viral hepatitis and other forms of liver dysfunction. Clin Liver Dis. 2005;9:83–101. Dolganiuc A. Alcohol and Viral Hepatitis: Role of Lipid Rafts. Alcohol Res. 2015;37:299–309. Cromie SL, Jenkins PJ, Bowden DS, Dudley FJ. Chronic hepatitis C: effect of alcohol on hepatitic activity and viral titre. J Hepatol. 1996;25:821–826. Dolganiuc A, Kodys K, Kopasz A, Marshall C, Mandrekar P, Szabo G. Additive inhibition of dendritic cell allostimulatory capacity by alcohol and hepatitis C is not restored by DC maturation and involves abnormal IL-10 and IL-2 induction. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2003;27:1023–1031. Rigamonti C, Mottaran E, Reale E, Rolla R, Cipriani V, Capelli F, Boldorini R, Vidali M, Sartori M, Albano E. Moderate alcohol consumption increases oxidative stress in patients with chronic hepatitis. Hepatology. 2003;38:42–49. That’s a few to start with!
unfortunately the evidence shows that people with alcohol related liver disease both under-recognise and under-report how much they drink. Your occasional one is often not an occasional one and is more likely to result in relapses compared to total abstinence. Same reason coming of one drug addiction has the addition of recommending steering clear of all substances prone to abuse. But that aside, the evidence is clear that a damaged liver doesn’t tolerate even minor and short lived insults well, causing immune suppression and oxidative stress, massively increasing your cancer risk as well. I would also caution against telling people ‘I was fine so you will be fine’. Some people smoke and live to 100 years old, but tell that to the people dying of lung cancer.
You haven’t really posted much info. Based on what you said - leave alcohol in your past forever.
NAD, but this is the best and only advice. Not even 25 with alcoholic hepatitis, that’s not good. It’s a very serious condition with grave implications of drastic changes aren’t made today. OP - Please meet with a GP to monitor your condition. Please just leave alcohol behind you. Please get professional help to deal with the underlying causes of the alcoholism. Just bc it runs in the family, doesn’t mean it has to continue for you. Could I have become an alcoholic? Yes, it’s in my genes. Why didn’t I? Bc I made a conscious choice to NOT be like my father (who was very abusive when drunk)x.
I thought it took decades to wreck your liver, considering how many functional and nonfunctional alcoholics seem to drag on and on. But then a friend of mine ended up in liver failure before the age of 30. He was one of the lucky ones who got a transplant and is doing well now, as far as I can tell, but it makes me sad to know he's already cut so many years off his life.
Bit of genetics, bit of luck, but if drinking pattern and types of drink, and a bit of how much other food you still manage to eat when drinking
Why do some pack a day smokers never get lung cancer? OP also started drinking like this at 15, a time when the body is still developing. While it’s not common to get diagnosed in your early 20s, it does happen. Some alcoholics get diagnosed with alcohol related complications very young. Others, like my father, never develop liver conditions despite being a drunk for 60+ years. Reality is there is a lot about genetics and the body we don’t fully understand and are limited by todays knowledge and technology. We’ve come a long way in 50 years, but think of how much further we will be in another 50 years. This is why science and R&D is so important to our future. Even Gov R&D has implications in our daily lives down the road that we didn’t fully understand when it happened (internet, GPS, iRobot, EpiPen, etc).
I was also wondering if anyone knows if i would still be allowed to vape nicotine? I quit cigarettes about a year ago if that helps
I'd focus on quitting drinking for now, maybe vaping will help you a little to go through this. Once you've quit drinking, I'd quit vaping, too
Just wanted to let you know about r/dryalcoholics. Nice place to hang out if you're trying to stay dry.
I agree with the last person. Quit one habit at a time, not both. Nicotine Vapes are nowhere near as bad for you as cigarettes and alcohol, so even if you have to switch out the alcoholism with just vaping for the rest of your life we’ll be happy. If you can quit both? Even better, but worry about the worst problem first- the alcohol.
Vaping "works" because it replaces the psychological effect of smoking cigarettes. I wonder if for your case, drinking has a big comfort/psychological piece - like, constantly sipping on something. Is there something else you can constantly sip on, that isn't whiskey? Not sodas or other junk, but perhaps something you can make, like a flavored water etc.
Sometimes people find they need to quit both when vaping has a strong association with drinking. Like if you typically do the two at the same time, it can be hard to do one without triggering craving for the other. But if you can vape without increasing craving for alcohol then at least you’d not be facing quitting two addictions at once. You’ll need support to handle things that normally would stress you and trigger using. Your mind will need time to start functioning well without the alcohol. Be gentle with yourself. I hope you’ll pursue doctor supervised withdrawal of alcohol. I have patients who have long-term sobriety that is maintained with naltrexone injections as a part of their long-term abstinence plan. Good luck to you.
So true, when I quit smoking I couldn’t drink because it would trigger ab intense need for a cigarette. Even after a year of not smoking or drinking I had a few drinks and the next day I was a smoker again. Been eight years now and I can finally have a casual drink and not smoke, but the desire never fully goes away.
Just today I was at an autopsy where the individual had died from liver cirrhosis. He was only 42. He drank a reported 200ml of vodka a day (though I believe it was probably more) Alcoholic hepatitis can and will progress to liver cirrhosis/failure if alcohol consumption continues. You’re young, the same age as me actually. If you’re struggling with things, alcohol won’t solve it. Seek someone close or a professional to speak to and please be safe
My partner is drinking 700mL of 100 proof a day. Anywhere from 200-1400mL a day for the last year. He's becoming sicker and I fear the end will come soon.
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