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Posted 8/9/2011 8:50 PM (GMT 0)
I have been to 4 doctors with this and just had an endoscope performed on stomach. I just don't want the doctors to miss anything because I really believe
I had(or getting better from) alcoholic hepatitis but my doctor disagrees with me. The doctor said if I had an enlarged liver it would have shown up on ultra sound but my rt side still feels a little weird (like there is something there when I bend over). I no longer have nausea but the feeling on my rt side is bothering me. I have posted a few times and I don't want to sound like a complainer because I know there are some really sick people in these forums but I was just wondering if anyone knows if blood work/ultrasound can be normal but still have mild hepatitis? The last doctor wanted to put me on anxiety meds. This is driving me nuts because I thought the endoscope would have shown something but everything normal(happy but what could have caused the heavy feeling in stomach)
Posted 8/9/2011 9:00 PM (GMT 0)

How long have you been off the booze now?  It's generally going to take 6 mos. to a year to recover from whatever damage you did by your drinking.  Liver enzymes will normally be elevated...or some of the other blood work out of whack...if there is something going on with your liver.  I can't explain the feeling of fullness you have in your tummy.

The upper endoscopy covers the esophagus (for diagnosing esophageal varices) and the stomach.  Count your blessings that everything was normal.

It's highly unlikely that you would have primary liver cancer (not metastasized from another organ), since you don't have cirrhosis or hep C, and your scan was normal.

You might want to try the anti-anxiety meds if you are going to remain fixated on what could be wrong.  And don't drink alcohol!

Hugs,

Connie


Posted 8/9/2011 9:36 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you for fast response! I have a doctors appointment on Thursday but I am afraid to take any medication (for liver sake). I truly believe I had some kind of liver reaction to my last alcohol intake. I haven't had a large quantity of alcohol since the end of may but had a couple at BBQ in June. I am upset with this as I have 3 children who need their father and its driving me nuts. I guess just take one day at a time because symptoms slowly seem to be waning. I wake up thinking about it and go to bed thinking about it my wife said no way is it alcohol related but i disagree. I told her since i quit symptoms slowly getting better so common sense tells me it was alcohol related(whatever was going on)
Posted 8/9/2011 10:03 PM (GMT 0)

Try to avoid situations where there is alcohol involved.  If you need help with staying stopped, seek help from AA.

Best of luck,

Connie

Posted 8/10/2011 12:56 PM (GMT 0)
I was truly concerned that I had cirrhosis but doc said ultra sound would have shown that. I hope he is right! I realize not all livers created equal and alcohol affects some livers worse than others. I think i read on one of your posts that you are on the list good luck and
God bless
Posted 8/10/2011 8:25 PM (GMT 0)

Thanks for the good wishes, UTD.

A sonogram will not necessarily show cirrhosis.  The gold standard for that would be a biopsy, or the newer noninvasive procedure, Fibroscan.  However, given your normal liver enzymes and other blood work, I would doubt that you have cirrhosis.  Had you continued drinking, you might've had a much more negative outcome.  Again, be happy that you stopped in time and try to enjoy the life you've been given...your second chance...and relax!

Hugs,

Connie

Posted 8/11/2011 4:15 PM (GMT 0)
UTD - My situation was very similar to yours.  I used to abuse alcohol and marijuana and the only symptom I started having was right upper quadrant pain.  I had every test imaginable and all kept coming back normal.  But my anxiety persisted and I went to see a popular hep dr. in NYC who agreed to biopsy.  It came back with very minimal scarring.  There's a chance you maybe in the same boat, maybe not.  The important thing is you stopped drinking.  Continue that along with proper diet and exercise and you (and I) should be fine. 

To answer your question in your original post, hepatitis just means liver inflammation which would come back in your blood test (liver enzymes would be elevated). 

I nor the doctor knows what cause the dull ache / heavy feeling but mine did improve with no drinking and proper diet and exercise.  The pain for me is all but gone now.

Hope this helps...

Posted 8/11/2011 4:33 PM (GMT 0)
Woody-how long did it take before your pain went away? Does it ever come back?
Posted 8/11/2011 5:53 PM (GMT 0)

Woody, it's nice to see you posting and to know that you are staying on course with a healthy lifestyle and are feeling better.  We love success stories!

Hugs,

Connie

Posted 8/11/2011 6:04 PM (GMT 0)
It took a solid 6 months of flawless eating, daily exercise and no alcohol, tobacco or drugs of any kind. And when I say flawless I mean flawless (i.e. typical day: oatmeal w/ mixed berries for breakfast, veggie salad no dressing for lunch, 8 oz of alaskan salmon w/ sweet potato and brussel sprouts for dinner...water only to drink, 90 oz's spring per day) no cheating. And when I say daily I mean daily 4 days per week of 30 min cardio and 3 days of 45 min weight training. Now the pains are all but gone. If I feel a slight dull ache for a few moments in the liver area every couple of days thats a lot. Living healthy has now become a lifestyle and I really don't mind it. However, I do miss drinking and having a good time with friends and such. Maybe if I had this lifestyle while I was drinking (drank often but not that I would consider myself an alcoholic) I wouldn't be in this situation. I truly believe that I got liver damage from not giving my body the proper fluids, antioxidants, viatmins, minerals, etc. while I was drinking and smoking.
Posted 8/11/2011 6:38 PM (GMT 0)
Woody, I see that you were diagnosed with hep C in June. Has treatment been mentioned? You know there is a new one available now that adds a protease inhibitor and is having great results, if your genotype is 1a or 1b. While the change of lifestyle can certainly help reverse the damage from alcoholic liver disease, hep C is a different animal. Yes, continue to abstain from alcohol and eat well and exercise--that will go a long way towards slowing the damage from hep C. But progress it will, if left untreated. I don't want you to end up where I am now: Liver cancer for a second time and on the waiting list for a transplant--strictly from untreated hep C.

Hugs,
Connie
Posted 8/11/2011 7:29 PM (GMT 0)
No no people kept thinking I have hep c but I do not. Hep c -(negative). I guess I should hange my sig.
Posted 8/11/2011 7:50 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks woody, I have been driving myself and wife crazy. So one can have liver damage and not show up in blood work or ultra sound. I feel much better now and my last big ingestion of alcohol was in may with no ill effects but went to a BBQ in June and only had a few beers smoked a cigar woke up feeling not so great. I haven't even smelled a beer since June 23 and I seem to be getting better slowly. Did you have the heavy feeling in stomach too? its a horrible feeling. Is stage 1 fibrosis reversible?
Posted 8/11/2011 7:54 PM (GMT 0)

Woody, I would edit out that hep C mention in your siggy.  No need for it if you don't have it.  (And I'm glad you don't!  :-) )

Hugs,

Connie

Posted 8/11/2011 9:09 PM (GMT 0)
I don't know if I would call it a heavy feeling in my stomach, its more like a dull ache under my righr ribs. Sometimes it would radiate to the back. It depends on who you ask but fibrosis means scar tissue so no I don't think its reversible. Only thing I could do is make sure it doesn't progres.
Posted 8/11/2011 9:24 PM (GMT 0)
So you have no symptoms now after 6 months of no drugs or alcohol? How long did you drink and use marijuana for? I am 44 years old and I used to be a weekend warrior for many years. What scared me is I was nauseated too but that seems to have gone away. When I asked the doctor about my tests he just looked and said everything normal. I asked for more blood work and said there is no need unless you drink a fifth a day. I never was a daily drinker but on weekends I could cut loose and drink a 12 pack pretty easy. Was the pain high up by kidney when you felt it in your back? Its my understanding that the liver will not produce pain unless its enlarged. Well that's good news for you as long as you stay off the booze. Do you know how damaging marijuana is to liver? I have a friend who smokes it all the time
Posted 8/11/2011 10:01 PM (GMT 0)

UTD, marijuana doesn't cause liver disease.  If one has hep C and smokes weed regularly, it can progress the hep C.  However, bear in mind that the liver is a filter and unless the product is organically grown, there may be chemicals or other additives that could be damaging.  Why take chances?

Hugs,

Connie

Posted 8/11/2011 11:00 PM (GMT 0)
I did some research on it and although not as toxic as alcohol, it is by no means liver friendly. Before I quit, my liver pain was actually worse after I smoked pot than it was after I drank.
Posted 8/12/2011 1:28 AM (GMT 0)
My doctors have had no problem with pot, other than the fact that it's illegal and that you smoke it. As a matter of fact, the transplant manual from Mass General makes the point that if you're going to use it, nuke it for 30 seconds, so no mold or mildew is viable should it enter your lungs. That's post transplant. When I did interferon/ribavirin in 2004, my hepatologist said he had no problem with pot if it helped my appetite. After a full 12 months, I lost less than 6 pounds. By the way, there's a huge difference between a couple of puffs at the end of the day, as opposed to chronic use. I'd love to see scientific proof that pot is bad for livers.
Posted 8/12/2011 1:42 AM (GMT 0)

We're skating on thin ice here, guys:

Rules (DON'Ts):

 

1. No discussion of any illegal activity or threats of violence. (ie. illicit drug use

Posted 8/12/2011 9:11 PM (GMT 0)
Well, I went to doctor and he prescribed me some anti depressants. I think with the tests I have had done I need to chill out a little and aside from a biopsy which the doctors see no need for all looks good. I need to relax a little with this because its consuming me. This morning my rt side pain was completely gone along with most of the heavy feeling in stomach. I think I will get some more labs done in a few months although I tend to believe labs only shows major damage. Still prob a good idea to keep an eye on it though. I took woody's advice and am drinking a ton of bottled water. Has anyone tried milk thistle or is that not a good idea?
Posted 8/12/2011 11:26 PM (GMT 0)
I've read mixed reviews on milk thistle.  Nothing seemed concrete.  I take Alive multivitamin and Liv.52 with meals and 200mg of SAMe an hour before lunch and another 200mg an hour before dinner.  research Liv.52 and SAMe and let me know what you think.
Posted 8/13/2011 12:48 AM (GMT 0)
My hep doc said milk thistle wouldn't hurt me, but may not necessarily help me, either. She is okay with my daily MV without iron, vit. C, E, D, and calcium.

I don't agree with you that only major damage will show up in labs. My liver enzymes were slightly elevated in '91, but my doctor blew it off. I thought it was rather strange, since I'd been sober for 5 yrs. at that point. In '92, I changed doctors and she decided to test for mono and hep B and C due to the slight elevations in liver enzymes. I was hep C positive, but a biopsy a couple of months later showed NO cirrhosis or scarring. So I had the virus, but at that time it hadn't caused damage. She did tell me that the previous year there was no test for hep C. (They were calling it non-A, non-B prior to '92.)

Hugs,
Connie
Posted 8/15/2011 1:18 PM (GMT 0)
Does anyone know what vitamins are good for liver? I have read vitamin C and B12 are good or should I take just a multi vitamin?
Posted 8/15/2011 5:07 PM (GMT 0)
I have never tried Liv 52 have to give that one a try. I am taking Prozac right now 20 mill to deal with anxiety as it is eating me up. I asked the doctor if we should do more blood tests before I start using Prozac and he said no there is no need. I wish we would have just to re assure me
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