Fatty liver and nosebleeds

[sulamaye]

Hi, i have had m.e for 9 years and the only thing wrong in my bloods At the beginning was my ALT Level was 52. 5 years later is 109 and i had an ultrasound which diagnosed me as having a fatty liver. My gp did nothing after that and couldn’t give me any idea of what percentage of my liver was fatty. My diet has always been wholefood and healthy And i’ve drunk much and stopped completely when i got m.e, so knew my liver was part of my m.e dysfunction, anything i eat seems to get laid down as fat. Ironically my ALT levels dropped to 26 when i was on a high fat diet. Then rose again when i stopped it.

I don’t know what they are now and my gp doesn’t seem to care much.

I have never had a nosebleed i my life, i am 53, but in the past few days i have had four, the first frightening as i didn’t know what to do. My gp isn’t concerned.

Should i be concerned?

Should i flag up my liver?

Reassurance or advice would be great. Thanks.

[sulamaye]

I meant to say, i’ve never drunk much.

[B3nnen2015]

I have no idea if your nosebleeds are related to your liver but to remove the fat from your liver you need to go on a low carb/sugar diet as its not actually the fat you ingest that makes your liver fatty its carbs and sugar.

[sulamaye in reply to B3nnen2015]

Thanks, yes i said when i was ketogenic my ALT went down, but after 4 years i just can’t do paleo anymore.

[Craftynan]

Hi, I had a fatty liver, that over the past 5 years, that turned to cirrhosis, and in the the last two years, it manifested into hepatic encephalopathy, so I was put on the transplant list, and after almost a year to the day, and with only a couple of months left to live. I thankfully received the gift of a new liver.

I suffered with nosebleeds for most of the last 3 years, this was due to my liver, as my clothing factors were not working as they should. I would also randomly bleed from my ears aswell.

May I respectfully suggest you speak to another GP, who may be more sympathetic. At the very least you should be having annual blood tests to ensure things aren't developing further, as you very rarely get any symptoms with cirrhosis. Your liver affects so much as I've learned post transplant. So for them to dismiss it without investigation, given your history, seems wrong to me. We don't bleed for no reason, and it may reassure you that your liver is fine and it's just a polyp or something equally simple.

Good luck, and I hope symptoms resolve without issue.

[sulamaye in reply to Craftynan]

Thank you very much for answering. Could i ask how your liver was monitored? They take ALTs occasionally when i happen to be having another blood test, my last ALT was 89 apparently. How else should they be monitoring and What would be signs of it progressing Further, what were your signs of it progressing?

[Craftynan in reply to sulamaye]

When it was first noted that my liver results were raised, I was investigated via my GP for hepatitis, which was negative, so I was referred to the Heptology department at my local hospital, and had investigations via ultrasound and endoscopy, this confirmed I had cirrhosis and esophagal varices. Because of this I began to have appointments every six months, which consisted of an ultrasound, and bloods tests about a week before my consultation. I never really had any symptoms prior to diagnosis or in the three year's after, up until the symptoms of the hepatic encephalopathy started showing. This is a brain condition, bought on by the build up of toxins in the blood because the liver had become decompensated. This affected my life considerably, I couldn't drive or work as I was presenting very much as a dementia patient would. This condition is life threatening and the only treatment is a transplant. As I said I was within a couple of months of being taken off the list with obvious consequences.

I hope this helps, and you at least get some peace of mind. Take care

[sulamaye in reply to Craftynan]

Thank you this is very helpful information. Because i have m.e it is hard to look for symptoms of fatigue or memory, because both are impaired with m.e. I am going to ask for further investigations. I amso glad your life has been saved!