Cirrhosis Support Group

twfrench

my doc says U/S every 6 months to a year. i wanted it done every 3 months and he wasn't too keen on it.

my first 3 months is still two months away, so i haven't had to confront him yet.

i told him i will pay out of my own pocket, (without having any idea how much it might cost, does anybody know?) because i don't want to wait for another 6 months to find out how my liver is.

if i had it my way, i woudl like to do it every month. keeping track of my progress would keep me motivated.

Ultrasound isn't sensitive enough to pick up changes in a one month time period. They use U/S every 6 as it won't show changes otherwise.

An MRI or CT might show changes quicker than 6 months but there has to be time in order to see any changes. The only definitive way to see cellular changes are with biopsy and NO DOCTOR will order those on a regular basis, too much risk to the patient.

If you have ALD or cirrhosis there is no such thing as "dramatically reducing alcohol intake" unless that means no alcohol at all, even from mouthwash or cold medicine (ie Nyquil and such). It is like saying a pregnant woman is only partly pregnant or that a person is partly dead (mostly dead are zombies). Your liver cannot process the alcohol anymore and if you can't stop completely you are dealing with another disease called alcoholism in addition to your ALD or cirrhosis.

I've been looking at others for some of the more obvious signs too.

Lots of folks with no lunula except for the thumbs (including me!).

I've also noticed a lot of men with absolutely NO HAIR on their lower legs. I've read this can be caused by diabetes and/or kidney disease, as well as liver problems. I still have leg hair and have been growing a bit of a lawn on my stomach as well since I quit drinking. Never even remember having hair there before. Beard is much fuller and coarse too. A razor used to last me all month, but lately, after a week it gets quite dull.

For those who haven't read about the hair thing, "feminization" of male pattern body hair is a sign of cirrhosis. Pubic hair is supposed to stay below the bikini line in females, but not men. Men are supposed to have a "bacon stripe" of hair from their pubic line up to their navel. If your belly looks like a babies bottom and you used to have hair there. Not good! Same if your pits or face is no longer as bushy as it used to be.

I've also read that pubic and arm pit hair straightens out and is no longer as kinky and curly with liver disease. Interesting as my brother is a serious alcoholic, and the last photo I saw of him, he had a beard, but the hair was remarkably straight. Barely even wavy.

I also notice the florid, ruddy red faces and necks that can indicate excess iron in men who drink. Never seen toenails as white as mine though.

Hi forehand36 - the others have advised you well - I just wanted to anser your question about out-of-pocket cost. Here in Delaware an MRI is about $800-$900. My Doc has me alternating an MRI then Ultrasound every 6 months. Wishing you patience! (Hurry up and wait, right?) Ru

It also takes longer than a month for changes to occur. Significant changes often take up to 2 years of Total sobriety (NO alcohol).

Think how depressing it would be to see no noticeable changes. Give your body time to heal.

Agree with SSS-- After a bad EGD recently and bulging varices, my hepa firmly instructed, "Stop taking NSAIDS" which included ibuprofen (both prescription and Advil and the like) and/or Niacin which were both recommended by my orthopedist for arthritis in my knees. I can take acetaminophen but on a very limited basis, since Tylenol overload can also be a culprit in the development of cirrhosis.

With regard to the Terry's nails. I probably wouldn't have noticed a problem with them, except if I had to scratch, there seemed to be nothing there of benefit. So I can remember asking about it on MDJ and learned about the condition. Upon further research, I compared what my nails looked like and what I was reading and noticed they seemed more white and devoid of the arc they were supposed to have.

Post edited by: hepatomegaly, at: 06/30/2012 12:01 PM

Well, had my second round of liver function tests done last week, and all the enzyme levels have returned to normal. The labs were ALT 40 (normal range 12-49); AST 26 (normal range 7-37); bilirubin 6 (normal range less than 17); albumin 42 (normal range 35-50); and INR (blood clotting time) was .9 (normal range .9-1.2). To say the least, I was relieved.

On another note, though. I realize that red blotches on palms of hands (palmar erythma) is a common symtpom of liver conditions, but I was wondering if anyone else has noticed if their fingertips are often quite red as well, with occasional tingling? Could such a things reflect poor circulation related to the liver?

Congratulations twfrench on some BEAUTIFUL LOOKING LABS!

Yep... Red fingertips can go with PE. Crazy that doctors don't even know what exactly is behind PE, but they don't.

I've spend days surfing around on PE and there are more opinions on what causes this than I could count. About the only liver related circulatory issues I saw that may be associated with it was portal hypertension (which you shouldn't have with those beautiful labs) and something about "hyperdynamic circulation".

A bit about hyperdynamic circulation here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperdynamic_circulation

Fingertips: if they also tend to turn white it could be Raynaud's phenomena which is autoimmune and related to liver disease but not alcohol induced liver disease.