One of the challenges with liver diseases is that they can go undetected for years. While some people with liver problems have symptoms of end-stage liver disease like yellowing of the skin, or jaundice, many others have either no symptoms or symptoms such as fatigue that could suggest a number of other conditions.
A person may not experience any symptoms of their condition until they have lived with it for years. It is important to talk to a doctor about any symptoms that may indicate a problem with the liver.
People with serious liver damage have usually been drinking for 20 or more years. But complications can develop after 5 to 10 years of heavy drinking. Again, this can be highly variable between individuals and is likely genetic.
Loss of Appetite
Loss of appetite is a common cause of liver disease. It is especially likely if the person also has nausea and vomiting as symptoms. Not surprisingly, weight loss is a common result. The good news is that this is considered an early sign of liver disease.
Liver failure occurs when your liver isn't working well enough to perform its functions (for example, manufacturing bile and ridding your body of harmful substances). Symptoms include nausea, loss of appetite, and blood in the stool.
A liver blood test measures the levels of various things in your blood, like proteins, liver enzymes, and bilirubin. This can help check the health of your liver and for signs of inflammation or damage. Your liver can be affected by: liver infections — like hepatitis B and hepatitis C.
As the liver becomes more severely damaged, more obvious and serious symptoms can develop, such as: yellowing of the skin or whites of the eyes (jaundice) swelling in the legs, ankles and feet caused by a build-up of fluid (oedema) swelling in your abdomen caused by a build-up of fluid known as ascites.
Nausea, a disinterest in food and weight loss are some early symptoms of liver problems. In fact, the initial stages of hepatitis often bring flu-like symptoms, including digestive discomfort.
Signs and symptoms
However, as your liver loses its ability to function properly, you're likely to experience a loss of appetite, nausea and itchy skin. In the later stages, symptoms can include jaundice, vomiting blood, dark, tarry-looking stools, and a build-up of fluid in the legs (oedema) and abdomen (ascites).
Ultrasound, CAT scans, and MRI are the 3 main methods of taking pictures of the liver. They can often show if the liver injury has become serious. Fibroscan is a non-invasive procedure. It may be requested by your provider to assess the amount of fibrosis or scarring in the liver.
A group of blood tests called liver function tests can be used to diagnose liver disease. Other blood tests can be done to look for specific liver problems or genetic conditions.
So what happens when you stop drinking? The good news is that the liver is the only organ that can restore and regenerate itself. Because the liver is in a constant state of regeneration, in many cases the healing process can begin within just weeks after foregoing alcohol.
If you develop acute, or sudden, liver disease, you may also experience weakness, nausea, vomiting, fever, and pain below your ribs on the right side of your body. Roughly half of people with acute liver disease show no symptoms at all, however.
It is estimated that alcohol-related fatty liver disease develops in 90% of people who drink more than 40g of alcohol (or four units) per day. That's roughly the equivalent of two medium (175ml) glasses of 12% ABV wine, or less than two pints of regular strength (4% ABV) beer.
Blood pressure, diabetes and cholesterol
If you've got high blood pressure, there's a good chance it'll start to come down by the end of your challenge. Research has found that just four weeks without a drink can be enough to start lowering both blood pressure and heart rate.
5 Weeks Without Alcohol
Your skin will improve. Drinking causes dehydration due to alcohol binding to your body's protein that helps reabsorb water back into the body. This means you urinate excess water while you're drinking, which typically would have been retained by your body to stay hydrated.
Although positive changes may appear earlier, 3 months of not drinking can not only improve your mood, energy, sleep, weight, skin health, immune health, and heart health.
Even when there is advanced liver scarring, the problem is often picked up too late only when liver fails. “Prof Nick Sheron and colleagues have developed an algorithm using routine blood tests, which can pick up liver scarring well ahead of time before it leads to liver failure.
There are at-home liver panel tests that can determine liver function by screening for proteins and enzymes like albumin, globulin, ALP, ALT, and GGT. These tests use a finger-prick sample and include materials to collect and send your specimen to the lab. You can order a liver panel from home and get tested in a lab.
Liver function tests are blood tests used to help diagnose and monitor liver disease or damage. The tests measure the levels of certain enzymes and proteins in your blood.
Depending on the cause, a liver that hurts may show up as pain in the front center of your belly, in your back, or even your shoulders. Your liver doesn't actually have any pain receptors. Usually, the pain happens because the membrane that surrounds it is inflamed from an illness or injury.
Generally, symptoms of alcoholic liver disease include abdominal pain and tenderness, dry mouth and increased thirst, fatigue, jaundice (which is yellowing of the skin), loss of appetite, and nausea. Your skin may look abnormally dark or light. Your feet or hands may look red.
Acute liver failure causes fatigue, nausea, loss of appetite, discomfort on your right side, just below your ribs, and diarrhea. Acute liver failure is a serious condition. It requires medical care right away. If treatments are not effective, you may be a candidate for a liver transplant.