need advice about fatty liver

[blessed333]

I had an ultrasound and CT Scan that revealed an Fatty Liver. My OB/Gyn wants me to go see an Internist....he is the one whp ordered the test due to my complaints of tenderness and swelling in my upper abdomen.

My question is does a fatty liver mean enlarged liver, do they go hand and hand? Also, has anyone tried taking Milk Thistle for this.

Thanks in advance for any advice~

[blessed333]

Thanks for commenting. No, I have never been a drinker......alcohol always made me sick so I was not a big fan of it. I could stand to lose some weight and exercise more. My cholestral is thru the roof though, so I have heard repeatedly if I lose weight and eat healthy and exercise more I could turn this around.

Thank you both for taking the time to comment.....God Bless you both~

[GisellaBoop]

Forgot to add that I am 44 years old now.

[GisellaBoop]

Hi,
I am a recovering Alcoholic. I stopped drinking at age 23 at did not drink again until about two years ago. I relapsed in other words. Now I am sober and active in AA again. I started to drink sporadically but then in the past 5 mos. (since relocating from the States to Europe) I had become a heavy daily drinker. Apparently this is more dangerous than being a sporadic/binge drinker. Anyway, I am a woman and it's true what they say......alcohol damages us about 500,000 times faster than men. As well, my liver (according to the internist) metabolizes things slowly.....Hence as I drank like a maniac, I continued to poison my liver quickly. To make a long story short....I took myself to  a hospital because I wanted to stop drinking and knew I would need valium for the shakes. They ran blood tests and admitted me as my liver enzymes were high. (I also have a gallstone which occassionally can affect my liver enzymes). They then did an ultra/echogram of my liver and told me I had a lot of fat in my liver and my triglycerides were very high. I am not fat and have always had low triglycerides. I was blown away at how much damage I have done to my liver in such a short time after not drinking for years. I dont' have hep C either.

Now I am excercising and eating right (although I have always had a pretty healthy diet...love fruits and veggies and whole grains) and as mentioned, sober. Thank God...otherwise the fatty liver progresses to cirhossis. I never had pain or inflammation in my liver and so point is that you can have a dammaged liver (fatty liver) and have no abdominal discomfort etc.

Are you a daily heavy drinker? I dont' mean to confront you, but this is a possible cause.
Anyway, take care of yourself and don't drink at All! You don't want cirrhosis. It's a horrible way to die and I have read the accounts of others who have posted on this website and it scares me.

All the best to you

[Thomas D Schiano, MD]

fatty livers do not necessarily need to be enlarged.  the treatment is often just weight loss.  milk thistile is innocuous and can be taken but no studies have shown that it makes a major difference.  if the blood tests are OK its a good sign.