Liver: Im just curious and want to... - British Liver Trust

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Liver

jojo23pink profile image
23 Replies

Im just curious and want to educate myself a bit more on this topic. Has any got fibrosis or cirrhosis but still has a completely functioning liver and if ur liver is still completely functioning can u still have symtoms? I thought when the liver starts to malfunction then that is when u start with symptoms. Im just concerned cos of what my dumb doc said to me the other day he said if ur liver is still functioning normally then who cares what it looks like

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Mags72 profile image
Mags72

Not sure jojo23pink, I'm recently diagnosed with Cirrhosis and at my last liver appointment my liver was "compensated" doc said it's working healthy as it can in its damaged form. It's all very confusing sometimes 😣

jojo23pink profile image
jojo23pink in reply to Mags72

Do u hve symptoms? Really sorry x

Mags72 profile image
Mags72 in reply to jojo23pink

I don't really at the moment apart from slightly swollen ankles at times but nothing to complain about. I do take meds, Thiamine, water tablets and lactulose. I feel pretty healthy tho.

jojo23pink profile image
jojo23pink in reply to Mags72

Ok glad u dnt feel to bad. I suppose if u arent suffering then u can still enjoy ur life and crack on and lead a normal life as long as it dont get any worse?? How long did u drink for? X

Mags72 profile image
Mags72 in reply to jojo23pink

I had been drinking for best part of 10yrs, sometimes moderate drinking other times binge drinking but I drank every day. I was told 6yrs ago that I had fatty liver n to stop. Unfortunately I didn't take or understand the severity of my choices and I regret it every day. Yes I'm healthy just now and thankful for another chance at life. But I don't know what my future holds because of my bad choices. It's just crazy what we do to our bodies.

Mags72 profile image
Mags72 in reply to Mags72

I was very ill last year for ages n I refused to go to the docs until my family forced me. I was admitted to hospital straight away n after tests I was told I had Cirrhosis and was devastated, esp cos I had a chance to stop that happening 6yrs ago. When I went back to my doc recently she told me I looked like an end stage cancer patient when I first went to her.

jojo23pink profile image
jojo23pink in reply to Mags72

Drinkin everyday for 10 years isnt good and like u say u had the chance to reverse fatty liver 6years ago but still continued to drink and now cirrhosis im really very sorry. I also have the chance as i was told i have fatty liver in feb this year within the last 3month i have drank but not as much as i did b4 the diagnosis. I drank wed as it was my dads anniversary and was grieving bad but i am gonna put a stop to it atleast until liver heals and then moderate drinkin cos it was heavy drinkin that caused mine cos i did drink a lot!! Im really sorry about ur condition and hope u live a long and healthy happy life and grow old gracefully. If ur condition dnt get any worse then i really hope u can continue as normal i wish uall the best xx

Mags72 profile image
Mags72 in reply to jojo23pink

Thank you jojo23pink and the same to you on your journey.

Jojo, I am at a loss.

It's funny how you see the world. Here you are with suspected Fatty liver disease, (which you don't fully understand about), and then you go abusing the situation by drinking 15 units of alcohol in one sitting and the Doctor is the dumb one. A lot of people have already responded to you and offered advice and support, but you seem to want to turn a deaf ear to this, and carry on abusing your liver.

It's not only your liver that you risk damaging, the liver carries out and is responsible for carrying out over 500 different functions. As alcohol damages the liver these 500 different functions start to deteriorate and will start to effect other organs in the body. Everything passes through the liver. It's the bodies cleaning factory. It cleans the body and blood of harmful toxins, it works as part of the immune system to fight infection, it can alter the immune system which in turn can cause so many nasty side effects. It regulates the amount of sugar there is in the blood and stores any excess for later use.

The liver is a wondrous organ, it does all these things and puts up with so much abuse, but then forgives you for a lot of the damage you've caused. All without complaint.

People such as yourself often annoy me. Here you are with Liver disease, that has been caught at an early stage. But your not happy with this. You seem to want to have this condition on your own terms. For you alcohol is a no no. But your not going to take any notice, as the doctors are all dumb and the NHS is useless as they won't give you a fibroscan when you ask for it.

I'm sorry if you feel I'm being unkind here, but there are a lot of people who use this site who are genuinely worried and concerned about liver disease, and of their own conditions. I don't think they appreciate your cavalier attitude towards this disease.

Richard

davianne profile image
davianne in reply to

Well said Richard, like you I honestly don't know why jojo23pink is on this forum, when she rejects all the sound advice honestly given by people who have first hand knowledge of this life-threatening disease. Not to mention the thinly veiled conversational swearing. No need to send this to her, she will read it anyway!!!!

David

jojo23pink profile image
jojo23pink in reply to davianne

Yep i read it lol.

jojo23pink profile image
jojo23pink in reply to jojo23pink

Not rejected anything i am listening seems that many of u arent tho as i keep sayin i only drank the 15 units cos i was in a bad way grieving for my dad as it was his anniversary and im sik of sayin that ppl deal with grief and emotions differently!!!!! I am genuinly interested in other peoples conditions the way i answer and reply is the way i am. It doesnt mean i dnt care or dont listen!!!!

jojo23pink profile image
jojo23pink

Lovely cheers for that. Im askin questions cos i want to educate myself i already know about the liver and 500 functions and i do know about fatty liver disease. Im askin questions, i wouldnt exactly call it cavalier. Well u tell me if the doc is the dumb one i mean his words were" it doesnt matter what ur liver looks like or how bad its damaged as long as its working and functioning then who cares" basically doesnt matter if ur liver is severely damaged as long as it works. That what he means well yes i did want a fibroscan seen as blood tests alone arent reliable and an ultrasound dnr always pik up early scarrin etc . I think i have a right to know what my liver looks lke yes they said fatty liver but its based on an ultrasound reading which arent always reliable and accurate.

in reply to jojo23pink

Ok, I understand. I think there's a lot more going on with you Jojo than meets the eye. I think there's probably some underlying emotional factor that's at work here. May I ask where about's in the country you are please?

I ask this as the British Liver Trust have the "Love your Liver" campaign travelling around the country. There they are offering free liver Fibroscans. Have a look and see if they happen to be coming near to you, or even within travailing distance: britishlivertrust.org.uk/ou...

It may help, but I still believe you need to be honest and try and deal with this thing from your past. Behind every person who drinks alcohol lies a reason behind it. Have a look at my website. There a lot to take in, but believe me, you are not the first to have issues. But there's nothing that can't be made right. Good Luck: taep.co.uk

Richard

Febeli57 profile image
Febeli57

Hey yojo I'm just thinking here not a doctor but could you brain aneurysm maybe have something to do with your liver condition because I have mild fibrosis of the liver and my veins seems to be changing I have red eyes all the time and even down there you know what I mean there seems to be some little vein changing be going on it's hard to explain but I read that people with fatty liver or later nash as I have it seem to be prone for heart disease atherosclerosis and even stroke or heart attack I read that people with fattyliver (but only after 10 years or something )or nash are more likely to get heart complications but it's only a guess .my first symptoms lately were tiny red spots on my skin in arm area and head .

jojo23pink profile image
jojo23pink in reply to Febeli57

Sorry about all that but no my liver definately hasnt got anything to do with the brain aneurysm as i once had a liver scan in 2013 which was normal and they found the aneurysm in 2014 only since after my daughter was born in march 2017 that i started drinkin quite a lot. So in the past year which the drinkin i think has caused the fatty liver but its only in the past year and was found to have fatty liver feb this year the aneurysm was found in 2014 and 2.3mm so no defo nothing to do with that. Yes mild fibrosis mild scarrin which is prob why u have them problems very sorry and i do wish u all the best hope ur looking after yourself.

jojo23pink profile image
jojo23pink in reply to jojo23pink

The brain aneurysm is too small to cause any problems at all i defo think its the alcohol that has affected my liver. Or if you meant my liver has aomething to do with the aneurysm? The aneurysm was present b4 the fatty liver

The liver can be struggling for years before you have any symptoms. All I had by the time I was diagnosed with end stage liver disease were random nosebleeds that I'd been having since I was a child. I could also never gain enough muscle no matter how well I ate or how hard I trained. Turns out I had Hepatitis B and D which had been wreaking havoc on my liver. Add to that the odd drinks in my younger and more recent years, it was only a matter of time until it all came crashing down and I ended up needing a transplant at 33 years old. My consultant said I'd been developing cirrhosis for over 10 years but I believe it's been longer, 20 or more years.

Had I known about my hepatitis and/or liver damage sooner, the drinking would have stopped there and then, no ifs or buts about it. Not saying people shouldn't be drinking but if you're diagnosed with an underlying condition, having a drink should be out of the question at least until the liver has had a chance to recover.

jojo23pink profile image
jojo23pink

Struggling for years yep why wud mine struggle for years when i havent drank for years lol only in the past YEAR. I apprectiate ur reply thanks but i highly doubt u will have started developing cirrhosis at 13 luv lol unless its all caused by something other than alcohol. It was obviously the drinkin that caused it by doubt it been caused by odd drinks in ur younger years

in reply to jojo23pink

Yes it was the Hepatitis, I wasn't drinking at 13 😅

Drinking just made it worse, quicker.

jojo23pink profile image
jojo23pink in reply to

I know. And lol i thought u meant 13 as u thought u had developed it for 20 years and needed transplant at 33 so assumed started at 13 lol. Yes iv read reccurant bouts of hepatitis can caused scarring i hope ur gettin on with ur life the best u can and are living happy and healthy and wish u all the best xx

in reply to jojo23pink

That's what I meant, I must have had Hepatitis most of my life which has been causing liver damage for many years, hence the nosebleeds.

What I was trying to say is Hepatitis started developing cirrhosis then all the drinking for around 15 years didn't do me any favours but it's not what caused it. I'm certain if it weren't for the Hepatitis infection, it would have never got to that point.

All good now thank you, almost back to normal 👌. Had a little boy after the transplant which is great 😊 other than the times the little #### won't sleep 🤣.

Wishing you the very best too, look after yourself xx

jojo23pink profile image
jojo23pink

I wish u all the best tho i really do x

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