How much drinking will cause cirrhosis?

[kohese4041]

I'm 34 years old, male, normal BMI.

I have been drinking the past 10-15 years. I never drank during the week (except when on holiday) and I occassionally binge drank, perhaps 1 per month or so. The other weekends I did not drink, or stayed within limits.

My LFT 'scame back slightly elevated recently. Could my drinking behavior have caused cirrhosis? When browsing the internet, you find very different opinions, so I would like to know what this community thinks.

[Roz22]

There is only one way to find out See your GP

[AyrshireK]

There are more causes to cirrhosis than just alcohol and with alcohol related liver disease it isn't just about the quantity drunk or the type of drinking but whether or not you have a 'propensity' for liver damage - it's something no one is able to find out but is the reason why you'll sometimes find people who drink really excessively but seem to 'get away with it' whilst others who only drink within guideline levels can suffer liver damage. Kind of the luck of the draw.Obviously as you've had elevated blood results then something is causing your liver some distress for it to be elevated - whether this is the booze or some other factor would need further examination.

Often a one of rise in blood results isn't something to get alarmed about but if repeated tests showed a continued pattern of elevation you'd want to find out what is causing this.

If it's booze there is one sure fire fix and that's to remove the booze, if it's something else (as I said it isn't just booze that can cause a poorly liver - genetic conditions, hereditary conditions, auto immune conditions and things like non-alcohol related fatty liver disease).

Get your bloods rechecked in a few weeks and see if there is a pattern of elevation and if there is then you'll want to push for some further tests, perhaps a scan to check on the condition of your liver.

Katie

[Hidden]

From my experience LFTS can be raised when the liver is fatty or under stress. I had slightly elevated about 13 years ago.. I used to drink every night. I stopped and it went back to normal as did my cholesterol which was 6.7 and went down to 4.3 when I stopped. Like a fool I still carried on drinking but stopped in August 2019.

I would stop drinking and then retest. You may find it goes back to normal range. Also ask for an a ultrasound just to ease your mind. It’s likely just a blip as from what you have said you don’t drink a lot but like Ayrshire says alcohol is a gamble... I have gotten away with 20 or more years of drinking every single night whilst others can get liver disease after just a few months of drinking daily. Sticking to government guidelines is what I’d recommend.