Hepatitis C Support Group

Fatty liver is the collection of excessive amounts of triglycerides and other fats inside liver cells. The most common cause of fatty liver in the United States is alcoholism. In alcoholic fatty liver, over consumption of alcohol changes the way that the liver breaks down and stores fats. Often, people with chronic alcoholism also suffer from malnutrition by eating irregularly and not consuming a balanced diet. Conditions that can also cause fatty liver are other forms of malnutrition (especially when there is not enough protein in the diet), obesity, diabetes mellitus, and Reye's syndrome in children. Pregnancy can cause a rare, but serious form of fatty liver that starts late in pregnancy and may be associated with jaundice and liver failure. Some drug overdoses or toxic chemical poisonings, such as carbon tetrachloride, can also cause fatty liver.

Often, there are no symptoms associated with fatty liver. If there are symptoms, they can include pain under the rib cage on the right side of the body, swelling of the abdomen, jaundice, and fever. Symptoms that occur less often in alcoholic fatty liver, but more often in pregnancy related fatty liver, are nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, and abdominal pain.

Fatty liver is usually reversible if recognized and treated. There may be some long-term tendency toward other types of liver problems depending on how long and how severe the fatty liver condition was. In pregnant women with the condition, the situation can be life threatening for both the mother and the infant. Left untreated, there is a high risk of death for both the mother and baby. Severe liver damage that may require a liver transplant can occur in the mother if the condition is not recognized early.

I hope I answered your question.

Thanks for posting and I pray you get treatment so that you can live a pain free life.

Hugs...Amazzon