Hey,I'm 36, male and Alcohol dependant.
I have received my bloods back and everything is normal except my GGT - 200 and ALT - 160 .
The Dr is sending me for a scan and thinks it could be chirosis.
Are these numbers alarmingly high should I prepare for the worst?
I was drinking 200 Units a week, I'm now down to 140.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
JT - UK
Your liver is certainly showing signs of distress. Both GGT and ALT are inflammation markers and yours are pretty high. Whether or not you have cirrhosis will require further tests - the scan being one of them. I am sure you have realised that the only way to save your liver from sustaining further damage (and perhaps even reverse any damage done) is to work towards total abstinence - hopefully with medical support.
You'll know more once your scan is done and reported back.
Best wishes, Katie
Hi there, sorry you are going through all of this right now. I become alcohol dependant over the course of a decade of heavy drinking (whiskey) which hospitalised me back in March 2023 with jaundice and ascites (I had to be drained of 5.5litres), at that point I was drinking 3 bottles of 70cl whiskey a week towards the end and I was literally drinking myself to death.
My GGT was over 1800 I think and all my other LFTS were extremely high, ALT being in the hundreds. I was diagnosed as having alcohol hepatitis at the time, but likely decompensated cirrhosis was what my medical records I obtained all stated.
Fast forward to today where I haven’t had a drop of alcohol since the day I was hospitalised, (15 months plus sober) and my LFTs and bloods have finally all returned to normal and some are even better than normal, because being in the normal range doesn’t always mean it’s the healthier range.
GTT and ALT was always the last two that were still high with me, despite dropping massively after each set of blood results. In Jan I think my GTT was still 150 and my ALT was quite high too. But today they are the better side of the normal range as is everything else, and so am I really compared to how it all started for me this journey I’ve been on.
June last year my fibroscan read 22.2kpa which meant cirrhosis, but still they wouldn’t diagnose me, believing several other factors didn’t suggest cirrhosis, like my normal platelets, INR and other factors.
I was told to keep off the drink, eat a healthy diet and get regular exercise and to see if in time my liver’s inflammation and damage would improve in time for my next scan which come in December last year, it come down quite a lot and read 9kpa and with it my records now state moderate fibrosis.
I had another scan last week, it’s crept up a bit but it’s still under a 10 and while I was hoping it would have went down further and not up by a little, I should be grateful it’s as low as it still is compared to where it was once and I am absolutely delighted with my bloods and LFT functions. They are likely the best they’ve been in 10-15 years easily and the hard work I’ve put in is really showing now which as a feeling, well it’s a high I’ve not felt even with whiskey.
I have a scarred liver of course because of my drinking which is what fibrosis is, do I have cirrhosis? My doctor still maintains they would only know if they removed my liver and looked at it under a microscope, but going off bloods and such, it would appear no.
So while your own LFTs are high and your own liver is clearly distressed, there is hope for you yet, but only if you stop drinking which, if you’re dependant and drinking the quantity you are, is the only option now.
I can’t tell you to stop drinking, I just know what it did to me and where I’ve had to come from to be where I’m at today and believe you me it has been hard and a real struggle and even then I know I can never ever drink again because I know where I’ll end up back, at the hospital, with cirrhosis and on the road to an early grave like I was over a year ago.
I still have some physical issues, which is mostly down to the alcoholism and the damage that has done to my body. I lost a lot of weight and muscle and have awful neuropathy in my feet. It’s not just the liver alcohol goes after, it damages your brain, your other organs, your muscles, everything. They don’t tell you about all of that, I certainly never thought my drinking would cause so much damage and trauma to my body, the liver yes, but people don’t realise just exactly how toxic alcohol is to us as human beings physically never mind emotionally and mentally.
You know what you have to do, you know what you need to do and I prey you do because I’ve been there and I truly hope you can stop and that your liver isn’t too badly damaged to the point where you’ve got cirrhosis. You cutting down is amazing and you should be proud of yourself for doing that and I hope you can cut it down even more and hopefully stop.
I wish you all the best and for all the help you need, if you need it, which I imagine you do, like I did, and remember, there is no such thing as a lost cause, you can recover from this, your liver, you drinking, your health. Good luck and take care of yourself.
Hi Grassroots. You seem very knowledgeable, both from your own experience and the research you've done. [Well, it seems like you've done research from the great advice you give!] I just had a question - when you said that "hopefully your liver isn’t too badly damaged to the point where you’ve got cirrhosis", were you more or less saying that there is little hope of improvement if you have cirrhosis, even if you stop drinking/exercise/eat cleanly? Thanks so much.
Hi there and no, there are many success stories on here to prove otherwise and my own hospital has patients who have been living with cirrhosis for 20 + years and people who are 20 years in post transplant, they come and visit people who are in hospital with cirrhosis or on the transplant list.
When I was in hospital one of the older guys was in there for bile duct and pancreatic issues, his son come to visit him and he had a transplant 15 years or so ago at that time and he ran half marathons all over the world for example.
It’s just nit something you want though if you can help it, because although it’s not the death sentence it was once considered, it is a terminal illness and can come with a host of complications and other health issues like kidney disease, diabetes, ascites, HE, varices and of course the big C.
I will likely have to have regular scans and bloods taken for a long time until they consistently return the same results and while I’d rather not as it’s nerve wracking having those tests done, waiting for the results and wondering what if, it’s also reassuring to know that it’s down to me to remain as healthy as I can in order to keep future tests returning good results, that and being screened almost for things like cancer is a good thing.
Reading up on liver disease and cirrhosis it seems those who have got it through alcohol, if they cut out that attack on the liver, stand a great chance of getting better and living long lives even with cirrhosis, again there are many success stories in here.
I’ve recently learned of an uncle of someone I know who was diagnosed with cirrhosis in 2001, he kept drinking for a year until he was hospitalised, he is still alive today having remained sober since, he has some health issues related to his illness, but he works and I’m told you’d never know he had cirrhosis if you were to look at him.
It does seem liver disease effects everyone differently and each individual person with it - what works for them, may not work for everyone, it also seems little is really understood about liver disease other than the usual stuff, but thankfully through modern medicine, techniques, early diagnosis and better health care, there is far more hope today than there ever has been regarding people overcoming and living with the disease, rather than dying from it.
I’ve found your diet is key, who would have thought eating a healthy balanced diet and regular exercise actually works… remember it’s only what we put into our bodies other than genetics and old age, that causes all our health problems, from obesity to diabetes, to liver disease and heart disease and cancer.
Me, sugar and salt, cut that right down and by right down I mean below even the recommended levels a doctor may advise if you do have liver disease or cirrhosis, obviously alcohol has to stop and for ever as well as fatty processed foods. You don’t have to be a gym freak either, walking is so good for the mind, body and soul. You also have to have a positive attitude too which helps a lot.
So in conclusion, there is every hope if you do indeed have cirrhosis of living a perfectly or near enough normal life and for a long time too. And if like me you were dependant on alcohol and can somehow quit and stay sober, well, your liver and body will certainly appreciate it and you can make an amazing recovery and enrich your life massively as a result of a life without booze, take care.
Thank you so, so much, Grassroots. You have once again given me hope. I really appreciate the time it must have taken you to reply to me......God Bless you.
Ha ha thanks and I’m an extremely fast writer as I used to write a lot professionally and for my own pleasure.
I could have sworn you had experience in writing....and now I know!
grass roots, what an amazing account you have given, in plain English and written with such clarity.
I think you will of helped many readers of this forum with your story, well done you.
Thank you
I have a similar backstory to Grassroots. I’m an alcoholic and by the time I was cornered by GP’s into tests, my reports state my blood levels were deranged (The only level I can remember was my GGT being into the thousand but in all honesty, I would have had drinks the day of all the testing and with GGT being the most sensitive, it’s to be expected). Deranged bloods, grossly distended liver, probable cirrhosis is what my initial report stated early 2021 after a quick series of bloods, US and a Fibroscan). Probable cirrhosis with alcoholic hep / possible HE.
Cirrhosis is what terrified me into quitting drinking almost immediately with the help of AA. If cirrhosis is confirmed, the scarring is too far gone to repair and no, it can’t be reversed.
Lucky for me and my family, those words “Probable” were what stuck and having quit drinking and starting to look after my self, follow up scans at 4 months, 12 months and 18 months continued to improve with my consultant stating no cirrhosis and only VERY mild fibrosis of F1, if any at all, at my last scan in 2022.
My details dropped off their radar but I’m now waiting for a final (I hope!) fibroscan and us to confirm their thoughts of no lasting liver damage and they will sign me off from their care!!
My children are now 8 and 11 and I thank god every single day that my amazing GP cornered me and made me look at what I was doing to my body.
So the quick answer is yes, if cirrhosis is confirmed beyond doubt, it is irreversible but two things: it takes many varied tests to confirm cirrhosis, not just how you initially present. Also if it is confirmed, there are many many people who, once they quite alcohol completely and look after their bodies, are able to compensate and live quite normal lives for a very long time! It’s not the sentence it seems but it takes a while for them to decide.
Wish you all the best x
Thank you so much, 10864. Thank you to you as well for taking the time to reply to me - I really appreciate your optimism. God Bless.
Amazing story, well done you, sometimes we need that scare and I too have young kids, I’d likely have not made their birthdays this time last year had I not been hospitalised and quit drinking. My whole life is my wife and kids and I nearly let drinking steal me away from them and with it my life. The guilt and shame alone is enough to keep me sober never mind anything else.
Hey Grassroots,
Thank you for sharing this with us. It has given me hope and determination to continue the fight. I am more determined than ever to quit drinking. In the UK, we don't simply get handed a place at rehab; you have to work for it and show ultimate commitment and engagement before your case is even considered by a panel for funding. It's a long road ahead, but I managed to get my units down to 17 last night without too much withdrawal. I will continue at this level for a few days until I can safely get into detox, pending results. Thanks again for your words.
You can do this, I’m here in the U.K. and about a year or so before I was hospitalised I knew my drinking was getting way out of hand so I looked up local drug and alcohol rehab type places and found one which to be honest I thought by attending that would help me, but I was deluding myself.
My local GP knew I was a heavy drinker, although I did lie as to my consumption and did so with the drug and alcohol place, but without wanting to bash our GPs not even when I turned yellow and showed signs of ascites which I didn’t even knew what it was or anything, did they do anything other that saying I needed to cut down my drinking.
No one said cirrhosis or liver disease or I needed to go to hospital. I only actually went when I did because I was vomiting constantly, was bed ridden for two weeks with a severe case of the runs and could feel myself just decaying away.
Once I went to A&E they kept me in for almost 2 weeks and I was detoxed in there which I think I needed, I was weening myself off the whiskey, but only because I couldn’t keep it down and I don’t think I was in any fit state to just stop cold Turkey which is dangerous and I wouldn’t recommend so again you’re doing great to cut down, but you don’t need me telling you that the only way now is to stop fully and maybe forever.
When I come out of hospital I kept going to the rehab place, but found it wasn't for me, and I thought I was kind of wasting their time and maybe taking up the place of someone who needed their services more as once I’d quit and had my scare, I knew that was it for me because I have two young kids and a wife and they need me and I need them.
I was also lucky in that all I had to give up was whiskey, I could take or leave beer and larger and only ever enjoyed a glass of red wine with a meal so I rarely drank at all other than whiskey. In fact when I come out of hospital we still had quite a lot of left over beer and wine from the Xmas, my wife got rid of it of course, and she has been amazing by not drinking herself around me even though she was practically teetotal anyway.
But today I’m fine around drink, I have been in many restaurants and bars and at events and wakes even where everyone was drinking and I’ve be fine with it all. I’ve even told my wife not to give up drinking herself entirely, she can drink if she wants and even in the house around me if she wants because it’s me who has to moderate myself around others and drink not anyone else, this is my problem no-one elses. Not that she would drink around me in the house, however.
We go on holiday soon and I’ve told her to let her hair down and enjoy the benefits of an all inclusive holiday like I used to ha ha. I won’t lie sometimes I feel like having a drink, but I no longer want to drink or need to drink and that’s the key I’ve found. I always wanted a whiskey and in the end needed it because I was so dependant on it and couldn’t even function waking up without one which lead to another and another until I’d fall asleep before waking up groggy ready to go again. That is no life and deep down towards the end, I considered death a better alternative and that’s where I was heading. I’m now thankful I got so ill as it forced me to stop and for once, try and get back to some form of health which apart from some physical issues I’m in relatively great shape, especially mentally where today I’m so strong, so positive and take on life every day with a sense of isn’t life great, just being alive is great.
Thinking about my drinking over the years, 3 tears or so back not long after I had my Covid jabs I kept passing out and ended up in hospital for a good few hours because of it once, I thought I’d had a heart attack, I hadn’t and they didn’t seem to know what was going.
There is help around for you, it’s finding it and maybe a GP can refer you. I applaud you for trying to cut down on your own, but be careful and the level you’re drinking at will only lead one way unfortunately as I’m sure you know, so if you can stop drinking there is no reason whatsoever why you can’t overcome your dependancy and hopefully see your liver functions return to normal and any damage done either reversed or can be managed in time as it will take time. Good luck, take care.
Is that 14 units a week or 140?
If your drinking 140 ask an undertaker for a discount because your drinking is certain to kill you.Sorry to be so blunt but your drinking yourself into a painful early death.
140 units I think equates to around 10 bottles of wine per week.. very easy to do and more if you’re an alcoholic as I am….
Because people posted helpful, upstanding and considerate posts on this forum 3 years ago, and with the help of AA, I’ve been sober over 3 years. But the posts were very supportive.
Take care
Same here but was doing 2 -3 a day sometimes.
Now 7 years sober
I quit by engaging with CGL who told me in no uncertain terms that its quit or die.
It's a message I pass on.
I didn’t count units myself and still don’t know what I was drinking in terms of units, but I was an almost nightly drinker of whiskey for a decade or so and towards the end, I was drinking as soon as I woke up to when I fell asleep and I’d repeat that over and over again.
It go so bad I’d hide whiskey around the house and buy those minutiae bottles to sip on during the day when out and about. I got so fearful of not having that crutch on my person, that become an issue in itself in that it made me feel I had to have a drop even a little at various points of the day just to function when in reality I could have went from waking up right up to the evening and not needed a drink.
That was before the end days as I like to call them when my dependancy was such that if I didn’t have a drink I’d have become seriously ill no doubt which is ironic because doing so made me seriously ill anyway. It’s a vicious circle alcoholism and anyone who drinks more than they should it does catch up with you eventually.
I know many people who will drink 5-8 cans of beer an evening every night and think nothing of it and still function and look great, but it’s what it does to you behind the scenes if you like.
I’ve damaged my nerves in my feet through my drinking, I originally had lots of episodes of brain fog during the first few months of going sober and there are missing gaps in my memory despite how sharp my mind now is, I have aches and pains daily and my muscle wastage has been telling.
My liver appears to be recovering, but I’m not so sure other aspects of our bodies can regenerate and heal in the same way as our livers so for many who have been hard and heavy drinkers, the toll can be quite bad on our bodies which again no-one really advertises about or explains to you, it’s always about the liver.
only a scan will tell.
My bloods 5 years before diagnosis was GGT 375, scan showed slightly fatty liver.
The dr decided not to tell me the results however. Only once reading the massive report to the DVLA after cirrhosis diagnosis did I see it.
Ask the person doing the scan. Chase it up with the dr. Don’t rely on them to tell you.
I’ve always been an advocate of no news is good news. Big mistake.
A few months before diagnosis my bloods were okay. It really depends with how you feel with the scan that will determine the result.
Well done on the alcohol reduction. The liver can take a heck of a beating so although your readings are high I hope you will find that any damage is reversible with time and nurturing your liver. My own history contains about 30 years at roughly 100 units a week which is obviously less than you but I am female (we can't cope with as much, apparently) and have been going on for longer. Even so, and with a discovery of chronic Hep C, likely contracted in my late teens, my liver scans only revealed mild and reversible fibrosis.
I think there is definitely hope and I don't see any point in suspecting the worst. You'll get the results soon enough and in the meantime keep cutting back on the drink. You may benefit from a long, hard look at what is causing you to drink. For a long time I thought I was alcohol dependent, although I would not always admit it even to myself. When the Hep C started flaring up I started getting bad effects from alcohol and cut down, eventually stopping altogether. I realise I am lucky to have been able to quit relatively easily. However, my reduction and eventual stop coincided with a realisation that I have a lot of deep-seated emotional issues from childhood trauma and starting to address these and have therapy. It is rare that addiction comes out of nowhere. Once you are addicted of course you get into a vicious cycle, but finding out and addressing any root cause can help hugely with quitting.
Thank You 😊
HI I was drinking really heavy a few years ago I drink over 20 pints a day easily as I had a pub the doctor told me 10 years ago when i was about 140 units a week that my liver will is not be able to handle that amount i just shrugged it off as it was nothing i began to drink more and more then 7 years later after he told me i went yellow and it never went 2 half years of suffering before they put me on transplant list and just got one in time last October you really need to try a cut down a bit it creeps up on you very quickly liver disease before you no it its to late them numbers were lower than mine but are really high you got time to change the outcome i would really try very hard you would not want the suffering off end stage live disease good luck Lon
My only advice would be to try your hardest to cut down the amount of alcohol you're consuming. 140-200 units a week is far too much and would likely cause cirrhosis much quicker than you'd expect. Drinking that much also means you're at risk of complications from withdrawals so you shouldn't really quit without help. If I was you I'd ask your Dr for supervised withdrawal help in hospital to get you sober as soon as possible. You could be playing fast and loose with your life. You're still quite young though so hopefully you've got time on your side
I’ve been where you are now and really wish you well. In retrospect personally, it seemed a very overwhelming situation then and a daunting prospect knowing I needed to quit for good. I tried to convince myself that I could drink a little ongoing even after nearly dying from it with hospital admission and treatment saving me. The madness of it all looking back. My doctor had said that I was at a crossroads in life and the choice was mine, to change and live a normal lifespan or to keep drinking and die in a few years. What worked eventually for me was a medical detox, rehab then AA and now 7 and a half years sober. Not before many failed attempts and very lucky to have made it. You can do this !!
Hi,
Just wanted to let those know who had previously responded to my post that I have had my results back from the ultrasound and I have early stage chirosis.
I feel a bit lost, scared and uncertain.
Hi Hitch, a new diagnosis can really shake you so it’s no wonder you feel the way you do. As you’ll read on other people’s posts, cirrhosis is reversible and you can live a full and active life for many years with it. There is lots of advice on the BLT website and the nurse helpline can provide support. The main thing is to avoid alcohol. Be kind to yourself while you adjust.
High GGT Levels
High ALT and GGT (rarely drink alcohol)
High ggt levels
GGT ALP ALT HIGH
Blood results high ggt and serum alt
