Health effects of chronic drinking ?

[Anonymous]

Alcohol is linked to increase cancer risk (I learned this after being diagnosed with breast cancer) so make sure he gets a colonoscopy.

https://www.mdanderson.org/cancerwise/does-alcohol-cause-cancer.h00-159383523.html

[Anonymous]

Alcohol put you at risk for diastolic heart failure.

[Anonymous]

New NY Times article about the alcohol effects of even moderate/minimal drinking:

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/13/well/mind/alcohol-health-effects.html?unlocked_article_code=HdvMSCP011DjAM8mO77XWiRoyza4SJXeWmw-kNsorne76gU1z6jCe3c5ajdU9hFBU-3PRq4BfJyCrf5JsfQIzEmYhusHTwRfS9av-JozRST-gnXcclJe7gpkXOWocxAxTli7sNVCgDqYwnpbNJERVJTtWvocgytwYHoQDyue4qw5hAR6HVAmalOyi2JV6DwpJGc4Rtv41RE2eUlQe3iSTxgJPoGZKlf3ejKO4eVIizQWq45lK-d3MgL1PQ0F6a70v4b-ITzg-SxNixXVQPDkVdRN8HkDNDueWLPE2VNZ_-VRqqjLaR_agbbNG9qtew5oBCDItZvXLpTXQbtrCq1XbnA&smid=share-url[url]

Full disclosure - I had a drinking problem so I got help and stopped a few months ago, but I think that for people that CAN keep it to like a glass a night that this is a little alarmist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:New NY Times article about the alcohol effects of even moderate/minimal drinking:

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/13/well/mind/alcohol-health-effects.html?unlocked_article_code=HdvMSCP011DjAM8mO77XWiRoyza4SJXeWmw-kNsorne76gU1z6jCe3c5ajdU9hFBU-3PRq4BfJyCrf5JsfQIzEmYhusHTwRfS9av-JozRST-gnXcclJe7gpkXOWocxAxTli7sNVCgDqYwnpbNJERVJTtWvocgytwYHoQDyue4qw5hAR6HVAmalOyi2JV6DwpJGc4Rtv41RE2eUlQe3iSTxgJPoGZKlf3ejKO4eVIizQWq45lK-d3MgL1PQ0F6a70v4b-ITzg-SxNixXVQPDkVdRN8HkDNDueWLPE2VNZ_-VRqqjLaR_agbbNG9qtew5oBCDItZvXLpTXQbtrCq1XbnA&smid=share-url[url]

Full disclosure - I had a drinking problem so I got help and stopped a few months ago, but I think that for people that CAN keep it to like a glass a night that this is a little alarmist.

^^The URL didn't like properly.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/13/well/mind/alcohol-health-effects.html?unlocked_article_code=HdvMSCP011DjAM8mO77XWiRoyza4SJXeWmw-kNsorne76gU1z6jCe3c5ajdU9hFBU-3PRq4BfJyCrf5JsfQIzEmYhusHTwRfS9av-JozRST-gnXcclJe7gpkXOWocxAxTli7sNVCgDqYwnpbNJERVJTtWvocgytwYHoQDyue4qw5hAR6HVAmalOyi2JV6DwpJGc4Rtv41RE2eUlQe3iSTxgJPoGZKlf3ejKO4eVIizQWq45lK-d3MgL1PQ0F6a70v4b-ITzg-SxNixXVQPDkVdRN8HkDNDueWLPE2VNZ_-VRqqjLaR_agbbNG9qtew5oBCDItZvXLpTXQbtrCq1XbnA&smid=share-url

[Anonymous]

A family member drinks daily, she probably has 2-3 glasses of wine 5-7 days a week. She is a model of health. Works out, extremely fit, eats very clean. I don’t see any side effects from her drinking, perhaps her other habits offset it.

[Anonymous]

Physician here. They will never admit it…any amount of alcohol consumed is bad for your health. There is no safe level imo. Any such admission will result in severe repercussions to the economy. How long did it take for the feds to force the tobacco lobby to admit cigarette smoking is dangerous?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's usually about 20 years of drinking at this rate when health effects start kicking in. (Believe it or not, a bottle of wine a night is mid-level "heavy drinking.")

+1. Towards the end of my destructive drinking journey I was up to 2 bottles of wine a night (or the equivalent in vodka) for a period of several years. It never showed up in my bloodwork. A bottle a night was a good buzz and I was pretty functional when I was drinking at that rate.

DP. At that amount could you stop cold turkey or did you need medical help to detox safely?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's usually about 20 years of drinking at this rate when health effects start kicking in. (Believe it or not, a bottle of wine a night is mid-level "heavy drinking.")

+1. Towards the end of my destructive drinking journey I was up to 2 bottles of wine a night (or the equivalent in vodka) for a period of several years. It never showed up in my bloodwork. A bottle a night was a good buzz and I was pretty functional when I was drinking at that rate.

DP. At that amount could you stop cold turkey or did you need medical help to detox safely?

Cold turkey. I had had periods of sobriety (like 4-5 days) in the 4 months leading up to when I finally quit. I didn't speak to my doctor, but that's probably a good idea.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A family member drinks daily, she probably has 2-3 glasses of wine 5-7 days a week. She is a model of health. Works out, extremely fit, eats very clean. I don’t see any side effects from her drinking, perhaps her other habits offset it.

People who appear to be the “model of health” get cancer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:New NY Times article about the alcohol effects of even moderate/minimal drinking:

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/13/well/mind/alcohol-health-effects.html?unlocked_article_code=HdvMSCP011DjAM8mO77XWiRoyza4SJXeWmw-kNsorne76gU1z6jCe3c5ajdU9hFBU-3PRq4BfJyCrf5JsfQIzEmYhusHTwRfS9av-JozRST-gnXcclJe7gpkXOWocxAxTli7sNVCgDqYwnpbNJERVJTtWvocgytwYHoQDyue4qw5hAR6HVAmalOyi2JV6DwpJGc4Rtv41RE2eUlQe3iSTxgJPoGZKlf3ejKO4eVIizQWq45lK-d3MgL1PQ0F6a70v4b-ITzg-SxNixXVQPDkVdRN8HkDNDueWLPE2VNZ_-VRqqjLaR_agbbNG9qtew5oBCDItZvXLpTXQbtrCq1XbnA&smid=share-url[url]

Full disclosure - I had a drinking problem so I got help and stopped a few months ago, but I think that for people that CAN keep it to like a glass a night that this is a little alarmist.

^^The URL didn't like properly.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/13/well/mind/alcohol-health-effects.html?unlocked_article_code=HdvMSCP011DjAM8mO77XWiRoyza4SJXeWmw-kNsorne76gU1z6jCe3c5ajdU9hFBU-3PRq4BfJyCrf5JsfQIzEmYhusHTwRfS9av-JozRST-gnXcclJe7gpkXOWocxAxTli7sNVCgDqYwnpbNJERVJTtWvocgytwYHoQDyue4qw5hAR6HVAmalOyi2JV6DwpJGc4Rtv41RE2eUlQe3iSTxgJPoGZKlf3ejKO4eVIizQWq45lK-d3MgL1PQ0F6a70v4b-ITzg-SxNixXVQPDkVdRN8HkDNDueWLPE2VNZ_-VRqqjLaR_agbbNG9qtew5oBCDItZvXLpTXQbtrCq1XbnA&smid=share-url

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Physician here. They will never admit it…any amount of alcohol consumed is bad for your health. There is no safe level imo. Any such admission will result in severe repercussions to the economy. How long did it take for the feds to force the tobacco lobby to admit cigarette smoking is dangerous?

Thank you for posting this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has he had a physical? I bet that shows up in liver function for sure, which would show up in blood work from an annual physical.

He may be a year or two behind on annual exams but all previous ones have looked fine. His BP is good, I think liver was OK too. I’m just stunned at what a beating the body can take.

The actual liver panel tests won't likely show anything catastrophically wrong until the liver is in irreversible cirrhosis. An abdominal CT or MRI or even ultrasound would likely show issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has he had a physical? I bet that shows up in liver function for sure, which would show up in blood work from an annual physical.

He may be a year or two behind on annual exams but all previous ones have looked fine. His BP is good, I think liver was OK too. I’m just stunned at what a beating the body can take.

The actual liver panel tests won't likely show anything catastrophically wrong until the liver is in irreversible cirrhosis. An abdominal CT or MRI or even ultrasound would likely show issues.

Can a CT scan detect fatty liver?