Fibroscan tomorrow

[youngandworried]

Hello,

I've got my fibroscan tomorrow - arranged due to raised ALT's, bright fatty liver on echo and upper right quadrant pain. Thought to be non alcoholic as I'm 24, a little overweight and I'm not an alcoholic.

However, yesterday I attended a family do and consumed some alcohol. Nothing excessive, maybe 4-5 pints. I've only read this morning that drinking alcohol in the week prior to the scan can overestimate liver damage on a fibroscan. When the appointment was booked a couple weeks ago I wasn't told to abstain from alcohol, just not to eat or drink 4 hours before the test.

By how much can drinking alcohol in the days before affect it?

thanks

[Laura009]

Why are you STILL drinking when you have been diagnosed with fatty liver? Never mind how it can affect your test you need to be thinking about how it's affecting your liver

[youngandworried in reply to Laura009]

I've cut down massively. I was drinking around 20-25 units a week. In the last month yesterday is the only day I've consumed alcohol.

[Laura009 in reply to youngandworried]

Well thats a start but nothing will improve til you quit completely

[Dyffrynaur in reply to Laura009]

Hi Laura009. I’m sure your advice about drinking alcohol is meant for the best but I have noticed before you can be very judgemental with people over drinking. When I was diagnosed with PBC and had my fibroscan the liver nurse specialists said it’s ok to have an occasional drink and so has my consultant. Please try to be a little more kind to people

[Laura009 in reply to Dyffrynaur]

Thankyou for your observation. I am passionate when people who have been diagnosed with a liver condition but continue to drink and wonder why their symptoms persist. Like my husband it will cause premature death and l won't sugar coat it.

[Richard-Allen in reply to Laura009]

You carry on and tell it the way it is Laura, we've both seen the damage it can do.

[Laura009 in reply to Richard-Allen]

Thankyou Richard and l intend to. It's not just about the illnesses drinking and poor diet cause, it's the burden and worry it causes to the close family and the huge cost to the NHS . The waiting times for scans, referrals and treatment will be for ever lengthening if folk don't take better care of themselves while young. How many people have we seen die and heard from devasted family members in the last few years we have been on here? "Been diagnosed with fatty liver but it's ok to carry on drinking !" Good luck with that 1 !!

Xxx

[TT-2018 in reply to Laura009]

It still amazes me that you have neither a health warning or any nutritional information on alcohol products. All food and non alcoholic drink products carry nutritional information and the amount of calories. The health consequences of smoking are well publicised. Why is it taking so long, to get this basic information on alcohol????

[Laura009 in reply to TT-2018]

It's baffling. It has to be to generate revenue to pay the doctors having to treat patients with all the alcohol related symtoms and illnesses. 10 years ago it cost £21000 for my husband to be treated in ICU for 10 days. Never mind the 4 years of drugs he was previously prescribed. l dread to think what it would all cost today.

[Ironontheup in reply to TT-2018]

If they called it by its true chemical name i,m sure it would concentrate minds and reduce consumption, "Ethanol"...!!!

[FlyingArrow]

Hi Youngandworried

I just wanted to wish you 'Good Luck'for today and try not worry as fibroscans are a simple procedure. What you have to remember here is, your very young and you have years ahead to slowly change your life style bit by bit as you know in yourself its the right thing to do!

Whatever your results highlight these you can improve buy eating healthy and keeping fit which many young people like yourself have done.

Please don't knock yourself because you've had one bad day as we all have those now and then! Remember its not just alcohol that damagerous too the liver, fatty foods and some long term medications can do the same damage.

Now go and have that fibroscan which only takes a few minutes then go and do something nice with the rest of your day!

Take care young friend and be kind to yourself!

Love FlyingArrow x

[Peppy05 in reply to FlyingArrow]

Well said FlyingArrow

[worriedcats]

I have the same coming up

I don't drink at all now

Other factors can be involved as said above including beingnover weight

Have same fatty liver found for a scan i have for gallbladder polyps

It was quite a wait with covid

Couple of months I think just for gastro specialist then done over the phone

I have to have a fibroscan

Then possibly liver biopsy they've said

Told to have a week off work after liver biopsy ?

Is it that painful?

[Dyffrynaur]

Try not to worry. I don’t know how alcohol affects a fibroscan but the specialist nurses who did mine said it was ok to have an occasional drink. I have PBC so it might be different for you but they did mention a slightly fatty liver on my scan and advice was given afterwards when they knew the result. Consultant also said occasional alcohol ok

[FlyingArrow in reply to Dyffrynaur]

Hi Dyffrynaur

I'm almost T total re alcohol, but my hepatologiest did say its OK to have the odd alcoholic drink now and then which I do have once a month maybe as a treat! My hepatologiest does not condem alcohol if drank sensibly as a treat.

My 1st husband was an alcoholic and unfortunately also died well before his time even with loads of support! However, whats that saying, you cannot drag a dog to water which we all know and my 1st husband decided not to take that sip!

I'm here to support the concerned and scared when possible, like yourself! I'm not here to preach the do's and don't because I'm not perfect as I break my own rules! A 'Magnum' here, A Cake there which are fatty foods and not good for my liver but hey ho, its my decision!

Anyway at the end of the day I want to be here too support 'YoungandWorried' with kindness then the next steps up to him!

🏹x

[Laura009 in reply to FlyingArrow]

The saying is ... you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink

[FlyingArrow in reply to Laura009]

Lol! At least it had four legs!

[Laura009 in reply to FlyingArrow]

👍

[rilrilu]

Make sure that your specialist takes in account the space between your ribs. I had a very bad fibroscan results because nobody paid attention that the space between my ribs is very small and there is a hard tissue between them.

[jbrking]

I was diagnosed with NAFLD when I was 38. I hardly drank and wasn’t overweight. I’m 52 now and my levels have been stable since on meds and scans show no further damage like stiffening. I have gallstones now too and a condition called bile acid malabsorption. I have to stick to a low fat diet. There’s no reason if you keep fit and healthy that you will get worse, try not to drink, and eat well, exercise etc. Good luck today x

[SevereFattyLiver in reply to jbrking]

What medication do you take?

[jbrking in reply to SevereFattyLiver]

I have atorvastatin - a statin and surpralip which is a feno fibrate. My whole lipid profile was high ALT, triglycerides, gamma gt and cholesterol when originally found. Now they’re all about double what they should be but that’s my stable and have been like that for many years now. Have regular scans and all been ok - eg not got worse.

[FlyingArrow]

Its now 16.07pm on Monday! Hope your scan went well and your/or, now having a lovely sunny afternoon doing something you like to do!

Now relax 🏹

[damage1_1]

Sorry to everyone who thinks it's fine to drink any alcohol when they have liver issues. Just think about what you are doing to your body by adding toxins like alcohol? Never going to be a good thing especially with any sort of liver disease.

Trouble with the liver is that by the time you are in pain or having serious issues . Its probably too late.

I believe I was told that the liver has no pain receptors, so any pain attributed will be to other organs etc.

I was never a big drinker but the minute I was diagnosed and out of hospital I've not had an alcoholic drink (cos I couldn't put myself through that again).

[Laura009 in reply to damage1_1]

Very well said