Hi all,
First time poster here, severely worried about my liver. I’m 38 and have a 10+ year history of alcohol abuse. However, 3 years ago after developing abdominal pain on my right side I very gradually slowed down. I was down to less than 15 units/week last year and have been completely sober for the last 6 months.
However, my symptoms have gotten worse over that time. I get loose stool every day, I’ve lost a lot of weight, mild nausea/dizziness, itchy skin (sometimes intensely), long belt of capillaries around my waist and an ache on my right side beneath the rib.
I had an MRI and CT scan in December but it didn’t show any abnormalities so I haven't received a diagnosis so far. However, my ALT has gone from 40 in November to now 60 and that’s after I stopped drinking so I don’t understand. I eat as healthy as I can avoiding red meat, fried food, salt and excessive sugar. I exercise as much as my body allows me. I also tested negative for Hepatitis A, B, C in December.
I spend all day worrying because I don’t know what I can do to stop my health from slipping away. I guess quitting drinking completely wasn’t enough. My question is, if you have liver disease is there anything you can do to stop it from progressing further besides diet and exercise?
Thanks for your reply. However, I read that MRI & CT scans can miss liver damage, especially if it's earlier stages. The fact that the ALT (liver function test) keeps going up indicates that something isn't right with the liver.
I am pursuing this with a GP as well but it's a slow process so I'm hoping to get advice on here in the meantime from anyone that may've had a similar experience.
Keep reading through there are numerous posts the same as yours.
Congratulations on staying off the booze. I'm sorry your feeling anxious, like Laura said, your doctors are the best people to put your mind at rest, and as you appear to have had a lot of investigations already, then I'd try to look on the positive. I know you are experiencing pain, but someone with liver disease doesn't normally experience any pain. Maybe you've been overdoing the exercise and it's muscular, worth mentioning next time you see your doctor. Good luck
I don't think MRI misses any liver damage, and with regard to earlier stages, chirrosis liver damage does not develop in weeks or a few months - and why would any damage develop after you had given up? Anxiety can cause your symptoms, your body is pumpin' out da cortosol and adrenalin like there's no tomorrow. It's pumpin' through your veins and when its hits the digestive system - man that's when the fun starts. I lost 20 kilos - I could have sprayed a field of crops three times a day, that would have been fun, but it was the 24/7 nausea which was killing me and preventing me from sleep. The two hours of sleep per night consisted of nightmares. That was really bad. And all becuase I had anxiety.
Thank you for sharing your experience. Sounds like you've had a rough time. I totally get that anxiety can make symptoms worse and it probably is in my case but I don't think that is the root cause. I generally don't suffer from anxiety and a was fine a year ago. Then in the last 6 months things started to deteriorate. Perhaps there isn't any cirrhosis that would show on the MRI as you said but it feels like my liver is struggling.
Well I never had anxiety either, and was never ill and thought I was invincible -until the anxiety hit me. It developed within a couple of months to the full blown variety. Started as cracked corners of mouth then to stomach and moved downwards . Could eat only half a roll a day. Sores developed at the back of my throat - malnutrition -my tongue turned white - I was told by ENT to immediately see skin doctor who thought I might have syphilis LOL. Man the lab here in Lübeck know me well - best customer - been tested for so much. AIDS, gastroparesis, rocky mountain yellow fever - you name it - I thought I had it . I woke up 8 times a night just to look in the mirror to see if I was going yellow. My neighbours who are unpleasant thought I was croaking . I looked bad. It was only after the doctor told me that 100% my body was fine that the nausea left within a day or two. Now I'm a little too fat
By the way, MRI will pick up fibrosis too - I specifically asked the radiologist about that.