Hi Guy,
Sorry for my poor english, It is not my mother language.
I am almost at the same point. I am 50, I started to drink wine about 15 years ago. The last 10 years, I was dring 4 to 8 time a month 2 wine bottles. Some times more.
About 1,5 years ago I noticed that the recovery after have been drunk was longer. 2 or 3 days instead of one. As well , I had some strange feeling (not really pain, as you said some itch) on the liver side. unfortunately I did not take care of this message.
one year ago I started osteoartritis on several joints (knees, wrist, fingers, elbow). So I started to use paracetamol and anti-inflammatory on large scale. Obviously mixing that with the wine. Wine even help me to decrease osteoartritis pain.
6 months ago, 48 hours after a high alccolization, i started nauseas and liver pain. (with may be some gastric bleeding ( dark feces)
The doctor gave me a diet, some pills for the liver for 3 month and an echography which does not reveal anything wrong. After a week, the nausea disappears and the liver pain after a few weeks. 3 months later blood test just reveled high triglyceride and cholesterol. liver's enzyme was great. (And because of loss of appetite during at least 6 weeks I lost about 10kg. 85 to 75kg)
4 month laters I tryed to drink a little bit. This means one or 2 glasses on meals for about 3 or 4 days. This immediatly wake up the paint and the nausea.
2 months laters, I am still weak with a pain on the liver. The doctor gave me some pills to decrease liver inflammation, and once again an echography into 3 weeks to compare to the first one, the size of the liver. he told me that at the begenning of the cirrhosis, the liver grow up, and then it grow shorter and get hard.
So like you , no jaundice yet, no ascite yet. But may be our cirrhosis is already in action. As far as I read, when it is running, even if you stop to dring, it will continue growing
I hope my situation is still reversible but I am not sure. My work requirre energy. I am an independent worker and I have already canceled several works du to this situation. If I cannot work anymore or lower, I will be really in trouble. At 50, it is not easy to be able to find a new job. I have a private health insurrance, but if I cannot get money....
at this point I can tell you:
1- It is better to stop when it is still reversible.
2- we can continue to exchange our experience to help each other
Good luck!