How do you know if Fatty Liver has improved?

Posted , 7 users are following.

How can you tell if fatty liver has improved?  i was found to has this last year (by chance) and i'm also T2 diabetic.  I'm making major lifestyle changes by losing weight, excercise and watching what i eat but apart from LFT's which i have every 6 months (not for the fatty liver but for a liver cyst i also have) how would i know it's improved?  My GP's don't seem too concerned about it.

0 likes, 9 replies

9 Replies

  • Posted

    Your doctor can get an indication from LFTs, especially if they do detailed tests, there are several different tests that can be carried out, for example your diabetes would have been confirmed by an HbA1c test.

    The only sure fire way is an abdomen ultrasound - just like they do for pregnant women.

    • Posted

      I had one follow up scan after my liver cyst was found and then I was discharged.  Should I ask for another scan do you think? 
    • Posted

      What was the result of that scan, were you told and when was it?

      I always ask for a copy of any report on something I have done, so I can read it for myself. I have my recent ultrasound scan and I asked the radiologist about it whilst I was there when she had completed it.

      I find that if you don't ask, you don't get told.

    • Posted

      My scan was last year and when the liver cyst was found i then had another follow up scan at which point i was then discharged.  I also ask for a printed copy of the report and it just said fatty liver.  I'm wondering if the GP wasn't that concerned because my LFT's came back normal in which case diet/lifestyle change may improve it.  Trouble is i could have had this for years and not know about it.  I was diagnosed with T2 diabetes in 2009 (7 years ago) so i could have had fatty liver since then, i don't know.  I've just read that the only way to check any damage done to the liver is by a liver biopsy which i doubt my GP will want to arrange for me anyway.  I don't understand why i have fatty liver when my LFT's showed as normal?   I personally feel a bit cross with the fact that if fatty liver is so common with diabetics, why don't we get screened for it at diagnosis?  probably the usual reason - money.

    • Posted

      As far as I am aware and I have been in two hospitals (long inpatient stay) previously, and spent two years havings blood tests scans, gastroscopies and various visits to the gastro, they can tell them damage from an ultrasound, I had one in June and the radiologist passed comment on the state of my liver and a report from the gastro.

      Also, they can see internal organs from an endoscopy, basically a tube with a camera down your neck, that also has small clippers, so that if a lesion is detected, they scan snip it and send it for biopsy.

      As far as I am aware, I have never had a liver biopsy, I have all my patient records from my hospital stays and I have first stage cirrhosis, so I'm reasonably well clued up on the process.

    • Posted

      Thanks.  I assume a liver biopsy is not something i ask for (well i could ask) but i can guarantee my GP will say i won't need it.   I did have an endoscopy last January (as my acid reflux was getting worse) and they found i have a hiatus hernia but the doctor said there was no need to take any biopsy or anything so it was left at that.   I didn't know they could tell from the US scan whether there is any damage to the liver but that is good to know.  Maybe that's why my GP's don't seem that concerned about it as i'm sure if something was flagged up they would have tested me further.  I sometimes feel so cross with myself and tend to beat myself up sometimes when i think about it and feel i could have avoided all my health issues if only i had taken more care of my body but hey, i can only go forward now not backwards.

      You sound as if you are doing everything you can your end too.  Hope you don't mind me asking but are you (were you) overweight/obese?  did you drink alcohol?  what have the medics suggest you do now to help your liver?

    • Posted

      You cheeky mare, obese/fat?*

      No, mine was alcohol. The main thing for me is not to drink and to try and eat healthily. Because of the way my liver is, I have to eat little and often, because it cannot store the energy.

       

    • Posted

      *Forgot to add, I was only joking about the first line.
    • Posted

      Lol OK no worries.  Obesity is one of my problems you see which i am addressing now finally.  Is a Fibroscan expensive?  that could be one of the reasons my GP's haven't suggested it but to me, now that i know i have fatty liver, i want to know if there is any damage done especially if i have been walking around for the last 10 - 15 years (or longer) with fatty liver as i've heard if you don't address it then it can become quite serious.  I think the doctors think "well we can't scan everyone" but with me having T2 diabetes and the fact that it is known that fatty liver and diabetes go hand in hand (along with other metabolic syndrome factors like high BP and high cholesterol) then they should make screening for this as part of an intitial diabetes diagnosis but i guess it's too late for all that now and i can just now go ahead and move forward with lifestyle change.  It does annoy me though that because of cost issues, the medics don't do anything about any health issue until you present them with a problem by which time (for some) may be too late.  Rant over!  Hope you are managing your situation as best you can.  Next time i go to my GP i'll mention the Fibroscan and see what he/she says.

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