Food

[emarie96]

So I had an unfortunate devastation pop up (I lost one of my fur babies on Friday night) and she spent the whole week at the vet so I did not end up getting my liverfast and it is rescheduled for March 8th.

I have a few questions though. I have an absolute fear that the way im eating is going to have no positive effect on my liver. Lots of EVOO, lots of veggies, water, no sugar, fish, black paper filtered coffee, chicken and turkey, only whole wheat grains, nuts and seeds. I know that it's great for my heart and other parts of my body, but I'm scared that it's too late for my liver.

I have no clue what condition my liver is in. Only that my fib-4 score indicates that my probability of advanced cirrhosis is low (.37). And that my bloodwork is improving (LDL/HDL, blood sugar, liver panel). Also, this time last year, I got my gallbladder out and my surgeon looked at my liver and said it looked okay and didn't feel the need to do a biopsy.

Does anyone have any stories of the positive effect of food on the health of the liver? I'm so scared that I'm doomed and that my changes in diet will help everything else but not my liver.

I know I've probably said this a million times here but my biggest fear is that I have cirrhosis and that I only have 10 years left with my husband and my fur babies.

Also, at what point is there no chance of it being reversible? F2? F3? F4? This is the question I'm most curious about!

One last question (for now, I promise 😜). This one might seem silly but does anyone know if light exercise (like 30 min walks daily) can mess with lab work? I don't want to do anything to mess up my liverfast.

[nash2 Partner]

Anxiety can be a hard companion and we become our own worst enemy. We all walk that anxious road at times. Most liver related disease progresses slowly so you can take a breath. You are doing the things that will help manage your condition. Testing will help you better understand your situation, but the most important thing is that you are engaged. The people who do badly are usually the ones who waited to long to make the effort. That isn't you so try to keep those things in mind. I know the anxiety demon is hard to manage but just being aware that it is probably overdone can help. Also, exercise is important and won't affect your testing.

Good luck Wayne

[emarie96 in reply to nash2]

Hi Wayne,I'm pretty young (26) and it scares me to think that this is something that I even have to think about. I'm so serious about my health now. In this process, I've lost around 27 lbs and I am still losing. I'm eating a medi diet with emphasis on veggies, fruits, nuts and fish. I'm drinking coffee (black! Never thought I'd see the day haha.) The only improvement I need to make is more exercise. I'm excited but extremely nervous to get the blood test because I know that it will tell me more about the condition of my liver. I'm really really hoping that is still at a state where it is reversible. I guess that's my biggest fear in all of this: irreversibility. I know you're not a doctor, but I really respect the amount of research you've done, is there truly a point where it's irreversible? Is there a point of no return? Im so scared that I really do only have like 10 or 12 years left with my husband and it makes me so upset to think about.

[nash2 Partner in reply to emarie96]

this is a chart of my journey from dangerous F4 to manageable F2. Lots of people here have been able to manage their situation. Like all medical things it depends on your unique situation but in general people who are serious have some success.

Fibroscan over time

[emarie96 in reply to nash2]

Your story gives me so much hope and motivation to keep going! Once you have cirrhosis, do you always have cirrhosis? Or do you no longer consider yourself to have it?

[nash2 Partner]

Something to understand, cirrhosis is an old term. Today only stage F4 NASH is considered to be cirrhosis. Early stages of the NASH disease refer to various levels of liver damage. Unless you have been diagnosed as stage 4 you don't have cirrhosis and only F4 can eventually reach a point of no return so you may be scared of the words. I was F4 cirrhosis but today would not be diagnosed as having cirrhosis.