Just Be Diagnose Cirrhosis of the liver - British Liver Trust

British Liver Trust

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Just Be Diagnose Cirrhosis of the liver

taylor50plus profile image
33 Replies

Hi,

Bit worrying, I have just been diagnose with Cirrhosis, been told by the hospital that i will be injected everyday to protect from further damage, best off all, I only drink a few beers a week, I do have a vitamin B3 issue, whereas I do not make it, plus type 2 diabetes, my world has fell apart now, I have had not drink since being diagnose, i am scared to eat, drink now.

Regards

Rob

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33 Replies
TT-2018 profile image
TT-2018

Hello,

Welcome to the forum, you will find lots of help and advice here from people in similar circumstances.

I was diagnosed with cirrhosis and it was a huge shock and I found it difficult to absorb.

The liver is a remarkable thing and needs love and care. Have you been told at what stage of cirrhosis you have? If you are compensated then you can make progress in improving your health, even if you are decompensated you need to take really good care of yourself.

Please listen to everything that your doctors tell you and hopefully you have someone close to share the situation, it is a huge help to have support around you.

You need to keep eating and drinking, remain abstinent from alcohol and try and exercise to keep your strength.

Follow all the advice given to you and excellent information can be found on the Trust site:-

britishlivertrust.org.uk/

Please let us know how you are getting on, someone should be able to answer your questions.

Best wishes,

Mark.

taylor50plus profile image
taylor50plus in reply toTT-2018

Thanks Mark, I am in for scan on 4th July, so hopefully things will come to light soon, i keep you posted, at the doctors next week to discuss the needle thing, although i think this is to do with the Diabetes as well as liver

TT-2018 profile image
TT-2018 in reply totaylor50plus

It’s probably a good idea to discuss the diet when you are at the doctors next week, I would have thought that cirrhosis and diabetes follow a very similar diet regime. Here is the Liver advice:-

britishlivertrust.org.uk/li...

Good luck with the scan.

Mark.

Hi Rob. Please dont stop eating because you are scared. Its important to eat healthily which means plenty of fresh fruit and veg, leans meats including chicken also fresh fish, unsalted nuts and seeds. Avoid high fat food and added sugar and salt.

Adopting a healthy lifestyle, diet, plenty of fresh air and exercise and avoiding drinking alcohol at all costs will prevent more damage being done to your liver more than anything, so well done for giving that up. Drink tea and coffee without adding sugar, and plenty of water to help flush toxins from your body. All of this can actually cure type 2 diabetes over time.

If you can start this straight away, you won't need to be scared to eat because you know you are now putting good foods into your body.

I wish you luck as you work towards a healthier you.

I'm sure there will be plenty of great advice and support here soon to help you along the way

Best wishes Laura

taylor50plus profile image
taylor50plus in reply to

Thanks Laura

chrismary profile image
chrismary in reply totaylor50plus

Hi Taylor, I was diagnosed with cirrhosis ten years ago when auto immune hepatitis and coeliac disease was also diagnosed. I have been teetotal all my life so was very shocked to get the news. My doc said I had extensive cirrhosis, no one has ever told me how bad/good that is but I keep relatively well, still on maintenance dose of steroids. I am also prediabetic and have been advised to look at the Keto diet. Hope your scan goes ok, presumably you have had liver biopsy for the diagnoses.

taylor50plus profile image
taylor50plus in reply tochrismary

Yes, 5 weeks ago, got the result last Wednesday, in for a scan on 4th July

Bootandall profile image
Bootandall

Hi Rob, I have cirrhosis from having Hepatitis C for so many years, when I finally got that treated, I was diagnosed. I have since learned I also have a fatty liver. Advised to lose weight using the DASH diet, no luck with that yet but I feel loads better. Welcome to the forum, lots of great people here, you're in good hands

taylor50plus profile image
taylor50plus in reply toBootandall

Thanks

Hi Rob, and welcome. Being diagnosed with cirrhosis can come as a bit of a shock for some. The liver is one of those organs that some people don't even know where it is. You'll now most likely be wanting to know a lot more about this fantastic organ. No doubt your doctor will be calling up for more tests to be carried out, so as to identify the cause of this liver damage. This is often done by ruling out what it's not, by a process of elimination.

The liver is responsible for carrying out over 500 different functions. One of those is to make sure that the body has enough glucose. The CRTC2 switch gene monitors the amount of sugar within the body at any one time. It is believed that the insulin that is produced by the pancreas is what tells the liver to stop dumping this sugar. Sometime if the liver has become damaged as in the case of cirrhosis, this signal can't get through to the liver, so the liver continues to dump more sugar into the system. This then means that the liver is now insulin resistant. It is this that is most likely causing your type-2 diabetes. Insulin injections might have to be used for a while until the liver can become more stable and then hopefully you'll be switch over to oral medication.

A lot of people automatically assume that type-2 diabetes is due to the pancreas not producing enough insulin, but it is most likely a liver issue in your case. This is what happened to me.

I hope this helps to explain.

Bootandall profile image
Bootandall in reply to

Fantastic Richard! I would never have known all that, thank you very much for the detailed explanation.

taylor50plus profile image
taylor50plus in reply to

Thanks Richard, I am hoping not feeling as tired when these injections start

Marydel63 profile image
Marydel63

Sorry to hear this Rob. One thing at your next appointment ask if you can record the appointment. I find it helpful to go back and listen because I get so stressed I can’t remember anything.

Hi

Sorry to hear this. I can't really add anything else but I wish all the best as you continue forward on your healthy diet etc. Take care Lynne

alfredthegreat profile image
alfredthegreat

Hi Rob, You've already received lots of good advice. I would just like to add that I had diabetes type 2 for over 20 years ( I had cirrhosis and HCC and am now happily 9 months post transplant). Through healthy eating and drinking plenty of water and losing some weight I am now in remission from diabetes. Healthy living really does pay dividends. Best wishes Alf

Isabelle2 profile image
Isabelle2 in reply toalfredthegreat

Wow well done Alfred!

alfredthegreat profile image
alfredthegreat in reply toIsabelle2

Thanks Isabelle :-)

in reply toalfredthegreat

Hi Alf

Just read your reply to Rob, excellent news on remission of the diabetes ! Feel proud of your achievements!

Trish

alfredthegreat profile image
alfredthegreat in reply to

Thanks Trish. I was at liver clinic yesterday and my new liver is doing really well. I am to be weaned off Azathioprine Immunosuppressant over the next six months and so by Christmas I should only be on 3mg of Tac a day. All that, plus I have reached (going downwards of course!) my ideal weight. Not bad for a man who became known locally as Lazarus 9 months ago! :-) :-) :-)

in reply toalfredthegreat

Alf

Brilliant news all round then my friend 😁 !!! I bet your starting to feel like a new man too with some kind of target or ambition ahead to look forward to!

Well done my friend plus I'm seriously proud of you!

Trish

in reply toalfredthegreat

Hi bigfred

I have been a type 2 diabetic for about or maybe a little longer than you - beat you at something at last 😀 - and have just been on an NHS Xpert diabetes course - 15 hours over 6 weeks. A lot of the dietary information we have been given for the last 30 odd years has now been proven wrong and new advice is now offered. This is slowly being rolled out across the country. Even the course presenters admit that there are many medical professionals who are not up to speed with the new thinking. So please be wary of previous advice like avoid fat, sugar etc, because that advice is outmoded. I cannot possibly begin to say what dietary advice to follow on such a short message as this on here! If you have Type 2 diabetes ask your doctor to refer you onto the course - I’ll post the exact title shortly!

So well done Freddy for getting where you have and Taylor I wish you all the best as well 👍

Miles

alfredthegreat profile image
alfredthegreat in reply to

Thanks Millipop. Yes there have been quite big changes as regarding the consumption of fat etc. Nice one for pointing that out :-) Alf

Isabelle2 profile image
Isabelle2

Hello and welcome

Please eat a little of everything and drink lots of water, tea etc. Don’t feel hungry. When you have your results you will know more but for the mean time please just maintain a healthy diet.

All the best

Isabelle

Great photo

Katiesgran profile image
Katiesgran

Hi hope you are finding this forum helpful. It is a huge shock to get this diagnosis and takes time to take it in but there’s loads of support here. Also join Diabetes.co.UK website and look at their LCHF diet, loads of info and practical advice to help you keep your diabetes in check. This will also help with fatty liver. Good luck, we’re all on the same journey even if caused by different things and so we all understand just how you feel.

taylor50plus profile image
taylor50plus in reply toKatiesgran

People are really nice on here, work is very supportive

Willh0 profile image
Willh0

Hi Taylor,

Over the next few days, weeks your going to be bombarded with information about this and that, some of it may sound as if they conflict with each other but when it’s all laid out for you you’ll see the bigger picture. I’ve been type 2 for over 10 years, stopped drinking, would liked to have said by choice but was TOLD drink=not being here much longer. That was nearly 3 years ago. I had a transplant 6 months ago and now just recovering. It’s a very scary and worrying time. Can I eat this, that’s too much sugar, you’ll become obsessed for a bit but you’ll get into a routine and it’ll become second nature very quickly. It’s not all doom and gloom. Everyone you meet will want to help. If someone offers you help, take it. If you don’t understand any part of it then ask them to backup and go ever it again until you’ve got your head round it. Just ask, ask, and ask again if your unsure.

Oh don’t google or YouTube things. They will always have worst case scenarios and make you feel worse. These are hundreds of people on here that have went through what your going through. So if you are worried just ask away on here.

Final thing listen to the doctors, Some of the things might sound strange but they are the people that have been treating this disease for so long.

Try not to worry, wait till the scans, tests all come back and set up a plan of what your going to do and try and stick to it. The NHS have been wonderful with me and most people will back me up on that. The main thing is to try and be positive. Bad test or something, can I fix it?? If you do this you should be able to, you do it and it gets better. Taylor 1 illness 0. Then onto the next round.

I hope everything goes OK at the start of July. Fingers crossed and let us know how your getting on.

Speak to you soon.

Will

taylor50plus profile image
taylor50plus in reply toWillh0

Thanks Will

in reply toWillh0

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Hi Rob

I too want to say welcome ! By now you should have figured out y the various support you already received that everyone on this forum are here to help one and other !

I cannot add anything else as others have already sent you excellent replies!

Take care and note that everyone's here to help you through this !

All the best

Trish

in reply to

Just by saying that alone Trish can make all the difference. It shows you care, and that always helps a hell of a lot. So, well done you.

in reply to

Cheers Richard! I try my best!

Regards Trish

taylor50plus profile image
taylor50plus in reply to

Thanks Trish

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