I have been diagnosed with anxiety disorder! I am 54 and have drunk more than average, although I do a lot of sport and eat healthily. I was feeling very very nauseous to the point that I couldn't sleep or work (3 months long) . It was terrible - I also had no appetite and stomach pains. I was very anxious about my health, especially liver - I had liver enzyme tests and MRT and Ultrasound and 23 days ago all doctors said my liver was fine (not even fatty liver) and it was 100% anxiety. The nausea went down significantly. Well ashamed to say - I have been drinking 40g of alcohol - 2 x 0.5 cans of 5% beer per day since then (for the last 23 days) , but have stopped today. I "needed" this because I was was worried about other health problems (which I do not have) and to put on weight and gain appetite - I have put on some kilos and look fine now! But today my nausea is returning, since today I started worrying that I could have alcoholic hepatitis or cirrosis after this drinking period. Is this possible? - yeah I'm probably a hypochondriac.
Too much worry?: I have been diagnosed... - British Liver Trust
Too much worry?
Lay off the alcohol, that's what is causing your paranoia and anxiety. Stop googling your symptoms thats not helping. Go to the liver trust website you will get far more accurate information on there as well as from folk on this forum who have been and are still going through similar symptoms as you are.
Thanks - yes I've stopped - the anxiety is caused by concern over the last weeks!
Couldn't find much information concerning timespan. Apparently it takes on average 10 years of drinking to get AH. So I suppose 23 days I'll be OK. Since no information is out there I'll go for another MRT Ultrasound despite this being done done less than a month ago! No other way to know unless someone can give me a hint!
If you have cirrhosis you would have been told. If you have fatty liver you would have been told. If you are over weight, start eating healthily, fresh fruit and veg, lean meat chicken amd fish and get plenty of fresh air and exercise. Concentrate on becoming a healthy you instead of worrying yourself about being ill then you will be so fit and well there will be no need for you to be paranoid and anxious that you are ill. For goodness sake life is for living and enjoying not worrying yourself to death unnecessarily !
Well said
Hi danube
Laura has given what seems to me to be sensible comments!
I don’t know where you live but in England we can’t just “go for another MRT” MRT = MRI scan? We have to be seeing a Consultant. Even our GP can’t just refer you for an MRI he/she has to refer you to a Consultant at the Hospital who examines you and tests you etc before deciding if you should have a Scan. If yours was only 23 days ago you are indeed lucky.
Good luck
Miles
Thanks for your replies. I live in Germany and there is a private company that does this in Hamburg with or without transferal. I paid 940 Euro. Last night I hardly slept - my nausea/anxiety started again due to this question/worry :-(. Again, I am still looking for some answer! When you say I am indeed lucky, do you mean that a serious liver disease cannot develop in 23 days of drinking 2 x 0.5 cans of 5% alc daily? Again, before my liver was fine according to MRI and Ultrasound. Any answer would be grateful. Anxiety disorder knows no logic! I know I was stupid to drink, but please bear in mind I had lost much weight and had severe anxiety, and two gastrodoctors, after receiving all the results, told me my liver was fine and the problem was anxiety! Surely I can only have fatty liver at the most after such a period. Thanks in advance for the reply. Today I wanted to do some sport on this wonderful day, but I have no appetite and had virtually no sleep!
Hi again
Good morning Germany!
Well none of us here are doctors but there may be some here who are incognito 😁 and therefore we, non doctors, cannot provide either advice nor answers! Only experiences.
My experience was it took me 43 years of heavy, yes heavy - especially last 10 years - of drinking before I got symptoms to cause me concern. Sad I know but true!
Mind you on the plus side, if indeed there is a plus side, I didn’t drink spirits yippee 😁😁.
And as Forrest would say that’s all I gotta saaay abaat that (I never have been any good at accents 😁). So maybe see a doctor again before deciding to spend that amount of money?
Good luck again danubian
Miles
PiloMilo- forgot to say thanks!
It took my late husband 35 years of abusing alcohol before developing cirrhosis and another 4 years of drinking before he died. So you see you are paranoid and anxious over nothing. Get on with living your life and enjoying it or your anxiety will kill you !
Drinking the limited amount of booze you have over only a 20+ day period is not going to change a healthy normal liver - as you were told it was via scan only days before this latest round of drinking - to damaged or cirrhotic. Cirrhosis is end stage liver disease it has to go through a whole lot of changes before it would get anywhere near cirrhosis.
Please try and get your head round the fact your liver is normal (you lucky thing) and get on with life. Look after yourself and your liver. Make booze a thing of the past. Booze is itself a depressant and together with pre-existing anxiety type disorder you are just going to go round and round in circles and might gradually start to suffer the effects.
At the moment though your liver is fine, you've had the best scan going in MRI. Why pay a fortune for another just to tell you the same thing?
Katie
Thanks so much Katie for the answer. I feel much better now - much better - despite hardly sleeping last night and my belly making noises - all due to anxiety. I would never have forgiven myself if it was otherwise. When you have such anxiety disorder - such things can magnify! Thanks so very much!
Good morning Katie. Once again thanks for that post. Its been over a week without alcohol now and tomorrow I have an appointment with a psycho-doctor for therapy. Still not feeling 100% since I'm still trying to get my head around the fact that my liver is normal and axiety symptoms are still there. I keep coming back to your post and that of Phoenix in the other thread. It helps me! Best wishes and have a nice Sunday!
Really glad to have provided some calm to the situation.
Stay strong.
Katie x
Thanks - I'm trying - still some nausea and lack of appetite, but now, thanks to you (and others), I know that it is not due to my alcohol weakness for that time period! Anxiety produces the flight/fight chemicals/hormones being constantly pumped into my bloodstream. Classic symptoms! I guess I'm ready to fight tigers 24/7 or, knowing what a scaredy cat I am, to run away from them! Mark x
Hi,
Health anxiety is a very very common issue, so please try not to beat yourself up about it.
Are you receiving treatment for the anxiety?
I would honestly take what the Dr's have said about your liver at face value, and instead of focusing your energy on googling for liver disease use that time positively to look online for help with anxiety.
There are some very good anxiety related groups right here on Health Unlocked where you'll find supportive people going through the same, or at least similar thing.
I'm saying all this as someone who has suffered with both health anxiety and generalised anxiety disorder.
Best wishes,
Gary
Gary, yes I did take what the doctors told me at face value, but I'm beating myself up about the fact that I was so incredibly stupid by drinking two 0.5 litre cans of 5% beer each of those consecutive 23 days! (The reason why is stated further above). The MRT results were about 25 days ago towards end of March - all OK - I flew to UK to spend some time with my brother because I just had to get away - then I started the daily two cans of 5% beer. I returned to Lübeck on 7th April and the next day I went to see my gastrodoctor (who I'd been seeing for months and did the blood tests) who told me, after looking at the MRT results, that my body and liver was definately fine. I thought that I did not need treatment for anxiety now that I know 100% that I have no health problems! As "luck" would have it, on that day I came down with heavy cold symptoms which did not go and this prolonged my health anxiety again - so I continued the daily drinking of the two 0.5 l cans 5%! It turned out to be hayfever! (had it as a kid!). Yesterday I stopped drinking since my nausea got worse again after thinking that those 23 days have ruined my liver and I am a terrible person when it comes to regrets! Last night I could not sleep due to nausea and during the night went here to find the answer! Katie's answer has reassured me- I'll see how the anxiety develops now! I know my problems are nothing compared to some here. I am sorry for bothering you all and am grateful for your replies- especially that of AyrshireK! God bless you all!
Perhaps if you are googling liver symptoms you need to stop now,... your doctors have said your liver is good. This is a good place to start from, you’ve had the tests all are clear.
Anxiety comes in many forms and has endless bodily symptoms and can include all of those you listed and more. One of the symptoms of anxiety is thinking something terrible is wrong with you and needing endless tests for reassurance. You get reassurance you seek more reassurance, if you had that you’d still want more reassurance , because the anxiety would throw in another what if..what if , what if ... and on it goes a never ending spiral.
So Maybe, it’s time to tackle the anxiety instead of funding more tests you don’t need, fund some CBT therapy, trust me that works. It takes time and effort, but better than worrying about your health all the time.
Health anxiety (hyperchondria) is an illness, a mental illness, and it’s real just like liver disease or any other disease and it needs treatment.
Please seek help before you start to use alcohol to relieve the symptoms of anxiety. That’s a spiral you don’t want to enter.
The doc said my liver was good before I started the 23 day drinking which I have stopped! That was my problem! Thanks for the reply.
I agree with Candy. I am definitely a hypochondriac when it comes to health stuff. Any symptoms I get, I’m always thinking, I have the worst case scenario. I’m reading Mindfulness books and working on Anxiety issues. I’ve seen other forums where, some Peeps keep going to different specialists to try and find one that confirms their worst fears. Believe the Dr’s is your 1st step to wellness. By the way, many of us would drink 8–10 drinks per day for years and years. 2 a day for a month is not even on a Radar for alcohol abuse. Good Luck and Blessings for the New You😀 I will trade you livers if ya like. Lol
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