Stopping drinking changes your blood values in a fixed order. Alcohol itself is gone within a day, EtG holds on for a few more days, gamma-GT falls over weeks and CDT needs about two to three weeks. MCV lags months behind all of that.
Almost every article about quitting describes how you will feel day by day. That is useful, but it is subjective, and it does not help you when someone else asks for a measurable outcome.
Below is the measurable side: which marker falls when, and what a test still sees after your last glass.
What happens in the first 24 hours?
Your body breaks alcohol down at roughly 0.1 to 0.15 per mille per hour. In most people the ethanol has left the blood within 12 to 24 hours. A breath test or a blood measurement for alcohol then reads zero, even if you drank heavily the evening before.
That is the fastest part of the whole process.
What you feel during that first day says little about what a lab measures. Headache and restlessness can persist while the alcohol reading is already at zero.
What does a test still see after you stop?
That differs sharply per marker. Alcohol itself disappears in hours, the breakdown product EtG stays visible in urine for days, and the markers that respond to a pattern need weeks to months. The table below lists the usual timeframes.
| Marker | Material | Looks back | Usually falls within |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alcohol (ethanol) | blood or breath | a few hours | 12 to 24 hours |
| EtG | urine | about 1 to 3 days | 3 to 5 days |
| Gamma-GT | blood | weeks | 2 to 6 weeks |
| CDT (%CDT) | blood | about 2 to 3 weeks | 2 to 4 weeks |
| MCV | blood | months | 2 to 4 months |
| EtG in hair | hair | about 1 month per centimetre | grows out over months |
These timeframes are guides, not guarantees. Liver conditions, medicines and rare inherited variants can keep a value high while you are drinking nothing.
When do your liver values return to normal?
Gamma-GT is the enzyme that responds to alcohol fastest, and also falls back fastest. In many people a raised value drops within two to six weeks of stopping. A normal result does not automatically mean there is no liver damage.
Gamma-GT is sensitive, but not specific.
The value can also rise from excess weight, certain medicines and bile duct problems. What the marker does and does not say is covered in more detail in gamma-GT too high.
How quickly does CDT fall after stopping?
CDT has a half-life of about 14 to 17 days. A raised value therefore usually returns towards the reference range within two to four weeks of the last glass. That makes CDT the marker that shows most clearly that a period of heavy use is over.
Picture this: you stop on 1 August and have your CDT measured on 10 August. That result largely describes July, not August. Anyone tracking their own progress is better off measuring after three to four weeks.
Other causes of a deviant value are covered in CDT too high. If you want your own value measured, an alcohol CDT test can quantify that.
Why does a hair test look back so much further?
Hair takes up EtG while it grows, at about one centimetre per month. What is already in there does not disappear because you stop: it has to grow out literally. A hair test therefore keeps showing a period that lies behind you for months.
I've seen that catch people in a relapse-free period out more than anything else here.
They have been abstinent for weeks, their CDT is fine, and the hair analysis still points at the spring. How those timeframes run exactly is covered in the EtG hair test and in our overview of proving alcohol use.
Why does the first week feel heavier than the fourth?
Your nervous system has adapted to the dampening effect of alcohol. When that falls away, the system is temporarily overactive, which can lead to poor sleep, sweating, tremor and restlessness. In most people that period passes after a few days to a week.
A clear warning belongs here.
Stopping after prolonged heavy use can cause physical withdrawal that needs medical supervision. Discuss that with your GP beforehand. Thuisarts.nl describes the steps you can take if you want to cut down or stop.
The RIVM counts men drinking more than 21 glasses a week and women drinking more than 14 as excessive drinkers, and the Dutch Health Council advises that drinking no alcohol is healthier and safer.
What strikes me about these numbers: the measurable gain lags behind the feeling. You often feel better in week two, while CDT and MCV are still on their way.
If you want to track your own progress objectively, plan your measurement at least three weeks after your last glass and discuss the result with your GP.
Every blood test result at Zuivertest includes a professional assessment from a BIG-registered doctor. For treatment decisions, discuss your results with your GP.
Sources
- RIVM, Leefstijlmonitor, alcohol use among adults, 2025 figures.
- Gezondheidsraad, advice on alcohol: any amount of alcohol can be harmful (accessed July 2026).
- Thuisarts.nl, "Ik ga stoppen met alcohol drinken" (accessed July 2026).
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