Is a liver biopsy painful

Hi, Super Barbara Lee, and welcome to the forum. I had a bad biopsy back in '93 and swore I'd never have another. It felt like I was being stabbed with a hammer with a knife on the end of it. The pain was under my rt. shoulder and I finally gave in and asked them to give me morphine an hour after it was done, as the pain was that bad. I had some local anesthesia, but the GI doc who did it did not go in deeply enough or let it fully take effect. He also went in "blind."

So I was a mess when I had to have a conscious biopsy a second time. I am now convinced it is not the biopsy that is painful, but depends on who does it and the method used. The Mayo radiologist let me have a small amount of Ativan as I was extremely nervous. He gave the local anesthesia a little at a time and broke into the liver membrane. He also used guided imagery--a mobile ultrasound--so he could see exactly where he was going. There was no pain at all when he did the actual biopsy.

I had another biopsy last fall and there was no pain whatsoever.

So when you schedule a biopsy, make sure to ask if the doctor will be using guided imagery. If you use the Search function in the blue bar above and type in biopsy pain, it will bring up posts about this subject.

Hugs,
Connie

I had my needle biopsy in December. No sedation and had no pain. For me it was uneventful, the waiting with horrible TV channels was most painful part.

Good that you will be getting meds. Most docs won't allow them. I think it is because they want the liver to be as pure as possible for best results.

Hugs,
Connie

P.S. Please excuse my spelling.

You should be fine with some meds. I've had 4 biopsies, 2 sedated and 2 with just a local anesthetic. None of them hurt, but my brother had quite a bit of pain when he had one.

AFP = alpha fetoprotein. It is a tumor marker. The higher it is, the more likely you are to have liver cancer.

Hugs,
Connie

When is the biopsy scheduled for?

Hugs,
Connie

I hope it goes well for you. Please let us know how it went and what the biopsy showed.

Hugs,
Connie

You may not get the results of the biopsy for a few days.

SBL,

Mike has had several biopsies...regular ones and a tumor one. He has been asleep and awake. Never had any problem with them either way. Have confidence in your tech and ask for meds if you are anxious or in pain, they will not be unreasonably withheld. All of this is to help with diagnosis and treatment plan. In earlier years cancer diagnoses were pretty much a death sentence, but plenty here have had successful treatments, from chemo embolization to removing a whole lobe. My Mike got a transplant and "good bye good bye," that tumor went into the bio hazard pile! Best to you, let us hear how it goes.

Mama Lama

SBL, Yes Jackson. the whole UM complex is HUGE and Not fancy. It is in a rough part of town and far from PRETTY. But we got world class care from very competent staff and continue to have post transplant treatment that we are very pleased with. They care, are thorough, and are available. We can contact our TP coodinator anytime.

I can't suggest you not worry, it will be fine, rather I'll say...take one step at a time, and make a plan based on the best data you can get. And pray really hard, as this isn't going away on its own.

Hugs,
Carol

I had my liver biopsy on Thursday. It took almost 2 hours and I did use the pain med/sedation med option. It was not nearly as painful as my last one, which was without meds. For anyone who has a low pain threshold I would suggest taking the options of having meds. I remember just about everything. And I did ask for some meds a couple times during the procedure. Results are not back yet. Thanks to everyone who replied to my posts. Didn't feel alone because of this. I am glad to have found this site.

Thanks again

Barbara