Hemangiomas or Lesion on Liver

Hello @flow65

I can certainly understand your concern. Since you say that there hasn't been any change over the years, I'm thinking that you must have regular follow-ups. Is that correct? Are your follow-ups MRIs? Do you also have blood tests to check your liver functioning? I've also had liver lesions that have been noted on MRIs but after several years they disappeared.

What does your doctor say about these lesions? Do you see a GI specialist?

I’ve had CTs done. In between the 2 CTs it hasn’t changed much. Slightly. No MRIs. Very claustrophobic. I’ve seen a couple of GIs. My psychiatrist has also said hemangiomas shouldn’t worry me. My liver is functioning and had blood tests. I have extreme anxiety and depression. It’s difficult to even do this messaging. Please respond. Thank you.

Hello @flow65,

I am glad to hear that the blood tests are not showing problems with liver functioning and that the CT scans are not showing any changes of significance. I do understand how anxiety and depression can cloud our thinking and moods. It keeps us from looking at life realistically. It is also good that you are seeing a psychiatrist.

Would it put your mind at ease if you were to see a hepatologist? This is a specialist who deals with diseases of the liver. Might you consider asking for a referral?

I have 4 Hemangiomas and my liver function is fine too. I have known about them for years and so far they have not caused any problems.

Lisa, thank you for responding. Did you have CTs or ultrasound? I’m not sure if I mentioned I had ultrasounds too. 2 drs recommended an MRI. I can’t do those. I’m claustrophobic. Suffer with extreme anxiety and depression. My psychiatrist doesn’t think I need any testing on the hemangiomas. Last gastro dr said in a couple of months just do an ultrasound. Thank you. Flo

Lisa, I woukd say not to worry. I have huge liver hemangiomas, gallbladder polios, kidney polips, lung nodules and none of those things worry me neither my doctors . They assure me that if they don’t grow not to worry..
for anxiety there are many things you could do from meditation ( I have trigeminal neuralgia and several autoimmune diseases and also anxiety and it helps ) to meds that help you to cope with anxiety but regarding thisr growths I woukd say try not to worry, I now remember I have an hemangioma in my oral mucosa (mouth)
Take care!

Hello, I know its been a couple years since you posted but I wondered how you were getting along now with your hemangiomas. I just found out today I have EIGHT of them with the largest being 5.4 cm x 5.4 cm x 5.1 cm. While I am glad they are considered benign, I am a bit concerned about the size of the largest and whether it will grow or not. The report did not indicate a follow up and I haven't gotten to speak with the doctor who ordered the MRI yet. I just saw the results in my Mychart account. I do have some intermittent, mild, dull pain or discomfort in upper right quadrant and back right flank area. I wonder if it the hemangiomas causing this. Thank you for your insight, wishing you good health!

Hello kenyalama, May I ask how big your liver hemangiomas are and how many you have. I just learned I have EIGHT and the largest is 5.4cm x 5.4cm x 5.1cm. I also found out I have four small ground glass lung nodules too. I am having those monitored annually with low dose CT scans. But there has been no recommended follow up yet on the hemangiomas. I will speak to the dr. this Wednesday. Does your doctors periodically monitor your hemangiomas? I wish I could be less worried about all these things as well because I have found my stress to be through the roof lately with all the "scanxiety" from learning about all these findings! Ugh!

Hello, I understand your concern. Last year, I went into the ER for abdominal pain. They did a number of scans. I was diagnosed with bladder cancer. I recovered from that. The urologist recommended I see him every 3 months to be checked. While I was in the hospital, they sedated me for an MRI of the abdomen. The hematologist told me to come back and have another MRI done in a year. He told me the hemangioma of the liver wasn’t a big concern. Since I have my claustrophobia, I will have to be sedated again. I get stressed out thinking about the MRI. I occasionally have mild discomfort of the right side. I have many issues. I have GERD, constant nausea, anxiety, stress, depression and no gallbladder. Sorry, I don’t have much insight for you regarding the hemangioma. My mild discomfort could be from that or because I don’t have a gallbladder. I’m not sure if your discomfort is from the hemangioma. Wishing you good health, as well.

Hello, thank you for your reply. I am glad to hear that you were able to recover from bladder cancer. I understand very well how anxiety can wreak havoc in your life too. I am fortunate that I don't have claustrophobia to the degree that it prevented me from having the MRI done as I understand it can be debilitating for some people. Have you looked to see if your area has a facility that has an "open MRI" scanner available? I have read that these were developed to help reduce the anxiety that people have being in a "closed" tube for scanning. These machines have come a long way. Years ago I had one and the "tube" was very closed in and skinny but there was a mirror that was very close to my face but was distorted or refracted in a way that when you looked at it, the reflection was of your feet (which were outside the tube!) It was supposed to help your brain to remember you weren't entirely "enclosed" I don't know how much it helped... I kept my eyes closed for the most part! Yesterday when I had my MRI I expected the same type of machine but there was no mirror in that machine however the enclosure was much wider. While I did go into the inside of a tube or large pipe, it was not nearly as close to my body. There was quite a bit of space around me and I would say the tube diameter was at least 3-4 foot around. There was light from the room around me coming in at the bottom and the top and because of that I knew that my arms and bottom legs were sticking out of both ends and I wasn't truly enclosed. I felt very calm and relaxed. There are also scanners where you don't go "inside" a tube at all. They look like they slide you on a table between two giant bagel slices. It is totally open! Perhaps you will be lucky and have access to that somewhere in your area! Any way, I do wish you luck with any future scans and results. I hope that your issues get better and you find lasting relief as quality of life is so important to our well being.