Worried I have cirrhosis...opinion?

[TTU2301]

Here's the story:

I'm a recovering alcoholic, 26 years old.  I was a heavy drinker for about 4 years (4 times a week...about a pint of hard 80 proof liquor each time I drank).  After that for about a year and a half I drank a pint of hard liquor on Friday and Saturday.  

I have, within the last 6 months, completely quit drinking alcohol of any kind.  However, a couple of months ago I began to notice that I had tiny skin breaks (spider angioma?) popping up on both my face, chest, and arms.  My left side began to feel as if it were swollen and within the last week my right upper quadrant began to hurt, right under the rib cage.  I've lost my appetite, felt very weak, had headaches, and noticed very dry skin on my lower legs.  My bowel movements have ranged from dark and tarry to green, to a very mild yellow, to normal.  They are regular

Since these symptoms began several months ago, I've had an EGD, a CT (which showed normal parenchymal density and normal blood flow of the liver), several blood tests, a chest x-ray and a barium enema.  All were normal.  

This week I had more blood tests run since the upper right quadrant pain began and everything was normal except my bilirubin had jumped from 1.0 to 1.6.  Once again, all liver functions were within normal parameters (AST 24, ALT 31).  However my platelet count had dropped within a month from 254 to 188 (both of which are still normal).  I had an Ultrasound (which the prelim showed normal).

I guess my question is, am I paranoid or could I still have very early cirrhosis and the symptoms are just starting to sho

[Kalio1]

Have you had a CBC done? Have your liver enzymes checked and get tested for hepatitis a b and c at the same time.
You could have a liver issue going on, the "red spots" or spider nevi indicate something might be afoot in the liver.
Try not to worry too much, you have taken the best healthiest step of all and that is to stop the alcohol. Remember your liver is very resilient and you are young, that one lifestyle change alone will gretly improve your health just be thoroughly checked out to make sure something isn't going on (ie hepatitis)because you have stopped the alcohol and are experiencing symptoms.

[maxmen]

i have alcohol cirrhosis. based on what you have written, i do not think you have it.  your ast/alt would be high.  the cat scan would have shown spleen enlargement, and an abnormal surface of the liver.  i had extreme fatigue, yellowing of the skin and eyes, and very bad breath.  you may want to go to
www.liverdisease.com.   dr. palmer's book is excellent.
best wishes