Hx of alcohol abuse, normal enzymes, Terry's Nails

[juliem1978]

I am a 31 year old female. I drank very heavily (3-4 drinks/day every day) from age 21-23. I became an occasional, light drinker with moderate periods of abstinence during my marriage from age 23-28. Following my divorce in 2007, I once again drank very heavily for about 8 months (3-4 drinks/day almost every day). During drinking binges I often abstained from eating. I went to work during the day/week but spent many weekends alternating between drinking and sleeping.

I have been completely alcohol free for about 4 months, and prior to that was a moderate once a week drinker following the 8 months of binging. Coinciding with the periods of heavy drinking are periods of cigarette smoking. I no longer smoke. No history of drug or medication use. Outside of the periods of heavy drinking, I am a healthy, active, physically fit person. I eat a healthy diet and run regularly.

I have no obvious symptoms of liver damage. I have had my liver enzymes tested twice, once during the heavy drinking and once after I stopped the alcohol abuse. Both tests were normal. My doctor brushes off my concerns of cirrhosis. However, knowing that cirrhosis is typically a silent disease until it has progressed enough to present symptoms, I am not comforted by my doctor's assessment.

In addition, I noticed during my bout of drinking, about 1.5 years ago, that my nails were turning into "Terry's nails" (white nails with pink distal band). 7 out of 10 fingers have turned into Terry's nails. Everything I read - even in reputable sources - reports these nail changes as a significant indicator of cirrhosis.

My question is: considering my history of alcohol abuse (plus other factors such as being a small framed female, binge drinking repeatedly on an empty stomach, and cigarette smoking), and development of Terry's nails, should I push my doctor to perform more tests even though my liver enzymes were normal and I have no other symptoms?

[Jonkob5580]

Me too. I have terrys nails and spider nevi. But with normal blood and sonogram, no one will do a biopsy. I'm not a doctor, but I believe those symptoms are secondary. If the nails and veins were caused by a liver disorder, then it would most certainly show up on blood work.

[Sam200819]

I highly doubt that you have cirrhosis of the liver but of course I am no medical professional just had a similar experience to what you describe. I had convinced myself that I had liver disease and although all tests would come back negative I still wouldn't believe it. If it eases your mind then ask your doctor to order an ultrasound or CT scan. Good luck.