In Jan 21, I was told I had fatty liver. With Covid and everything, I next saw the consultant in August 22. In the time between appts I had gained 25kg due, in part, to gyms being shut and a thyroid condition that I had only just been diagnosed with (though had for a while.)
Today I had a fibroscan and while I don't have any results from the consultant yet the technician said I was in stage F4. She didn't say this was cirrhosis, but I am guessing this is actually the case. She did say that I would be at greater risk of liver cancer so will be starting with 6 monthly ultrasound checks.
I have to admit, this has scared me. I suffer from anxiety and depression at the best of times and this is really not helping. I'm aware my eating habits and sedentary lifestyle are to blame and I currently weigh around 174kg.
My question, I suppose, is how badly have I messed up my life? I'm 45, kids are both in Uni, no partner, and I spend all my time working sat at a computer. I have started exercising again recently and dropped from my original 179kg but I know I need to do more.
Is this cirrhosis? Does this mean I am going to get worse with increasing symptoms? Can I stop (I know reversing isn't likely) the progression and live a healthy life with changes such as diet and increased exercise? I was a binge drinker (weekends only) but don't need to drink, so happy to cut that out entirely. Carbs are my biggest issue and I will work to reduce them and replace with healthier options, but I guess, I am just close to an anxiety spiral here where all I will be able to think about is dying and how soon that will be and I just need a little hope.
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Rhayn
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The BLT has an excellent downloadable brochure about treating Non Alcohol Related Fatty Liver Disease at :- britishlivertrust.org.uk/do...
With improved diet and exercise it may both be possible to stop progression and possibly even recover to a degree. Your kPa score is in the cirrhosis range for fatty liver BUT it needs to be examined along with your up to date bloods. If you have ongoing inflammation that can inflate your kPa score falsly (fibroscan can't tell the difference between actual fibrosis and ongoing inflammation).
The BLT website has excellent guidance on NAFLD and also on Cirrhosis.
Thank you for that reply. I haven't any up to date bloods and non have been requested so will have to see if I can speak with the consultant about that. Does it being cirrhosis range for fatty liver differ from cirrhosis? Sorry if this is a silly question, I am new to this whole thing.
If you look up 'Fibroscan Score Chart' online you will see that the charts have different bars for different underlying liver conditions. Fibroscan scores from 0-75 kPa, each type of liver condition has it's own cut off scores for what the kPa score reflects as regards degrees of liver damage F0-F4.
In Non Alcohol Related Fatty Liver - anything above around 11.8kPa reflects F4 fibrosis which is cirrhosis (providing there is no ongoing inflammation).
In other conditions - this might only reflect F2 (moderate fibrosis) or F3 (severe fibrosis).
You really need some up to date bloods or your fibroscan score can not be verified as accurate. Fibroscan alone is not sufficient to confirm a diagnosis of cirrhosis.
I really appreciate your reply which has helped stave off the panic a little bit. The tech did show me the chart and pointed on it where I was with relation to NAFLD. I shall speak to the consultant about a blood test. Thank you so much.
I was in the same position as you and put a lot of weight on during lockdown and my Kpa was 17. Went on a low fat diet cut out alcohol and excercised everyday. Lost 2 stone and had an ultrasound a year later with result being a little fatty liver no scarring at s
That is great to hear and I'm glad your results were better. I know I am in freak out mode at the moment and seeing all bad, so hearing that others have seen improvement is good for me.
My alcohol intake has been low recently anyway, two nights out of 10 weeks maybe, so I don't see much issue with cutting out all together. My biggest issue is with salt and carbs, which I am going to have to redouble my efforts to cut out.
Exercise, I will be doing daily. Already started going out for walks on my lunchbreak and have an exercise bike and an app filled with body-weight exercises that I have been doing. Lost 4kg and will be looking to lose more.
hey Rhayn, def quit drinking alcohol and stay away from it. Limiting my salt intake was wayyy more difficult than quitting alcohol. As soon as I heard my liver was damaged I quit. Salt was a different story. But when your ankle swells after a nice salty meal you will avoid salt. Lol. Im 39 and have compensated cirrhosis and still holding out that it miraculously disappears. Keep us posted but it sounds like you might be able to reverse some of your damage!
Thank you for that. Alcohol is stopped, not a problem. Salt , as you say, is harder. I'm working on it though. Blood tests on Thursday so hopefully by next week I can bug my doctor into finding out how far along I am and get more advice on what I need to do to stay healthy.
That’s great Rhayan, I’m really pulling for you. Just always remember this feeling you are having. It will hopefully prevent you from ever drinking again even though yours is likely from something else. Alcohol is the fastest way to further damage your liver. The 6 month scans are good to have but I’m not going to lie. I get nervous every time mine comes up. My next one is December. However I believe it was Ken Simmons who made a great point several months ago about the statistics of developing cancer. If you can find it it might help calm your nerves. Heck I need to find it again. Lol. Best wishes friend.
Almost 10 years ago I was diagnosed with cirrhosis due to PBC (which was diagnosed later). Last year during a fibroscan I was told I also now have fatty liver disease. Kind of out of the blue and hard to believe...I had gained 10 pounds after staying with my mother for a couple of months, eating a terrible diet, before she died. (I've dropped most of that extra weight now.) My BMI is average and my bloodwork is normal. Anyway, I want to encourage you to get more active and fix up your diet. I'm feeling fine 10 years in, holding steady, and my liver seems to be compensating. I have an ultrasound and blood tests twice a year. Waiting to have my next fibroscan now. I just read that the stats on developing cancer from cirrhosis are actually pretty small. You got this!
I do feel like we can help ourselves quite a bit. I wish I'd discovered this site way back when I was first diagnosed...I didn't even know about it until maybe a year or so ago. I had all kinds of questions back then and my gastroenterologist is usually pretty vague with answers. He has told me though that cirrhosis can be reversed so I'm aiming for that!
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