Drink-related liver disease

recently been diagnosed with ARLD, which I’ve been told is alcohol-related liver disease, and caused by excessive drinking. How is it treated and are there support groups available?

for ARLD involves stopping drinking alcohol. This is known as abstinence, which can be vital, depending on what stage the condition is at.

If you have fatty liver disease, the damage may be reversed if you abstain from alcohol for at least two weeks. After this point, it’s usually safe to start drinking again if you stick to the NHS guidelines on alcohol consumption.

If you have a more serious form of ARLD — alcoholic hepatitis or cirrhosis — lifelong abstinence is recommended. This is because stopping drinking is the only way to prevent your liver damage getting worse and potentially stop you dying of liver disease.

Stopping drinking isn’t easy, especially as an estimated 70% of people with ARLD have an alcohol dependency problem.

Nevertheless, if you have alcohol-related cirrhosis or alcoholic hepatitis and don’t stop drinking, no medical or surgical treatment can prevent liver failure.

It is great that you are looking for some support and I would suggest speaking to your GP in the first instance as they may refer you to a local community alcohol service. Ask about free local support groups, day-centre counselling and one-to-one counselling. You may wish to contact Alcoholics Anonymous on 0800 9177 650 or alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk.