Chronic active hepatitis in my youth

hi, I need some advice, I am a 50yr old woman, when I was 13 I was diagnosed with TB, I was successfully treated but my mother was still concerned about my ill health, in 1984 after a routine blood test at Heath hospital I was called in for further medical investigations as a inpatient,  I remember doctors calling me the mystery patient on the ward, after a month in hospital & a whole load of various tests the doctors introduced me to a liver specialist who asked for a liver biopsy, that confirmed I was suffering from chronic active hepatitis, I was put on steroid prednisone treatment for 5yrs, then azathioprine was added to the steroids for another 6/7 yrs, my medication was slowly reduced in the late 90s & I was told my illness was clear & I was discharged from the liver clinic.

Over the yrs I have regular blood tests, liver function tests at the gp's, i have been told my bilirubin is high & white blood platelets are low but it's normal for me, I been diagnosed with under active thyroid & vitamin d deficiency through the blood tests.

in the last 5/6yrs the discomfort/pain in my upper right side has increased, sometimes it's so bad it hurts even to breath & wakes me up in the night, doctor has sent me for a ultrasound a few yrs ago with a suspicion of gallbladder, my bowel was clear but the radiographer did mention my liver was looking a bit "furry", my gp referred me to the urology clinic & I was seen by a nurse at the Heath hospital a couple of times, the nurse had some blood tests done & informed me that nothing was showing up in blood tests, I explained to the nurse that originally in 1984 the blood tests weren't showing anything sinister either, the nurse told me that she could only see my medical history as far back as 2003, she didn't do a physical exam, the consultant came into the room, asked the nurse a few things & I was discharged from the clinic.

since then I have been coping with the pain, I have small round dark bruising on my arms & legs, sometimes on my stomach too, the pain travels up to my right breast & around to my upper back but affects my whole right rib cage.

i feel like a total hypochondriac going to the doctors trying to explain my symptoms, not sure how to proceed with this, if anyone has any ideas I'd be very grateful, does liver damage always show up in liver function tests? The last ultrasound I had was inconclusive as I was told the bladder was in the way.

thanks in advance

0 likes, 23 replies