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Confused and Anxious: Questions about fatty liver and cirrhosis

Posted by chinup23 @chinup23, Dec 28, 2023

Hello, I apparently had severe fatty liver Jul 21 but unfortunately was not told šŸ™ I sadly continued to consume alcohol - more than I should which I so terribly regret now but am totally alcohol free now since then. In June of this year I presented with Ascites and went to my Doctor. She stated she thought I had cirrhosis, this floored me - I did drink to much but to go from fatty liver to Cirrhosis in under two years seems insane? I had a Fibroscan and it was 11.8 kPa on Jul 7th and then had another on Nov 1st that was a 9.0 kPa.

I am wondering if there is any chance that I do have Fibrosis 2/3 and that the enlarged liver or fibrosis caused the ascites versus cirrhosis? The timeline and the low liver stiffness do not make sense to me. My Doctor (GP) told me I do not have Portal Hypertension and that I am early Cirrhosis - how is that possible if I have ascites? I am waiting still for an appointment with the Hepatologist and likely will not get in until Feb-May timeframe and this is hard to absorb.
Does anyone have any information they can help me with - is there hope maybe this is not actually cirrhosis? My bloodwork all came in line after I quit consuming alcohol within 3 weeks for the most part and is now all apparently better than most healthy people according to my doctor. Please - any advice would be so greatly appreciated!! Thank you so much!

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parrot53 | @parrot53 | May 15 10:35am
In reply to @jmadiedo "Hi @rosemarya, yes Iā€™m a patient at Mayo, AZ and will have my follow up appointments..." + (show)
@jmadiedo

Hi @rosemarya, yes Iā€™m a patient at Mayo, AZ and will have my follow up appointments there. I live in Vegas so itā€™s not too far away.

My wife and I have been crying a bit. And it does seem to help but, Iā€™m still it that bad place. To boot some cyst appeared in my kidneys through this process, I meet with urologist tomorrow to review.

my doc said I have real good prognosis with the things Iā€™ve done so far to avoid further damage. Loosing weight, cutting out alcohol altogether and My labs etc coming back in range but, Iā€™m still Stage 4 cirrhosis or ā€œearly cirrhosisā€ and Iā€™m scared šŸ™

are there folks here that have turned it around? Regressed it?

Iā€™m driving myself worse by every thing I feel being a potential symptom.

You are so brave! Being a mentor and also a liver/kidney transplant recipient, I canā€™t seem to find that bravery right now. How long has it been for you?

I donā€™t have a firm next appt yet, I think all the tests are still ruling out any other potential underlying issues.

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Hello,
Welcome to Mayo Connect. You are doing the right things. I also have stage 4 liver cirrhosis. I have been monitored at Mayo Jacksonville for five years now. I did all the testing for liver transplant (which was ok but the thought of it was scary) and eventually got on the list. I developed a liver tumor that grew to 2cm which gave me exceptional points on the transplant list. But.. the good news is I try to keep in good health just like you are doing and I am now off the list and three years cancer free. This is a life changing and prioritizing experience for sure. Every personā€™s journey is different but we are lucky to live in a time when treatments are available and lives can be extended. Stay as healthy as you can, eat well, and enjoy each day and each person is the advice I was given. I think it is good advice so I strive to follow it. Wishing you the best of luck and know that there are people here to talk to.

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1 reply
jmadiedo | @jmadiedo | May 16 12:00am
In reply to @parrot53 "Hello, Welcome to Mayo Connect. You are doing the right things. I also have stage 4..." + (show)
@parrot53

Hello,
Welcome to Mayo Connect. You are doing the right things. I also have stage 4 liver cirrhosis. I have been monitored at Mayo Jacksonville for five years now. I did all the testing for liver transplant (which was ok but the thought of it was scary) and eventually got on the list. I developed a liver tumor that grew to 2cm which gave me exceptional points on the transplant list. But.. the good news is I try to keep in good health just like you are doing and I am now off the list and three years cancer free. This is a life changing and prioritizing experience for sure. Every personā€™s journey is different but we are lucky to live in a time when treatments are available and lives can be extended. Stay as healthy as you can, eat well, and enjoy each day and each person is the advice I was given. I think it is good advice so I strive to follow it. Wishing you the best of luck and know that there are people here to talk to.

Jump to this post

Incredible story and improvement! Iā€™m curious were you able to see some regression too? Did your liver start to heal itself?

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1 reply
parrot53 | @parrot53 | May 16 7:14am
In reply to @jmadiedo "Incredible story and improvement! Iā€™m curious were you able to see some regression too? Did your..." + (show)
@jmadiedo

Incredible story and improvement! Iā€™m curious were you able to see some regression too? Did your liver start to heal itself?

Jump to this post

I have not seen improvement there but as long as I stay cancer free and donā€™t decline, I consider that a win. I struggle with weight gain and am trying to address that as well as maintaining muscle with moderate excercise and diet.
I read your previous post and it sounds like you really turned things around in your life. I do think your root cause is more amenable to improvement. My initial cause was hepatitis c. I probably had it for over 30 years before it was eradicated with the first effective medications.

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