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How far has my fatty liver progressed?

ladytig15
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Hi, My name is Tina. I was just Diagniossed with afatty liver. My doctor was going to send me to a specialist to have another look. While in his office my blood results came in and my levels had dropped.
How do I find out how far my liver is progressed? Should I ask to see the specialist? Where do I go from here? I should aslo mention that I have been in sever pain. It started in my right shoulder and now I have it in both shoulders and arm. That is what I origannally went to the doctor for. I feels like my musles are just going away. I can barely lift a coffee pot now. My doctor has me on Tridural and lyrica. It helps Is all this caused by my non alcoholic fatty liver?
Sincerely Tina

Explore topics in this discussion:

Pain Cirrhosis Confusion Lyrica Fatty liver Byetta Nausea and vomiting

3 replies

dgbeam

Tina,
I was very sick . I'm also diabetic and my sugar was very high 600+ almost every day . They could not keep it down. I had 3 mini strokes in one month. My ALT/AST were high. My pcp thought it was coming from infections . I called my Endo and told him that I knew that if something was not done soon I was going to die. He made me a appointment with a friend of his that was a hepatologist. With in 2 weeks I was diagnosed with cirrhosis caused by NASH.
I have only been diabetic for a few years not the decades it normally takes to develop fatty liver must less NASH or Cirrhosis. They are now looking at the Byetta I was given to see if it may have caused a problem.
I always tell people to keep copies of ALL test results.
If you know some basic labs you can figure the stages your self. Its called the CTP score.
You need to know your :
Total Bilirubin
Albumin
INR
If you have ascites ( fluid in the abdomen) How is it being treated
if you have encephalopathy (mental confusion) how it is being treated.
Creatine (this helps figure the meld score ) which is used for transplant.
I am having problems with nausea and vomiting blood ( from what is called portal hypertensive gastropathy.
But I still work full time and take care of my family. With Cirrhosis it truly is a day by day adventure.
I hope your appointment goes well.
Gail

ladytig15

Gail,
Thank you so much for responding. I have a doctor appointment tomorrow and will ask to see the specialist.
How are you doing? How did you find out about your liver and that it was at stage B? I can't tell you how nice it is to have some one to talk to about this. I hope to hear from you again.
Sincerely,
Tina

dgbeam

Tina,
Yes , you should ask for the refferral to the specialist.
Fatty liver it self may not progress But some people do progress to NASH (Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis )
A few then progress to cirrhosis. The only way to know for certain is to have a liver biopsy.
Also certain medications can cause problems for liver patients. Tridural may not cause a problem for Fatty liver patients but it is not recommended for patients with severe liver damage.
If the Levels dropping to normal you are referring to are your AST /ALT these do not completely reflect liver damage. They can be elevated due to viruses , infections and such. Bilirubin,Albumin and INR are the important liver function test.
Even withadvanced liver disease blood work may not reflect how severe the damage is. I have stage (B) cirrhosis and my labs are pretty good.
Only a liver specialist can really judge if your fatty liver is progressing and treat you with confidence.
Your pain may be related to the lyrica a lot of complaints are being made that this is a side effect .
I am including a link to a site that show's some of the complaints.
I hope this helps some and I hope you feel better soon.
Gail

http://www.topix.com/forum/health/joint-pain/TR7J63RV2R7CUJQVA

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