Fibroscan

[Bun9]

Hi everyone.

I have been concerned about the health of my liver since February this year as I experienced some pain in my right side and bloating. I have had an alcohol problem for many years but recently it had got a lot worse. In my panic I saw the doctor who referred me for Lft. The results came back deranged. This of course came as no surprise however it prompted me to give up drinking. I am almost at the 4 months mark. Since joining this forum which is amazing and very informative btw I learnt that getting a diagnosis proves to be very difficult as there are so many test and of course waiting times. I decided to take the bull by the horns and go to a Love your liver roadshow to save waiting for a scan through the NHS. My results were a lot better than I thought but struggling with interpreting the score. It was 7.3 kPa. They said everything seemed fine and no sign of fibrosis. At first I was elated, however the scoring on different websites are so different. Should I relax a bit or should I be worried. It’s taking me ages to pluck up the courage to post. Thank you 😊

[ThreeSmiles]

Hi Bun!

Welcome to the Forum 👍.

I can’t comment on your Fibroscan result at all, nor really can any of us to be fair. If they said everything seems fine then why not mentally relax a bit (or a lot 😀) but, but, but…don’t drink any more - I mean stick to your non alcohol regime. “You know it makes sense!”

I used to get that pain and found that drinking a few more cans of Stella (there are other beer brands 😀) would make the pain go away……Sad but true. Anyway when a Consultant told me to stop - or else - I did - 9 years and a Transplant ago. Lucky lucky lucky me.

I’m sure you won’t be an idiot like I was before stopping - because I left it too late by then.

Good luck Bun.

Miles

[Bun9 in reply to ThreeSmiles]

Thank you ThreeSmiles for replying. I certainly will try I’m glad you are ok now and living well I hope. 😊

[mozlaw]

i think you r lucky compared to some .your reading is low.make sure not to drink or drink according to government guidelines.Avoid binges and be careful .alcohol creeps up n you so be mindful.well done

[Bun9 in reply to mozlaw]

Thanks mozlaw. I know my reading is quite low and I am very lucky. I think I’ve been overthinking it and doing Doctor Google which is a bad mistake. All the cut off scores seemed to differ so much on there. 🥺

[Sallyderek in reply to mozlaw]

What would a normal or bad reading be ?

[AyrshireK in reply to Sallyderek]

There are fibroscan score charts on line - depending on what the underlying cause of any liver condition is then the kPa score reflects differing degrees of liver density from F0 (no fibrosis) to F4 (cirrhosis). Each underlying condition has it's own score chart so what a score might mean for someone with NAFLD, AIH, Hepatis C, Alcohol Related Liver Disease etc. etc. might be totally different. i.e. a score of 14 kPa for alcohol related liver disease would be F3 fibrosis but F4 in non alcohol related fatty liver disease.

Fibroscan alone isn't sufficient to 'score' liver disease and it needs to be taken alongside bloods to check for signsof inflammation and even other scans.

Katie

[Sallyderek in reply to AyrshireK]

Ah ok thanks 😊

[vinylcollector in reply to AyrshireK]

Never ever take notice or guidance from those charts on 'Dr Google'. It will confuse people more and scare. Always talk to your specialist medical person. I doubt if any of them actually understand this new technology. Every person and condition is different even if you think it is the same.

[Bun9 in reply to vinylcollector]

Thank you Vinylcollector

You’re right Google can confuse and scare especially when info is so different everywhere you look. I expect a lot of us have fallen into this trap at one time or another.

[vinylcollector in reply to Bun9]

The fear and panic caused is worse than the actual condition.

[vinylcollector in reply to Sallyderek]

Nobody knows and we are all different. I wasn't a drinker but F4 still means I have cirrhosis unless they are misleading me, that's my diagnosis.

[deanw41]

I’m at 8.8kpa (F1/F2 Fibrosis)from a cirrhosis diagnosis 3 years ago. My Consultant said 6kpa and under I would be discharged. So keep up the no booze your not far off!!

[Bun9 in reply to deanw41]

Thank you and we’ll done 😊

[Realy in reply to deanw41]

Wow your doing great, what wa your original fibroscan.?

[deanw41 in reply to Realy]

Thank you. I never had one, I presented with an enlarged liver, lots of inflammation from heavy drinking so my consultant said there would be much point. I’m going to have another consult be later this year ( a year later).

[Realy in reply to deanw41]

How did they give you a KPA score ?

[deanw41 in reply to Realy]

Oh right yeah, so, I had my first Fibroscan 2 years ago my diagnosis. 8.8kpa. Diagnosed with cirrhosis because I had ascites. You can have ascites with alcoholic hepatitis (inflammation) with out cirrhosis but it’s hard to tell when there is so much inflammation, hence the reason to wait for the liver to calm down ( with abstinence) before doing a Fibroscan. A Fibroscan with inflammation would give a false reading.

[Realy in reply to deanw41]

Gotcha yes seems like fibroscan can be affected by a lot of things . Also I believe Drs just don’t hi by those numbers alone as if some one has a higher than normal KPA doesn’t mean they have cirrhosis or can’t get rid of scarring

[deanw41 in reply to Realy]

Yeah, it’s the whole picture approach. And everyone is so different as well

[Realy in reply to deanw41]

Yes if you look at fibroscan from echosens they have some videos as to how they come up with scores to help your Dr make a decision as to your diagnosis and stage your at. They use the fast score, Agile 3 Agile4, they have. To plug in blood work and some info. Some needs blood work as recent as 30 days and some need blood work within 6 months. So I don’t think they just go by KPA and Cap it’s a whole picture. Again this is not really visually Seaing the liver. Just waht I’ve read