I hope everyone is well. This is a serious topic and I honestly think I am dieing.
I have been drinking heavily for around 4.5 years now (anywhere between 60-100 units per week).
**Stats** - 5 foot 7 (170cm)
**Weight** - 56kg (normally 50kg)
**Age** - 32
**Symptoms** - Weight gain +6kg over the last 2 years( I am naturally very skinny) and **Abdomen looks very bloated/large and unnatural compared to rest of the body and my ribs are showing.** I even look skinnier at 56kg than I did at 50kg, except for my abdomen.
The reason I say very heavy drinking is because 60-100 units per week for a 50kg male I think is considered very heavy drinking.
In this time, I have visited my doctor and I have had 2 ultrasounds. First one was in July 2020 and second was in February 2022. Both times they said the scans came back normal, which is shocking. After reading many topics I was lead to believe that the ultrasound is the gold standard for testing any liver problems/fluid.
So does this mean I am perfectly fine even though 2 ultrasounds say everythings okay?
Thanks guys!
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Drew1000
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Hello Drew. Ultra sounds are not the gold standard but they can reveal an enlarged liver. Next you could get a fibrosure blood test which is not entirely accurate but a great diagnostic test. After that comes a fibroscan, them mri with elastography. Some do biopsy’s but they don’t in the states. 4 years it’s unlikely you have cirrhosis but some fibrosis with a beer gut. However some people can get it from casual drinking. I didn’t drink nearly as much as you but over time the doc said that’s what caused it. Don’t panic just be honest with your doctors and cut down on drinking or you will die from it. Btw, I’m 39. You better cut back if you want to live to your 40’s.
Hi Drew, the amount you're drinking is extremely high and dangerous. Have you had any blòod tests done to check on the state of your liver health? That would be a good place to start - ascites is usuaĺly a symptom of serious advanced/decompensated cirrhosis which I'd be surprised a scan would miss. Ascites often goes hand in hand with reduced blòod albumin levels so a set of liver blòod tests would be advisable together with an examination by your doctor plus some serious work towards alcohol cessation.
You need to find out the state of your liver health a.s.a.p.
I think the question I would ask you is, if you think you are dying is, do you want to live? If the answer to that question is yes then stop drinking? Or carry on drinking and die. It's really as straight forward as that.
You are obviously aware of and worried about your drinking. It’s a lot of alcohol for your body to handle. I’d be surprised if scans missed ascites so it’s probably not that. Nevertheless, you are worried enough to post here and carry on consuming that amount and it soon will be ascites. Make an appointment with your GP and ask them for help with your drinking. It’s probably worth getting a full panel of bloods done at the same time to check what damage has been done. With support, you should be able to turn this situation around...but please do access it.
Towards my first hospital admission I was drinking that much. I had been drinking for 5 years, increasingly heavy for the last 18 months until I got to that level and then my liver just crashed. And I know have cirrhosis. If you want to live, go to a&e and get detoxed under observation, then find help to stay off it, if you want to. If you keep drinking at that level, you are playing russian roulette
I think you are going to worry yourself sick, be glad the ultrasound is normal and focus on what you can do to cut down on your alcohol consumption, try to find a support group where you can meet and talk to people in similar situations, it really helped me. Good luck
Hi all, thanks for the responses, much appreciated.
Yes I am very worried, the only reason I continue to drink at this level is because after both ultrasounds my GP said my liver looks completely normal and not to worry, just to cut down on alcohol.
In regards to going to A and E, I forgot to mention that last October 2021 I went with pain in my lower right abdomen, I even called 999 and went in an ambulance and all they did was prescribe some painkillers and told me it has to be investigated by my GP and that they can't do any scans there and then etc due to restrictions due to COVID.
I am truly shocked as because my GP said ultrasound should show any liver problem and also in another forum, I think it was patient.info saying the same.
The only reason I posted here because my abdomen looks huge compared to the rest of my body and I have gained about 6kg, even though I look skinnier than ever.
A 6kg weight gain which is all on your tummy when you are consuming so much booze is more likely to be a 'beer belly' rather than ascites if none was picked up on your scans. I see you've flipped back to another profile name and I see you've been having this for over a year - ascites can make a chap look as though he's pregnant. Booze contains loads of empty calories so do your body no good as either fuel or nourishment so you end up skinny.
I still think a full set of liver function blood tests would be a good idea.
Just because your doctor has told you that your liver is ok just now it isn't carte blanche to go on destroying it because at the sort of levels you are consuming there will come a point where the balanced is tipped and it won't be ok at all and by that point it's too late.
Time to take some action to prevent your liver from becoming destroyed. By posting you are obviously concerned, by acknowledging your problematic relationship with alcohol you've taken a huge step too.
It's time to get help with tackling what has become an issue - see your GP, be honest about your alcohol intake and your concern about it, seek help for detox and to challenge why you drink and also get your liver health thoroughly checked out.
Are you swollen anywhere else? Legs and feet? Ascites likes to show up there also. If not, I'd tend to agree, that's a lot of carb calories you've consuming. Please don't take your doctor's reassurance as meaning you can continue to drink to excess. You don't want cirrhosis.
Yes, I made an account before and I was confused between the two, I am the same guy.
I thought it was a beer belly also, but as I said after learning an ultrasound might not pick up ascites, now I shocked and unsure.
Yes I am definitely concerned now and don't know how to go forward. After both ultrasounds and my GP saying everythings normal I continued to drink at that level.
What's the point of seeing my GP if she has assured me my liver is fine? And more importantly what test other than a biopsy can confirm my liver is normal, CT scan?
Have you had any recent bloods? If you think you have decompensated liver disease (i.e. ascites) then your bloods would reflect this. You can't have 'symptomatic' liver disease and normal bloods - yes you can have stable cirrhosis and normal bloods but ascites goes hand in hand with depleted albumin levels which will be picked up on bloods.
A fibroscan would be a good scan to have as it will indicate a CAP score which is the amount of fatty change in your liver (which would be likely at the level of drinking you are doing) & a kPa score which can indicate if there is any fibrosis present in your liver. This needs to be taken along with bloods to see if there is any ongoing liver inflammation.
Your GP is also potentially a gateway to a referral to people/agencies who can help and support you with your alcohol cessation - alcohol cessation is one way of hopefully preventing your liver from becoming damaged or indeed healing any damage already done.
Sometimes tough love needs to be addressed. I'm a really nice person normally but I'm quite angry ( and there will be others on here too whether they will admit it or not)
Usually before you are referred for scans of the liver the gp will request bloods to see if theres any abnormalities. Even hospitals will take bloods.
If your told your liver is fine and you've been worried about it... are you actually worried if you are still drinking?
This is the bit that makes me angry: there are people on here who have actual liver problems, some can be reversed but most are end stage with only the hope of a transplant and a few extra years added into their lives. Most have families to look after and some have families looking after them. Few have no one.
Now the lovely people on here I've spoken to who have a diagnosis of cirrhosis or at decompensated stage have turned their lives around, regretted drinking so heavily and NEED to stay sober in order to live.
You have no liver issues and your happy to continue to drink... I dont know what your wanting- others on here would love to have a liver such as yours because having liver issues is not a nice thing to live with.
Do you want liver disease? Are you happy to just drink until your told your liver is failing? Because you'll not get told you can have another one unless your sober! Do you really feel the need to have this diagnosis in order to think about stopping drinking?
In a nicer way to put this: either continue to drink heavily but please dont complain to people on here who are going through hell or use the scans as a positive thing but a warning and cut down.
If you think your dying ( which I believe is the drink talking or withdraw from a few hours) you NEED to call for an ambulance and get them to fully check your bloods. If you are scared you may be dying then whether your tests are fine or not bloody stop drinking because it's a slap in the face to people on here wishing for a longer life and people come on here with nothing wrong with them but just want to drink.
Sorry, if you highlighted that you are aware of your drinking and generally want to change your life around then I'd have more sympathy- but I've spoken to some lovely people on here who have turned their lives around just to live and every day is a struggle for them. Perhaps you need to underline your reasons for drinking and seek professional help.
Hi guys, No, I haven't had any recent blood tests done.
What I'm still confused about is, well at least in regards to having fluid/ascites build up is, if this weight gain was due to that then the ultrasound would have surely shown it right? Or is that not the case?
My hubby has 6 monthly ultrasounds (due to having cirrhosis) and one of the things this checks for is ascites so yes I would anticipate that if fluid/ascites was present it would be seen on a scan. This is what I am saying about it being probably a beer belly rather than fluid.
The first step for anyone before it’s too late is acknowledging that if you have a problem with alcohol or not. I needed alcohol for every reason.. good times , bad times , stress … I could never say no to it after 2 or 3 drinks. Over the years I had many wake up calls but I brushed them off. Driving while intoxicated, fights, divorce… you name it. I quit for 13 months but then like many others I started again thinking that I can control my intake. I was wrong, I was once again drinking copious amounts till it made me gravely sick. Both physically and mentally. You have to change your lifestyle and find other activities for excitement before it’s too late.
And before quitting for 13 months , a blood work showed my alt and ast to be over 500. Upper cut off limit for a normal range is 40 for men . So, I was over 12 times and I was functioning just fine without any issues or symptoms
Just because your liver is ok or seems to be for now, doesn't mean that 60-100 units a week is ok to carry on with, as, like i mentioned, when it suddenly does cause damage it comes fast and hard. the recommended max is 14 units a week I think. considering you are drinking 7 times that a week will only end in tears. Trust me - you do not want ARLD. I would do as has been suggested and get a comprehensive set of bloods done.
If you are in the UK and would find it useful to talk things over, our nurse-led helpline is open Monday to Friday from 10am to 3pm on 0800 652 7330 (excluding bank holidays)
Thanks again for all the replies, highly appreciated and informative.
In regards to ascites, so from the responses, since I had my last Ultrasound in February 2022, if this huge extended abdomen was fluid, then it would have 100% showed up? and since it did not, then its not ascites? and its a beer belly? is that part 100% certain in regards to fluid/ascites?
In regards to the weight gain, yes 6kg weight gain in abdomen might not sound like much, but my total weigh is 55kg, so its over 10% gain. Also as I mentioned I look even skinnier with the weight gain and my abdomen looks very 'unnatural' compared to the rest of my body.
So I have to request a fibroscan + blood tests + MRI? All of these tests to conclude any liver damage? I am still confused on how to proceed ?
Yes, I am stopping drinking now. I will limit it to 10 units per week or less from now on.
Hi just to put a spoke in the works I had issues 12 months prior to my Emergency admission to A&E, I had bloods scans I looked like a pregnant duck and the the rest of my body looked malnourished, ten hours before my admission to A&E I was having a scan and still was sent home, Then I was rushed into hospital with a bleed and what I now know was ascites I was given just 48 hours to live, sadly for some bizarre reason my liver didn't show up on the scans, had they of I'm sure I wouldn't of ended up in such a life threatening situation, my only advice to you is too give up alcohol and be persistent until you get answers, we don't have a Fibro scanner at the Royal Stoke so I am unsure whether having one of those would of enlightened the medical profession, what they did keep saying was I was so full of fluid they couldn't even see to put a drain in. I ended up with a 6 hour operation following a blood transfusion ending up in my abdomen and advised that I now have Coleiac Disease and they were unsure which came first . Take care, I hope you get some answers and more importantly give alcohol up. x
This is exactly what I look like, my body looks malnourished, my ribs are even showing, but my abdomen looks huge compared to my body. I find it very hard to believe its just a beer belly. Additionally, as I said I have gained 6kg, but look even skinnier than before.
Is ascites not showing on an ultrasound common? What scans did you have done?
Yes I have decided to completely stop alcohol now.
If it hadn't happened to me I would of struggled to believe it but the only thing they said about my scans was you have a few glasses floating around, keep pushing for answers, I thought I had extreme constipation but I felt so drained and poorly. xx
I would speak to your doctor and be honest with them. It sounds like fibroscans are more accessible in the UK than the USA. There are only 2 places in my state with the machine. I had all the tests done but in the states you have to jump through hoops with insurance. The blood work up with a fibrosure test and fibroscan would pick up any liver damage in my opinion. I was flagged after an ultrasound with an enlarged liver and the tests kept coming.
I wanted to update this post only after my GP referred me onto a gastroenterologist, which she has, however it took persuading as she kept saying "don't worry your still so young", even though I stated how heavily I drink.
My gastro is sending me for blood tests, CT scan and endoscopy. I have the blood test form and it says testing for "U & E", "Liver Profile", "Bone Profile", "Full Blood Count" and CRP. And the CT scan only to be requested after the blood test.
I have seen above, a member said I need a fibrosure blood test and fibroscan. I queried this with my gastro and he said if something shows up on the blood test or CT scan then he can take it from there.
My main question is, from the tests they are checking my blood for i.e. "liver profile" and the CT scan, if there is something wrong with my liver will something surely show up? Does "Liver Profile" blood test check everything to do with the liver?
I also read that blood tests are only a snapshot of the liver at that present moment i.e. if a person never touched alcohol and decides to drink heavily everyday for a week prior to the blood test, he might have "high" levels, even though he has no liver damage and someone who drunk heavily for years hasn't touched alcohol in one month might have normal levels, is this the case?
I don't want there to be something seriously wrong with me and it missed and then finally I find out when I'm in a serious/critical condition.
Typically your blood will throw flags that your liver isn’t functioning as well as it should. However I have to say I’m not a huge fan of just regular blood tests. Mine were fine. Then around 2 years later it was too late I already developed cirrhosis. Get the fibrosure test and push for a fibroscan. And QUIT drinking. If you don’t your going to be sorry you didn’t.
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