Chirrosis

[bigbaz]

I was diagnosed with NAFLD 5 years ago and weighed 24 stone my last scan 3 years ago at 19 stone I was still NAFLD since then I gave up alcohol and still weighed 19 stone my scan then was moderate fat in liver and liver was fine.Now my last scan the specialist said I had Chirrosis and was to lose weight,I’m scared and very confused

[nash2 Partner]

Hi Big

I guess the first question is what kind of scans did you get and who did them? Generally, if you stop drinking your liver will stop getting worse and for most there will be improvement but it takes a while, so one question is when did you stop drinking? The question your specialist needs to answer for you is whether the disease is progressing since giving up drinking but losing weight is always going to be part of the advice.

[bigbaz in reply to nash2]

They have been ultrasound scans,the decision to stop drinking was mine there was no recommendation by the doctor as it was NAFLD.It was to help reverse the NAFLD.What confuses me is the jump straight to Chirrosis rather than go to NASH first and as I had lost weight and cleaned up my lifestyle I thought I was on the way to reversing it not ending up with Chirrosis

[bigbaz in reply to nash2]

I had previously had a 19 kpa reading on a Fibroscan 4/5 years ago and it was thought to be Chirrosis but I weighed a lot and had a large stomach further ultrasound showed no Chirrosis just moderate fatty liver.Had another ultrasound October 2022 and specialist told me middle January liver is scarred.To get Fibroscan on May/June.Do you think I should ask for a biopsy as this all seems inconclusive and it’s stressing me out badly

[nash2 Partner in reply to bigbaz]

Hi Big

It is easy to be stressed out. You are unfortunately in the position so many of us are or have been. First thing to understand is that ultrasound can't show the fibrosis so no NASH diagnosis. It can make a guess about fat content but is very imprecise because the indication is that the liver looks brighter on the screen so pretty subjective. A good operator can look at the shadow of the liver on the abdominal wall and the nodules of cirrhosis will show up but ultrasound is mostly useful to look for liver cancer. Your 19 kpa was probably fair warning. That is a cirrhosis level reading and perhaps it was high but if it was competently done it said you had NASH 4 years ago. The fact that you stopped drinking will probably save you so stick with it. Getting your diet under control and getting weight off is important long term. Stage 4 NASH and cirrhosis are the same thing. The question is whether you have decompensated or developed serious liver symptoms. You can live a long time with cirrhosis if you treat your liver well. The upcoming FibroScan should give you a better sense of where you are.

[bigbaz in reply to nash2]

Many thanks for your time

[Hidden]

My understanding is that the only definitive answer is from a biopsy, although scans can be helpful. I had a scan that showed borderline cirrhosis with 14.0 kPa and the biopsy I had shortly afterward showed only F1 scarring. You might lessen your stress with a biopsy, and lessening stress is always a good thing. My stress level after the FibroScan could NOT have been helping my health. Wishing you all the best!

[bigbaz in reply to Hidden]

Many thanks for your time they reckon it’s Compensated I have