Jaundice early on possible?

[Wolfgirll]

Hello all, I’m new to the group, had my gallbladder out a year ago January, diet had never been the best previously so I assume that’s why, had a bit of brain fog, headaches and just not feeling right along with spasms, pain etc and put it all down to malfunction of gallbladder, felt better after it was gone but was short lived, had 2 lots of antibiotics for 2 uti’s after surgery and then shortly after that I noticed part of the whites of my eyes had slight yellowing, as did my skin but it wasn’t everywhere mainly on face. Started feeling very fatigued & just not well but was on and off, had blood tests, scans, X-ray, all came back normal, docs say I’m a mystery however my initial gallbladder ultrasound scan done back in 2018 showed mild fatty liver which I was never told about, surgeon said liver looked fine during surgery. Surgical assessment have ruled out any issues that could have arisen from surgery so I’m thinking it’s defo got to be fatty liver and it’s struggling to process bilirubin but from what I have researched, jaundice isn’t a symptom early on? Can it be? My bilirubin was11 on my most recent blood test but docs say it’s still within normal range and every time I go back he keeps saying he’s happy to sit on it. I have altered my diet and it’s faded a bit however I haven’t been strict the whole time so I do get the odd throb/ache in my liver area when I eat bad things for a period of time and the yellowing can get darker, recently coloured my hair and that seemed to bring it on recently so I know my liver is struggling to process toxins, when I return to a good diet the yellowing will fade & the pain goes. I suppose I wondered if anyone had similar or if it was possible that you could get all of this early on? If it was advanced wouldn’t the surgeon have seen it? Thanks in advance

[Hidden]

Hi and welcome,

Were you diagnosed with Non Alcohol Related Fatty Liver- NAFLD?

britishlivertrust.org.uk/in...

NAFLD can have different stages so you are quite right to want to find out more.

NICE (The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) have devised guidelines with the British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG) that state people diagnosed with NAFLD should have further testing to assess for their risk of fibrosis- stiffening or scarring in the liver.

The specific blood tests are Fib-4 score blood test or an Enhanced Liver Fibrosis (ELF) blood test. A specific scan called a FibroScan also estimates fibrosis.

You may want to discuss this with your doctors who can look up the NICE guidance.

[Wolfgirll in reply to Hidden]

Hi trust1 thank you for your reply & info, no I haven’t been diagnosed, when I had to go to surgical assessment I was given a copy of my medical records from the last 4 years to take with me, I had a look through and when I had my gallbladder scan in 2018 (she also scanned liver kidneys & bladder etc) it said on there that it showed mild fatty liver yet I wasn’t told this, not sure if I was supposed to if it was mild or not but I would think they would have to wouldn’t they? I’m not sure if elf was listed on the blood test, I’m very new to this, I think like you said I would need to contact my doctor again to see

[Hidden in reply to Wolfgirll]

You could discuss a repeat ultrasound scan with your doctor as its been 3 years since your last?

[Wolfgirll in reply to Hidden]

I also had one last year around June time and nothing was seen, well the doctor didn’t tell me anything was, are they very reliable?

[Hidden in reply to Wolfgirll]

Ultrasound scans are useful medical investigations, you could ask your doctor what was seen on that scan. If it was still fatty liver you may decide to discuss fibrosis testing. Good luck.

[Wolfgirll in reply to Hidden]

Thank you so much

[Richard-Allen]

Hello Wolfgirll, this is just a thought I'd like to throw out there. It is a possibility, but I may also be way off target in your case.

This may sound strange, but it could be gallstones.

It is becoming increasingly common for some gallstones to become left behind when the gall bladder is removed. These can then often find their way into the bile ducts and become lodge. This then can cause a backlog of bile, which then backs up into the liver. This can often cause liver enzymes to rise.

The problem with this condition is that you can go to your Doctor who will run some tests and these may show higher that average enzyme readings. If they repeat the same test three weeks late, the enzymes may well have dropped, and everything returned to normal. So a GP might just put this down to being a mild infection and send you on your way. But later, that stone can once more become blocked again. This whole saga of the stone getting stuck and then becoming freed, then getting stuck again, etc can keep on happening.

Like Trust 1 has said, try and have that ultrasound done, just to rule out possible left over gallstones.

Good luck

Richard

[Wolfgirll in reply to Richard-Allen]

Thank you so much that’s really helpful I will definitely speak to the doctor about that