Pain in left side

[PBC2012]

I spoke to my GI doctor last week about the pain, alot of times severe,in myright side (liver area ) he said that the liver is not a muscle so the pain is not the liver itself. He said it's the surrounding tissue and that my liver is enlarged. All I know is it is a constant pain, sometimes mild, most of the time quite severe. Has anyone dealt with this and any solutions for me?

[PBC2012]

Pain is in my right side ...sorry about the typo!

[Tumbleweed41]

PBC2012 -

Sorry you are having such issues. Have you had your Dr. check your Gall Bladder??? You've probably read some of our comments concerning the Gall Bladder and I think that the general consensus is that if your insurance will cover it - if your Dr. will order it - a HidaScan is in order. - An Ultra Sound might be in order first however, to rule out Gall Stones.

How did your Dr. deduce that your liver is enlarged??

I'm sure that the others will have a lot of helpful ideas and suggestions. Do what you feel is best for you and keep us informed, please.

Blessings,

Tumbleweed 41

[PBC2012]

I had my gallbladder removed over seven years ago ....he did a liver biopsy ...I am just wondering if it's possible to "unenlarge " my liver?!

[Tumbleweed41]

Guess I need to read more Blogs! lol. Or maybe it is that I need to remember what I have read. Hmmmm??

What has your Dr. suggested be done about your pain? Is he going to pursue this??

I wonder if they could do a "liver -tuck" - you know - like a "tummy tuck". LOL I'm sorry, but that just struck me funny. I know this is serious and you are in pain and I wish I could help you, but I don't have a clue. Sure hope some of the others do.

Stay strong.

[Val02]

Hi PBC - depending on the stage of your PBC the liver should reduce in size as the treatment with URSO progresses. I know exactly what you are describing and I had this when I was first diagnosed (do still get it occassionly), but with treatment my liver reduced to a normal size but it did take about a year.

So it is certainly possible to "unenlarge" your liver but as always it will depend on your situation.

[dizee in reply to Val02]

wow! i never realised this. now that i am religeously taking my urso every day, fingers crossed it will , hope my midriff follows suit lol

[Alley27]

Hi, I wonder do you take steroids for the inflammation in your liver? I take prednisalone steroids, which has taken the inflammation down significantly, and my bloods are improving. It's just a thought but my consultant told me that the gold treatment for AIH/PBC overlap is steroids and azathioprine. I start the azathioprine from my next appointment.

May be talk to your liver specialist about these treatments..I am sure that the inflammation should be treated with steroids..it's just a thought because everyone is not the same.

[Gioielli]

Also used to suffer from pain on right side. Not so much now that I have been on URSO for 2 years.

[PBC2012]

Thanks again everyone for all the insight. Unfortunately I do no see my specialists until the end of August hence all the questions from me.I am taking Urso but that's it until my appointment in August.

[general1]

I too have the pain and my liver is enlarged also. I had an ultrasound done back in Nov 2011 which showed enlarged liver...but liver itself looked fine. I have been on Urso since April 2012 and it has helped a bit. My Dr said it may or may not ever go back to normal. Somedays it just feels like pressure and others it actually hurts. I have not been on prednisone but thought about asking my Dr about trying it. I hate even thinking about it cause of the bad side effects. I know I have not been of much help but do know there are some of us that feel the same pain.

[PBC2012]

Thank you general ....I'm just frustrated because everyday seems like something new going on.

[zipitydoo in reply to PBC2012]

I suppose in a way thats good. Sorry to sound awful didnt mean it that way. I was just thinking you will have a ton of questions to ask when you do get to see the specialist. Hope you are doing a list and adding to it. When i first saw the specialist i thought of all my questions I should have asked when i got home and had to wait just over a year for my next appointment.

The one thing you do need to remember though is they dont have all the answers they are still learning about it like we are but hopefully if we all join together we might get some answers a bit quicker.

[Jtxx]

I certainly feel discomfort and some pain when my liver is inflamed. Not had it for a while, and as my LFt's are not normal, I presume this is why. X

[Hidden]

Hi I also have the right side pain and was told the same as you, the liver cannot cause pain! I have had an MRI, CT and Xray to try to find the source of the pain but nothing detected yet. Some days I reduce my urso to see what happens and the pain gets worse, so I think the docs do not know what we have to put up with pain wise. I will follow your post see if you get sorted, I have also had my gall bladder removed.

[dizee in reply to Hidden]

could the pain be the bile acid burning inside the liver i wonder? when i was in denial and missed the urso often it was that ache that reminded me to be responsible and take daily. so far urso is doing the trick i feel.

[general1]

PBC2012 I hear ya on the it seems like something new every day. I think my Drs think I'm crazy!

[PBC2012]

I am beginning to believe that about mine as well. I was diagnosed in April so I am very new to all this and the changes in appetite, pain,sleep and physical exhaustion from doing almost nothing is just so overwhelming.

[wongie]

I too have pain in left side. doc said its nothing to do with liver. I had my gall bladder removed about 4 years ago, because of pain, but still have pain. Really strange. when I mentioned it to the doc he said i can put a camera down if you want. i said no you can keep your cameras thankyou very much, i'll just put up with it, like i put up with everything else.

[Maggs3petts]

I've had PBC for about 6yrs now and always had discomfort. My Consultant sent me for an MRI about a year ago and discovered a blocked bile duct. They said it was a stone and decided to leave it in the hope it could dissolve but so far hasn't. Before I go to see my Consultants my GP always gets me to go to the Health Centre and have blood taken so they can test it and I can collect the results to take to the Consultant. I was down on Monday and my GP called me this morn to tell me that the results aren't good. He mentioned all the abbreviations and all levels up. LFTs thru the roof. On the other hand blood count is down to 10.2 at min - hoping when I go to the hospital on Monday afternoon, my Consultant will have the results of a recent liver scan and he can discuss options with me. Another theory is that its a growth and so would have to be removed and stents placed in to help drain the bile. At the min I don't care what they do I just want the pain to end and be able to eat properly. Also not have the gross sour tasted in my mouth 24/7. Maybe some of this can shed light on your pain pbc2012. (