just been diagnosed with cirrhosis. Don’t know what to do

[LostBoysBigFan]

hi. I got an unusual blood test result back in September. Just had my fibrosis scan and the nurse told me my results just put me in the cirrhosis result. I wasn’t expecting this. I do drink, although have cut down a lot since the blood test and have now obviously chosen to stop altogether. I will have some follow up appointments in the next few weeks. But I don’t know what to make of it. Is this a death sentence or can I live with this?

[AyrshireK]

No it's not a death sentence and providing you stop the assault on the liver (i.e. alcohol) there is no reason to suspect your condition will worsen and you may be able to reverse the damage already done. Your fibroscan result (which they've said is just in cirrhosis range) may also not be 100% accurate - if your bloods are indicating ongoing liver inflammation the result may be falsely inflated giving a higher than accurate reading - fibroscan is notoriously unreliable in the presence of inflammation in that it can't tell the difference between actual fibrous tissue and inflamed tissue.

A fibroscan result alone isn't enough to confrm a cirrhosis diagnosis. It is a huge warning shot to you and time to reassess your relationship with alcohol.

Katie

[Aotea2012]

I suspect they’ll redo your bloods and probably want to do some more imaging tests of your liver - ultrasound probably, maybe CT. I doubt they’ll rely on the fibro scan alone. You’ll probably have an endoscopy as well just to check for varices if they suspect cirrhosis after further investigation. Cirrhosis is certainly not a death sentence…provided you stop drinking alcohol. I was diagnosed over 3 years ago now and I’m feeling really well. My bloods are normal, the 2 minor varices I had at diagnoses are gone, I take no medication and have no symptoms at all. I haven’t drunk any alcohol in over 3 years, eat correctly and exercise regularly. My lifestyle is so much healthier. My liver is stable as a result. It’s frightening when first diagnosed…but listen to your consultant, try to get dietitian input and ideally a link to alcohol support services to keep alcohol a thing of the past. Try not to panic and start changing your lifestyle and you’ll be helping yourself immediately.

[Powley]

hey my partner was diagnosed with cirrhosis just 8 weeks ago. One thing for sure he was advised to stop drinking, so that’s a definite

He’s had advice on diet too so perhaps you could ask about this

It appears manageable with diet and meds