Coarse liver on ultrasound - scared to death

[saldee]

Hi I'm new here & new to the idea that I might have liver disease. I had blood test prior to going on a station which showed raised ALT at 80 - everything else was ok. I booked myself an Ultrasound which showed coarse echotexture - no fatty liver & all else was ok. I've been googling and have terrified myself - it seems that all the signs point to cirrhosis..... Scared to death to think about this completely out of the blue...

[Carebourn]

Hi Saldee. Firstly in does not mean you definitely have Cirhorris. Secondly even if you have all is not lost. I was diagnosed with Cirhorris 15% total scarring. That was back in 2011. Giving up alcohol and changing my life to a reasonable healthy lifestyle ( love chocolate and ice cream) I totally reversed my initial damage. My scars will never go but the rest of my liver completely recovered and I now have liver function better than average for a sixty two year old male. Good luck.

[saldee in reply to Carebourn]

Thank you Carebourn, I am pleased to hear you recovered so well - that's great to hear. I don't drink and live a boring life (at 56) - eat well and am not overweight - this has really shocked me & all the Googling has made it worse .... It seems like 'coarse liver is a death sentence from the info out there 😓 thank you so much for taking time to reply - I think I'm so shocked & just imagining the very worst outcome at the moment. (I also love chocolate & ice cream !) (PS my autospell keeps writing coarse lover ! 😱)

[Hidden in reply to saldee]

Course liver is subjective to the person reading the ultrasound. Do you have other tests to compare to? I had a course echo on ultrasound and the specialist I saw was unconcerned I had a fibroscan that was normal so it's definitely not conclusive. I drank a lot and have given that up now your bloods indicate some inflammation so that needs looking into but try not to worry

Truly

Boone

[saldee in reply to Hidden]

Thank you Boone.i had a 'normal' ultrasound about 4 years ago & my ALT levels were normal in Oct 2018 - that's the only comparison I have. The radiographer has also written 'smooth in outline & no masses or lesions which I know is good but she also wrote 'liver disease' .....it is a bit of a relief to hear that your specialist didn't seem over concerned about your coarse liver - all the info I read seems to point to the opposite - sorry I'm trying to be rational but this is completely unexpected - thanks so so much for your reply - much appreciated.

[Hidden in reply to saldee]

I understand it's worrying getting any result that's not completely normal but I find that looking anything up on the Internet can cause more anxiety. Has your doctor talk to you about the ultrasound my family doctor told me my result was normal I only saw the course comment when I requsted the report looking back I wish I would have just listened to my doctor as I spent months worrying and searching the Internet for answers. All I can say is be aware of it and try to eat healthy and exercise its sounds as if you already do this so that's great.

Truly

Boone

[saldee in reply to Hidden]

Thanks Boone, yep I do look after myself (not eating or sleeping much at the moment tho !) I have a phone call booked with my GP for tomorrow but just feel so scared. Thanks so much for your response - it really does help ! Google seems to say that coarse liver is sooo bad so it's good to hear another version. Thanks again and I hope you are well.

[VeeWat in reply to Carebourn]

Which test indicated 15% scarring?

[Hidden]

Saldee,

Welcome to the forum, as useful place for support and shared experience.

If you google anything, my suggestion would be to use NHS sites, they are reliable and trusted.

There is also the Liver Trust and they have a helpline, details can be found britishlivertrust.org.uk/

I suggest that you discuss the test results with your GP, a good start.

Good luck,

Mark

[saldee in reply to Hidden]

Thank you Mark. I have a GP telephone call booked for tomorrow. The posts on here have been helpful - I never even thought about my liver until this. It's scared me to death.

[Hidden in reply to saldee]

Hopefully your GP will give you the answers, they will have your medical records. Gives them an advantage over Dr Google.

As Boone said, look after yourself and be healthy.

Best of luck with the GP call.

Mark.

[Hidden]

Anything related to the liver on Google brings up the worst " cirrhosis" . Dont Google your symptoms. As Boone said the coarse echotexture is not conclusive. It can show up on ultrasound in patients with and without cirrhosis.

[saldee in reply to Hidden]

Thanks Phoenix I appreciate everyone's common sense answers - just spoke to my practice nurse who said 'you don't have liver cancer it might just be a 'bit' of cirrhosis' .... Trying to stay calm !!! Thanks so much the reasurances are helping.....

[Hidden in reply to saldee]

A "bit of cirrhosis". " oh gee thanks nurse " 🙄lol

.

I'm.going to assume she means " bit of fibrosis". Unfortunately some people still use the word cirrhosis to describe any level of fibrosis. ( INCLUDING the internet). It's not correct to do that as cirrhosis is only coined to describe a very severe degree of fibrosis. Even that being said there are alot of talk about getting rid of the word cirrhosis in general because it can take on so many different levels and degrees and affect people so vastly different that one all encompassing word is really not appropriate any more.

[saldee in reply to Hidden]

Thank you Phoenix - I think she thought she was being positive ! & Thanks for highlighting the difference between fibrosis & cirrhosis - I'm trying to make sense of the 'terms' - can't work out if coarse liver is another term for fibrosis - part of me wants to stop reading but I need to know what's happening to me - thanks again, much appreciated...

[Hidden]

No course echotexture is not another word for fibrosis. It just means that on ultrasound the liver surface doesnt appear smooth.

[VeeWat]

Hope all went well.

[Cnkyn]

Hope you are well! Are there any updates?

[qwej]

What ended up happening? I have this same diagnosis on my ultrasound and I’m freaking out.