Enlarged liver

[Sunshine555]

My husband has a slightly enlarged liver.  All blood work came back fine.  The doctor wants a biopsy but we just aren't feeling totally at ease about it.  My husband fears the procedure and the effects that could take place.
Can you say anything to help with our decision.
thank you

[nanasluv]

I am so happy to hear about your husband's liver being fine. I had a feeling he would be ok because he seems to live a healthy life which is very important for the liver. Well I hope you two live a wonderfully blessed life and you two take care now. IT was nice being able to talk to you through e mails and thanks again for the adive hearing your good news gives me hope that I'm probably ok and just being paranoid.

[Sunshine555]

Doctor office called today.  My husbands liver is fine. The doctor cannot explain the enlargement.
Thank you for responding . It helped.
I will no longer be e-amiling medhelp, so take care.
Sunshine

[nanasluv]

Thanks again for the advice. I definitly do believe in God and his healing power. I pray everyday for his guidance  concerning this issue. By the way how is your husband doing now. Is there a chance he can make his liver healthy again, because I assume an enlarged liver can be reversed with the proper diet and so forth and sounds like he is on the right track so far. Well I hope everything turn out well for him. Take care andGod bless. I  am planning on asking a Medhelp doctor for some advice as well I just am really broke right now and can't afford to even  pay that small amount of money for thier advice it is kinda embarssing but unfortunately it is the truth.

[Sunshine555]

Advise:
Medhelp has doctors you can talk to.  I would consider this since you have no insurance.
I'm sure they would need to know your health history to help you fully.
Sunshine

[Sunshine555]

Concerning my husdand,
The doctor saw his veins were enlarged inside of him when he went down his throat with the scope.  The doctor saw it wasn't normal.  That's all I know of this.
Yes he had blood work and the test were normal but the doctor knew to check further on do to the veins being enlarged.
My husband did not lose weight because of health problems, he change his diet because of the acid reflux. Fatty foods upset his stomach.  He wanted to heal his body so he changed his foods. He also has been working on this the last four years.
As far as what you should do. I would search on your own about edema. I would also pray in  the name of Jesus name for direction.  I would pray and ask God to give you a peace if things are okay if they are not, then direction in what to do.  
It's hard to find good doctors but I'm sure there is a clinic or something.
I know God makes a way and answers prayer and God can heal.
Keep in mind we must live balanced.  God will guide but we need to do our part as far as jobs, diet, excersice, ect.   Ask God to show you what is everything you can do.
Sunshine

[nanasluv]

Thanks so much for responding to me. Now did your husband lose 100 pounds on purpose or did it just happen as part of the problem.? Also I know this might sound kinda stupid but what do enlarged veins look like; do they just protrude from your skin or do they look wider then usual? Also did he have bloodwork done and were the results normal or abnormal? Thanks again for getting back to me with helpful info I really appreciate it. I currently have no health insurance so going to another doctor right now is not really a option unfortunately. I am somewhat frustrated with how the doctors I did see  months back can't figure out why I have this chronic body odor. the edema the doctors say it may just simply be from weight gain and it does fluctuate like when I lay down the edema goes down it is only when I walk or stand that I notice my edema swelling up again. The doctors basically told me I need to move on with my life and that I'm healthy but when your body is not like it use to be it is somehow hard to believe. I had 2 labs done and they were normal. Maybe I'm just paranoid I don't know anymore what to think. Lol I'm sorry for my message being so long and I hope and pray that everything turns out fine for your husband. You take care now talk to you later and I will let you know if anything changes with me.

[Sunshine555]

I wouln't stop going to the doctors if your concerned.  There is nothing like peace of mind.
This is your body.
Pursue a liver doctor or a Gastroenterology.
A Gastroenterologist can check quite a bit.
Let us know how you make out.
Sorry about last e-mail. I spelled sore throat wrong. My husband started with a sore throat.
Sunshine

[Sunshine555]

Hi nanasluv,
My husband kept getting a sour throught and we found out that he had acid reflux.  when the doctor went down with the scope he found a couple of other problems. one his stomach was all torn up and had a bacteria that could of caused cancer.  This rooted from childhood. The doctor presribed Prev=Pac and healed his stomach 90% and the bacteria is gone.  One other problem was he had enlarged veins that we needed to search out and find out why they were enlarge.  Since our doctor covers everything he said let's to a scan on the liver.  So he had a scan with dye which showed the liver was moderatly enlarged.  He did not have symptoms of anything wrong there.  going down wiyh the scope is what lead us to find the liver enlargement.  My husband also lost 1oo lbs, on purpose so this could be part of the problem.  We will know shorly.

[Sunshine555]

Yes Mike I will let you know.  My husband goes back the 12th of June.  If we hear earlier we will let you know.  
Thank you again.  
Sunshine

[nanasluv]

May I ask hope you don't mind but what were the symptoms your husbadn had to indicate he had an enlarged liver. The reason I'm asking is because I'm 28 yrs old and have seen 2 doctors because of chronic edema and bad body odor and they did blood work on me and everything came out normal but I can't halpe but wonder maybe I'm just paranoid if my liver is enlarged and maybe they are misdiagnosing me. I'm really worried because these are symptoms that I never had until 2 yrs ago. I'm even scared to drink alcohol. I am somewhat overweight by about 50 pounds do I don't know if that would cause these weird symptoms. Anyways any advice you could give would be greatly appreciated thanks.

[mikesimon]

That's wonderful news!
If you have the time and inclination perhaps you could the post the results after a while  - if you're comfortable with that.
I hope his results are good and your family gets some peace of mind.
Good luck,
Mike

[Sunshine555]

Thank you for the responses.  It really helped.  My husband had the biopsy and it went well.
Thank you
Sunshine

[Sunshine555]

My husband remembers ast/alt  was on the blood work but would have to look it up again to see the results.
The doctor was puzzled because we were told blood work was fine but my husband did have a scan with dye and it showed moderately enlarged liver.  
This is why they want to do the biopsy.  
As far as his diet he did loose alot of weight and watches what he eats.
My husband has acid reflux and the doctor for precaution did alot of testing and it lead to seeing the liver enlarged.

[Strype]

A) There's nothing to it. I did have some pain for a few days, and I could feel my liver every now and again for a month or two afterward.

B) There is something you are not being told. Has he had an ultrasound? What was his AST/ALT? Any other symptoms? How is his diet? Liver function tests are not done unless there is reason to do so. Reason would include suspicion of a genetic disorder, cirrhosis, iron overload, copper overload, physical abnormalities, etc.

[Sunshine555]

Thank you Mike

[mikesimon]

I have had several biopsies - I think around 6 - 8. I have had bedside biopsies where the doctor comes into your hospital room with a tray of graduating needles and basically guesses at a good location and goes from there. I have had them in the radiology department where the needle biopsy was ultrasound guided so no guesswork as to location was involved. I prefer the ultrasound guided biopsies but all of mine were relatively painless. I have driven myself to the hospital for biopsies and after the required waiting time to ensure no bleeding issues I have driven myself home and stopped for lunch on the way. So, to me biopsies are no big deal but I understand that for someone whose never had one it can be a stressful event. Generally, unless a patient has a very low platelet count, the risk of bleeding is very slight and they insist that you stay at the hospital 2 or 3 hours after the procedure just to be sure you aren't bleeding.
Some - I would say few - patients do complain of some pain after the procedure and some feel pain during the procedure. I think that the majority of patients would say the procedure was rather uneventful aside from the anxiety attendant to having the biopsy. If you have confidence in your doctor and the hospital is a quality institution I would follow your doctor's advice and have the biopsy. The knowledge gained can be crucial. It is not nearly as bad as we imagine it will be for the majority of patients.
Good luck,
Mike

[Sunshine555]

This test is done with a needle in the liver and gets the tissue sample.  We heard it is painful and can cause bleeding problems.

[Sunshine555]

This tesy is done with a needle in the liver and gets the tissue sample.  Could cause belleeding and other problems.

[KjFlicka]

Liver biopsies nowadays don't involve some crazy exploratory surgery. However, I can see your point if all the bloodwork is ok. Liver disease can be pretty silent, though, until it's really progressed, so, if it was me, I'd want to know the situation right away. Obviously your doctor has some suspicions. The only way to truly know the health of his liver cells is with a biopsy. So, I would. Also, FYI, mine I think was done pretty easily where they slit a little opening in your neck and just stick a camera tube down with a little snipping device at the end. Sounds worse than it is.