I'm new here.

I have cirrhosis and fibromyalgia. I started out with fatty liver, which progressed to "well established cirrhosis". Chances are, the meds for fibro are also a factor in my liver damage. At this point, I'm not doing any treatment, but will be having another biopsy within a few months and we'll see how I'm doing then. Funny thing about the liver...as it repairs itself with fibers (bridging), it's also destroying itself with the fibers by making it stiff and less functional. Right now, it's just wait and see for me.

[Hidden]

May I ask please, do you happen to know the cause of your cirrhosis? And what the results of your first liver biopsy was? Normally a biopsy is carried out in order to diagnose the cause. I would have thought that once the cause was known, then another biopsy wouldn't be necessary. Are you by chance living in the UK?

Once the liver becomes cirrhotic, it no longer has the capacity to repair its self. It would be hard to recommend the best cause of treatment without knowing what was causing the damage in the first place. I think in your particular case, more information is required.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

(The wording of this response has now been removed by the administrators)

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

My name is Cindy and I'm frightened, probably just like others with these problems. I started out with a fatty liver, which was discovered about 10 years ago when I had my gall bladder out. At that point, I was stage 2. I'm now stage 4, according to the report from my biopsy last year. I am on meds for fibromyalgia and depression that are also affecting my liver. I'm not in the UK, but the US.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Wow! I didn't think the purpose of this forum is to be condescending, she is new to this site and scared like others maybe like you at one point.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Thank you.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Why? That’s it I’m definitely out of here to get away from these administrators. Bye all.

[GrandmaDylan in reply to Hidden]

Are you on the naughty step again Miles? 😂 Deb

[Hidden in reply to GrandmaDylan]

Yes Debs and I’m definitely off for good this time. I think we have one or two admin who are power crazy. They’ll delete this post just watch.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Dear Hidden

There is a fine balance between letting people have their say and the Trust jumping in and moderating content. We do our best to ensure that threads are within the guidelines for the use of the forum, show respect for others opinions and are in the spirit of supporting and learning from others.

If we receive complaints about a post or comment then we always review it and take action if we feel it necessary.

We are sorry that you feel the forum is no longer for you but if you ever decide to return then you will always be welcome.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

No thanks. I thought carefully about what I wrote and, in my opinion, it was within the spirit of the guidelines

How do I unsubscribe to this forum please?

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Hidden

1. Click on your profile picture on the top menu and select "Settings".

2. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the "I want to close my account" button

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[Yokoohno]

I have a fatty liver. How long until it gets bad?

I'm on strict diet and chemical free!!

[Hidden in reply to Yokoohno]

Fatty Liver can be dangerous if not treated and looked after. However, if you can identify what's causing your liver to become damaged, then you can take steps to prevent any further damage. There are a number of different causes but most often or not it's due to lifestyle. How much alcohol you drink, the types of food, etc. Other medical conditions like Diabetes can have a impact, also if your bodies immune system maybe the cause.

The good news is that the liver is a very forgiving organ and can repair it's self if at the fatty liver stage. However, some scaring will occur. If the damage was to continue, it will the progress to the liver fibrosis stage, this is where scaring continues to form.

If you were to cut your finger, the first thing we do is to stop the knife from causing further damage, then we treat the wound. After a few weeks, the skin is regrown and all is well, however there may be a scar. The same could be said for the liver. Identify the cause first. The liver doesn't need any help in recovering so don't go taking any supplements or looking for magic cures. It just needs about 3-months to repair any damage. Remember, there will be a scar after this damage has been repaired so please don't go back to doing the same damage again. While the liver is very forgiving, it can after all only take so much punishment before serious, irreversible damage like Fibrosis or Cirrhosis is caused.

I hope this helps? Good Luck.

[Nico89]

Hi, I'm sorry to hear this. My mum also has fibromyalgia and NAFLD, I wonder if it might be worth you investigating a gluten free diet- my mum noticed she was getting an upset tum so did a food diary and then eliminated gluten and wheat (despite coeliac blood test being negative) and for the first time in 20 years her liver function test has come back 'normal'... It's blown our minds!

The docs have also picked up high enzymes for me and sent me for an ultrasound and now an MRI so I'm following a gluten free diet now too, since starting my liver function has improved but not totally 'normal' yet. The more research I do into this the more obvious it is that we have some form of seronegative coeliac disease but apparently they won't perform an endoscopy because of NHS cuts-( I'm sure repeated ultrasounds, MRIs and blood tests and ultimately more treatment after the liver deteriorates would be an awful lot more expensive in the long run but hey ho!) Thankfully I'm studying at university so have access to all the medical literature and could research the issue myself, I feel like prevention is better than cure but that's not really the model medical systems were built on.

Just something to bare in mind as all of this has been a real eye-opener for me on how something seemingly innocent and a dietary staple can damage the body, and how little awareness there is of this in the medical community- then again there isn't much money to be made from a prescription for a gluten-free diet!

Best of luck for the future,

Nic

[Hidden]

It doesnt always repair itself with "fibers" . This is why some people get cirrhosis and some dont. Hepatocytes are involved in the normal repair of the liver. Stellate cells that are activated repair the liver with collagen and form scar tissues.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Thank you. There is so much I don't know. I listen to the doctor and really don't do any research on my own.

[Hidden]

It's ok. None of us new a spit about liver disease until we got it. So we were all newbies at some point. The amount of information is seemingly neverending so never feel bad for not knowing. I feel relatively well versed but I learn something new everyday and it can be exhausting. Definitely doctors can be cryptic especially when they dont know the answer or have the knowledge. They can be quite hubristic that way. But to explain further there are many reasons why the liver gets bandaids of fiberous tissue all over it but one of the main ones is the formation of scar tissue from what are known as Hepatic stellate cells. These cells float around not really doing much until they become " activated" . Once this happens they rush to the site of injury in the liver and quickly try and repair it using collagen. Problem is that they are much like first responders to a car crash in that they care about closing up the wound and less about the cosmetics of it all. Leaving behind scars and subsequent tissue that becomes useless. When a person drinks alcohol for example at a party the liver does infact suffer some damage. But in a healthy liver hepatocytes repair the damage with out scars and the liver is all good to go again. But over time some people's bodies will activate those stellate cells instead and they do what I explained. One of the mysteries of liver disease is this: noone knows why the stellate cells become activated in some people and not in others. This is one of the biggest reasons why only some people get cirrhosis. It's so true in fact that some of the big developments going on right now in stopping cirrhosis progression is by coming up with inhibitors that will stop the activation of these stellate cells and also cause them to literally commit cell suicide. A process known as apoptsy. Hope this helps a little in understanding

[Marydel63]

Hi just reading your posts, I also have cirrhosis from fatty liver. When were you diagnosed? Also do you get MRI’s of your liver every 6 months?

[Hidden]

I was diagnosed about a year ago. I've had a fatty liver for quite a while. When I had my gallbladder out, the surgeon decided to do a liver biopsy. At that time, they said I was stage 2 liver disease. As they watched my enzymes go up and down, they decided in December of 2017 to do another. They discovered then that it had progressed to cirrhosis with portal hypertension and no varices. (if I'm describing this backwards, somebody please correct me)

I only had one US and never an MRI. I'm due for more testing, and just mentioned it to my doctor.

Best of luck to you.

Cindy

[Marydel63 in reply to Hidden]

I know here in the US, I have a MRI every six months to monitor for liver cancer as people with cirrhosis have a higher chance of getting Liver Cancer. So I would think you would have MRI every 6 with bliod work