How did you find out about the Liver Trust?

[Ibiza18]

I am curious to find out how people found out about the Liver Trust and this supportive forum?

Was it from the Hepatology department, following diagnosis?

Your GP?

A private medical consultation?

Or a google search?

[AyrshireK]

Google search after hubbies admittance to hospital as we knew nothing about liver disease/cirrhosis so found the BLT web site first then wandered over here onto the forum.

I did eventually obtain some BLT literature to put into information racks in our local hospital as there was an empty BLT rack with zero information provided by hospital.

Katie

[Ibiza18 in reply to AyrshireK]

Thank you for replying. My experience too was zero information provided by the hospital. I only found the BLT at the end stage for my partner. I feel very strongly that if we'd been signposted by medical professionals at diagnosis of cirrhosis the journey would have been very different,

[Cat1318]

Google search.

[Ibiza18 in reply to Cat1318]

So like my situation, if based in the UK you weren't signposted by medical professionals?

[Cat1318 in reply to Ibiza18]

No. I am not from UK. I was googling by myself abouth liver, and Liver trust came out on comp.

[bantam12]

I was already on a different forum on here and when I had potential liver issues I joined this one as well.

[TitleistProV in reply to bantam12]

Same here

[Aotea2012]

Google search after I was diagnosed with cirrhosis. I was keen to know more about my condition. This forum as well as the amazing care my consultant and his team have given me have helped me so much. I certainly wouldn’t have been so well without both.

[Huggy7614]

I actually was told by my GP. He had completed a gastro rotation at our local hospital, so was quite up on liver matters. He advised me the best source of info was certain sites on line, including this one, but stressed not to Google my condition as it would have me dead in a matter of weeks!!

[SirRobert]

Similar to others, it was a google search as wondered if there was an organisation you could contact for queries that obviously people have between appointments etc. and indeed to translate some of the jargon being thrown at you!

[Etymolog]

A liver nurse advised only to trust anything I read on this site and nothing else by google. Its only through this site that I started to understand this condition in its entirety.

[oap74]

google search

[HrPuff]

My consultant when giving me liver biopsy results. In Scotland

[Breakfastbabe]

The drain team at Southampton General Hospital recommended the website but we'd already found it through Google.

[Crewea77]

Google.

[AnxiousPete]

Google search

[Yellowsydney]

Search on Facebook for liver transplant brought up their Facebook page, they wanted people to tell their stories and I put mine on their page, they then contacted me to do an interview with the Guardian, I've since done interviews with other newspapers and made a video for them about NASH and transplants. I'm also on a Facebook group for type 2 diabetes, nearly everyday somebody says they've just been diagnosed with NAFLD but doctors have told them not to worry about it, my standard reply is yes you should worry about it and share a link to the British liver trust website.

Hilary

[Yum-Yum]

Google search and it was a life line for me, I have no close family so no-one to talk about it with following my diagnosis of cirrhosis in 2019 and that was the first and only time I saw a specialist,after that it was hit and miss if I got my 6 monthly scans or not. Thank fully last year 2 specialist liver nurses where appointed to my area and since then I have telephone consultations with them twice a year and blood tests and scans are regular again now l am relieved to say.I am also diabetic so this forum and the helpful things I have read here have been a lifeline in what felt like a very lonely and scary minefield to me.

I am so very grateful it is here.

[Trewargas]

The specialist liver nurse from my local hepatic team.

[Mick1414]

I was directed to this site by my liver consultant and have found out more to do with the many liver problemds on here. Thank you to all who contribute on this site.

[Cosycatbabe]

I was told about the British Liver Trust by my my transplant unit when I was diagnosed and asked about online support. That led me to this forum. I'm not active in terms of posting or replying but I do read all of the posts and have found lots of the information helpful to me, especially since my transplant

[RnayStro]

Google search - such an informative community. This forum is so full of caring people

[kyia]

Google search - never been mentioned by any healthcare staff in nearly 7 years.

[ScoobyPoodle1]

Told about it by one of the nurses at the hospital, but I did find it in Google too.

[Grassroots112]

I learned about it while in hospital last March from a nurse who told me there is a website with lots of great info and even a community, but sadly she had no material to give me about it which she said they did usually have around, along with other liver related pamphlets, so I kind of forgot about it until I found it on Google.

And I’m glad I did, what an amazing place this is, full of great info, actual real advice and help and resources and of course members with real life stories and experiences that inspire and certainly filled me with hope in the early days and still does.

I’ve stopped reading Google when it comes to liver related stuff other than to research real medical journals and research papers and just mainly browse here now instead.