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Pain in the liver while TX?

Sorry to ask but the pain I'm experiencing now is not like the URQ pain I had before starting. This one is more gassy like and a bit sharper If u know what I mean.
I called the doc and he said the liver does not hurt. The usual comment of somebody that has never suffered hep :-(
Told me to go next week and not worry about it...
But right now it hurts like a son of a gun
salu2
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Avatar universal
my side hurt were the liver i have hep c cronic.
i life somthing heavy now my side hurts
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Avatar universal
You can be "cured" of Hep C but that does not mean you cant have other liver issues. How long since you had a biopsy? How much do you drink? How are your enzymes Fatty liver can cause pains of this type. Im not so sure your doctor gave you the best advice basically telling you to ignore it. I'd have your liver and gallbladder checked out further.
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Avatar universal
ork
I was off and on interferon for five years, ending in 1999.  It wasn't until I was in a one year IFN/riba trial ending in 1999 that I eradicated the virus forever.

From the time I started IFN I had an upper right quadrant ache.  Now I usually only notice it when I'm exercising or when I'm having a glass of wine.

I went back to my doc two years ago to ask him about it.  He said "you know, if I didn't have one other patient who had the same complaint I'd say you're crazy."  He told me not to worry about it.  I'm cured and can do whatever anyone else does.
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Avatar universal
When you mentioned the pain you're experiencing around the back of the heart, I got a flashback to 1993 when I first had ruptured verices around my esophagus but, that's another experience completely...

When they did a chest X-ray for whatever reason (I believe that it was because there definitely was a noticable amount of inflammation in the abdominal area), they noticed that there was an unusual amount of fluid build up around my heart and especially behind it.

Now I do'nt want to scare you half to death by mentioning this but, it may not be a bad idea to mention to your doc about getting a chest X-ray just in case because like the other folks mentioned, it could just be the capsule, infammation, URQ, gas or something else completely.

like Mikesimon, I'm post liver transplant over nine years and counting (10/08/97), been on treatment for HCV more times than I'd like to remember so, it could be alot of things and maybe nothing to worry too much about but until you go over this with your Dr.,  you and us can only speculate...

Oh Yeah I almost forgot, sometimes -even the doc's ca'nt seem to figure out what is the cause as they have a propensity of making "their best educated guess" and using that phrase as an excuse quite often when they're unsure!!!

I hope and pray that your Dr. can figure it out for you!!!

Respectfully,
Hanklive-Lives for Today and Tomorrow!!!
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Avatar universal
Hi Guys
I just have to thank all of you for your valuable input. I'm going to see the doctor next week anyway and today the pain has not been as bad as over the weekend
It does feel like gas trapped with a bit of acid reflux and dull URQ pain.
But now that I see many of you have suffered URQ during TX I should assume the RIBA /IFN are fighting the battle

Buenas noches
scuba
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Avatar universal
I think I remember my doctor telling me that sometimes the liver swells and presses on the spleen, which causes the pain.  I may be wrong, I just vaguely remember some discussion on anatomy and the mention of a spleen.  Hope your pain is just gas.
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Avatar universal
My doctor never said hogwash. I never had pain pre-treatment but had pain during treatment. He attributed it to the healing process and said that an inflamed (or swollen) liver would cause pain to the nerve endings surrounding it which is why people describe it as liver pain even though technically what we are experiencing is not actual liver pain. Anyway, as soon as I finished treatment it went away and I'm still SVR 90 days post treatment (and fingers crossed for 120.)
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Avatar universal
Your liver doesn't have pain receptors BUT the capsule around it does. I had the pains too, my doctor says you can feel pain in the liver area from surrounding tissue/organs. He also says "healing hurts" and that a healing liver can cause URQ pain just as an inflammed liver can. If the pain increases or is more than uncomfortable, I'd see your doctor.
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Avatar universal
There are several people who say liver capsule and several people say that it hogwash.

Personally - I think treating makes us a bit more AWARE of our livers...I'd never really have noticed if I had pain in it or NOT before...I would have just thought I pulled a muscle or had a stomach ache or something.

I agree though if it keeps up go to a doctor - most things have nothing to do with hep or our livers and are just pains and aches that we THINK have to do with it.

Someone (mikesimon?) has good info on why it's NOT inflammed - capsule - situation. I had never thought of it until I read the posts.

But honestly - it makes sense that it's not really it even though we want it to be.
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Avatar universal
The type of pain I am familiar is a dull ache and that I attribute to liver inflamation which causes liver swelling which distends the capsule that surrounds the liver which causes a dull ache or a discomfort in the URQ. If what you feel is a sharp pain then I can't speculate as to what is causing it. Furthermore, if you really do feel it around your heart I feel confident that what you have is not what we HCV patients often characterize as "liver pain". That's too far away from the area and your liver is certainly not that big - I hope. I don't think of what I have experienced as true "pain' but more like a discomfort or a dull ache. My Father was a doctor and he used to tell me that when I was aware of something I should not be aware of it probably meant something was wrong. When breathing or heartbeat or any function which we are never aware of suddenly moves to the top of mind awareness we can bet something is wrong. And when we are aware of our liver which I would assume none of us ever knew where it really was before HCV it is troubling but if it is what we HCV people have experienced it's not out of the oprdinary and doesn't portend a bad outcome. I could go on but I wouldn't be adding anything. Mike
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Avatar universal
The liver doesn't have any nerve endings, but the capsule or sheath which surrounds it does have nerve endings. If the liver is inflamed the capsule can become stretched or distended, possibly causing "liver pain". I've seen quite a few folks on treatment complain of liver pain, often after their enzymes have gone down and normalized (and presumably their inflammation has gone down too?). So there's been some debate/speculation here that the pains experienced during tx might actually be from the liver shrinking or healing. Others say it can only happen with distension, and there would never be "healing" pains or pains associated with a capsule contracting/shrinking after being distended/stretched for decades. But that's just a guess, bottomline is that it's not uncommon to experience 'liver pain' during treatment.

I experienced rather severe 'liver pain' several years ago. I especially would feel it after eating a greasy meal, mostly at night before going to bed. The feeling was most apparent when I was laying down. It could cause almost excruciating pain at times, I went many a sleepness night because of it. After seeing the doc, turned out I had gallstones. The gallbladder produces and releases bile, which is used by your gut to break down fats for proper digestion. After you eat something with fat in it, it stimulates the gallbladder to contract and release bile into the digestive tract. If there are gallstones, they can obstruct the flow of bile which can result in mild to severe pain. Also, from what I've heard it doesn't necessarily have to outright obstruct the flow of bile. If the stones are large enough, pain can still be caused simply by the gallbladder clamping down on the stones during contractions. Hiccups and indigestion after consuming greasy meals are also often associated with this condition.

Hope you're feeling better soon, take care.
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Avatar universal
SO glad to hear you are clear at the 3 month mark! Way to go! What a great Christmas gift!
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Avatar universal
I had that liver pain too.  This maybe simplifying and is different then the liver pain I felt but after I started tx I had pain all over my stomach area.  Not on till I stopped taking the riba did I realize how much I missed passing gas {mine dont smell}  For 6 months on tx I didnt pass gas but what a pleasure it is to have that back.
My stomack grew to the size of a basketball and the pain that, that caused was so close to unbearable. But as every day of post tx goes by and my exhust system improves, so do I
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Avatar universal
Maybe that answers everyone question of why your liver area is still pouchy.  I never thought about gas.
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172336 tn?1202254641
just a thought... but consider your pancreas? it can hurt like you described but mainly 15-20 min after eating. Resonating pain up and around your shoulder just like after a bx.
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Avatar universal
yes URQ and behind the heart. I guess I have a pretty big liver ;-)
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Avatar universal
I don't really get what you mean here you can feel it in both lobes?
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Avatar universal
but the intestine goes all the way around the liver? because I feel it in both lobes...
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Avatar universal
There aren't any nerves in your liver...so technically while it might be URQ pain it's NOT liver pain.

Perhaps it is intestinal pain?  I hate to admit but your doctor is right on this one - the liver DOES NOT hurt.

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Avatar universal
could it be because of the IBUPROFEN?
or the IFN hurts too?
Helpful - 0
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