Gall Bladder scan showed Fatty Liver...what does this mean?

[Unregistered]

A little background first...I am a 31 yr old female that was mostly healthy until about three years ago. I've had hypoglycemia since I was 16 and was diagnosed with underactive thyroid 2 1/2 years ago. I had gestational diabetes with both of my pregnancies. Now for the current problem...I was having mild lower right side abdominal pain for about 2 weeks that started radiating to other areas and decided that I should have it checked out because both my mom and sister have had there gall bladder out...After a ton of questions and when the Dr. was about to send me on my way with a prevacid sample (great stuff BTW) I practically had to tell them to send me in for a UT on my gallbladder. another week later I finally got in to have the scan and since it was over the Thanksgiving holiday I was supposed to get a call from the Dr. on Monday...finally after 3 days of leaving messages and not hearing anything back from the office my husband left a message that the Dr. couldn't ignore...he made it sound like an emergency...the Dr. seemed annoyed when he realized that all I wanted were my test results but went and got them anyway and told me it was fatty liver and nothing else was showing up in the blood work so all I needed to do was follow a low fat diet and lose weight.

Easier said than done...The fatty liver and underactive thyroid make it nearly impossible to lose weight...I have been trying to lose about 40 pounds for 3 years...I go to the gym every week day and try to stick to my diet as close as possible...and still the scales are creeping up and not down.

Sorry for the long post...but can anyone help me out on what I should do to lose weight (diet pills are out since I'm on thyroid meds) and how serious is fatty liver anyway?


Thank you,

Jenn

[Unregistered]

Jenn,
You sound exactly like me. I am 32 and was recently diagnosed with fatty liver. I have gained about 65 pounds in 14 mo. This all started for me after the birth of my baby 15 mo. ago. I have been to alot of Dr's and got diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and now the fatty liver. I am having a terrible time losing weight also. It is horrible! I am not used to being this overweight and it is breaking me down. It is really hard when you are trying and not getting anywhere. Most of my weight gain has been around the abdomen. I am now having some right upper quadrant pain in my abdomen. It is a dull annoying pain. I just wanted to let you know that I understand how you feel. It is a very depressing thing to go through. Please let me know if you find anything that works for you and I will do the same.

Courtney

[jrmor]

Jenn has it detailed for me. Mine started 4 years ago when I had my hysterectomy. The only difference is when I bend over I have an area that spasms to the point that it stops me in my tracks. I have have the cat scan the ultra scan the upper and lower gi's. They cannot find anything wrong with my gallbladder,or pancreas. A ultra sound did show a swelling in my duct area from my liver. But no bigee they say. Just a fatty liver. Can someone help us.
Thanks

[flappergirl]

I too have been diagnosed w/fatty liver. Had a liver biopsy last Aug, when gallbladder was removed due to gallstones. Fatty liver can be serious. It can progress from simple fatty liver to NASH (non-alcoholic steatohepatitis) all the way to cirrhosis, then liver failure or even cancer. You must stay away from anything that affects the liver-tylenol, NSAIDS, Alcohol, any other meds. You must also control diabetes, high blood pressure, and cholesterol. Stay on a low-fat diet. Fatty liver in it's early form, can actually be reversed through a low fat diet, exercise, weight loss, etc. Have your Doc monitor your liver enzymes through blood tests periodically too. I read EVERYTHING I can get my hands on concerning the liver. You have to be your own advocate and be persistent if you feel something is not right. American Liver Foundation has a lot of useful info. Good luck

[Unregistered]

Well it's nice to know that it is not all in my head afterall...Nice to know that there are others like me.

I don't remember if I mentioned that I am on Wellbutrin as well...but I am and recently started thinking that could have caused the liver problems and some of the weight gain so I started researching it and found that it says if you have any liver/kidney problems you should tell your doctor before taking Wellbutrin. Since I have been going to the same doctor I trusted them to know what I was on and what shouldn't mix. It looks like to me when they told me about the fatty liver they should have also taken steps to take me off of the Wellbutrin.

I know how busy doctors are and how many patients they are supposed to push through in a day to satisfy the insurance companies...but I also know that I am paying them good money to help me figure out what I should and shouldn't take.

I have left two messages with the dr's office in the last week telling them that I want to discuss coming off of my meds and I have not had any response yet. I would just stop taking it except that it warns not to because it could cause seizures.

Sorry...I'm just fed up and at the end of my rope with a husband that thinks I'm a hypochondriac...well mabe not that bad but he is tired of listening to me.

Thanks for letting me vent.

Jennifer

[Unregistered]

WOW i can certainly relate to all of this.

39 yrs old. About 15 months ago, I had 2 gallbladder attacks and had my gallbladder removed, but was also told I had a "fatty liver" In fact the US tech asked if I ever had hepatitis.

I have recently begun taking (and LOVE) Wellbrutrin (for about 6 months now). It is the ONE thing that helps with my weight, and my mental health. with dieting, exercise and wellbrutirn, I went from 299 to 175 in about 6 months and have kept it off. I can't imagine my mental stability without the wellbrutrin.

I am now concerned about my fatty liver. The doc did say to stay away from alcohol, and I rarely drink anyway (a few glasses of wine at holidays and thats about it).

I didn't know about Tylenol either!

I began having pain near my belly button (on my right side). 2 docs examined me and told me it could be any of the following: ovarian cyst, chronic appendicitis, hernia or pulled muscle. pain comes and goes, mostly with stretching, bending over, or it hits right where my pants fit my waistline, so sometimes that makes it tender. Going for upper and lower ct next week.

just my 2 cents.

[Unregistered]

I finally got in to see my dr and she put me on wellbutrin xl 150 for a month and then told me to just stop...I questioned her about my liver and whether that could have caused the liver issues and she said "but your enzymes were normal so I don't think you have anything to worry about" to which I replied I know but the scan showed fatty liver and that I constantly have pain in the region of my liver and she still didn't seem too concerned so now I'm thinking it is time to find a new dr...one that will return phone calls and at least act concerned about me.

[Unregistered]

A little background first...I am a 31 yr old female that was mostly healthy until about three years ago. I've had hypoglycemia since I was 16 and was diagnosed with underactive thyroid 2 1/2 years ago. I had gestational diabetes with both of my pregnancies. Now for the current problem...I was having mild lower right side abdominal pain for about 2 weeks that started radiating to other areas and decided that I should have it checked out because both my mom and sister have had there gall bladder out...After a ton of questions and when the Dr. was about to send me on my way with a prevacid sample (great stuff BTW) I practically had to tell them to send me in for a UT on my gallbladder. another week later I finally got in to have the scan and since it was over the Thanksgiving holiday I was supposed to get a call from the Dr. on Monday...finally after 3 days of leaving messages and not hearing anything back from the office my husband left a message that the Dr. couldn't ignore...he made it sound like an emergency...the Dr. seemed annoyed when he realized that all I wanted were my test results but went and got them anyway and told me it was fatty liver and nothing else was showing up in the blood work so all I needed to do was follow a low fat diet and lose weight.

Easier said than done...The fatty liver and underactive thyroid make it nearly impossible to lose weight...I have been trying to lose about 40 pounds for 3 years...I go to the gym every week day and try to stick to my diet as close as possible...and still the scales are creeping up and not down.

Sorry for the long post...but can anyone help me out on what I should do to lose weight (diet pills are out since I'm on thyroid meds) and how serious is fatty liver anyway?


Thank you,

Jenn

Hi Jenn,Thats what my hubby has,its called N.A.S.H. Fatty Liver,No Alcholic Cerhossis of the liver.take care

[Unregistered]

hi jean and everyone,
I too am going through the same thing. have had pain in my stomach for years. have been diagnosed with IBS too. Lately pain was up higher. in middle of stomach and to the right under rib cage as well as tenderness lower in abdomen. Anyway, my dr. ordered gallbladder scan and upper GI. Scan showed a fatty liver. Nothing else showed anything. Medical asst. called yesterday and said just a fatty liver, nothing to worry about. Well, that is just great, i said and she said i have one too and the only thing you can do is lose weight. She is very over weight. I to am over weight about 30 lbs. But, she is really over weight and stated that although i was not that over weight it is what i have and to lose weight. Sure wish some one could elaborate on all of this. i have had numerous surgeries and am wondering if it is just adhesions that is giving me my pain. I suffer from chronic back pain and have been on methadone for years for pain. I wonder if that is doing it? No one seems to offer any information. If anyone has any info. about this condition please post. Thank you in advance and good luck to all of you fellow fatty liver acquaintences!

[V52]

Hi, I am in my 30's and also found out through an u/s of my kidneys that I have a fatty liver! What shock! 2 Dr.'s said only to lose weight and follow a low fat diet. I posted my symptoms on 4/24 by V52.

I too, took Wellbutrin for about 4 years. It lifted my mood and energy, but after I had children, I no longer feel any depression, just anxiety (no joke intended) mostly when I was post partum. For that I take a low dose of zoloft 30 mg.

It has been recommended to me on Med Help Weight loss forum that I start a liver cleanse. Also, stop taking any meds and start juicing to detoxify my liver. Milk Thistle and a couple of other things, too.

I used to be a normal weight, but gained 80 pounds in my mid 20's. I would sometimes gain 8 pounds in one week! Seriously, there is just something wrong with that when my eating habits didn't change and it wasn't swelling! I gained 60ish pounds my 2nd preg. and only lost about 25, so my weight has swelled to 237! How can a person gain 100 pounds? I know I ate, but never binges. I think this all ties in with a supposedly normal fatty liver.

My MIL had Hep C. She was waiting for a liver transplant. One liver came in, but the Dr.'s rejected it as a candidate for her because it was a FATTY LIVER!!! My MIL ended up dying while waiting for a liver. If a Fatty liver is not good enough to transplant in a woman that is dying, how can it be good for us?

I also have upper right quadrant pain that is kind of dull and intermittant. Is this my liver? I have a hx of kidney stones and always seem to get them on my right side!

Also, I am extremely tired all of the time. I am currently doing a weight loss program that includes Adipex (phentermine), an appetite suppressant and B12/B5 shots. I am also deficient in B12 and that's partly why I am getting the injections. I wonder if I should take it with a fatty liver, but I need to lose this weight, too, and nothing else seems to work.

Has anyone ever heard of lipotropics? They are enzymes/vitamins that help facilitate the break down of fat in the liver. I talked to my Dr. (a PA) about all of this and she had never heard of anything. Her husband even found out he has a Fatty Liver, so you would think she would research it a bit...but maybe as an almost-doctor she doesn't believe in alternative medicine. My side is aching as I am sitting here! If I take some pain medicine, will I be making my liver worse in the long run?

Sorry for my rant, but this is so frustrating! If you have a fatty liver and your liver enzymes are normal....how long before they become ABnormal? Maybe fatty liver precedes the abnormal bloodwork?

If anyone gets any information on a true plan to follow, please let me know! I will subscribe to this thread to get emails of posts.

Thank you, everyone! Lets stick together and get some answers!!!! If you are interested in the regimen I was recommended (not by a Dr., just a health nut), please let me know and I will post it in this thread. Or leave your email. Take care!

V.