A bruise from nowhere

Hi ! I just found a bruise on my upper thigh, about the size of a red bean. I am a former heavy drinker of 20 years. Quit 4.5 months ago. US is good. All bloods are in normal range. GGT is 11 and Platelets are 212 ( down from 237 in November) I do have kidney disease with my creatinine at 1.37 and gfr 43, which both have shown improvement in the last 12 months. Also had a HIDA scan that was good. I'm so frightened that I have Cirrhosis. I was feeling pretty good about things before the bruise showed up.

[4pjx__]

Sometimes a person can get in a hurry with something, bump into a corner or otherwise forget about it, and wake up with a bruise. A friend of mine who sadly passed away with cirrhosis had an issue with bruises. She woke up one morning with a whole leg full of bruises. I wouldn't worry about one little bruise. More, I would be concerned about a bruise that was way larger than the percieved wound. Or, new odd bruises occuring everyday.

Good luck,

Pam

[Hidden in reply to 4pjx__]

Thank you Pam. This is so distressing

[smc555]

I was diagnosed with Autoimmune Hepatitis about a year and half ago. It's an autoimmune disease where my own antibodies suddenly started fighting against my liver. In some autoimmune diseases the person's antibodies start fighting against other organs or even ones connective tissues. No one is positive why this happens. Stress is one suspect. Or hereditary conditions. I don't know why my liver was the organ selected but the stressful conditions that we're affecting me we're also causing me to feel a lot of anger. I've heard that Chinese medicine believes anger is lodged in the liver. All I know is that after I was diagnosed I started having bruises all over my arms: some from the slightest cut or bump; some just seemed to appear. For some reason, my arms are only affected. But I've heard other people on these forums are affected in the same way, and can get bruises anywhere without having any idea how they appeared. I wish you well. I have had a difficult time coming to terms with all this (fatigue, hair loss, mind fog). I just take one day at a time... Good luck to you... 0h, and I don't have cirrohsis.

[Hidden in reply to smc555]

Thank you smc. I have another appointment on Monday with my GI and o will ask this question, along with alot of other things. So stressed out over all of this.

[Eurotrash]

Hello

You sound really stressed and I'm here to reassure you that it is much more likely than not that... well... it's just a bruise and you just don't remember how you got it!

My partner always gets bruises (he's really, really clumsy though). I do too sometimes.

When we're worried about something like our health we tend to scam our body for symptoms.

While it's always good to talk to your doctor,at the moment you are making the following assumption: small bruise=cirrhosis.

I think for the great majority of people in the world and also doctors, that sounds like an abnormal pattern of thinking created by worrying about your health.

So while I can't confirm how healthy your liver is, I think it's pretty unlikely that you have decompensated cirrhosis because of a small bruise.

Ps. I have generalised anxiety disorder so I worry about everything ALL THE TIME! So I know it's hard... chin up!

[Hidden in reply to Eurotrash]

Thank you Eurotrash. My stress also stems from the liver pain I'm having . I thought after 4.5 months of no alcohol that it would go away. Have a great weekend

[Eurotrash in reply to Hidden]

You too! I have liver pain too and I've had it for years on and off. It can take many months for your liver to heal and liver pain doesn't equal cirrhosis. From what I read it has to do more with the liver being inflamed. Many cirrhotic livers shrivel, causing no pain but not functioning and causing all sort of symptoms that you can feel if the disease is advanced enough. Cut yourself some slack and try to look after your body and mind. Even if you had end stage liver disease, it's certainly not the end of the road at all, especially if you've quit drinking. This group is full of people who thought they were going to die and who looked very ill who now look really healthy and are feeling fine. Positive thoughts from Berlin! X

[Hidden in reply to Eurotrash]

Thank you, thank you ! I needed this little support today. From the southern US.

[tinkabell3]

Hi.

Sorry to jump on your post.

I have compensated cirrhosis and am covered in bruising. Any little knock or even if I don't bump myself I wake up with a new bruise.

Is this something that's quite normal with cirrhosis?

Tinka x

[Hidden in reply to tinkabell3]

Hi Tinkabell3. I'm not sure about anything really. I haven't been diagnosed with liver disease yet and just trying to learn as much as I can. I believe it has a lot to do with your level of platelets and WBC.

[Eurotrash in reply to tinkabell3]

I'm not a doctor but I understand that there are two issues that might cause bruising when your liver is sick: the actual function that creates certain chemicals that help to stop bleeding and an enlarged spleen which 'sequestrates' platelets which are cells that help stop bleeding.

So it is a symptom. You might want to get your doctor to check your platelets. The bruising doesn't mean your cirrhosis is getting decompensated though so please don't worry too much.

I'd check with the doctor and I'd certainly watch out for any signs of unusual bleeding (vomiting blood, blood in stool, huge areas of the body with blood under the skin) Those do require immediate attention.