Worried sick

Hi everyone,

I guess I'm writing this post to find some reassurance since i'm worried sick. Been a alcoholic for some years and got my life back on track for roughly 2 years. During the corona period I had a slip up and binged quite heavily for about 10 days. The last day I woke up with clay colored stools and mild pain in my abdomen. Stools returned to normal and the pain in under my ribs is almost completely gone now ( 2 months later). In the time of those 2 months I had 3 blood tests, echo, CT scan, endoscopy which came all back normal besides that I had a fatty liver ( diagnosed via CT scan). If it was up to my gp then I would have been given to all clear from my blood work the first time but I kept pushing for answers and booked an appointment with a hepatologist. She took me seriously and i'm so happy for that. She ordered blood and the only thing was low iron, rest was fine. Calculated my fib-4 score which was 0.40, is this quite accurate? But next week I have an elastography with echo and i'm completely terrified about the results and what to expect. Hopefully I haven't caused serious damage....

It's strange since i'm feeling quite good at the moment, almost no pain.

[Bootandall]

Hi Rens7,

Try not to worry, fatty liver is very common and may still be reversed, by clean diet and exercise, for example. It is my understanding that it is caused by metabolic changes due to central obesity in a lot of cases. A follow-up with a dietician is usually recommended.

I will admit to not being expert on the subject, but I do know this interesting tidbit. The liver doesn't have any pain receptors, it will hurt only if the liver is inflamed, swells up and stretches the capsule that surrounds it, so that even serious liver disease is practically painless.

That's why it's so important to assess the damage. The fibroscan will give you a baseline number and your goal will be to improve that over time (months and years, not days or weeks). Good luck!

[Hidden]

Hi and welcome Rens,

Please do see our patient guides for information on liver tests, alcohol and liver disease and fatty liver.

britishlivertrust.org.uk/in...

Hopefully you will find out more after your fibroscan and getting to talk to your liver team. We would also suggest to discuss ongoing support from alcohol services.

If you are in the UK you can always phone our nurse led helpline for a chat on 0800 652 7330 10am to 3pm Monday to Friday

Best wishes.

[Hidden]

Thank you for the support! It's been a emotional rollercoaster these last few weeks and I've been able to calm my mind to some extent the last few days but because i'm getting closer to the elastography my worry starts to increase again. I'm wondering what if all these scans have missed something and my liver is cirothic... Also I'm worried that my gp who I have to call initially to hear the results of the elastography won't really understand this fully since he's been very dismissive from the getgo. If I'm right it's a different scale as they use with fibroscan? It takes 4 months till I have a new hep appointment so I hope it won't be 4 months in the dark about the state of things. Any input would be much appreciated.

[CocoChannel]

I also wonder about the standard GP tests which measure ALT, AST and GGT. Mine were always normal despite the fact I drank at least 50 units a week and, as I later learned, had a fatty liver.

If you have a fatty liver and it’s definitely from alcohol and not other reasons, then that’s good and bad news. If you stop drinking (as I did), it should clear up in a few months. However, it should be taken as a serious warning.

I’m curious, though. If I read correctly, the fatty liver was really caused by a 10-day binge after two years of no alcohol?

[Hidden in reply to CocoChannel]

Well, not exactly. It might be like 14 days give or take, heavy drinking. But when I quit last time 2 years ago I had a similar experience, no ruq pains but I had light stools for a day after I stopped, I knew it was not ok but didn't really look into it further. It worries me quite a bit since I fear I do have damage to my liver, hopefully fixable.... I'm in a constant battle telling myself to look at the facts at this moment with all the tests as they are, but some parts is convinced it will be bad news.

[CocoChannel in reply to Hidden]

You’re doing all you can, and as you say the results so far are looking good. Sorry to hear you drank again after 2 years. I’m 18 months booze free, and it shows we’re all susceptible to a relapse whatever anyone may say.