Pain after drinking alcohol - male 33 yrs?

Pain after drinking alcohol - male 33 yrs?For the last few months I have been getting pain in my upper right quadrant after drinking alcohol. I have been a heavy drinker since my university days, I'm now 33, and at one point would probably have been consuming up to 100 units per week.

In January of this year I decided that my drinking had to stop as I realised that I was abusing drink and using it as a tool to mask depression, anxiety and general unhappiness. Around the same time as I decided to tackle my mental issues I started getting these pains on the right hand side of my abdomen (coincidence?) around the bottom of the ribs.

I visited my doctor and explained the situation and he referred me for some liver function tests (2 months ago) and subsequently an abdominal ultrasound (3 weeks ago). Both the liver function tests and the abdominal ultrasound appear to indicate that there is absolutely nothing physically wrong with my liver, gallbladder or kidneys. No inflammation, signs of fatty liver, signs of it not processing toxins properly etc...I have seen three different doctors at my local surgery regarding this and all say that there is nothing physically wrong with me. I have also been physically examined and again nothing would indicate any liver problems.

I have naturally cut drinking down to an absolute minimum and didn't drink at all for around 2 months whilst I was undergoing tests etc. I feel so much better mentally and physically since changing my habits and have also been taking up a lot more regular exercise: running, swimming, pilates and squash which are naturally helping to increase my sense of well-being.

However on the rare occasions that I have had an alcoholic drink, since being told that I'm fine, I get the pain back. All it takes is one glass of wine or pint of beer/cider and the following day I will have this inner pinching type of pain under towards the bottom of my rib cage, right hand side that heads up towards the navel area.

Can anyone share any similar stories, diagnosis or suggest a line of enquiry I should take with my doctor? Things I am thinking about include:

• allergy to alcohol or yeast/hops/grapes(?!?)
• irritable bowel syndrome (I think the pain would be lower down however)
• gout/high levels of uric acid - can you test for this?
• psychological - am I creating the pain through worry?

I just want to get on with the rest of my life. I feel I have taken some huge steps and have a much more positive outlook but all the time things hangs around it keeps niggling at my brain and my worry is that my symptoms all seem to indicate liver problems but tests prove otherwise.

Thanks for taking the time to read - any advice warmly received!

Hemen Ee
Another case that leaves the doctors scratching their heads? I suspect you have a weird case of gout where the tiny urate crystals exist in your upper abdomen. To confirm this, go for a blood test for and see if your blood uric acid level is above the range. And then run your own urine test for uric acid, here is how...

1. Get a transparent plastic cup or mineral water bottle
2. As soon as you wake up in the moring, collect the first round of urine into the bottle.
3. Cover the bottle and keep it in cold dry place far away from the reach kids
4. After a few hours, observe (pay close attention) if there is any crystal like substances deposits at the bottom of the bottle.
5. If you see some small white particles in the fluid, then it means you are having hyperuricemia.
6. If no sediments observed, then leave it there for another 1 or 2 days and check it again.

Good luck!

Give your answer to this question below! Gout - information, symptoms and treatments. Googout.info health information factsheet - advice on gout and its symptoms, causes and treatment, plus prevention through diet.

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