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Alcohol and liver disease
Fighting liver disease
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Alcohol and liver disease
The British Liver Trust works to:
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support people with all kinds of liver disease
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improve knowledge and understanding of the
liver and related health issues
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encourage and fund research into new treatments
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lobby for better services.
All our publications are reviewed by medical
specialists and people living with liver disease. Our
website provides information on all forms of adult
liver disease and our Helpline gives advice and
support on general and medical enquiries. Call us on
0800 652 7330 or visit www.britishlivertrust.org.uk
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Contents
The liver ..............................................................4
How liver disease develops ..................................5
Alcohol: could it be damaging your liver? ............7
What is alcohol? ..................................................9
How much can I drink? ......................................10
What is a unit of alcohol? ..................................12
What happens when you drink alcohol? ............16
What happens to the liver if you drink
too much? ........................................................16
Who is at risk? ..................................................20
Can my liver recover? ........................................21
Effects of alcohol on the rest
of your body ......................................................22
Will alcohol make me fat? ..................................23
The symptoms of alcoholic liver damage............24
Tests for alcoholic liver damage..........................26
Treatments ........................................................27
Diet ....................................................................28
Other treatments ................................................28
Liver transplants ................................................29
Drinking with other liver diseases ......................30
Who else can help?............................................31
Further information ............................................33
Fighting liver disease
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The liver
Your liver is your body's 'factory', carrying out
hundreds of jobs that are vital to life. It is very
tough and able to continue to function when most
of it is damaged. It can also repair itself - even
renewing large sections.
Your liver has around 500 different functions.
Importantly, it:
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fights infections and disease
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destroys and deals with poisons and drugs
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filters and cleans the blood
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controls the amount of cholesterol
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produces and maintains the balance of hormones
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produces chemicals – enzymes and other
proteins – responsible for most of the chemical
reactions in the body, for example, blood
clotting and repairing tissue
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processes food once it has been digested
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produces bile to help break down food in the gut
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stores energy that can be used rapidly when the
body needs it most
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stores sugars, vitamins and minerals, including iron
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repairs damage and renews itself.
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How liver disease develops
Liver damage develops over time. Any inflammation
of the liver is known as hepatitis, whether its cause
is viral or not. A sudden inflammation of the liver is
known as acute hepatitis. Where inflammation of
the liver lasts longer than six months the condition
is known as chronic hepatitis.
Fibrosis is where scar tissue is formed in the inflamed
liver. Fibrosis can take a variable time to develop.
Although scar tissue is present the liver keeps on
functioning quite well. Treating the cause of the
inflammation may prevent the formation of further liver
damage and may reverse some or all of the scarring.
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Cirrhosis is where inflammation and fibrosis has
spread throughout the liver and disrupts the shape
and function of the liver. With cirrhosis, the scarring
is more widespread and can show up on an
ultrasound scan. Even at this stage, people can
have no signs or symptoms of liver disease. Where
the working capacity of liver cells has been badly
impaired and they are unable to repair or renew the
liver, permanent damage occurs.
This permanent cell damage can lead to liver failure
or liver cancer. All the chemicals and waste
products that the liver has to deal with build up in
the body. The liver is now so damaged that the
whole body becomes poisoned by the waste
products and this stage is known as end stage liver
disease. In the final stages of liver disease the
building up of waste products affects many organs.
This is known as multiple organ failure. Where many
organs are affected, death is likely to follow.
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Alcohol: could it be damaging
your liver?
Most people think that alcohol is fairly harmless
and just something to be enjoyed. Other than a
few ill-effects the next day and maybe putting on a
bit of extra weight, alcohol does not seem to have
any long lasting effects.
But alcohol can cause harm. Each year in the UK
150,000 people are admitted to hospital and
22,000 people die prematurely due to alcohol related
causes. That death toll works out as 400 people
every day. The cost to society has been estimated
at over £20 billion.
It is a mistake to think that you have to be a heavy
drinker to run into problems. Although it can take as
long as 10 to 20 years, drinking just a bit more than
you should over time can seriously harm your liver.
Not feeling any side effects from drinking does not
mean that you are not risking chronic ill-health or
lasting liver damage from alcohol-related liver disease.
Vast numbers of us now fall into this category.
The liver is your largest internal organ. Among
hundreds of jobs, it has to deal with the alcohol
you drink. If you’re drinking too much, your liver
has to literally soak up the punishment. With so
few nerve endings to signal pain you won’t know
that your liver is complaining. If you’re drinking a lot
on a regular basis, chances are that you will not
feel anything happening until your liver has had
enough. The harm to your liver at this stage will be
severe – and could even be fatal.
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This is not an attempt to put you off drinking.
Being more sensible about how you drink is the
aim. It can be easy to underestimate how much
alcohol you are drinking and often difficult to stop
after a certain number of drinks. A little more
knowledge about alcohol itself will help. Taking a
few minutes to read this leaflet to help you
understand the effect alcohol has on you and your
liver is a big step in the right direction.
This leaflet is written to signpost the ways to safer
drinking. It gives you short and long-term odds on
the things that will go wrong if you ignore them.
The message is simple: when you raise a glass,
spare your liver a thought. If you keep track of how
much you drink, you should stay in better shape
and around for longer to enjoy it.
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Jim’s story
Jim is 55 years old. He used to visit his local pub
most days to meet up with his mates. He had two to
three pints at lunch and a couple of drinks in the
evening (roughly 60 units of alcohol a week).
Recently, over the course of a few weeks he noticed
his abdomen had become swollen and tight. After
tests, it was discovered that this was due to the build
up of fluid (ascites), caused by cirrhosis of the liver.
Jim took his doctor’s advice and has stopped
drinking completely. After six months the fluid has
gone and he is now feeling well and fitter, even
though his liver will never fully recover. If he had
continued drinking even a small amount, things
could have been worse. Half of people with ascites
die within two years of diagnosis.
What is alcohol?
Alcohol is derived from the fermentation of sugar by
yeast. It is a drug. The main psychoactive ingredient
in alcoholic drinks is ethanol, or ethyl alcohol.
Ethanol dissolves quickly in water and is quickly
absorbed into the bloodstream. In the short term, in
small doses, it acts on receptors in the brain to make
people feel uninhibited and provides a general sense
of well-being. Drinking more alcohol starts to affect
the balance and the speech centre of the brain.
If you drink regularly, the brain’s receptors adapt to
the alcohol and higher doses are needed to cause
the same effect.
Alcohol is a depressant. Rather than acting as a
stimulant, alcohol is likely to have the opposite effect
on people who drink heavily.
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How much can I drink?
If you are healthy and eat a balanced diet then
sensible drinking should not give you problems.
But what is sensible drinking?
Women are more susceptible to liver damage than
men, even if they drink less. Women are generally
smaller than men. A greater proportion of their
body mass is fat tissue which means they have
less body water. This results in higher blood
alcohol levels (blood alcohol concentration, or
‘BAC’) for each unit of alcohol they consume.
The Department of Health currently offers the
following guidelines for sensible drinking:
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Women should not regularly drink more than 2
to 3 units of alcohol in a single day (no more
than 14 units in a week)
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Men should not regularly drink more than 3 to 4
units of alcohol in a single day (no more than 21
units in a week)
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After an episode of heavy drinking it is advisable
to stop drinking for 48 hours to allow your body
to recover. This is not applicable for people who
drink within the amounts recommended above.
The British Liver Trust supports these guidelines.
However, we advise you to avoid alcohol for a
minimum of two consecutive days a week to give
your liver a break.
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When not to drink
These occasions are generally well-known, but
here’s a reminder.
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Don’t drink alcohol when you’re taking
medication.
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Don’t drink alcohol if you need to drive or to
operate machinery. Don’t use electrical
equipment or touch circuitry.
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Do not climb ladders or go near heights.
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Don’t drink alcohol when taking part in sports
activities, particularly contact or extreme sports.
Never swim when you’ve drunk any amount of
alcohol.
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If you are pregnant, or planning to conceive.
This is NHS guidance to minimise harm
to your baby.
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What is a unit of alcohol?
One unit of alcohol is ten millilitres (ml) or eight
grams (g) of pure alcohol.
Units have been used for 25 years in the UK to
describe amounts of alcohol. In the past, one unit
could be identified as one drink. A unit was a
measure of spirits, half a pint of beer, lager or cider
(at 3.5% abv) or a small glass of wine at 9% abv.
However, the alcohol content (abv) of drinks and
the standard measures of drinks served have
increased over time. This means the old rules of
thumb about how much it is healthy to drink or to
remain under the drink-driving limit no longer apply.
Spirits used to be served in 25ml quantities, now it
is often 35ml; wine used to be served in 125ml
quantities, today it is usually in 175ml or even
250ml glasses. The strength of lager used to be
3.5% abv – now it is commonly 5% abv.
If you’re partial to a particular beer or cider, be
aware that abv might fluctuate between draught
and canned or bottled versions. Non-draught can
be significantly higher.
The abv, which stands for ‘alcohol by volume’, is
shown on the bottle, box or can. It tells you how
many units there are in a litre, i.e. a strong beer at
6% abv means there are 6 units in a litre. If you
drink half a litre (500ml or just under a pint) of beer
at this strength, then you have had 3 units. A
bottle of wine (750ml) at 14% abv will contain 10.5
units of alcohol.
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Calculating units
Calculating units is also complicated because we
commonly use a mixture of imperial (pints) and
metric (ml) units. There are a number of unit
calculators available to help you overcome this from
some of the organisations listed on pages 31 and 32.
An accurate way of calculating how many units
you are drinking is to multiply the abv figure by the
size of your drink in millilitres and divide by 1,000.
For example, a typical can of beer these days is
440ml, at 5% abv strength. Therefore: 440 x 5 =
2,200; divide this by 1,000 = 2.2 units.
You can use this formula to work out other drinks:
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a standard glass of wine (175ml) at 12% abv is
2.1 units and a large 250ml glass is 3 units
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a measure (35ml) of spirits (40% abv) is 1.4 units
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a bottle (275ml) of ordinary strength alcopops
(5% abv) is 1.4 units
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a ‘shot’ (35ml) of spirits, typically between 35%
and 40% abv, is 1.3 units
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a pint (568ml) of low strength (3.5-4% abv) beer
or lager is 2.3 units
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a pint of regular cider (alcohol 5% abv) is
3.4 units
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a standard measure of port or sherry (50ml) is
1 unit.
When you’ve worked out how many drinks you can
have in one session, make this your target. Mixing
non-alcoholic drinks in between is a good idea.
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Binge drinking
Binge drinking used to be thought of as getting
drunk and staying drunk over an extended period of
time, possibly days. This view is changing and is
now more associated with shorter, more intensive
drinking sprees (usually in one evening) where
people intentionally get themselves very drunk.
Binge drinking is also now regarded as a public
health problem.
But binge drinking often happens at home, at
parties or other gatherings, particularly where there
are frequent top-ups to glasses, a free bar or more
supplies to hand from the cupboard or fridge.
Wherever you are, when you drink a certain amount
of alcohol – eight units for men and six for women –
in one session, that counts as binge drinking. This is
because drinking double the amount in the
recommended guidelines in one day is an agreed
definition of a ‘binge’.
Many women are surprised to learn that
consumption of two large glasses of wine over
lunch or after work is classified as a binge.
Remember, two large glasses of wine equals twothirds of a bottle. This shows just how easy it is to
consume alcohol at a level which could be
damaging to your health.
Although statistics show that binge drinking is
mostly seen in young people aged 16 to 24, many
people in their thirties and older are also drinking at
these levels. It is estimated that 12.5 million people
drink more than the sensible drinking guidelines.
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Just over a quarter of men drink more than 21
units and 15 per cent of women manage more
than 14 units a week.
What is a binge drink?
Men: drinking more than 8 units in a single day
e.g. 3 pints of beer or 2 large glasses of wine plus
a double spirit
Women: drinking more than 6 units in a single
day e.g. 2 pints of beer or 2 large glasses of wine
Drinking heavily over a short period leads to a
rapid rise in blood alcohol and consequently to
drunkenness. The effect on behaviour varies from
one person to another. It ranges from relaxation
and exhilaration to violent behaviour and coma.
A rapidly rising blood alcohol level can make you
reckless. You might say things or behave in a way
that will embarrass you later. More ominously, it
can lead to physical accidents, vehicle accidents
(involving drivers, passengers or pedestrians),
unsafe sex and leaving yourself vulnerable to rape
or sexual assault.
Very high blood alcohol levels can cause your
brain's control over the respiratory system to
paralyse, leading to heart irregularities, strokes and
other potentially fatal occurrences.
The scale of the problem is made clear by the
number of people who end up in Accident and
Emergency departments as a result of alcohol
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related problems. These account for almost three
quarters of all admissions from midnight until 5am
at weekends, at an estimated annual cost to the
National Health Service of £1.7 billion.
What happens when you drink
alcohol?
Alcohol is quickly soaked up through the lining of the
stomach and the upper part of the gut (intestine) and
into your blood stream. The higher the concentration
of alcohol, the faster it will be absorbed (whisky will
be faster than beer, for example).
From there, the alcohol is carried to your liver as
well as other organs and body tissue. Your brain
will be affected by the flow of alcohol which acts
on the central nervous system to alter your
physical coordination and mental judgement.
Your liver cannot store alcohol. It metabolises
(processes) about 90 per cent of the alcohol you
drink to eliminate it from your body. It breaks down
the alcohol into water, gas (carbon dioxide) and fat.
What happens to the liver if you
drink too much?
Along with the central nervous system, the liver
suffers the most from alcohol consumption.
Your liver can only handle a certain amount of
alcohol in any given time (one unit an hour). If you
are drinking quickly, your liver cells will have to
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work overtime to process the alcohol. When this is
more than the liver can deal with, the excess is
transported to the rest of your organs.
Your liver needs water to do its job. As alcohol acts as
a diuretic (makes you pass urine), it dehydrates you
and forces the liver to divert water from
elsewhere.When the liver is processing alcohol it
produces a substance called acetaldehyde. This has a
toxic effect on the liver itself, as well as the brain and
stomach lining. This is what causes your hangover.
Acetaldehyde is subsequently broken down into a
chemical called acetate, which is broken down further
into carbon dioxide and water outside the liver.
Regular and heavy drinking over time can strain or
disrupt this process, leading to alcoholic liver disease.
The first stage of disease may not seem all that
significant but must be acted upon. The later stages
are very serious and can threaten your life.
Fatty liver
When the liver breaks down alcohol, it stores the fat
in your liver. There should be little or no fat in a
healthy liver. Too much of this fat can build up if you
drink more than the liver can cope with, leading to
fatty liver disease. You can get a fatty liver without
drinking. This is called, perhaps unoriginally, ‘nonalcoholic fatty liver disease’ (NAFLD).
It is thought that if you are overweight and drinking
too much, you will be increasing the chances of
damaging your liver, as it receives fat from both
food and alcohol.
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Fatty livers return to normal if you drink within the
sensible limit. If you carry on drinking above that limit
you are running the risk of more serious damage.
Alcoholic hepatitis
If you have a fatty liver and continue to drink, you
have up to a one in three chance of getting alcoholic
hepatitis. This is a condition where your liver
becomes puffy, swollen and tender. It can affect
you suddenly – after a weekend of binge drinking,
for example – and if your liver fails, it can kill you.
Alcoholic hepatitis can happen to you at an early
stage or after many years of excessive drinking.
Henry’s story
Henry is 35. He started drinking heavily with the
Rugby Club at University and continued to see
his friends at the pub where he drank up to five
pints of strong lager three times a week (45 units
of alcohol a week). Henry went on a ‘bender’
with friends abroad, drinking day and night for
nearly a week. Afterwards he didn’t feel good
and his friends noticed he looked a bit yellow.
Henry’s doctor admitted him to hospital at once
where he was treated for severe alcoholic
hepatitis. Despite attempts to save him, Henry
was among the one in 10 people who die
despite treatment.
Fibrosis
Scar tissue, which is generated to protect injured
tissue from further damage and will disappear in a
healthy liver, may keep building up. This scarring is
known as fibrosis.
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Cirrhosis
The final stage of alcoholic liver disease is cirrhosis.
This is usually the result of long-term, continuous
damage to the liver.
Irregular bumps, known as nodules, replace the
smooth liver tissue and the liver becomes harder.
The effect of this, together with continued scarring
from fibrosis, means that the liver will run out of
healthy cells to support normal functions. This can
lead to complete liver failure.
By the time you discover you have cirrhosis your
quality of life may be severely damaged as your
liver will have stopped working efficiently. If you
carry on drinking at this stage you will speed up
the damage to your liver and rapidly increase your
chances of dying.
The odds are one in ten that you will develop
cirrhosis if you drink too much over a long period
of time. In the UK, the number of people dying
from cirrhosis each year is increasing.
As well as all the problems related to the liver not
doing its job, people with cirrhosis also have a
much higher chance of getting liver cancer. Each
year, three to five per cent of people with cirrhosis
will develop liver cancer.
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Who is at risk?
Everyone reacts to alcohol in different ways so it is
difficult to tell in advance who is most likely to
suffer liver damage. However, research shows that
the following three groups may be more at risk
than most:
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women, partly because of their smaller body
size and build
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people who are overweight
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people who inherit genes that don’t allow proper
metabolism of alcohol.
Studies suggest that immune response (how the
body recognizes and defends itself against
invading illness) may be a factor. This means that
drinking alcohol triggers an aggressive physical
reaction in some people that attacks their liver. This
may explain why cirrhosis, unusually, can occur
quite quickly in some drinkers.
There are, of course, not only physical risks
attached to excessive drinking. You may experience
relationship problems with your family and friends,
in your job and in many other social circumstances.
You might also encounter financial difficulties.
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Registered Charity No. 298858
© British Liver Trust 2005
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Can my liver recover?
What happens depends on how badly your liver is
damaged and on your general health. If you have a
fatty liver, you can help your liver to recover by
stopping or cutting down on your drinking.
If you have alcoholic hepatitis, most people can
recover if they stop drinking completely (cutting
down will only reduce the amount of damage
done). But people with severe alcoholic hepatitis,
who need to be admitted to hospital, have around
a one in three chance of dying in the first month
after admission.
If you have cirrhosis, your liver cannot fully recover.
But you can prevent any further damage being
done to your liver and increase your survival rate if
you stop drinking.
If your liver is badly affected by cirrhosis and you
continue to drink, it is estimated that you have only
a one in three chance of living for five years.
However, if you stop drinking, you can almost
double your survival chances.
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Effects of alcohol on the rest of
your body
Alcohol can damage any part of your body. As well
as causing alcoholic liver disease, excessive
drinking can lead to a number of other health
problems, such as:
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stomach disorders
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pancreatitis leading to diabetes
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high blood pressure
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heart problems, including heart attacks
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strokes
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vitamin deficiencies
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sexual difficulties, including impotence
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problems with the brain
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depression
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problems with nerves in the arms and legs
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cancer of the liver, mouth, throat, gullet, large
bowel (gut) and breast.
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Will alcohol make me fat?
Alcohol contains a lot of calories, so drinking can
make you fat. For example, even a small glass of
wine (125ml) contains between 80 and 100
calories while a pint of draught beer at 3.5% abv
may have up to 180 calories. Stronger ales and
ciders will contain a great many more calories.
Compare this to the daily calorie requirement of an
average woman or man (2000 and 2500 calories
respectively) and it is easy to see how you can put
on weight by drinking alcohol.
Additionally, the calories you consume from
drinking are known as ‘empty calories’ because
they give no nutritional value.
Marianne’s story
Marianne leads a stressful life. At the age of 45
she is juggling two kids and a busy job. She is
used to unwinding most nights of the week with
a bottle of white wine that she shares with her
husband (22.5 units a week). During a check up,
her doctor noticed signs that her liver was not
normal and an ultrasound test showed a fatty
liver. After three months without alcohol
Marianne has lost weight and feels a lot
healthier. Her liver has recovered and she is now
able to have a drink now and then, but never
has more than 14 units in one week.
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The symptoms of alcoholic liver
damage
Your liver is tough. It can withstand years of
damage by repairing itself and protecting the rest
of your body. However, the liver is unable to signal
real distress until it is in the end stages of liver
failure, so that by the time you feel any symptoms
of liver problems, the damage may be done.
If you have alcoholic liver damage you may have
some vague symptoms such as:
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feeling some pain in the liver (place your right
hand over the lower right hand side of your ribs
and it will cover the area of your liver)
G
having a general feeling of poor health and fatigue
G
loss of appetite
G
a sick, nauseous feeling, especially in the
mornings and often accompanied by diarrhoea.
If you have any of the following specific symptoms,
it is likely that your liver is already quite badly
damaged with alcoholic hepatitis or cirrhosis and
you should talk to your doctor at once.
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G
yellow eyes or, in more severe cases, yellow skin
(jaundice)
G
vomiting blood (haematemesis)
G
dark black, tarry, stools (melena)
G
significant weight loss
G
periods of confusion or poor memory (hepatic
encephalopathy)
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G
swelling of the abdomen or the ‘tummy’ area
and legs
G
fever – possibly with shivering attacks
G
itching (pruritis).
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If your doctor suspects you may have liver damage,
he or she will look out for the following signs:
G
tender, firm, or possibly enlarged liver
(hepatomegaly)
G
red and mottled palms (palpar erythema)
G
partly white fingernails (clubbing)
G
enlargement of the male breasts, which may be
tender (gynaecomastia)
G
swollen abdomen (ascites)
G
thinning hair (alopecia)
G
weakness and wasting of the muscles (atrophy)
G
drink-related problems affecting your family
relationships
G
drink-related problems affecting your work or
career
G
drink-related financial problems
G
drinking that leads to trouble with authorities
and/or the police.
These are tell-tale signs that your drinking is out of
hand and that you need some help.
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Tests for alcoholic liver damage
If your doctor suspects you have liver damage you
may be sent to see a liver specialist (hepatologist)
or a digestive disease specialist (gastroenterologist)
for further tests. These tests may include:
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Blood tests, which among other things measure
liver function and damage (liver function tests).
G
Scanning your liver with either an ultrasound,
computerised tomography (CT) or magnetic
resonance imaging (MRI) scan.
G
Performing a liver biopsy, in which a tiny piece of
the liver is taken to be looked at under a
microscope. A fine hollow needle is passed
through the skin into the liver and a small
sample is withdrawn. The test is usually done
under local anaesthetic and may mean an
overnight stay in hospital, although most people
are allowed home later the same day if they live
close by.
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An endoscopy, in which a thin tube containing a
tiny camera is passed down your gullet
(oesophagus) and into your stomach. This is to
check for extra veins in the oesophagus or
stomach (varices) which may rupture and bleed
spontaneously.
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Treatments
Stop drinking
The most effective way to treat alcoholic liver
disease is to stop drinking. For most people with
fatty liver and alcoholic hepatitis the liver will
recover and heal itself if they stop drinking.
Even if you have cirrhosis, you will reduce any
further damage to your liver and increase your
chances of survival if you stop drinking. If you
cannot stop, try contacting one of the
organisations listed on pages 31 and 32.
If you have alcoholic liver damage, cutting down
will only reduce the rate of damage.
The symptoms of liver damage may disappear
when you cut down the amount you drink, but this
does not mean that damage is not taking place.
Cirrhosis can develop even after drinking just a little
too much over the years, with possibly no early
warning signs of disease. Treatments are available
that will alleviate the symptoms of cirrhosis, but
they cannot reverse it.
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Diet
Drinking alcohol can lead to malnutrition. The
consumption of empty calories, a loss of appetite
and malabsorption (poor absorption of food
nutrients) caused by alcohol’s toxic effect on the
gut can all play a part in this.
For this reason, eating well is important in helping
your liver recover. If you have alcoholic liver
damage it is likely that you lack vitamins, in
particular thiamine (a B vitamin that helps the body
convert carbohydrates into energy), and your
doctor may have to prescribe vitamin supplements
Other treatments
If you have severe alcoholic hepatitis you may have
to be admitted to hospital. Steroids (drugs used to
control the inflammation of your liver) may be used if
you are very ill and can improve your chance of
survival from between 60 and 70 per cent to
between 90 and 95 per cent if you are free of
infection and have no internal bleeding from your gut.
For people with alcoholic cirrhosis there is no
specific treatment other than to stop drinking or, if
available, undergo a liver transplant. This can only
happen if you are a suitable ‘candidate’.
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Liver transplants
For some people with cirrhosis and/or lifethreatening liver complications, a transplant may
be the only option.
In the UK, alcoholic cirrhosis is the most common
reason people need a liver transplant (and runs
only second to hepatitis C in Europe as a whole).
Only patients whose liver disease fails to improve
after a period of abstinence (usually six months)
are considered candidates for transplantation in
the UK. If you are a candidate for a transplant you
will be carefully assessed and may be put on the
waiting list for a donor liver. If you continue to drink
you will not be offered a transplant.
If doctors consider that you need a liver transplant
then you are unlikely to survive for more than a few
years without one.
A liver transplant is a major operation – after all, the
liver is a major organ. One in twenty people do not
survive the operation. If the transplant is successful
you will need to take drugs for the rest of your life
to stop your body rejecting the donor liver.
Survival following a liver transplant is improving all
the time, with about three quarters of those
having a successful transplant now living longer
than five years.
If your liver transplant is alcohol-related, you will
be required to abstain from alcohol permanently
in order to remain in good health.
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Drinking with other liver diseases
Anyone with a liver condition should be very
cautious about drinking alcohol, as there is strong
evidence that this will make their condition worse.
Drinking advice will vary from person to person,
even among those with the same condition. Many
people find they can no longer tolerate any alcohol
while others might drink a small amount on special
occasions.
If you have any type of liver condition it is
sensible to approach alcohol with caution or
avoid it completely. If you are unsure whether it
is right for you to drink, talk to your doctor.
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Page 31
Who else can help ?
Alcohol Concern
64 Leman St
London E1 8EU
Tel: 020 7264 0510
E-mail: [email protected]
www.alcoholconcern.org.uk
A national agency on alcohol misuse, Alcohol
Concern provides information on public policy
issues affected by alcohol including public health,
housing, children and families, crime and licensing.
Al-Anon Family Groups UK & Eire
61 Great Dover Street
London SE1 4YF
Tel: 020 7403 0888
Email: [email protected]
www.al-anonuk.org.uk
Al-Anon Family Groups provide support to anyone
whose life is, or has been, affected by someone
else’s drinking.
Alcoholics Anonymous
General Service Office
PO Box 1
Stonebow House Stonebow,
York YO1 7NJ
Tel: 01904 644026
Helpline: 0845 769755
www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk
AA is the largest self-help group for people with
alcohol problems. Anonymity is guaranteed.
AA sees alcoholism as a disease which can be
managed by abstinence and group support.
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www.condomessentialwear.co.uk
Helpline: 0800 567 123
A website and free helpline service promoting
sexual health through information and prevention
advice about sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
www.drinkaware.co.uk
A range of information, useful resources for
sensible drinking and advice about alcohol from
the Drinkaware Trust.
Drinkline (The National Alcohol Helpline)
Tel: 0800 917 8282 (open 9.00am to 11.00pm
Monday to Friday)
A free telephone helpline service offering
information and self-help materials to callers
worried about their own drinking, support for family
and friends of heavy drinkers and advice on where
to go for help.
Frank (formerly the National Drugs Helpline)
Tel: 0800 77 66 00
www.talktofrank.com
A 24 hour free telephone service and website
offering information and advice on drugs and drug
misuse. A literature and referral service is also
available to helpline callers.
www.knowyourlimits.gov.uk
Advice for young people aimed at reducing the
risks to personal safety by making sensible choices
when drinking alcohol.
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Further information
The British Liver Trust publishes a large range of
leaflets about the liver and liver problems specially
written for the general public.
Titles you may find useful having read this leaflet
include:
G
Cirrhosis and liver disease
G
Diet and liver disease
G
First steps: a guide to your liver
G
Liver disease tests explained
G
Liver transplantation
Contact us for more information:
Tel: 0800 652 7330
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.britishlivertrust.org.uk
This leaflet is for information only. Professional, medical and
other advice should be obtained before acting on anything
contained in the leaflet as no responsibility can be accepted by
the British Liver Trust as a result of action taken or not taken
because of the contents.
Special thanks
Professor Chris Day MA PhD MD FRCP
Professor of Liver Medicine, Centre for Liver Research,
University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
Dr Jamie Barbour BSc (Hons) MBBS MRCP CME
Specialist Registrar Gastroenterology,
Newcastle-upon-Tyne Hospitals NHS Trust
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Can you make a difference?
Liver disease is increasing alarmingly and the need
to do more is greater than ever before…
For the British Liver Trust to continue its support,
information and research programme, we need
your help. We raise funds from many sources and
a large proportion is donated by voluntary
contributions. If you would like to send a donation
it will enable us to continue providing the services
that people need.
If you can help, please fill in the form on the
page opposite.
If you wish to help us further with our work by
organising or participating in a fundraising event or
becoming a “Friend of the British Liver Trust” please:
Call us on
0800 652 7330
Email us at
[email protected]
Make a donation via our website at
www.britishlivertrust.org.uk
or write to
British Liver Trust
2 Southampton Road
Ringwood, BH24 1HY
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Ê
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I enclose a cheque/postal order made payable
to the British Liver Trust
I wish to pay by credit card:
MasterCard
Visa
CAF CharityCard
Please debit my card with the sum of £ ..................
Card No. ................................................................
Expiry date..............................................................
Name ....................................................................
Address ................................................................
..............................................................................
....................................Postcode ........................
Telephone ............................................................
Email......................................................................
Signature ..............................Date ........................
I am a tax payer and authorise the charity to
reclaim the tax on my donation*
Please send me your newsletter
Please send me a list of information leaflets
I am interested in leaving the Trust a legacy.
Please send me more information
I am interested in helping to raise awareness
and funds in my local community. Please send
me more information
* You must pay an amount of income tax and/or capital gains
tax equal to the amount the British Liver Trust will reclaim on
your donation: which is equal to 28p for every £1 you donate.
Your name and address will be added to our computer database
ensuring you are sent the latest information. If you do not wish
to receive further information, please tick here.
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This publication was produced with the support of
an unrestricted grant from Diageo Great Britain.
British Liver Trust
2 Southampton Road
Ringwood, BH24 1HY
Tel: 0800 652 7330 Fax: 01425 481335
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.britishlivertrust.org.uk
Registered Charity No. 298858
© British Liver Trust 2008
ALD/06/08
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