Age...

[lusitania84]

I'm 39 and just diagnosed with a fatty liver. I feel like most people with this disorder are older. How common is this condition in younger individuals? I feel like there are probably alot more young people in America with this condition but they may not know it because they haven't had the ultrasound. All of my bloodwork was normal and my liver enzyme levels were normal. I had the ultrasound because of continued pain and I asked for it. What do you guys think? It's hard to find statistics online for this.

[Alterity]

I was 44 when they told me I had NASH. So I was much farther along at 44 then you are at 39. My blood work was normal, I had no problems what so ever. I went in for gastric by pass, they opened me up and aborted the surgery felt I would die on the table. I had the worst looking liver the dr had ever seen and he has done a lot of gastric bypass. NASH is a silent killer. Most people don't know they have fatty liver or NASH before it is to late and most dr. do not do much about it which is sad. I was stage 4 and given 6 years to live. I have out lived it, I'm now 67 but I have listen to my body, but lived my life. Sure I have bad days, but lose weight. I was 283 at the time, I'm 205 now and still fighting this weight. My dr tells me when my blood work comes back showing I have a liver disease it will be to late for me. Good luck.

[nash1996]

I have NASH and I'm 27 (diagnosed at 25). It was picked up on bloods (which triggered a fibroscan and biopsy) for something else. I have never had any symptoms. I am overweight. I imagine a lot of people my age have NAFLD/NASH but it's only usually found incidentally.

[lusitania84]

Thanks for the responses. I would love to know my exact stage but I guess I would need a Fibroscan or some other specialized test to determine that. Whenever I bring this up to my doctors they tell me that I'm "nowhere near cirrhosis" and I hope they know what they're talking about. I'm not sure how they derive that info from an ultrasound. Maybe they can tell... if I wasn't in pain It wouldn't concern me as much. Thanks again

[Dasil7 in reply to lusitania84]

I have perfect labs too, liver size is normal per ultrasound and was told something would be off somewhere etc if it was advanced which, I’ve come to realize from places like this group, is simply not true. Since being staged as moderate fatty liver bordering on severe, I harassed my dr into referring me to a liver specialist but I can’t get in there until October.

In the meantime, I am approaching this situation as if I have fibrosis and have upended everything. I’m exercising, losing weight, and eating a Mediterranean based diet. Not much else we can do.

[lusitania84 in reply to Dasil7]

I'm doing the same. Matter of fact I'm eating my Mediterranean lunch right now. I'm walking everyday for at least 2 miles. I'm going to do the best I can and let the chips fall where they may. That's all we can do anyway right?

[Dasil7 in reply to lusitania84]

Yup….until those tv ads start.

[Dasil7]

Read Dr Lustig’s books. Metabolical in particular was very informational. 39 is not too young. Lustig has had teenage patients in need of liver transplants because of the severity of their fatty livers and says the number of kids with fatty liver is out of control.

And yes, it is a growing epidemic in this country and it is projected to be the leading cause of liver transplants in a few years. My guess is you don’t hear much about it for a few reasons.

1) There are no meds. Lifestyle changes are the only treatment. There are promising meds in the pipeline and once they’re approved, you’ll likely hear much more about it and be humming whatever jingle accompanies the ads that will be on tv every 5 minutes.

2) Most people won’t progress to end stage. It’s something like 20% of NAFLD progress to NASH and 20% of them go on to cirrhosis.

3) While it’s not healthy, the United States is a diet culture so I imagine, and it is a total guess, that most people walking around with fatty liver unknowingly “diet” their way in and out of it over the years since weight loss tends to improve or reverse it.

[Rosebud1027 in reply to Dasil7]

I’m in the process of reading Dr. Lustig’s book, Metabolical, and it is fascinating and easy to read as a non-scientist. I recommend it to anyone who wants to understand the role our food choices make in metabolic diseases like diabetes and liver disease.

[Rosebud1027]

I read a static that said 80% of Americans have some stage of liver disease, ranging from early fatty liver through end stage cirrhosis. Most people in early stages of fatty liver don’t even know they have it. You don’t have to be overweight to have this disease either which surprised me. Doctors are seeing more and more children with fatty livers. It has a lot to do with the quality of & additives in the processed food we eat, alcohol and lack of exercise.

[lusitania84 in reply to Rosebud1027]

Well... I'm honestly not THAT overweight. For my entire adult life up until a few years ago I weighed about 165. Then I got up to 195. For those few years I ate whatever I wanted whenever I wanted it and also drank whatever I wanted. I developed a love for bourbon. I'm not talking excessive drinking but just sort of average amount. I would say the equivalent of someone have a few beers daily but I wasn't even drinking daily. I also used alot of NSAID drugs like Diclofenac, Naproxen, Ibuprofen for my aches and pains. I forgot how to cope with little pains and got used to just popping a pill. I think this all combined to cause the damage. Nevertheless I'm attacking the problem on all fronts now since I don't exactly know what caused it.

[Nervousone in reply to lusitania84]

How tall are you? By the way I like your tag name. My father is a lusitanian (northern Portugal). Lusitanians being the ancient name for the Portuguese

[lusitania84 in reply to Nervousone]

I am about 5'9"

[lusitania84]

I didn't really want to start a whole new thread but I just want to know if an abdominal ultrasound(which I've had) would always reveal ascites if it's present? lm a bit paranoid about this due to some my symptoms... Whenever I've brought this up to my primary care doc and my hepatologist they say that I don't have Cirrhosis and that's what causes ascites. I understand that you guys aren't doctors but I still wanted to ask and hear what you guys had to say about this based on your experiences.

[Mojo-Risin]

a third of our population has fatty liver. Unfortunately its common, but potentially dangerous. Get a fibroscan for a baseline and tracknit at least annually. Then focus on weight loss/management, drink alcohol minimally/responsibly, and exercise regularly. There are a ton of long term success stories but it requires awareness and responsible life styles. Doctors chronically are dismissive about fatty liver diagnosis. They should not be.

[lusitania84]

If anyone knows about ultrasounds, please give me some feedback on my question from above. I would really appreciate it. Thanks a lot.

[TruthWillSetUFree]

Look for this study online. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post links to outside articles so I'm just giving you the title, but yes, kids as young as 5 are having fatty liver disease. Title of article to search for:

"Kids’ glyphosate exposure linked to liver disease and metabolic syndrome

In a first-of-its kind study, researchers found children exposed to the controversial herbicide were more likely in early adulthood to have a collection of symptoms that increase risk of heart disease, diabetes and stroke.

Kate Raphael March 02, 2023