First symptom?

[Marleythecat]

What was your first symptom that led you onto a cirrhosis diagnosis?I saw the doctor for hair loss and easy bruising

[Meteocal1]

esophageal varice bleed- massive I must add.

[AyrshireK]

Hi Marleythecat. Have you been diagnosed with cirrhosis? You say you saw the doctor for hair loss and easy bruising - did this lead to a diagnosis? On another thread you say you've had shoulder pain for 6 months but are scared to get it checked out.

I can't make out whether you've already got a diagnosis of cirrhosis or whether you are trying to see if your 'symptoms' match other folks and are convincing yourself it's cirrhosis. Your profile doesn't reveal any information.

Sadly a lot of early symptoms of cirrhosis can be attributed to other conditions - my hubby for instance was told he had stress and depression when he went to his doctor with really bad nose bleeds, irregular bowel habit and sleep disruption. At the time he was also stressed and depressed because he was caring for his dad who had alzheimers and dementia but doctor never looked beyond that. Two years later hubby was rushed into hospital having a massive variceal bleed and a subsequent cirrhosis due to auto immune hepatitis diagnsosis.

If you have a genuine concern over your liver health then see your GP for further tests, if they come back as a cause for concern then seek referral to a specialist. If you indeed already have a diagnosis and you have a specialist then any new or lingering symptoms need to be brought up with them.

All the best, Katie

[Worriesalot in reply to AyrshireK]

Two of your husband’s symptoms are what is making me disbelieve LFTS. Would you say he was compensated at the beginning?

[AyrshireK in reply to Worriesalot]

I wasn't in hubbies life at that point and sadly doctors didn't run any other tests.

When I did meet him a month or so after he was told he had stress/depression he was skeletal thin, yellowy in colour, no libido, sleep disturbed every night, still having frequent nose bleeds, pain on eating sometimes (obviously unbeknown at that point he had varices and changes to his stomach lining). I would say it was obvious he was ill.

Obviously of the symptoms I listed all can also be stress related.

I would just say you keep saying you are yellow - you can not be genuinely jaundiced if your bloods are normal since jaundice occurs due to a build up of bilrubin in your blood stream. You can have sallow skin when you look peaky and it not be liver related.

Katie

[Worriesalot in reply to AyrshireK]

It’s as though my bowel has just gone to sleep. My sleep definitely could be anxiety. I have had more bloods done and stool sample sent off so just have to see. Hope husband still enjoying better health. Thank you.

[Worriesalot in reply to Worriesalot]

All bloods normal except folate borderline, receptionist said it was bones and to get over the counter prescription. I rang back to double check, another receptionist agreed with me that it was the blood. Recommended a banana. I know they checked ferritin that must be ok. Feel like I’m going mad to be honest.

[Worriesalot in reply to Worriesalot]

Keep replying to myself, deffo going mad.

[Yellowsydney]

First and only symptom was a massive variceal bleed, vomited up nearly all the blood in my body causing a stroke. Still took another 3 years to diagnose cirrhosis as bloods and scans were all ok.

[Yarkis in reply to Yellowsydney]

Ultrasound and LFTs were normal? I have been wondering if cirrhosis can be missed on ultrasound.

[Str8jacket in reply to Yarkis]

US is good at confirming cirrhosis, but misses about 50% of cases.

[Landon11375]

Low platelets and enlarged spleen which usually go hand in hand with each other since the spleen eats up the platelets.

[Stizzer]

For me it was fluid retention, ascites. Other symptoms followed like the itching, yellowing of thre eyes and skin and the other usual suspects. I suppose the ascites was the worse, I was being drained weekly of an average of 12 litres of fluid. On the transplant list for only 11 months a successful transplant in early December 2016 and I'm still here!!! Just in time as it happens only days left in the end, somebody looking after me I think. Take care an good luck on your journey. By