@rose999 we do have similarities but no one else in my family has ever had liver problems. It is very obvious that mine was from fatty liver. I was overweight and did not pay nearly enough attention to what I was eating.

I really never had terrible bruising, no worse than I have always had! I think the reason I went a year and half after I had my first HE episode was because I was not jaundiced and my ALT and AST were not that bad but I have read that those are not good indicators of cirrhosis, they often are not bad. I never got jaundiced, even in the last six weeks prior to transplant when I really went downhill. I did have so many other complaints though that I discovered afterwards were all cirrhosis symptoms but no one really put it all together. My PCP thought it was a problem in my brain so sent me to a neurologist and he actually was the one who first said he thought it was a liver problem!

I will never trust the doctors around here again. I have mentioned before that when I went in the hospital in December for what turned out to be Legionnaire's Disease they tested and tested. After diagnosing pneumonia I am sure they would have stopped if I was in the local hospital whereas being in MGH, a hospital that I positively love, they are so good and so thorough, they did more tests and it turned out my pneumonia was from Legionnaire's which is best treated by a different antibiotic from what pneumonia is treated with.
JK

@rose999, I wish you success in your search for a diagnosis and treatment.

I would like to encourage you to make your 2nd opinion inquiries soon, while your strength and your health are favorable. I do not know what kind of a waiting period there is for your situation.
Do you have someone who will accompany you? It is helpful (and encouraged by Mayo) to bring along a companion as a second set of ears.
Let me know how I can be of support or if I can help you in any way as you move ahead.
Hugs,
Rosemary

My physical therapist's mother had developed liver problems, curable, not cirrhosis, and is now in Dartmouth Hitchcock Hospital here in NH. Her PCP here in one of the local hospitals told her there was no urgency. She went to DH and yes, there was urgency. She has been in there since last week and will hopefully be discharged in a day or two. She will be changing PCPs. DH has outpatient facilities/doctors in Nashua, Manchester and Concord so she plans to find a doctor at one of their facilities. Another patient not adequately diagnosed by the PCPs around here. Thank goodness we have better options to turn to, even if they are less convenient. There are a few good doctors in NH, my neurologist is definitely one of them, but there sure are a lot who are not. I think in any profession that people tend to work up to those who are doing a good job and highly thought of. Obviously around here they don't have much to work up to.
JK

@contentandwell, I hope your PT's mother is doing okay. That was quite a fright for her.
Rosemary

@rosemarya it really was a fright, for the whole family. She initially tried to make an appointment at MGH but would have had to wait a while and she didn't want to wait so she called Dartmouth Hitchcock. It turned out that was a good thing. I suspect if she had realized the seriousness of her situation that MGH would have managed to accommodate her. I believe she will be coming home tomorrow.
My PT and I have a good relationship, this is my third time working with him, so we do tend to discuss family, etc. He's a pretty good guy.
JK