You may have seen my other posts and know that I recently had a series of tests to check my liver due to ongoing RUQ pain.
The last test was a fibroscan with a reading of about 6. I was initially pleased with this but have been reading info online that suggests the fibroscan score reduces when giving up alcohol.
I have been abstinent for 3 months so presume my score at the start of that period would have been 9+ indicating fibrosis or at worst cirrhosis.
Is my thought pattern correct please?
We're your liver function tests ever out of range indicating inflammation your other posts said they were always ok so your fibroscan would not have been affected i find it funny that so many people have been questioning this test if it was not at least somewhat reliable I doubt it would ever have been approved. I have also seen a couple of people reference one paper about scores falling from high levels down to near normal after abstanace but it's always the same paper im sure it's possible but you would have had LFT values way out of range. It's impossible to just guess you were above 9 to start with I would say your fine move on and enjoy life but I'm no doctor
Although in no way an expert I am sure you are reading too much. You have a score of 6 kPa NOW which is the most important thing. Whilst yes it might have been higher whilst you were drinking (and probably was) - ongoing inflammation can inflate kPa score. The fact you have now stopped and your score is a 6 is good. Stopping drinking and doing all you can to improve your liver will reduce inflammation, reverse any fat and or fibrosis and even in the early stages of cirrhosis prevent progression.
It seems all the test you've had have indicated your pain isn't liver related, don't go reading more and more and convincing yourself you have something that medics have clearly identified you haven't. Keep looking after your liver from now on, quit the booze altogether and give all your internal organs the good treatment they deserve. Alcohol after all doesn't only affect the liver but other organs too.
Katie
Thank you both for your replies - very helpful and I hope you are right.
I have had the clinic letters arrive today and they confirmed the fibroscan was in normal range although with a slightly higher score than I thought at 6.4. The consultant wrote that he is ‘confident and gave reassurance that it is unlikely I have significant fibrosis’
Naively I thought the fibroscan meant I had no fibrosis but having read some papers this evening anything up to F3 can be seen with a score of about 6.2 or above.
I am of course avoiding caffeine, alcohol, tablets, coffee, sugar, fatty foods etc and getting to the gym as many times a day as possible for the meantime until it becomes clearer as to what is causing the pain.
I'm not sure what you read but anything under 7 is normal or indicates possible F1 which is not significant fibrosis. Coffee is know to be good for the liver so if you enjoy it I wouldn't avoid it careful what u read again I'm not a Doctor so who really knows
Hi Boone - coffee makes the pain a lot worse so I am avoiding it. My worry is that my fibrosis score has reduced through abstinence and there is actually fibrosis
The Fibroscan Correlation chart produced by Fibroscan themselves shows that in all conditions covered (AIH and others arn't) the highest level of damage with a kPa of 7 is F1.
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Coffee is good for the liver, proven by medical research although they arn't quite sure of why.
Could the gym be causing your pain? Especially if you are really 'going at it'.
Eating healthier and all what you are doing are all beneficial to your liver even if it turns out its not that which is the issue.
Katie
Hi Katie - the pain started way before I was going hard at the gym but the Dr said it could be muscle related. I’m not sure. Do you know if too much sugar could make liver pain worse? I had some sweets and chocolate on Sunday as a little treat and Monday the pain was severe...
Have you been tested for irritable bowel syndrome? A sugar intolerance can trigger IBS leading to abdominal pain. What about your pancreas - has this been checked, again sugar (and alcohol) can trigger pancreas issues and as it sits right behind your liver is it potentially this rather than your liver which is causing issues. Obviously you've got something going on but potetnailly it isn't your liver, certainly none of you tests are indicating any major liver issue.
Katie
Hi Katie, I had an abdominal scan which included pancreas and the relevant blood tests and all came back ok.
I have suffered with IBS for 20 years but the pain is nothing like anything IBS related. Could that cause pain under the ribs and by the sternum?
Thanks again for taking the time to chat. Hopefully I can share some advice with you one day!
Hello I've had pain in my upper right side with bad liver results ,just had a fibro scan that was 6 and the letter that came back said curocisis stage 1 ,if that's any help to you ,i was told it could go back ward's with life style changes ,
Wow, I was under the impression that a 6 was normal. I wasn’t aware it is possible to have cirrhosis with a score that low.
Was the cirrhosis diagnoses made by the fibroscan?
I wouldn't be fretting this - it sounds like its one of those situations where doctors are interchanging the words fibrosis and cirrhosis - F1 / Stage 1 cirrhosis is most likely F1 Fibrosis which can certainly tally with scores of 6 on the Fibroscan Chart and is most certainly not full on cirrhosis which would be F4 / Stage 4 or end stage liver disease. Obviously when you are getting into F2, F3 (fibrosis) some people might describe that as early cirrhosis as it will most likely advance to that stage if the cause isn't treated or changes made which will halt progress and reverse damage.
Don't go fretting other peoples results - yours are looking positive as regards the liver.
Katie
Katie - I must say, you are a complete legend!
You always provide such a calm and balanced response and manage to offer such reassurance when needed.
Thank you for your replies - they mean a lot more than you can probably imagine.
Farranccc xx
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