Age 74 and have probably averaged upwards of 25 to 30 units of alcohol a week for about 5 decades seemingly without doing damage (ast/alt below 20 and gfr of 74).Due to increasingly bad hangovers, this year I reduced this to drinking once a week and between 5 to 10 units. Does this mean that any damage done, my liver will be slowly repairing.?
I sympathise with others on here with serious problems and hope I am not asking a frivolous question.
This I think is an interesting question and the first thing I wanted to know was, are there any differences in the alcohol strength of drinks in Thailand to say that of Europe? I see that some beers in Thailand are 5% proof, while here in the UK a pint of beer is 4%. So there may be a difference in unit strength.
When it comes to liver damage there was a guy over here in the UK who explained things like this.
“If you were to cut your hand it would bleed and repair itself. If you were to cut your hand a hundred times, it will still heal but scar tissue will form, the hand still works but is now covered in scars. If you were to cut your hand 500 times, then it’s just not going to make it”.
This analogy could be said for the liver. Alcohol will cause damage to the liver, but the liver can recover if given enough time. If the liver is still being damaged while it’s trying to recover, then scaring will begin to form.
Giving up alcohol for just one week isn’t going to be long enough time to allow the liver to recover. You're looking at six weeks minimum for any impact to be made.
The real question you need to be asking yourself is why you feel the need to drink. Many people drink out of their lifestyle routine. They go to work and then call in the pub on the way home. These people are drinking because this is what they do, not because they need a drink or even want one. They do it because it’s now 6.00 o’clock and at 6 o’clock every night they have a drink. Others drink for other reasons.
So you need to question why you need to drink. I would also ask your doctor for a fibroscan of your liver. Because of your drinking history, and you're abstaining from alcohol for a week. If you were to have a liver function test this could give a false blood reading .
Once you find out how much liver damage you have, then you need to decide if you're strong enough to give up alcohol altogether.
Your asking the right questions, which is always a good start. So well done.
Good luck
Richard
Richard thanks for your comments, much appreciated. I did a lengthy reply but it dislappeared into cyber world.
The reason for my original query was that I was curious if drinking only 5 to 10 units of alcohol a week for a period of possibly 8 months might have some mildly beneficial effect on the liver. Scarring never seriously occurred to me. A fibroscan can be had locally for around £200. But my reasons for the reduced consumption were that my body just did not seem to have much tolerance for it anymore also pubs and bars don't have the attraction they did prevoously. I still enjoy a few pints though, and at a bar, never been into drinking at home.
Sorry forgot to say thanks to both for taking the trouble to respond and for the advice given.
Update on an Update 😀 - A little update on QEHB - minor liver operations - next week only?
Query re endoscopy to view duct in pancreas. 
Liver transplant assessment query.
Bilirubin blood test query
