Worried about liver

[LF87]

Hi,
I haven't posted in a little while as I was doing a bit better. However I'm in a bit of a state today.
This weekend just gone was a bank holiday and a friends hen do. We were away all weekend and we drank a lot over the whole weekend and were all quite drunk a few times.
Yesterday I had a bit of a dull ache pain in my lower tummy, and today feels higher. I'm really worried I have damaged my liver or something. Drinking wine each night is quite normal for me, maybe a few glasses, but I'm starting to worry. I know its not healthy, but could I really have liver damage? I know it usually takes 20-30 years to have serious liver problems from alcohol but I don't know why I have pain. I also think since I've started worrying about it being my liver it seems to have shifted further up (yesterday I thought I might have a stomach ulcer).

Any advice would be great. Thanks

[wilky44]

Your liver is under your ribs on the right. Liver damage would come with a whole host of other symptoms. Could be anything, including anxiety, most likely an over indulgence

[Annaboodle]

If you've been drinking all weekend your stomach is going to feel rubbish. Not because you've damaged your liver, just because alcohol is hard on your insides. You can expect a bit of discomfort, cramping and maybe diarrhoea as that's another common after effect. Alcohol also does a number on your anxiety, which will be ramped up and you'll still be feeling the effects on your overall anxiety levels.

It took me over 20 years of drinking like you were this weekend on a daily basis to damage my liver the way I have, to give you some perspective. I suspect you and a large number of the rest of the British population are feeling pretty rubbish today after a sunny bank holiday weekend. They haven't all damaged their livers and neither have you.

My only advice would be to avoid caffeine as it can further irritate your stomach, drink gallons of water and also, I hope you don't mind me saying but I just worry about people and alcohol in general (because of my personal relationship with it), I would just keep an eye on your few glasses of wine a night. That's how I started and can creep up to more.

[LF87]

Thanks for the replies.
Annaboodle, I totally agree with keeping an eye on this drinking. I used to only have a drink on a weekend and like you said its creeping up. Its every night now. Sometimes being hungover midweek and missing university (I'm 30 but left work to pursue a degree). I'm not there today because of how horrendous I feel, sickly and so tired and it's all down to overdoing it. I have drinks because it lifts me out the anxiety I always feel. Thanks for making me feel better about liver damage, hopefully it'll fade off soon Xx

[j4mmy]

Your liver can rejuvinate. Try having a month off alcohol as a test mostly to prove to yourself you don't need alcohol. You'll also see how much better you feel. If you can't manage a month try two weeks.