As a social drinker, I thought my intake of wine was average. But I’ve never been a big drinker.
Or so I thought, but the thing with the effect of alcohol is that it can grow with time. So post-work drinks and showbiz music launches were about to catch up with me.
In the summer, I’d enjoy a glass of pinot grigio while cooking dinner or sipping on a cocktail while out with friends.
When people ask what my drink of choice was, I would never say vodka or gin because it wasn’t.
It was just wine with the occasional gin on vacation. Because it’s light, refreshing and low in calories — or so I thought.
The defining moment.
It wasn’t until my doctor told me that I was showing signs of alcoholic liver disease that I started to reflect on the amount and frequency at which I was drinking — which, it turns out, wasn’t that healthy after all.
Here are signs of liver disease that I completely overlooked when analysing my own lifestyle choices.
I’d been drinking socially since I was a kid. I mean, I worked in the media. That is what you do, right?
I thought my intake of wine was average because I didn’t drink in the morning. It was social.
I certainly didn’t see myself as an alcoholic. But unfortunately, that feeling is often shared by others.
I’d hear people say, “Oh, he’s a bit of a wino,” but I had a lot of friends who drank like me.
The Man In The White Coat Told Me I Was Dying
It wasn’t until I was diagnosed with advanced cirrhosis that I realised how much damage I’d done to my body.
I thought I was in a lousy movie like Snakes On A Plane
When the consultant pulled back the curtain after getting admitted to the hospital, he looked at me and said, “This is as serious as it gets.”
Then talked about 48 hours to live. I’m usually relatively healthy and fit and walk 10,000 steps a day.,
When the doctor told me my liver didn’t appear to have much time left, it came as a shock to me.
The thing is, it is not a broken arm.
The fact is, many of us simply don’t take liver disease seriously.
The risk factors are often ignored or not paid attention to until it’s too late. I did not think much of it when my eyes turned yellow with jaundice.
In fact, I had just returned from a holiday in the sun. So, as a result, my whole body was turning yellow.
My body was swollen from fluid retention, which the doctor’s called ‘Edema’. I thought it was the flight and dehydration.
I was given diuretics, but that did little to help the swelling of my feet, hands and legs.
I had turned yellow beyond recognition.
Jaundice is a significant sign of liver disease that you should never ignore.
Jaundice is one symptom you cannot miss as it changes the colour of your skin and eyes from normal to yellowish-orange.
It’s caused by an accumulation of bilirubin in your bloodstream which, when high, can cause severe itching all over your body, dark urine, and pale-coloured stool.
If you drink too much, your liver can become inflamed and fatty. If it gets awful, you might get a condition called alcoholic hepatitis.
Most of us are aware that drinking too much alcohol is not suitable for our health, but we might not realise the effects alcohol can have on our liver.
Are You Just A Social Drinker?
As a social drinker, I thought my intake of wine was average, and there was nothing to worry about, but I was wrong.
I couldn’t believe what the doctors told me because I am not an alcoholic.
In fact, I would only drink at weekends and only one or two glasses of wine a night (but sometimes more).
Yeah right.
The reality is get checked, go zero alcohol, and as for me, I might just have dodged a bullet.
But I am under no illusions. Most of you will carry on regardless. Alcohol is what we do, right?
Not for me. It could kill me.
