I decided to quit

[Linzenilss38]

I have decided today to quit drinking . I am terrified even after normal labs and a normal ultrasound I think I did damage. If a liver shows normal size and no focal lesions I’m assuming that’s good but I think they may have missed something. How can I not have fatty liver??!! I read a story today about a lasso just diagnosed drank less than a year 🥺

[Hidden]

Join the queue ! There are loads of posts identical to yours on here about tests being normal but still convinced they are ill. There's no convincing them otherwise despite receiving excellent explanations from some very knowledgeable people on this forum as you will see as you scroll through. Most of the posts have the word " worried " in the title.

[Linzenilss38 in reply to Hidden]

I was reading compensated cirrhosis can be missed in an ultrasound

[AyrshireK in reply to Linzenilss38]

Highly unlikely that cirrhosis will be missed on ultrasound. Cirrhosis by it's nature changes the texture, density and shape of the liver and this is seen on ultrasound & reported as changes in echo texture etc. A normal liver is smooth (think of a ripe grape) whereas a cirrhotic liver is lumpy, bumpy and shrivelled (imagine that ripe grape as a dried out raisin/sultana). My hubby has compensated cirrhosis and NEVER has an ultrasound returned anything other than comments on the course dense echo texture and changes in liver cell shape and liver shape.

Stop drinking as is your plan and that will go a long way to preventing future potential issues with your liver but as Laura points out if you've had all normal results then it is most unlikely that you currently have anything seriously wrong with your liver just now.

You've posted before with similar issues and have been advised in the past about drinking when you are already anxious about the state of your liver. The ONLY way to stop it going down the route that you fear is to stop drinking.

Katie

[Alibaba80 in reply to Linzenilss38]

What they do miss on ultrasound is Nodular Regenerative Hyperplasia as it is microscopic

[Hidden]

Hi,

Its positive that you have decided to address your relationship with alcohol.

If you are, or have ever been, alcohol dependent or an alcoholic, discuss this with your doctor. In these circumstances it is important to get medical help to give up drinking, as stopping suddenly can, in some cases, lead to severe withdrawal symptoms, including hallucinations and seizures. There are many sources of support and help they can give you or direct you to.

If you have concerns about your liver and have had a clear ultrasound scan we would suggest to discuss this with your own doctors. No one on the forum is medically qualified to advise you.

Take care.

[Str8jacket]

Ultrasound can miss ~30% of cirrhosis cases. Interpretation of the images is very subjective, especially with a uniform micronodular patern of cirrhosis like one would see with alcohol related liver disease. Different causes of liver disease cause different patterns of injury. Ultrasound can *confirm* cirrhosis, but is not so good at *ruling it out*. There are many studies that look at the sensitivity and specificity of ultrasound in diagnosing cirrhosis--they're not hard to find.

That said, if you have no specific symptoms of liver disease (fatigue alone is not it), and unless you've been almost drinking daily for *many* years, you are almost certainly fine. Any shorter time drinking for cirrhosis is an extreme outlier and *very* unlikely. If you have no specific symptoms and have not drank daily for years, put it out of your mind and stay with sobriety. Be grateful you smartened up in time.

Another thing to look for-check your AST:ALT ratio on your liver function bloodwork. If the ratio is close to 1, you can pretty much rule out severe alcohol-related liver damage straight off. If the ratio is elevated (higher than ~1.4-1.5), you would still need further tests to confirm serious liver injury.

As folks here have said, these are ultimately questions for your doc(s). Best of luck to you.