Questions

Hello, first post here, Hi to everyone!!! I received a Donor Liver in 2014, my illness was auto immune system hepititus, first diognosed 2001, as a lot of people I felt hard done by, went through lots of emotions but finally excepted that although overweight I had looked after my body, no smoking no alcohol, so why this?

My immune system was effectively destroying my liver and my liver was happy to help, not good at the best if times !!!!

I have asked the medical community why? Fair enough question I thought!! No one can give me a definite answer, the only theory I can come up with is, during the 70,s and 80,s I swam a lot in the River Itchen in Southampton, this River has three sewage works discharging at the time raw sewage into the River, what are your thoughts?

[AyrshireK]

With AIH sometimes you just have to accept you've been unlucky. Something at some point triggered your immune system to go into overdrive and attack your liver. My hubby has cirrhosis due to Auto-Immune Hepatitis which he never even knew he had until he presented with decompensated cirrhosis symptoms and almost died from a massive variceal bleed.

He at the time was 8.5 stone soaking wet on a 5ft 5 body, 28 inch waist (since forever), t-total, non-smoker, no drugs, no tattoos, no nothing that could indicate liver disease. He was a fit and active long distance walker covering many, many thousands of miles a year and worked hard in heavy engineering as a welder.

No one can tell us why he developed this condition - was it drinking from mountain streams?, a brush with a tick?, a period when he was on long term anti-biotics for acne?, was it chemicals he came into contact with at work?, was it stress when he was coping with his fathers slow deterioration into alzheimers/dementia. Some people know theirs was triggered by certain medications, possible links with glandular fever in childhood all sorts.

In hubbies case like you, no one can say. Hubby often looks at his life and asks why when he did everything right to look after his health. Nothing we can do about, just got to live life as presented.

I hope your post transplant life is going well, no sign of reemergence of AIH. Hubby was listed for t/p in 2014 but an improvement in his bloods took him out of qualifying criteria. So currently back at the watch and wait stage. His AIH is deemed burned out so it's just the cirrhosis and cirrhosis symptoms that we have to deal with now.

All the best, Katie