Hi all
I'm new to this website and am seeking advice about alcohol free wine. I'm trying very hard not to drink alcohol other than at a week-end as my recent blood tests weren't the best. I've been told my liver damage can be reversed but I'm finding it difficult not to drink. I'm trying to get by on 0.05 or 0.5% wine and am managing - but can anyone tell me if drinking this % of wine makes any difference in terms of effect or not on your liver.
Even small amounts of alcohol have to be metabolized by the liver, so I would check with your doctor about whether it's ok for you to drink in moderation. If it's helping you keep within guidelines and if the doctor says it's ok, that's good. However (I hope you don't mind me asking this), if you are finding it difficult not to drink alcohol, have you sought help for that? I would find it hard (as someone with a drink problem) for that not to escalate (but that's me, not you). The CAGE test can help you assess your drinking-
Have you ever thought you should cut down on your drinking?
Have people annoyed you by criticising your drinking?
Have you ever felt guilty about your drinking?
Have you ever drunk an "eye-opener", which means: have you ever drunk alcohol first thing in the morning to get over a hangover and steady your nerves?
The NHS has info on alcohol support here - nhs.uk/live-well/alcohol-su...
I'll be honest there are people on here who would give anything to be able to reverse their disease. So holding off on alcohol until your damage subsides and your liver becomes "normal" again is really a no brainer. Just take a few minutes to tip toe through this forum and see what not stopping alcohol in the early stages of liver disease can do.
You give up on the booze for a while and you get to have a normal liver again with a normal social life. An envy of many around here. The fact that you have been told you have some liver damage and are still finding it hard to not drink is nothing to be embarrassed about. But it certainly does point out that you are drinking way to much and that you have a problem with keeping your limits with alcohol in check. It simply works like this: If you drink alcohol with any liver damage it will progress to more advanced damage and become chronic disease. End of story. No weekends no nothing.
Your lucky that this was found early as most dont get a warning of liver disease until its quite advanced. So as I said already keep off the hooch and repair the damage. After that if you wanna drink go ahead. But keep in mind what I said about your intake as well unless you want to find yourself back in the same shoes again.
Good luck
Hi AmeLiz,
My husband had to quit drinking after liver failure.
About a year or two of total abstinence later his doctor has allowed him to drink non-alcoholic beer and wine - but his blood work keeps coming back okay and in general improves a bit each time.
I would say n/a is better if you can't do without, but if your blood work is still not good trying to quit until you improve would be best for you.
I should say that we live in the US and other countries and doctors have different opinions.
We wish my husband's doctor or one along the years had said his liver damage was reversible if he just stopped drinking.
Best wishes to you,
Mary
Hi Mary. How is your husband doing now? My husband is in the same situation as was just released from acute liver failure. He was told he can never drink again and must have a low salt diet. Its life changing for us as he was a moderate drinker who would heavy binge drink. Covid intensified his drinking habits and he ended up in hospital with jaundice and ascites. His labs are improving weekly thankfully but we are still trying to understand the extent of long term chronic damage. He is only 38.
Hi KPHub,
My husband is doing okay as regards his liver - still has cirrhosis and is still drinking N/A beer. But his liver blood work improved enough for him to undergo chemo for cancer and chemo plus radiation. I think the hardest part of the whole drinking thing is that once one feels better then they think it is ok to go back to real booze - and that was what my husband's liver doctor told him.
Your husband is younger than mine, Paul was in his mid 60's when he had his liver failure. He was at least a year out with improving blood work before he asked his doctor about the non-alcoholic beer and his doctor said no the first time hubby asked, and maybe the 2nd time. So it might have been at his 2nd year 6 month check that the doctor told my husband that if hubby could drink N/A and not start real booze again as long as his blood work continued to improve and at least be within shouting distance of the normal range the doctor would okay N/A. The doctor did ask hubby if he would give the doctor a promise that he would quit the N/A if his blood work stopped improving and did he think if he gave the promise could he keep it - hubby said yes.
And hubby has not gone back to real booze to this day and it has been 6 years.
He also was told to cut back on salt so we got some non-salt salt LOL I did get some pink Himalayan salt - mother-in-law was told to use that for low salt- and he occasionally uses that - works for me too as less of it tastes more salty than regular table salt.
I don't know how your husband is or his commitment to staying well, but I wish you both the best. Feel free to ask me any questions
Mary
0.05% is legally referred to as alcohol-free in the UK. You're likely to find a similar alcohol content in fruit juice. It's also generally used as a maximum content rather than a specific one as it's not so easy to be accurate at such low levels.
I'm not a doctor but I think it very unlikely that a liver specialist would warn you against 0.05% due to any potential harm it could cause. Ask your doctor.
It is possible however that you may be warned against it due to the fear that it might lead you on to stronger alternatives. A 'gateway' drink if you will. What truth there is to this theory I don't know. In the absence of study data proving this theory I would also consider that the opposite is possible and that allowing yourself "alcohol-free" drink aids you in maintaining abstinence by virtue of not making you feel so restricted and therefore less likely to 'rebel' and go to the real stuff.
0.5% however, I don't know. I would (and do) stick with 0.05%. My specialist knows this and has no problem with it.
Hiya, I too was giving a warning by my docs about 6 yr ago to stop drinking, I didn't listen and was diagnosed with cirrhosis over a year ago. It is very difficult to get round your head the damage you can do and you think it will never happen to you. The fact your on this page is a good start, your obviously concerned. Take some of the advice given on here, there's a lot of people that have been were you are. I agree with watching that the non alcoholic wine doesn't trigger you to drink more, the mind can be a bigger sometimes 😋 Take care.
Hi AmeLiz
Welcome to the forum.
There have been some great comments from the members here.
All alcohol, even small amounts are metabolized by the liver. If you already have some liver issues it really would be a good idea to consider seeing your own doctors and discuss this with them. They may also be able to signpost you to some support.
Best wishes
Trust1
Like you, I had warnings and managed to stop, with willpower and also Becks Blue 'alcohol free' beer. I honestly found it a massive help at the time, and eventually stopped bothering with that too and went truly alcohol free.
So I'd say, if it helps you ease yourself into an alcohol free lifestyle then do it.
Personally It was never a gateway 'drug' for me. But I did eventually start drinking again, much to my regret - but that was nothing to do with alcohol free beer, just complacency.
There are lots of natural products we consume that contain small amounts of alcohol including fruit juices and soft bakery products
I wouldn't of thought either would do you any harm at all.
There is also the argument though that why do you need a substitute for a normal strength wine? Do you intend to revert back to the normal strength wine in the future?
Personally I think that you are fortunate to have a warning where any damage can be reversed, it is not worth drinking again in the future.
Best wishes
What I’ve read on here, transplant team wouldn’t like it.
Hi
Im in an identical scenario , okay my LFT results were all okay after changing drinking habits over last 6 months, three alcohol free days and 14.5 units per week max, faltered at Xmas and New Year but back on the target now. What interests me is that something you are doing midweek allows you to get by not drinking. Im in the same boat, so please may I ask what it is that you do midweek that changes your mindset ? Im not a alcopsychologist but have and I going through the same fight and often people can help each other.
First of all Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to respond to my query. My story is as follows:
I have been steadily drinking more and more over the last 20 years due to personal problems. I'm not a stupid person and knew I was drinking way too much. I had a private liver test done last summer as I wanted to know the situation but didn't want to go to docs. I hoped to get a kick up the you know where before it was too late. My AST and Bilirubin levels were slightly raised and my kidney and red and white blood cell results were also slightly abnormal. Nothing drastic so I decided if I just reduced my alcohol intake my results would reverse. Since last August I have been drinking 0.05 or 0.5 wine or alcohol free beer...(Erdinger is the best I think) during the week and just having a few glasses of wine at the weekend. I have no idea if this is working. For me it is the habit of sitting down in the evening and needing a glass of something in my hand and that is why I'm managing with what I'm doing. Hope this helps.
PS...I'm not being smug as I could have a glass of wine at the drop of a hat but I have managed an alcohol free January so far...but only because I've been drinking alcohol free.
Hiya there's been some excellent advice given to you on her already but me personally .....give up totally babe (if you can or if not seek help for this, there's definitely no shame in asking for help x)
I ignored the "crazy doctor" who told me i was killing my liver & myself with my drinking.
I called him crazy to my sister as I sat with wine in my hand ...oh how we laughed!! I wasn't laughing 4 months later getting poison drained out of me.
I don't want to scare you but equally I don't want you to go through what I went through x
Take care lovely
Please ask for help if you need it x you're not alone x
Lisa 🙂xx
Whether low/no-alcohol wine has any effect on your liver depends on a few things. I would check with your doctor as to whether a few glasses of such wine is ok. If you were an alcoholic who would get triggered by the taste of such wine and/or you have cirrhosis, it may be best to stay away from it. If on the other hand, your liver enzymes are just elevated, a few glasses may be fine. Keep in mind that at least in the USA, low-alcohol wines are really just glorified grape juice......meaning they have lots of sugar, and the price is marked up considerably.
You mentioned that you are trying not to drink alcohol "other than at weekends". So I'm wondering how much alcohol you are drinking on weekends. That's the bigger issue here.
Also wondering what you mean when you say that your blood test wasn't the best.
I've also had elevated liver enzymes for over a year, but I had an ultrasound that came back totally normal. The doctor told me that I should try to limit alcohol consumption to 2-3 beers per week or less. If this is the case for you, then you can have NA wine, but it's the weekend consumption that I'd be more concerned about.
Liver pain from alcohol...
Alcohol free for a year
Alcoholic Fatty liver likely
drinking alcoholic free beer
Alcohol Free for 12 Months 
