Autoimmune Hepatitis

This may be the case, but if you fell fine why are you having all these tests and taking medications? As far as Prednisone goes, be cautious, long term use can make you have Bloated Moon Face and effect your joints years later if given larger doses for extended time frames! Be cautious!

Yo fui diagnosticada de Hepatitis Autoinmune hace quince años. Sintomática

Hola, me llamo Mar y hace 15 años me diagnosticaron Hepatitis Autoinmune. Soy de España

@bbmayo My liver enzymes have been testing high for a few years now. I have done all the testing, but kept resisting on the biopsy because of the fact that I have absolutely no symptoms. Of course, the doctors have been impressing upon me that NOT having symptoms is not uncommon with liver issues, and sometimes by the time I start feeling sick from it, the disease has progressed. I relented and had the biopsy. Of course, the results came back thatI have AIH. I am not taking the meds yet, but I’m sure that’s where this is going to go. It’s a long holiday weekend in the US (don’t know where you are).

Hi! I'm sorry about your diagnosis! If you're not responsive to the Imuran and Prednisone, you might consider Mycophenolate (Cellcept). I was diagnosed in June of 2021 by a Transplant Hepatologist and treated. with Budesonide and Azathioprine (Imuran). No luck. Remained on AZA and Budesonide was replaced with Prednisone. Still, no luck achieving remission, but my enzymes weren't terribly high (mid to upper 100's) Eventually, I was placed on Tacrolimus, which was terrible for me. I noted a few people on the AIHA group who mentioned Mycophenolate and found a recent-ish AIH study by Hepatologists in Athens, Greece that suggested Mycophenolate as a more successful first line therapy. I wish I'd known earlier, as I finally started it 3.5 years in and it worked immediately. 250mg AM/PM. Finally off steroids after 4 years. I now have major osteoporosis at age 52 though I've been a decades long health nut-weights, yoga, healthy diet. Good luck to you! I hope you achieve chemical remission soon!

Hi, I am in similar situation: moderately elevetated liver enzymes for 5 years, high antibodies (Smooth muscle and Mitochondria). My specialist suspect AIH overlap with PBC. Waiting for biopsy to confirm. Reading different forums and found book 'Curing Courtney: Doctors Couldn't Save Her...So Her Mom Did'. Interesting read about natural treatment.

@hola2u Thanks for sharing your AIH journey! Like you, after testing in my case, they determined I wasn't metabolizing AZA properly so they switched me to Myfortic, and my enzymes normalized quickly. Fortunately, they switched me about 10 months into AZA treatment.
I'm curious if you have any cirrhosis/fibrosis? Also, other than the osteoporosis, did you notice any other long term effects of being on prednisone for 4 years?
I also recently started on risedronate as a preventative for bone loss. I'm down to 5 mg of prednisone now and hope to be off it completely in the next couple of months if all continues to go well.

@mar1963 Hola. Estoy en tu misma situation. Que tratamiento tienes? Vivo en Orlando, Florida

English translation
Hi. I'm in the same situation. What treatment are you receiving? I live in Orlando, Florida.

@lulubelle57 I was told for years that I just had fatty liver. My enzymes were elevated but not crazy high. I had no symptoms. In 2020 I started having mild symptoms but again doctors had no clue it was my liver. Fast forward to 2023 when I had a colon resection from diverticulitis, they found that I had stage 4 liver cirrhosis. Had I gotten treatment back 2008 when my liver enzymes first started going up they probably could have treated me for fibrosis and reversed the damage. Address the disease early!