Fibroscan Results / Question

[Bitsketchy]

Hi everyone,

I'm sure that everyone asks these questions, but I thought I'd reach out.

Two years ago I went to the doctors complaining about pain in my fingers, this lead to blood tests, which in turn led to raised liver enzymes being spotted - I was referred to Hepatology at the local hospital where they performed an ultrasound scan and a Fibroscan - I had a pretty racy score of 13. I'll be honest, I've always held on to the fact that the score might have been a falsely high one - I (my own mistake for not reading the letter sooner) had been to the pub the night before the test.

I was diagnosed with NASH and set about trying to improve things. First thing I did was knock the booze on the head - It was a non-alcoholic diagnosis, but I figured a few months wouldn't hurt - I did 4 months of abstinence and when I last saw my doctor he said that I was fine as long as I stayed within the NHS guidelines.

The second thing I did was lose some weight - 40 pounds in total. I even managed to perform a 25km walk in aid of the British Liver Trust in September, which felt quite righteous. My doctor confirmed that he wanted one more fibroscan and US and then (assuming the results) he'd discharge me.

The Fibroscan and US were booked in the week before half term but unfortunately they were cancelled due to staff illnesses. My family and I went away on holiday, all inclusive, landing back in the UK last night. Lots of food, not too much booze. However when I got home last night there was a rescheduled letter for my Fibroscan - for this morning.

Had the scan, and my score was 11.3. Which is pretty rubbish. I wasn't expecting it to be amazing, but it's been 2 years since my last score and I've made such a small change.

Now I feel completely flat. For 2 years I've been trying to stay on top of things and make strides forward, and I have, but now it feel like I'm no further forward. If I had known the date of the Fibroscan, I would have had a nice healthy approach to the date, so I knew that the score was as accurate as it could be. Now it feels like I've got 2 more years to wait for another Fibroscan, with uncertainty just hanging over me.

dejected.com

[Cascade35]

Don’t be so hard on yourself. Some people who have fibroscans two yesars apart when it’s twisted their numbers have doubled. Yours have gone down. Even just a little bit, it’s gone down. That’s great. And you have to still live your life and enjoy time with your family and holidays. You only get one life, you have a progressive disease and you are doing your part in slowing it down. And you have, you’ve done some lifestyle changes and your numbers came down a bit. Celebrate! You deserve it

[Breakfastbabe]

I am sorry that your fibroscan results were not what you had hoped for. That must be so frustrating and disappointing after all your efforts but on the positive side, it is lower than the last one despite the holiday. However, I wonder if you have had another US as well? We were told that a fibroscan on its own is not a reliable measurement especially at the lower end of the scale but should be taken in conjunction with US and bloodtests. In fact it took 4 years for my husband to get a FS after diagnosis of cirrhosis via US. I had a FS done at one of the BLT roadshows and it was 9. I have good bloods am slim and the only explanation seemed to be that I had eaten something beforehand as I wasn't planning on having one. Maybe if a roadshow comes to your area you could abstain and get another result in the interim to put your mind at rest. Good luck.

[jbrking]

can take time but look at how well you’ve done to get it down, and there will be other parts of your body benefitting too. Imagine what it would have been if you hadn’t of made those changes, also you are in a much better place. Good work I would say!

[Roy1955]

Stop chasing numbers.Bloods indicated a problem and first fibroscan confirmed it.

Some degree of damage done.

You changed your lifestyle and halted the progression of the damage and now your bloods are probably perfect.

Fibroscan is not that important unless it's massively higher and 11ish will be your new normal

Liver has a few battle scars but is working perfect.

Normal lifespan, just don't walk in front of a bus!

Well done on the lifestyle changes.

[NieceByMarriage]

The reduction in your score is well over 10%. Closer to 15%, actually. Does that help you feel a bit better about it? In the absence of any clear guidance to what you could reasonably expect over the last couple of years, I think you have done well.