Cirrhosis diagnosis

[Tt1000]

Hello,

I was diagnosed with cirrhosis about a month ago. I had been drinking heavily for several years.

I had a huge stomach one day and yellowish eyes. I went to my doctor and my enzymes and bilirubin were high. The ultrasound showed cirrhosis.

I stopped drinking about 5 weeks ago. The stomach went back to normal right away, but my jaundice has become worse..

My feces are light brown and sometimes green. My gums bleed a lot when I brush. My urine is usually light yellow or very clear, even when I don't drink a lot of water.. I do not know why..

The jaundice in my eyes is accompanied by red veins all over them.. I wish it would go away.. the doctor told me he wasnt concerned before the tests and that my eyes were normal. They have definently become more yellow over the past weeks...... I do have some energy loss, but I can still work normally.. I am only 26.

[Zappa61]

Hi might i suggest AA is Closed at the moment cause of this Virus, But you can get help from intherooms.com What does your Dr say , AA is there lots of info about heavy drinking, take care

[ThreeSmiles]

Hi Tt

Welcome to our lovely forum but such a shame you have had to come and join us. 😕

You are very young to have cirrhosis- but then again cirrhosis can inflict people of all ages and definitely not always through drinking.

Obviously we can’t give you advice on here but can recount our experiences and tell of some of the obvious things. There is wonderful information in the British Liver Trust guide documents which you can find in the “Links to our patient guides” identified on the right of this screen. Please go and explore them.

From my experience a swollen tummy doesn’t come and go it builds gradually and doesn’t go away just from stopping drinking. Also if I had had clear urine when I had cirrhosis I would have been overjoyed - mine was dark brown and “sticky” - yuk! Remember these are just my symptoms - we all can differ.

I am assuming you aren’t able to talk to your doctor easily but you must try even if just to allay your fears... I do hope you can - and soon.

Good luck

Miles

[Hidden]

Good morning,

I am sorry you find yourself in this situation, it must be very frightening for you.

As Threesmiles says, it is important that you speak to a doctor about how you are at the moment and also that you are able to access appropriate support.

With a diagnosis of cirrhosis you should have been referred to a liver specialist - it is important for you to be cared for by the right team and for you to understand how you are going to be followed up.

Please have a look on our website at the available publications, there are several which may prove useful:

britishlivertrust.org.uk/in...

regards

[mattymoo33]

Dear Tt1000. It must have been an awful shock for you. Well done for stopping alcohol. Now is the time to take control and focus on your wellbeing. Don't sit and worry, access all available help. Of course, take Trust advice and contact your GP.

We're all here for you.

Take care 😊

[sophiaS1980]

Sorry, you are very young, we are not doctors but did your doctor think you could possibly have alcohol hepatitis, which you could have with all the symptoms you mention, like someone told you a swollen belly doesn't just come and go . Stay off the alcohol and eat clean and if you need to loss weight, do so, but stay off the alcohol.

[Tt1000 in reply to sophiaS1980]

He thought that it was alcoholic hep. At first, but that was before the blood tests and ultrasound.. plus doesnt that usually clear up pretty quick..

[sophiaS1980 in reply to Tt1000]

Not necessarily depends on how you are taking care of yourself with diet and No alcohol, i think you said it has been 5 weeks, not enough time.

[davianne]

Hi Tt,

Welcome, and to our great forum. I'm sorry to hear of you diagnosis at such a young age, but youth is on your side, if you kick the drinking permanently, as you must have a low tolerance to it. A healthy diet and exercise will help also, but keep away from salt, as it's very bad for a damaged liver. The next step will probably be a fibroscan, which probably won't happen soon, due to the covid-19 virus. The fat tummy, as Miles says, doesn't usually go down from just stopping the booze.

Just ask away, and you will get plenty of help and support.

Take Care,

David

[Bootandall]

Good for you on quitting the drink! 👍😊 I hope social isolation made that easier. What with the bars all closed, maybe more people will be inspired to do the same.

Depends on the person re swollen tummy. If it was a beer gut, or pot belly, it would stand to reason that you could lose it in five weeks. l have heard beer called "liquid bread" because it has so many empty calories. Hopefully, you are eating healthy now, more veggies and no salt.

You could have popped blood vessels in your eyes due to increased portal blood pressure, which happens sometimes to heavy drinkers. But check with your doctor to be sure.

It is routine to be having an ultrasound every six months now and possibly an endoscopy to check for esophageal varices. Obviously not normal times, so who knows what they're going to do with all of us in the future.

Stay safe.

[Tt1000]

It was not beer but. I was swollen and couldn't move well, and it went away like 3 days after I quit... I am not overweight

[Bootandall]

Honestly I meant no disrespect, or to imply that you were not fit.

[Tt1000]

No, no. I was just saying. I am not fit at all haha.. just not fat either.

[tracyliz]

Hi Tt

Sorry you have been diagnosed with cirrhosis, your swollen stomach is most likely ascites but as other members have said, we are not Doctors and can only share our own experiences.so please don't substitute our answers for professional help.Having said that ,I have cirrhosis and at the time it was discovered, I also had ascites and then went onto have

esophageal varices. That was 7 years ago and it was a long road to recovery. I obviously haven't had a drink since as one could literally kill me.

I'm happy to answer any questions about what happened to me as it may help you if you like but please please, don't have a drink.

[Tt1000]

Was diagnosed march 12. Stomach has not gone back up at all. Only symptoms I have are occasional bloody boogers when I blow my nose in the morning, some spider veins (not the ones with the dot in the middle, just tiny visible veins) on the inside of my elbows and ankles, jaundice in my eyes, and feeling just generally kind of sick.

[Amethyst91 in reply to Tt1000]

Hello, I know this is an old post but I was wondering how things have been since?

I have some similar experiences to yours but not an official diagnosis yet. I’m only 28 and was a heavy drinker before May this year. Ultrasound picked up mild fatty liver and only enzymes that were elevated were bilirubin a bit. I’ve also had some periods of very clear urine even when I wasn’t hydrated. My whole right side of my body hurts and feels inflamed and it changes daily as to which specific part but the liver area always feels swollen. Were you able to get a fibroscan to follow up on your diagnosis?