My dad (who never drank) was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver at the age of 81 Sept. 2024. Apparently it was from fatty liver. I decided to get my liver checked. I had a blood test and an ultrasound. Blood test showed ALT and AST levels as higher end of moderate and the ultrasound showed that the right side of my liver was .18 cm in the left side, or the rest of it is .8. My primary doctor just told me to avoid alcohol alcohol and be on a low-fat diet.
I made an appointment with a hepatologist to see how serious it is. Would anybody know how serious this is? Does an enlarged liver mean the same as inflammation? My appointment is on February 18 but it’s driving me crazy I’ve been looking on my phone for answers.. time consuming.
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ALT and AST measure inflammation of the Liver (Hepatitis). As the Liver expands, the cells die and enter the bloodstream, which is where they pick up the levels from in your tests. The tests are only accurate at the time the blood is drawn. If you find markers up, the problem is that you do not know how long they have been like that.
ALT: Typically between 7 and 55 units per liter (U/L)
AST: Typically between 8 and 48 U/L
From what you are saying, your numbers aren't sky-high, and it sounds like they are still in the normal range above?
So, after the blood tests, they ordered an ultrasound, of course, which is a "visual" test. Your Liver seems to be a bit swollen on one side. That could be a fatty liver, but it doesn't mean your Liver is about to fail. A good thing is they haven't mentioned a "Nodular" or rough outline of the Liver, those are red flags.
Your hepatologist will likely order more tests, possibly a Fibroscan, which measures liver scarring or stiffness. So, it's going to be a process of finding the issue, bit by bit.
Thank you Smegmer for your answer. My ALT is 39 so it's not sky high. I'm more concerned about the enlarged liver. Does an enlarged liver mean cirrhosis? Since I found out I significantly cut alcohol consumption where I use to drink 6 glasses of wine a day and now I've had like 6 a week. I've also been using the Dose supplement drink and liver aid supplements. Curious if anyone here has used it as it seems very promising.
No one on this forum can diagnose you. Here is the link to information on our website explaining liver disease tests, diagnosis, and screening, which you may find useful
The British Liver Trust does not recommend the use of any homoeopathic or herbal remedies for those with any liver problems as these may damage the liver and lead to severe illness.”
For more information on this subject please visit the following page on our website:
Important share.. I was about to order medication a couple weeks ago to help stop drinking and then I researched it and it said it could do damage to your liver! Even the nurse on their website recommended I not order it (afterwards) considering my liver condition.
How ironic. Just because some form of medication may help you stop, that could turn around and damage your liver anyway. Very deceiving. I'm currently drinking non-alcoholic drinks which is helping me not drink for sure. Corona has a really good one that I like with lime.
My husband has cirrhosis. I only have fatty liver but both of us use Dose and it has lowered the AST and ALT for both of us. We believe in natural supplements.
As Smegmer has said your numbers are not sky high and you have some inflammation on investigation by ultrasound. You can reverse both of these. It doesn’t sound as if the ultra sound said anything about your liver being heterogeneous (lumpy) or echogenic (bright), which is again good news. You need to help your liver by taking away things that make its life harder. So avoid alcohol and try to eat a balanced diet which is low in fat and sugar. The Mediterranean diet is perfect. There are some good pages on diet on the BLT web site. Keep away from supplements unless your doctor prescribes things. Over the counter liver supplements are best avoided. Give your liver a bit of time to recover and get your bloods redone. I suspect they will be back to normal.
Acotea2012 - thank you so much for your comments, they're bringing more hope to me. The doctor that did the ultrasound literally said "Good Luck" when I was leaving out the door which made it worse. It would be great if I could reverse this. You also clarified that enlarged is the same as inflamed where I thought enlarged meant permanent and inflamed meant temporary. I will start to eat more Mediterranean! I was taking Isagenix supplements which seem fine but will hold off now until I see the hepatologist on the 18th. I'm so grateful for this website and all of it's contributors as I've been reading many other posts as well. With much appreciation - B
You’re welcome. I learnt tons both from the other contributors here who have lived experience as well as the BLT website which is a great source of information. The thing to remember is that the liver is capable of enormous regeneration. It can repair damage in a way other organs can’t. If you treat it well it you can reverse things. I was diagnosed with cirrhosis and was very ill 4 years ago, I’ve been able to turn that around to a point where I live a normal life. I stopped drinking alcohol which had caused it and improved my diet. Exercised when I was able and my condition improved. My bloods are normal, my last endoscopy showed no varices (I had 2 minor ones at diagnosis) my ultrasound scans show no nasties and my last fibroscan was 6.9 (normal is up to 7). I feel very well. I have to have bi yearly ultrasound scans, endoscopy every two years and bloods every six months. I see my consultant twice a year for literally 5 minutes. My last one lasted a bit longer because I wanted to know whether my diagnosis was correct in the first place. He said it was and went through with me why - tracking back through my medical records from the time of my diagnosis. From what you describe your position is nowhere near where mine was. By improving your diet and keeping alcohol out of your life you should easily be able to reverse things.
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