24 years old Fatty Liver patient
This is a letter I received few days ago from David, a 24 years old man, who was diagnosed to have a fatty liver:
Quote:
2 Months ago I was told I have Fatty Liver Disease. I am 24 years old, I weight at 260 pounds, 5’11″ tall. I am over weight and I have more fatty mass than muscle mass. Knowing that I have this disease is draining my mind and creating a lot of stress because I just don’t know how bad I have it.
What makes it more stressful is the fact that I have lost 17 pounds since January of this year and I don’t know how I did it. I read that weight loss is a sign of advancement of the Disease. The only thing I have changed is that I have been eating a healthy breakfast in the morning that includes lots of fruit and no exercise. The other thing that I had done was take synthroid for my thyroid functions. I took the pill for 3 months or so and stopped taking it around January. I am stilling losing weight to this day and it is driving me nuts.
Can you tell me at my age should I be worried about the weight loss as a sign of advancement? I just pray that its not that far along so that I can have a chance to exercise and eat better to turn this disease around. What can I do to see just how bad I really have it. Your prompt response would be greatly enjoyed.
Few hours later I sent him the following answer:
Before I can answer to your questions, I need to know some missing details.
First of all, which type of fatty liver disease do you have? Alcoholic or nonalcoholic fatty liver disease?
Have you performed any abdominal ultrasound test for fatty liver diagnosis?
Second, have you done any liver function blood tests? If so, what were the results? Specifically, the results of liver enzymes ALT and AST.
You are 24 years old; meaning the change the disease isn’t advanced yet. It takes decades for a fatty liver to advance to a much serious liver conditions.
Waiting for your reply.
Dr. Mark Bar-Gomel
David replied:
I have NAFLD. A ultrasound was preformed on my liver to determine that I have NAFLD. My blood test results were: AST = 82, ALT= 161. Tests were done 12/16/08.
My report produced from the ultrasound is as follows:
FINDINGS: The liver is difficult to penetrate and has a coarsened echotexture.
No hepatic mass or intrahepatic biliary ductal dilatation is seen. The
pancreas appears normal. The gallbladder is normal. Right kidney is normal.
Common bile duct measures 3 mm. No free fluid is seen.
IMPRESSION: The appearance of the liver suggests hepatic steatosis. No focal
hepatic lesion or intrahepatic biliary ductal dilatation is seen.
I hope you can answer my questions with the information given above. With that said, In general what can I eat to help my liver out? I heard lemon juice is okay? Is this true? What else if you have any other ideas.
My answer to him:
From the information you provided, it is my honest though that your condition is reversible. I’m positive your weight loose is not an indication for advanced stage of the disease.
To reverse the condition, it will require from you to change your life style and eating habits.
Regarding lemon juice, the answer is yes. There are some indications that lemon juice is good for a fatty liver.
You can also read the foods for fatty liver article that gives a good guideline for what you should eat.
Related articles:
April 14th, 2009 at 2:59 PM
i am getting a liver ultrasound tomorrow am. My ALT is in the 70′s and I’ve been feeling bloatedand gassy. My stool has had an orangish brown color. It floates, not sure if thats due to gas or fat. Seems at times to be somewhat mucusy. My smomach is at times distendeed and bloated. I also have had Crohns for 24 yrs. I am 40 now. Not overweight. I seem to eat what ever I want. Any input?
Thank you,
Tim
April 14th, 2009 at 4:49 PM
Sounds like a different liver disease, not a fatty liver.
Your liver ultrasound test should clarify it. If it’s a fatty liver disease, it will clearly show up. If its not, I would recommend you to visit a gastrologist for further examinations.
October 6th, 2010 at 2:09 PM
i have been told i have a fatty liver just by blood tests my fructosamine is 327, acr is 35.8, creatinine is 58, gfr 107 triglyceride 2.6 i have been tols i have microalbuminuric diabetic nephropathy and hypertriglyceridaemia i dont drink or smoke. i dont know what theses results mean and have not had them explained when asked i am just told not to worry
December 13th, 2010 at 12:20 PM
my daughter is 15yrs old and i was just told that she has a very fatty liver and that the doctor wants a specialized test done-he is worried. i know nothing of this. but my daughter has been having signs of something wrong with her for about a year now. she is on alot of psych meds. she is bipolar. they gave her high doses of lithium, depakote and seroquel for 6 yrs now. she has stomach pains and she has a hard lump where her liver is, she vomits after eating all the time and she is obese, she weighs 205pds. she was 146 back in august 2010. she also has dark circles under her eyes and patches of discolored skin. can you explain this>
January 7th, 2011 at 8:25 PM
I was diagnosed with fatty liver in my ultrasound reading. It reads the liver is normal
in size with increased parenchymal echogenicity and smooth orgarns. No facal lession seen.
Impression:
Fatty infiltration of the liver. Normal gallbladder and pancreas.
I have also done my blood test and it shows SGPT= 30, SGOT= 18 (with in normal range).
I am trying to loose weight. I am having an occasion abdominal pain in my right upper abodomen. Do you think this is caused by the fatty liver?? also i am bloated even if i
eat less. What can be the reason of this right abdominal pain??
January 8th, 2011 at 11:40 AM
Simn,
I’m not sure you have a fatty liver disease. Could you please post your entire blood test results?
-Mark
January 8th, 2011 at 11:41 AM
Maria,
You daughter needs to do more tests. It doesn’t seem like a normal fatty liver disease symptoms. Any blood test results you could post?
-Mark
January 22nd, 2011 at 12:55 AM
Hi Mark,
I have a non alcholic fatty liver, which I was diagnosed in May 08.
I did a blood test last week, and here are the results:
Serum Albumin 45 g/l (35-55)
Alk Phos 197 (80-300)
Serum total bilirubin 28umol HI (5-21)
ALT/SGPT 93 iu/L HI (0-45)
Serum gamma GT Level
(SR) – Normal, no action
Serum gamma GT Level 28 iu/L (0-49)
The tests were done here in the UK.
Even through I have been eating healthly and
excersizing the best I can the ALT has krept
up 22 points since end of November.
Should I be concerned?
Thanks,
Jitesh
January 22nd, 2011 at 1:21 PM
Discussion with Jitesh: http://www.fatty-liver.com/forum/index.php?mode=thread&id=115
April 11th, 2011 at 4:53 AM
Good day!
My brother just underwent a LIVER ULTRASOUND last week. The result is as follows:
1. The liver is slightly enlarged with a midclavicular span of 16.2 centimeters.
2. The parenchymal echopattern is heterogeneous.
3. Intrahepatic duts are not dilated.
4. The proximal common duct measures 3.50 millimeteres which is not dilated and are echofree.
5. Portal vein and its tributaries are unremarkable.
6. The gallbladder is distended measuring 6.6 x 2.0 x 1.6 cubic centimeters with nonthickened walls (1.68 mm).
7. 7Lumen is echofree with no pericholecystic fluid collection.
8. There is no fluid collection in the intraperitorial cavity.
IMPRESSION:
SLIGHT HEPATOMEGALY WITH DIFFUSE PARENCHYMAL DISEASE. NORMAL SONOGRAM OF THE GALLBLADDER AND BILIARY TREE.
He’ll return to the doctor requesting the ultrasound tomorrow but I dont trust hi telling everything to me. I am so worried about his condition.
Please help me understand what every line means (1 to
and how can I help him recover.
Thank you so much.
April 11th, 2011 at 4:54 AM
**Please help me understand what every line means (1 to 8 )and how can I help him recover.
April 28th, 2011 at 5:20 PM
Good Day doctor Mark!!
My husband was diagnosed a week ago with moderate fatty liver disease.
He has severe pain on his right side since 14 yrs, he went to many doctors but was only diagnosed a week ago!!
He has no blood tests done just an US that also shows in the gall bladder cholesterol crystals!!
I was wondering what other test should be done and is his condition reversible??
what should he eat?? is fish ok??
Thanks alooot:)
May 11th, 2011 at 5:00 AM
Hi Dr.Mark,
i went for a scan for my liver and abdomen as i was experiencing a hard distended belly for about a year, also painful at the belly button area.
A week later, my report showed that i have fatty liver……im 20 yrs old.
i dont drink alcohol and i also rarely eat fried foods, so why is that?
The doctor told me its nothing to worry about….but i totally disagree….im trully worried and want to find out the real cause of it and what exactly to do to fully cure it. My mum was also diagnosed with it and i really want to help her too…..what should i do now?
May 29th, 2011 at 12:29 AM
26 years old man, m suffered fatty infiltrationof liver
3days ago I was told I have Fatty infiltration of liver Liver Disease. I am 26 years old, I weight at78 before in i , 167cm nd 1month ago m weight 67 kg..″ . I am over weight and I have more fatty mass than muscle mass. Knowing that I have this disease is draining my mind and creating a lot of stress because I just don’t know how bad I have it.
What makes it more stressful is the fact that I have gain 12kgs s sincemay of this year and I don’t know how I did it. I read that weight loss is a sign of advancement of the Disease. The only thing I have changed is that I have been eating a healthy breakfast in the morning that includes lots of fruit and no exercise. The other thing that I had done was take synthroid for my thyroid functions. I took the pill for 6 months or so and stopped taking it around January. I am stilling gain weight to this day and it is driving me nuts.
Can you tell me at my age should I be worried about the weight loss as a sign of advancement? I just pray that its not that far along so that I can have a chance to exercise and eat better to turn this disease around. What can I do to see just how bad I really have it. Your prompt response would be greatly enjoyed.
all repot are normal n blood and urine but increase in parenchymal echotexture is increased..plz send me answer
July 24th, 2011 at 10:39 AM
Well i seen this post while lookin up things bad for a fatty liver, All i have to say is try havein it be 2 months after ur 21st bday and find out u have a fatty liver, i was the youngest person in the liver specialist, It was a bit embaressing, But now i am 25 yrs old and im still kickin.. But good luck to u just loose weight n eat good, thts wat i did..
August 1st, 2011 at 2:26 PM
Hi Brandy,
Thanks for sharing your experience; it’s really helpful for all other people to understand that proper life-style is really the core issue with fatty liver.
Regards,
Dr. Mark Bar-Gomel
August 6th, 2011 at 8:05 AM
Recently I went to a neurological doctor Because my PCP Dr thought I had fibromyalgia.
The neurological DR said she is still unsure if I have fibromyalgia but I am deficient in Vitamin D and B12. So she gave me a vitamin regiment.
A few weeks prior to the follow up appointment she advised me that my liver enzymes were elevated and needed to be redone, and advised me to NOT drink alcohol, nor take pain medication .
She stated if I did need pain medication take it at the lowest dose. I followed most of the instructions all though I did have a beer here and there but nothing in access. Well earlier this week they redid the test and by Friday and I had 3 voice mails from her office to call them back.
When I did call them back they said make an appointment with a liver specialist and make it ASAP. They really stressed to make the appointment fast and that it is urgent. So now my weekend is shot because I am overly worried and to make it worse they have not given me any liver function test results. They only said the numbers were much worse this time.
Any idea Dr. Mark Bar-Gomel why the urgency because of the increased numbers?
August 10th, 2011 at 2:00 AM
Hi Monica,
As I don’t have the number and the test results your doctors have, I really can’t reply to your condition.
I urgently suggest you meet the doctors as soon as possible to hear out the development.
If your liver enzyme levels are elevated dramatically, it could mean a more serious disease than fatty liver, but again, I cannot comment without the test results.
Wish you full health.
October 20th, 2011 at 3:48 PM
My nephew 24 yrs old died oct 16 2010 and the autopsy showed he had a fatty liver and that the reason for his death was that his liver failed we where unaware any thing was wrong he was not at all over weight but was know to knock back a few anyway this has been a real shock and I just want to know how could this even happen to a kid that was practically the picture of health
November 9th, 2011 at 7:33 AM
Hello Michelle,
Fatty liver by itself isn’t fatal. Your nephew must have had other severe disease that caused this tragic event.
Dr. Mark Bar-Gomel
November 21st, 2011 at 5:14 PM
Hello Doctor,
I have recently been diagonized with a fatty liver. I have a distended belly since the last 5 days now..I was an alcoholic and a smoker… Below are my reports for the sonography.
Liver is mild enlarged in size and shows increased echopattern. No mass lesion identified. The hepatic veins are clear and patent. Gall bladder shows no obvious abnormality. Common Bile duct measures 3mm in diameter. Pancreas obscured. Spleen is normal in size and echopattern.
Both kidneys are normal in shape and position. Nomral echogenicity and cortico medularry differentiation is noted. No hydronephrosis or mass lesion is seen.
Renal length and A.P of right are 102 mm and 92mm. For the left it is 92 and 44 mm….
Please let me know if this could be a cancer or something.
I also have done the blood reports and my SGPT/ALT us 70 u/l where the ref range is 30-65.
SGOT – 28 u/l with a ref range of 0-40
RBC is 4.30 mill/cmm with a ref range of 4.5 – 5.5
MCH is 32.6 PG with a ref range of 27.5 to 31.5
Eosinophils is 1% with the range of 2-10.
Smear Evaluation is adequate.
WBC is 8700/cmm
MCHC is 32.8%
HCT is 42.7
Creatinine is 0.9 mg/dl
Gamma GGT is 28 and lipase is 129 u/l.
My height is 5.8 and my weight is 70kgs.
Please let me know what might be the disease.. Cancer? Pancreatic or some? I have a little pain on my lower right abdomen if I sit for prolonged hours.And my belly gets full even after a short meal…
Appreciated Dr Mark.
December 23rd, 2011 at 7:54 PM
Hi. I am Phillip, 30 yrs old. this morning I had my liver ultrasound and the results shows that my
liver is normal in size with increased echogenicity with homogenous parenchyma.
Ducts are not dilated. Common bile duct measures 0.3 cm
IMPRESSION:
FATTY INFILTRATION OF THE LIVER
NON DILATED DUCTS
my question is : Is this reversible?
Thanks and kindest regards..
December 27th, 2011 at 3:38 AM
Hello Phillip,
Fatty Liver is absolutely reversible if treated correctly.
Please visit the many articles in the treatments category for more information.
Yours,
Dr. Mark Bar-Gomel
December 27th, 2011 at 8:41 PM
Dr. Mark thanks for the answer…..kindest regards
December 27th, 2011 at 8:47 PM
Good day. the previous liver ultrasound i have posted here dated Dec. 23rd was based from their initial findings I took online and was not the official findings because when I took my result after three days this was the findings.
The liver is slightly enlarged measuring 15.67 cm with increased echogenicity.
Hypoechoic region is noted anterior to the gallbladder.
Ducts are not dilated. Common bile duct measures 0.3 cm
IMPRESSION:
MILD HEPATOMEGALY WITH FATTY INFILTRATION AND AREA OF FOCAL FAT SPARED
NON DILATED DUCTS
May I ask you again to explain further. Do I have to worry? thanks and kindest regards.
January 27th, 2012 at 11:32 AM
Im 26 years old now and gained weight after having my first child. I am 5’5 and went from 125 to 155(after pregnancy) and could never loose the baby fat which was basically just some pudge in the belly area. So when i found out i had fatty liver i was pretty shocked. My AST got as high as 53 and my ALT got to 166. I did tons of different labs and ultrasounds and other tests to try to figure out what caused it and why I have it. Not predisposed to anything no diabetes, high cholesterol, no family history, no liver diseases such as any of the hepatitis’s. The ultrasound came back saying I had fatty spots in my liver and my liver was surrounded by fatty tissue. My doctor told me not to take any more medications which for me had been benedryl for allergies and tylenol for headaches on very rare occasion. I didnt drink alcohol, smoke, or do drugs so that wasnt an issue. But I did eat out ALOT. Basically I stopped eating out. And watched my portion sizes. I also tried to eat fish, chicken, and only small portions of lean loin meet. Ate lots of veggies and fruits. And In 1 month i started to notice a Huge change. my levels went down to AST 44 and ALT 101 and one month later which is this month I just got my lab results in and my levels have dropped to AST 27 and ALT 53! So what I am saying is that if you can just make small changes… small simple changes that in the long run will better improve all aspects of your quality of health “anyways” i believe that if you CAN lower your levels! Just cut out fast foods, eat the correct portions, exercise at least 10-30 minutes a day, and eat better quality foods, lay off the alcohol, and medication (if you can) > because your liver has to filter out this medication and if it is getting high levels(ALT and AST) – its already getting damage and it needs to repair itself and rest which makes it harder because it has to do more work with medication….(at least that was my theory). But I am proof that it has worked! So dont give up!