NASH

[shirley29485]

I have been diagnosed with NASH. I have been trying to reverse it but it only keep getting worse. My liver function tests have been climbing for the last year. My stomach enlarges and swells, I get very tired, and just overall feel terrible. I have an appointment with specialist Friday but wanted to know is the pain normal? Dull, and sometimes sharp stabbing. When it acts up I can only say it is worse than my lung pain. But anyhow just wondering if any of this comes with NASH? Thanks for your help.

[gamesmaker]

Hi Shirley. I also have NASH cirrhosis. Obviously there could be many reasons for your stomach problems. However I also get bloating and nausea and stomach area pain - as in your description - typically at about 2am for the nausea, any time for the pain (I do not eat late so that is not the cause). I take Omeprazole - and if I forget to take the tablet, I am always affected by nausea - but I think I need to up the dosage of that medication as it is getting more of a problem now. I have an enlarged spleen as part of the picture. I had oesophageal varices banded about 18 months ago - remaining varices too small for banding at present but 'being watched'. I have tiredness linked to anaemia (but no active bleeding in the gut on endoscopy) and also tiredness linked to plain 'lack of sleep' (my husband and my mother and my father in law have all died in the last 18 months, so having a bad time in general!). Good luck when you see the consultant and let us know how you get on.

[Bolly]

Some of the symptoms you describe, the elevated liver enzymes, the fluid retention, the fatigue, are common to all liver disease where it has possibly developed into cirrhosis. Have you had any tests or scans recently to see if you have cirrhosis. Do you know what caused the NASH and have you been able to change diet and or lifestyle or do you have other medical conditions that make this difficult. The liver performs over 500 different functions for us so when it goes wrong for whatever reason we do feel pretty rough.

[shirley29485 in reply to Bolly]

so far no scar tissue

very lucky so far. Not sure what they could possibly do to treat it. but I know my numbers keep going up.

[Bolly in reply to shirley29485]

From what I understand there is normally a diagnosis of "fatty" liver before the condition progresses to NASH which is more aggressive and more often leads to scarring. Fatty liver can be caused by so many different things: diet, lifestyle, diabetes, viral hepatitis, blood pressure. To treat it the doctors need to decide on the cause. So if it's diet or lifestyle related you can do something about it, if it's diabetes then this needs to be brought under control etc. there is no specific medicine for NASH. Have you been able to identify the cause?

[shirley29485 in reply to Bolly]

Still going through tests..ultrasound from yesterday only found The liver echogenicity is heterogeneous.. not sure what this is either. I get all my tests results from hospital before they do..I do not have Cirrhosis yet according to the ultrasound

[Bolly in reply to shirley29485]

The ultrasound can diagnose if your liver is smooth and shiny (healthy) or bit rough and patchy or even if it is enlarged. I think the heterogeneous bit means it does not look even all over, so there might be some early damage but considering all the health problems you have thats probably not surprising.

[Kate12345 in reply to shirley29485]

Shirley, your posts are from three years ago. How are you doing now? I was just diagnosed today but I've had Nash for a while it seems. I just joined this website. TY and take care.

[shirley29485 in reply to Bolly]

I have Bronchiectasis, Barretts Disease, Severe GERD, Mycrobacterium Avium Complex..and the list goes on...but those are my majors right now. And history of AT-3 defiency, and TIA...I would think that something underlying would make me not well all the time..my body is finally tired..

[Bolly in reply to shirley29485]

I guess you take medication for all of these. As was explained to me recently by a hepatologist, all medicines are in fact toxins, and have to be processed by the liver, so your liver will be under stress and the meds are possibly the cause of the NAFLD which progressed to NASH.

[shirley29485 in reply to Bolly]

Yes I take Azithro 500mg per day and Ethambutol 1200mg per day..for a year now..I have 8 more months to go. I go friday I will keep you all posted my liver funtion tests are elevated. But had about 7 days where I thought I was just gonna die. Stomach swollen, itchy, very tired, just plain dragging but better now. I could live with it all if the dull annoying pain was gone. I think it annoys me more than anything else..that must go!!!!

[kernowgranny]

I also have NASH Cirrhosis and agree with all the symptoms, apart from lung pain. Omeprazole is the best drug ever, if I miss one day, within 12 hours I am in agony. No varices so far, thank goodness, but I get bloating and extreme tiredness. Occasional pains in my upper right side that feel a bit like a stitch and seem to be worse if I eat the wrong sort of things. My spleen has gone down recently but I have had a liver cancer scare with a dodgy scan, luckily a CT scan cleared that up (just a bunch of blood vessels multiplying). Stress of any sort will always make you feel worse, so try to find a way of dealing with that. I take Citalopram just to keeo me bimbling along! Good luck x x

[shirley29485 in reply to kernowgranny]

I have begged for pain meds and get nothing. I don't like to take them and have a reaction to pretty much them all. But none of them want to help me to be pain free. I have suffered for many years now and Im 50..If its not liver pain its back and side pain from my lungs. I try to excercise but sometimes my body just dont want to get out the rut.

[Kate12345 in reply to shirley29485]

This sounds so familiar to me. I am going through the same,,, similar stages.

[Splodge60]

NASH does not usually, by itself, cause any pain, unless it has developed further. Talk to your Specialist asap.