Feeling really unwell and rapid weight loss but all LFTs normal

Are you still drinking?

The rapid weight loss would be down to some change in your body mechanism, and I would want to know why. Lack of appetite, is never a good sign either. Those things can happen when the liver is poorly and is not metabolising food properly and is cannibalisng your body for glycogen.

Thirst could be more to do with kidneys. Brain fog is often another sign of hepatic encephalopathy. Achy joints, if it is difficulty rising from a low chair (i.e. not a tall stool), climbing the stairs or getting out of a bath, then it sounds like proximal myopathy. Beleding easily/not clotting, is another sign of liver problems, usually down to a low platelet count. The normal range is 140 to 400, so you are still in range, but appearing to drop rapidly.

I have problems with that and my count is down to 115.

Why do I know a fair bit about the symptoms, because I went into hospital two years ago with a bleed on the brain stroke and at the same time, went jaundiced and was treated for alcohol problems relating to my internal organs and experienced a lot of these symptoms, either at the time or some time after.

If I hadn't read that your doctors had passed you okay, apart from a plummeting platelet count, I would be shouting going and have yourself checked out.

Personally, I would make an appointment with your GP, ask him to go through the results of your tests and ask him exactly what you have been tested for. Then go through all of your symptoms and ask him to explain the reason for them.

If you are still not happy, then if it is a possibility, I might go and have a private check up done.

Hi, thanks for your reply.

After several months of very moderate, social drinking (which my GP did not discourage), a serious family dispute and then a major bereavement caused me to seriously binge twice in the past month.  My anti-depressant was also changed (by a psychiatrist) to aglomentine, which I know can rarely cause serious liver problems.

I had been told that my platelet count of almost 400K in September was actually a bit high and indicated dehydration.  At that point, I was bruising easily, too, and then the problem seemed to go.

It is the weight loss and complete loss of appetite that seems to affect me the most.  Faintness/dizziness does not seem to be conneted to lying-down, sitting, standing or walking - it's quite constant.

All of these symptoms have been bad since last Friday.  As I indicated, I have had repeated blood tests covering the whole range of things (liver/kidney function, full-blood count, platelets and clotting time) and been told they are all completely normal.

I am turning into a physial and mental wreck.

yes low platelets cause bruising but i can tell you that your platelets are not low. i'v had hepb and hepc and my platelets were 150 which is just in the normal range. going up to 350 so its a large amount for 200 of difference if you see what i mean. when they say its in the normal range mine was one number out of the low abnormal range. 400k is high for platelets i was covered in bruises when i had hep c especially. and took the treatment for it which was ribavarin and interferon at that time. i also had many secondary illness as well cryoglobulinemia vascullitis cellutits rhuematoid artheritis. all of which have now gone since i cleared the virus. however i still have chronic liver disease i dont know if its because i had hepb 44 years ago when i was 21 i should really be dead by now however i stopped drinking and drugs for nearly 28 years it will be in a few months. they say that if you have had hepb after 30 years it goes into fibrosis and chirrosis. im not sure which i have. i went to get my gall bladder out and it was stuck to my liver the surgeon said it was because of the hepb infection. which i had cleared. so i dont understand a lot of this. good luck anyway. please stay of the booze as you have a chance of complete reversal of your liver problems. it does sound to me as though your liver is playing up at the moment by the sounds of your symptoms which i recognise. if the liver doctors say that your liver is okay then you have to beleive them its maybe just taking its time to heal. and please do not lift one drink all you will ruin all your hard work. god bless you gav 

i had a look at normal platelet and i made slight mistake its even about what you said 450,000 but everything else is correct. i should have checked this first as its 9 years since i'v had hep c good luck and i pray that you will be well and fine,

I phoned the 'out-of-hours' GP and explained the situation to them.  The GP told me to go to hospital this evening to get tested for diabetes.

I did so, urine and blood tests were normal.  The doctor also said that liver function and other blood tests (checking kidney function, maybe?) were also normal, "which surprised" him given  what I told him.

I still feel very rough, but am relieved that I don't appear to have diabetes.  I'm not entirely convinced that the liver is fine, as I've read that liver function/blood tests can be normal even in advanced liver disease, but that wasn't the doctor's opinion.

I am due to have an endoscopy on Thursday but, in the meantime, the doctor put it all down to severe stress and anxiety.  He didn't mention alcohol wtihdrawals, but I wonder could that be part of it?  I hadn't been drinking THAT much - about ten units per day for a fortnight, with some days off.  But I guess I am 47 now ....

How many bruises are we talking about? Any bruising with liver disease is almost always associated with portal hypertension, which is making the spleen grow larger (splenomegaly) and its causing bruises cause your spleen is beginning to filter normal red blood cells as well as abnormal. (pretty sure) Your doctor can perscripe the proper blood pressure medication for this.