cirrhosis

[Eric55]

If anyone has cirrhosis or knows someone who does, where there early indicators of the condition such as fatty liver or extremely elevated liver enzymes?

[reddawg]

I have had HepC for about 30 years which was called non-A non-B until 1989 when a test was found to distinquish HepC. HepC caused cirrhosis for me about eleven years ago
Cirrhosis is a slow progressive disease. CT scans, Dr's. manipulation of the liver find it to be hard and bumpy. To determine that you indeed have cirrhosis, a biopsy is needed. Preferrably a Laproscopic Biopsy. This way the Dr. can pinpoint where to take the biopsy and actually look at the liver.
Actually ALT, AST are somtimes in the normal range or slightly elevated. PT is longer. Fatigue is the number 1 complaint.
After about 8 years of being Diagnoised with cirrhosis I started feeling worse. Not able or cared about the things I liked to do. Confusion and memory loss became a problem. Daily activities are limited. But these are not early indicator's.
Sometimes people with cirrhotic liviers don't even know until later stages. Depending on the cause of cirrhosis.
Any additional questions or if I didn't answer questions, please repost.  

[Eric55]

Thanks you for sharing you information and experiences.

I've had a low grade pain. sort of burning feeling in various regions of my right abdomen for over a year now with no change. Sometimes I feel it on my right flank of my ribs, but usually just below my liver in my right gut. My liver and gall bladder hang low according to the radiologist. No other symptoms what so ever.

CT scan, 2 ultrasounds, LFT's, endoscopy, chest x-ray, colonoscopy, small bowel series all show normal. No hep either. Except the endoscopy showed a stomach inflammation, but no ulcer and neg for h pylori.

I do have a history of alcohol drinking, although I have drank a lot my tolerance is high and I'm able to maintain a successful business and happy home life. Only drink in the evening. Even though I'm relatively young (38) I worry about possibly having undiagnosed cirrhosis despite all the testing I've gone through. Basically my GP and GI won't do a biopsy because they say the imaging didn't show anything off with my liver and my lft's were also well within the normal range. Should I worry? What is PT? Thanks

[Eric55]

anyone??

[mabel8499]

People with cirrhosis often have few symptoms at first. The two major problems that eventually cause symptoms are loss of functioning liver cells and distortion of the liver caused by scarring. The person may experience fatigue, weakness, and exhaustion. Loss of appetite is usual, often with nausea and weight loss.
In the later stages of cirrhosis, jaundice may occur, caused by the buildup of bile pigment that is passed by the liver into the intestine. Some people with cirrhosis experience itching due to bile products that are deposited in the skin. Gallstones often form in persons with cirrhosis because not enough bile reaches the gallbladder.
Later stages may develop fluid retention in the abdomen which may be complicated by infections.

I am the administrator of the BBS which provides discussion to patients with liver diseases, Mabel. Our BBS is newly-opened. You can get much useful information and let others share your experiences there. Welcome to visit http://liver-health.info/. Thank you.

[reddawg]

PT is the time it takes your blood to clot. If you had liver disease it would show up in your lab tests. I would not worry about Liver Disease. What makes you concerned about your liver anyway?
If your liver is hanging low your gallbladder would also, I would want to know why. Could be a source of burning sensations, but those burning complaints are new to me.
I was thinking ulcer until I saw you had an endoscopy. Now You may want to make sure your pancreas is ok. Sometimes a damaged pancreas will feel like an ulcer.
Fatty liver and high liver enzymes is common with Hepatitis and Acute Liver problems.
I would be more concerned with the alcohol injestion. It is important to note how much and how long you have been drinking.

[DrWatts]

Hi, my dad has been suffering with the pain for a week. And doctors do not know what the prob is. To my knowledge is that, all symtoms relate to Fatty Liver.

My dad is 64years old.

How can you fight fatty liver?