AIH & High Cholesterol?

[KatyPlym]

Hi, I’m new here, I’m Kate & I’m 57.

I had Hep A aged 12, and then aged 28 just before I had my daughter I had sever pain & jaundice which disappeared when she was born. When she was 8 months the symptoms returned but more seriously & I was hospitalised for 3 months during which I learned my liver was failing fast. I recall doctors being at a loss to diagnose but they gave a lot of medication, something must have worked because I slowly recovered. In January 2007 I became seriously ill again and was diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis, treated successfully with prednisalone & later with methotrexate which I still take.

Now I have developed high blood pressure (controlled by meds) and today I am told I have high cholesterol.

I’m really worried about the high cholesterol as I eat quite healthily. Please does anyone know if I am worrying unnecessarily, or is this an indication that the AIH might be becoming active again?

Any advice would be really welcome, thank you!

[Hidden]

Hi Katy, I'm afraid I can't really understand what is going on with the AIH. If you were diagnosed with it, then in most instances, you would be treated for it lifelong. It is rare for people to come off medication. From looking at the AIH files on our Facebook page, methotrexate is not used to treat AIH that commonly, so there is little information about it. All I could find is that it causes side effects (as they all do) but doesn't state what.

The only way to determine whether you are having a flare, is to get bloods done. I am pretty sure there is a link between the liver not working as well and cholesterol being affected, but I'm afraid I don't actually know. I think the best line of attack is to ask your GP. After all, how high is high? Did they give you any advice on diet?

Sorry I can't be of any use, but I think you GP or consultant is best placed to answer your questions.

Good luck