Chemical Expose Caused Acute Liver Failure
Posted , 2 users are following.
Slightly over 2 months ago, I was hospitalized for acute liver failure that led to AKI (acute kidney failure). Since being discharged, I have abstained from all drugs and alcohol and have been taking a vasodialater for portal hypertension. Due to my kidney failure, I was on dialysis for 4 weeks but was able to cease dialysis after kidney function returned to normal. I recently had a liver panel blood test done (approx. 7 weeks after failure), and all my enzyme levels were well within acceptable range. I still feel like my liver is still slightly inflamed due to some localized soreness when I am laying with my right side down and take a deep breath. I'm not certain what the units of measurement are, but the only issue with my blood test was my Red Blood Cell Count was 4.15, with the acceptable range being above 4.20. I have not had an ultrasound and have a followup blood panel in 2 months. Considering the blood test results, would I be at risk having a drink or two about a month after the soreness has completely gone away? Is an ultrasound necessary to check for liver scarring? I am a 20 year old white male with no prior liver or kidney issues and not overweight.
0 likes, 4 replies
steve88734 jared2018
Posted
I'm sorry to sound rude, but did you seriously just ask if you could drink alcohol after everything you just went thru?!! Young man, you should be thanking your higher power for letting you be alive!its so great that all of your lfts are normalizing, and your kidneys are functioning again. Dont mess it up. please
jared2018 steve88734
Posted
I appreciate the 'advice' (I think?). But my question was more centered on if I need further testing to see if my liver sustained any permanent damage and if it will ever be possible for me to safely drink again. My liver enzymes were all at least 10 points below the upper end of the acceptable range according to the test result range. I realize I'm lucky to be alive but the circumstances leading to this were extremely unlucky and preventable had there not been an equipment malfunction. I left the lab feeling extremely exhausted but not sick, and then "fell asleep" with my girlfriend much earlier than I usually did and after my unresponsive state was just ignored by her after being slapped in the face to no physical response, I was left in comatose until around 4 in the afternoon when the paramedics were finally called, giving a conservative time of being septic around 16 hours with no medical attention. Whatever higherpower may exist did a pretty poor job allowing the ventilation to fail, leave me with relatively no symptoms until I passed out, and allowed my girlfriend and roommate to think it was normal for someone to be unresponsive to being slapped and yelled at. I have no one to thank but the doctors, nurses, EMT's, and modern medicine for being alive. The higherpower really phoned it in on this one.
steve88734 jared2018
Posted
i believe id ask my doctor for an ultrasound, but thats just me. Sorry to sound like an ass earlier. You're young, and livers are amazing organs. Better be safe and find a doctor to keep an eye on things for a while though. just my non-expert opinion.
jared2018 steve88734
Posted
No problem. I think you just misunderstood my question because I wasn't implying that I would like to drink anytime soon. I am just trying to get a timeline of when it would be safe to do so after the inflammation has been gone for a while. I'll likely request an ultrasound after I have no soreness in the area as inflammation can hide damage. I've been sticking too an extremely liver friendly diet and have been getting all the antioxidants I can as the exposure to harmful chemicals creates oxidative agents that caused my liver to fail in the first place. I am in noway an expert, but I would assume what happened in my liver was a high concentration of chlorinated molecules passed through my liver creating extreme stress and leading to its failure. After my blood was dialyzed for what I believe was a continuous period of multiple days, I imagine my liver was cleared of the toxins and restarted regenerative processes. I don't know how the liver scars exactly, but I would guess that such a short exposure time in comparison to drug and alcohol abuse would not lead to scarring due to my age, health, and lack of prior damaging behaviors.