It seems ironic that I haver liver disease and never drink alcohol .

[Bevlinden]

I've got fatty liver, and though I've always been teetotaller all my life my weight has mostly been obese. When I diet I've lost 6 stone then it goes back over the years. I'm eating as healthy as I can nowadays, as when I get to a certain point in weight the itching stops on my arms! I'm wondering that as I had breast cancer 11 years ago, would the drugs have affected my liver? I had Chemo, Radiotherapy, some surgery, 5 years of drug Tamoxifen and 3 years of Femara!

[beaton]

Hi Bev,I think you are right,but I'm not medically qualified to say. I have fatty liver too,I have always eaten healthy(I'm a veggie)Four years ago I was diagnosed with inflammatory arthritis and prescribed methotrexate and I am sure that was the start of my troubles.Last year I had my gallbladder removed but still get liver pain. GP says the only way to move the fat from the liver is exercise,but don't hold your breath. hay ho.

[Bevlinden in reply to beaton]

Hi Beaton

I've never been one for exercise though loved dancing and clubbing in my younger days. I have to walk my dogs couple of times a day but that's it!

I'm aiming to get a stone off before Aug as I'm in Tenerife then and the heat will be torture!

You've been through the mill too!

[briccolone]

hi Bev, not qualified to offer advice but maybe a suggestion... I'm not diagnosed with anything although I suspect mild fatty liver caused by too by too much wine over the years but appear to be on the mend. Anyway-I've been on a 5:2 fasting which has had dramatic effects. I've lost 9kgs in 3 months,lost over 3 inches from waist plus cholesterol drop. Only thing is I did start getting itching issues when I did this diet at first but now abated.Femaie presenter on radio 4 who was pretty obese (forget her name but google it)and had breast cancer now doing this diet and has been advised by her medics that it's the way to go.

just a thought.....It's a pretty painless diet if you can handle the occasional hunger pangs-you have to work at it but body repair appears worth it. all the best K

[Bolly]

"It seems ironic that I have liver disease and never drink alcohol". Its a shame, but common, that the minute someone says they have cirrhosis or liver disease the assumption is that they must be a heavy drinker.

The liver has over 500 functions, many of them connected to things we eat, drink, or otherwise pass through our body, like blood. Do any of them to excess or get infected by a virus, and you put your liver under strain. There are 20 different liver conditions all of which can potentially cause cirrhosis and only one of those is alcohol!

[Bigplanet67]

Well said Bolly, although mine is ALD, guilty here. But you do get the streotype straight away you are an alcoholic then. Until I got this condition I was not away of the complexities of the condition and what the liver does for us. Seems to touch even part of our body and now being blamed 100% for every little twing I get.

I am sorry to hear your past medical history and hope that is now completed, but I also feel for you having fatty liver. on the positive side this can be managed better and recoverable I believe. itching, sorry no easy help, I moisturise with Acquose cream and if really bad use over counter antihesitmens, Periton is the common but any generic brand helps.

I wish you well..

[H1ghtower in reply to Bigplanet67]

I agree, fella. When i was first diagnosed with child pugh C cirhosis i,d been an alki for 3 or 4 years so i,ve no room to blame anyone else...however going by every single GP and even a couple of specialists seemed to disrespect me more than the other patients who had similar types but werent selfimposed. I was actually 8 stones worth of stomach fluid overweight from the ascites and as i,m around 6ft 5 i was 23 stone and undernourished at that. 6 weeks later id been robbed of 300 cash my mobile and my dads portable dvd player and i felt like they where blaming me for that as well. Ive been having stomach pains every so often which i didnt know was a common symptom and have passed out twice with the pain and rushed to casuality who gave me morphine and did blood tests and they said they didnt have a clue what it was and my GP didnt know either. There s no info online on the likelihood of a liver transplant either. I stopped drinkiing about 3 years ago when diagnosed and was told the average life expectancy if i stopped was 5 years, but, apart from the cessation of alcohol there didnt seem any other guidance if you didnt chase them for it.

[gamesmaker]

I also drink no alcohol and have fatty liver disease, which progressed to NASH and now to cirrhosis. There is obviously something genetic in it - my younger sister has the same diagnosis. I eat a healthy diet and am fairly good at keeping fit - I currently aim to walk about 10 miles a week and cycle locally. I am a little overweight and am working on that at the moment. The only other conected health problem is my insulin resistant diabetes, for which I am on oral hypoglycaemics and insulin. I am searching for things I can do to help myself at least keep the disease stable.

[berties]

This might be a long story but my husband had liver portal hypertension caused by a fatty liver. Eventually he had esophageal bleeding and was diagnosed with NASH. He had massive bleeding in his stomach and was admitted to A&E. He too was a non drinker although overweight and type 2 diabetic. He had a TIPPS stent which increased his brain toxins and sent him really strange. He was very lucky and had a liver transplant. The consultants think there is a connection between the diabetic tablets and NASH (metaformin and gliclacide). The best thing is to loose weight, exercise and eat properly. The upside of all this is he has lost 30kgs in weight! I hope this helps some of you. I wish we had someone who could have warned us but I guess thats life.

[Rambette in reply to berties]

I think this is the course of my dads cirrhosis.. he is unable to have a transplant through hes 67. Dad acts very oddly and finds it hard to focus on anything. his speech is sometimes slow and he can't grasp the sense of things anymore... I have to write down the sky control modes for the tv now !! Dad is diabetic and was on metaformin for many years, and pills for Crohns.. he wasn't a drinker the odd beer in a stubby bottle at the weekend - mainly in the summer ! Life is cruel and so unfair.. I wish I could help him.. but the future isn't bright for my dad.

[gamesmaker in reply to Rambette]

Hi Rambette. I am in a similar situation to your Dad. Newly diagnsoed with cirrhosis but diagnosed with fatty lived many years ago. I have never been a drinker (historically no more than a bottle of wine a month) - and none at all since long before the milenium. I was also told that , at 63, and because I had diabetes, I was too old for a transplant ! (Don't need one yet anyway). Apparently they have to 'guarantee at least 5 years survival after a transplant and diabetics have higher risk of cardivascular disease etc. I agree that is seems so unfair that we are denied treatment option because of a disease which was not brought on by drinking alcohol or any other lifestyle activities. Good luck to your Dad

[H1ghtower in reply to Rambette]

I,ve got the exact same problem with the focusing on anything like i used to just 4 years ago when i was a drinker. I,ve been housebound for around 3 years now with about 4 exceptions ive not left the front door step. I can honestly say i havent got a clue why though. I am physically able to leave the house and i hate having to miss everything family wise, but, i,m not enjoying it obviously and if they want me to chase them for transplants etc and countless consultant chats then they obviously should take into account its only the poliest patients that will not turn up and if i dont why how can i explain it. I was given a social worker after my ,mental state got worse but no tablets or even an appointment and i was taken off his list for not showing willing for there services without actually knowing what services i was being ungrateful for.

[Bolly]

I suspect there may be a lot of over 60's storing up liver problems created by long term medication for things such as cholesterol, blood pressure, diabetes etc. Once we reach 60 the NHS gives us free prescriptions, which seems to lead to easy prescribing of meds rather than diet/nutrition/lifestyle advice to deal with these conditions.

Look at any patient leaflet in your prescribed (or over the counter tablets) and I bet there will be a warning about liver damage. Of course most of us probably never read the leaflet, or dismiss the warning.

Its known to the medical community and pharmaceutical community that long term meds can lead to liver problems. But I guess the attitude of many a GP under appointment time pressure is, in the words of a GP on last nights 'NHS: Keeping Britain Alive" tv programmed to a patient with high cholesterol - "its better to be happy than worry about cholesterol". Rather than give us patients time to learn about potential side effects before prescribing something, its easier and quicker for the GP to reach for the prescription pad, getting us out the door again in 12minutes.

Over the years, health campaigns have constantly warned us about smoking, diet, lack of exercise etc etc. How much effect they have is debatable. I think a high % of us take in the message but carry on as normal with the 'it wont happen to me' syndrome. I work in the health sector, where my colleagues care for people in the final stages of things like COPD, yet they continue to smoke!

Anyone see that tv programme 'Junior Doctors: your life in their hands"? Treating patients in A&E for the effects of alcohol, from sprained ankles tripping up on stag do's, or patching up the after effects of drunken brawls, to serious side effects of liver disease. Yet what did they do to 'relax' after long shifts? They went out drinking, lol!

[art4949]

I think it is important with a fatty liver, like everyone is saying, is to keep your weight down, regular exercise (walking everyday is a start), and reduce or stop drinking. Also, there is so much evidence out there about sugar in the diet causing all kinds of damage to the body. If you read how it affects the liver, you will be motivated to read food labels so you can avoid eating too much. It can't hurt you to greatly reduce sugar intake no matter the reason. I feel so much better for cutting it out of so much of my diet that it makes it easier to not give into my huge sweet tooth...hope this helps....

[nanjak320]

Hi, I am not a physician and therefore am not qualified to give any advice. I have read a lot about how obesity can affect the liver very negatively. Best wishes!

[Brummi]

Having read all these post I found them all interesting. I was diagnosed with PBC and have had nothing but respect. I have now had liver transplant and feel good for it. My op was done at the Queen Elizabeth in Birmingham. There I was treated with respect.

[shirley29485]

I have Bronchiectasis, NASH, Elevated Liver function, Mycrobacterium Avium Complex, Tia, GERD, AT-3 defiency. I take high amounts of antibiotics for a year now. for the MAC Disease I have a year left...I now have a bad liver .. I also have the itchy skin. bowels are not kind either. so many things that come with it. Ultra sound was done and all they found was The liver echogenicity is heterogeneous.. which Im not sure if it means anything..so I dont know..but I know your pain.