Hello all

[Traacs]

Hello everyone, my name is Scott, I'm 46 and I'm new here, I have some questions regarding what has been happening with me over the past (almost 6 months) period.

I was a heavy drinker for many years leading a stressful life with work etc. My mum passed away in 2019 and that then led me down a deeper path of alcoholism up until October 2021 where I began to feel unwell with nausea and vomiting, so the next day whilst vomiting I noticed some yellow around the corners of my eyes, So I went on the internet to find out that it was Jaundice due to problems with liver, So I stopped drinking straight away. (almost 6 months sober now)

I got some bloods done and they came back abnormal and was told to stop drinking which I already had done and maintain a healthy lifestyle ( I was 12 st 7 then) a slightly high BMI then. I was already quite an active person with my work so I changed my food habits to more healthy stuff, more fruit/veg/salad gear etc. I was then put in for an ultrasound at a place not in my main hospital.

The results came back saying everything was fine except that I had a fatty Liver. So I thought Ok, that seems with my abstinence from alcohol and lifestyle change it is getting better. About a month later I got a letter from a specialist at my hospital saying that he wants to do an ultrasound Fibroscan to check for scarring and stiffness of the liver and check for haemachromatosis as my iron was high, My Bilibrulin he said was at 31 at the time of my first bloods taken.

It took 3 months then to get this scan done due to cancellations etc but when I went in there, All he said to me after the scan is that I was at F2 fibrosis, no sign of portal hypertension and no sign of cancer. I asked him would I get to have a face to face with a specialist to go through my results in more detail, he said nope but we will see you in 6 months . So I was a little puzzled thinking I might get in contact with a dietician etc as I was scared of what to eat in case it would do anymore damage to my liver (unfortunately I had over researched everything to do with liver disease in the 3 months waiting for this scan that my anxiety went so bad that I was thinking of it 24/7.

So just last week I was at the docs as been getting more anxiety and he did give me a copy of my Fibroscan results as I asked for them which said I had a normal size liver but with a heterogeneous liver parenchyma in keeping with hepatic steatosis with mild fibrosis and no legions and my kPa was 7.5 (F2) Mild Fibrosis.

Is that classed as Cirrhosis with that score or is it something that can eventually reverse over time, I'm doing everything I can by not drinking and lifestyle changes but I am still worried about my weight loss even though I am eating everything healthy. Can I still treat myself to some naughty food to keep my weight maintained as if I keep eating what I am doing now then I fear it will eventually go to underweight.

Thanks for your time to read this.

Scott.

[Kristian]

Hi Scott,

That stage of fibrosis should be reversible. However, even if its stays at that level it'll probably not give you too many issues. There's never any garauntees but just keep doing what your doing and that will give it the best chance to recover.

Looks like your docs are doing the right thing with continuing to monitor you. So, if things do show signs of worsening they'll be able to pick it up and devise an appropriate plan of action.

As far as diet goes try not to over think it. I know that may sound difficult but just eat reasonably normally and reasonably healthy and again you'll keep yourself in reasonable health. But do keep off the alchohol.

Good luck and hopefully things will stay stable or even improve.

[Traacs in reply to Kristian]

Thanks for your reply, I do intend to keep this stabalised and further improved, I was just worried if I ventured a little out of what i was eating as my weight in 6 months has dropped 3 stone but I want to keep it at that now by keeping my food balanced.

[CarpeDiem11]

Hello, F4 is classed as cirrhosis. Heterogenous just means that the current fibrosis is not even across the liver (it rarely is) and no sign of portal hypertension is fantastic. (This further clarifies that you are at the lower end of the damage scale). At this level you can reverse the damage. Referrals to dieticians are unlikely at this stage, as in my experience you only get them when your protein levels are poor and muscle mass might be an issue. Again issues that occur for advanced liver disease.

As for maintaining a healthy diet, it's best not to think of it as a diet, but as you are currently looking at it, lifestyle changes. Life without treats can be pretty miserable, but all things in moderation as they say.

It might be worth asking your GP for a referral to a dietitian, as this is something they can do. A word of caution though. I have been referred to a dietitian in different depts (by my Hep) and they don't all give the same advice, so it really does depend on what outcome you are looking for.

Don't overthink it. Try and aim for a mix of the main food groups and enjoy eating rather than it being a chore. The BDA (British Dietetic Association) is a site that was recommended by a dietitian at one of our talks, so that could be useful.

You are doing well and taking the right approach. Best of luck with everything

[Traacs in reply to CarpeDiem11]

Thanks for your reply, I just want to now keep this weight at where I am to stay as it is, but the foods I was eating, I was losing weight a bit and I was worried if I ventured of that and say had a few treats then I would be further destroying my liver. I am quite an active person aswell so I'm always burning off calories.

[CarpeDiem11 in reply to Traacs]

Totally understandable. I am normal weight for my height and have a few treats. I have no damage from fatty liver, just from autoimmune disease. It is important to get your weight to stabilise so that then you can recognise when something is wrong, but I'm pretty sure you'll get there

Activity is great for you, even when you feel fatigued, so onwards and upwards as they say.

[Smegmer]

Congratulations, I think you have dodged a bullet! If booze is the only cause you are actually F1 and very nearly in the normal club.

Here is a Fibroscan score card:

4.bp.blogspot.com/-s9nZHQtO...

F1 and F2 are reversible, F3 and F4 not usually.

Have a watch of this, Adrian has a reading of over 8kpa and I'll bet you will relate to this video

youtube.com/watch?v=4hsSC03...(Not working as expected?)