PBC and tattoos... Is there a link?

[xXxAndzxXx]

Hi all! Its been a little while since i posted my query "pbc and food is there a link." Thanks you to everyone who responded because i know there is a link despite my doctor saying otherwise as my body goes into meltdown after i eat... Itching like mad depending on what i have eaten. So we Definately need to eat fresh, less sugar and potentially no meat.

Soooo... My new post is inspired by my mother who has since my illness been trying to figure out where it has come from because i do not fit the bill on the standard pbc sufferer(whatever that means...)

So, my mum read ( unsure where) that pbc can be caused by tattoos but more specifically the use of dirty needles etc. I have two tattoos... One i got at a young age in turkey ( no i wasnt drunk and i did make sure the gentlemen opened his needles in front on me... That is my exact reponse to my mum by the way) and the second one was in cambridge and was over the original as i didnt like it anymore. So if anyone gets to see my tattoo it looks like one but its two.

So, have any of you guys got any tattoos? Have you heard of this link between pbc and tattoos? Is there anything you can think of that i could potentially tell my mother to curb her concern regarding the tattoo situation because i am unlikely to get anymore.

Or is pbc something that just happens? Because it cant be genetic as no one else in my family has it...

What does everyone think?

[Missboro]

I haven't seen anywhere that tattoos can cause PBC. I don't have any tattoos and no one in my family had it which was why I was surprised when I got diagnosed with it. Up until that point I hadn't even heard of PBC. It might be one of those things that just happens.

[xXxAndzxXx in reply to Missboro]

What is strange is the liver is an amazing organ which can regenerate so its a cop out that the most amazing organ we have an issue with... I just think there is something missing here with regards to testing...

[PixyJ in reply to xXxAndzxXx]

I completely agree, there has to be a way to stop this disease and heal from it

[Ktltel]

xXAndzXx,

Hi,

I don't have any tattoos and never have gotten any my entire life. But in 2012 I did have a surgery where I got a really bad infection afterward and I had to be on antibiotics for almost a year. I wonder if having a severe infection where our bodies had to fight for a prolonged period of time and be on antibiotics also has anything to do with it?

Stella ❤

[xXxAndzxXx in reply to Ktltel]

There must be some kind of trigger we arent thinking about because genetics doesnt make sense as i know no one in my family with my condition.

Also, after reading other posts i noticed that it cant be to do with drinking either because i have never been a drinker... Never been interested. Dont grt me wrong i have had a drink but to excess only twice and i hated it and didnt do it again.

I wonder if we can do a questionnaire or something using this forum because it just doesnt make any sense. How i can be fine one day and then faint and have pbc the next... So frustrating!

[SharonM69 in reply to xXxAndzxXx]

My sister read somewhere that nail varnish can trigger it, considering mostly women get pbc this could be it, or even the fumes from the nail bars. I used to chew off my nail varnish, I also grew up in an area that had radon gas, my sister had hodgkins disease. My mum had scleroderma. Just a thought.

[Vespa27 in reply to Ktltel]

Hi ktltel, actually, I have been thinking about this myself. I had swine flu and took antivirals about 8 months before I actually became unwell. But before that, I had a couple of random blood tests done for feeling exhausted all the time, that came back dodgy and nothing was done....Thanks x

[LindyRich]

Pbc is not caused by dirty needles or tattoos. I have never had a tattoo. I think your Mum has got it muddled up with something else. Hepatitis perhaps. Does Mum also understand about autoimmune diseases? I would be interested in the source of her information. If she Googled it i can understand that the information very likely would be old, inaccurate and downright misleading.

As far as genetics is concerned, any of our relatives could have had pbc and never been diagnosed. They could have died of something else or their Doctors did not know about pbc, after all it is still classed as a rare disease.

I have read in the pbc foundation information that most people with pbc do not develop cirrosis so without todays sophisticated testing how many sufferers slipped the net?

Do we have to have "something" or "someone" to blame? The point is we have got it. We need to focus on treatment, helping ourselves and keeping a positive attitude. There have been posts on here, very encouraging ones, from people who have had pbc for decades and who still lead normal lives apart from taking urso.

Have you joined the PBC Foundation? If you haven't, please do. The compendium on that site is priceless.

Please take care

Regards

Lindy

[LindyRich]

Ps. Your Mum would benefit from the info on the pbcfoundation website also. Put her mind at rest.

[Hidden]

No tattoos... there are so many things that could trigger PBC and most have been debated somewhere, but google won't have the answer until science and reasearch has.

I wonder will anyone ever know for sure and what's to say it's not different for everyone. However it is still possible that finding the trigger may one day be the answer to the cure, maybe not in my life time but in those that follow.

But do join the PBC foundation it's the most up to date information you will find and is backed by their medical teams.

[loufish]

I do not believe pbc an auto immune condition is caused by food and there is no way it is caused by tattoos...

[gwillistexas in reply to loufish]

I agree. My dr told me, & from all I’ve read on autoimmune, our immune system gets confused & instead of just attacking bad cells, it attacks itself the good. So here we are☺️

[2006]

I have no tattoos, no body piercings just one in ea. Ear for ratings when I was 17 years old.

Ruth

[emerich]

My gp and specialist both told me that PBC is generally thought to be genetic , triggered by an infection of some sort. Nothing to do with tattoos.

[gwillistexas in reply to emerich]

I believe I read in the link , Betarome(?) shared about new drug for PSC, that they may be about to research to see if genetics is involved. Don’t quote me. I had one aunt who had Sjogrens, 2 cousins younger than myself, have RA. So could very well have something to do with autoimmune.

[gwillistexas in reply to emerich]

Well, meant to say something to do with genetics.

[emerich]

Could be, I know if you have one auto immune disease it's not unusual to have others too.

[LindyRich in reply to emerich]

You right there. I have 3 up to now

[scthompson]

I had electrolysis hair removal - very similar process as tattooing. I am wondering about blood type O- people being more susceptible to PBC? And just to report update, my recent “attack” where my liver was aching terribly for several weeks was brought on by eating Valentines day chocolates. Now if I have a sweet of any kind within 10 minutes I get shooting pains under my lower front ribs on the right side.

[Jagy in reply to scthompson]

Sugar is bad