Idiopathic Cirrhosis of the Liver
AKA non alcholic fatty liver disease (
NAFLD) . . . something that's becoming increasingly common and yet remains relatively untreated in the population. its associated with our western diet, lack of excercise and possibly enhanced by your genetics, there's no real medication for it . . . it requires lifestyle and dietary change.
it was an incidental finding on an abdominal CT done when I was hospitalized subsequent to my ground level fall at home which ultimately required anterior cervical spine fusion at C5,6 and 7. in retrospect that fall was likely a blessing in disguise.
NALFD is a bit "dangerous" from the standpoint that it progresses silently and can become rather advanced before it ultimately becomes symptomatic and "discovered". probably genetic in my situation as I can recall my grandmother who passed from it in the mid 70's being quite upset when she was hospitalized and told she had cirrhosis. she'd never had a drink - of ANYTHING - in her entire life . . . but she was a heavy consumer of carbs, a diabetic,hypertensive and hyperlipidemic. she was angry and depressed becasue she felt that was being labeled a "closet alcoholic".
NAFALD causes inflammatory response in the liver which then progresses to fibrotic change and there after may lead to either cirrhosis or liver cancer. I was shocked to be told I had "fatty liver disease" . . . you can easily have it and yet be reasonably thin on the outside - its the fat around your organs that's causative. I've been successful in reversing the bulk of mine thru diet - counterintuitively thru KETO and intermittent fasting - which has dramatically improved my metabolic panel. I dropped from187 ish to 165 - BELOW what I weighed when I graduated from high school (180). new years day I ate my first white potato since late March. I had 2 small sweet potatoes thanksgiving day and I haven't had ANY bread, crackers, pasta or pizza since late march of 21. I do not drink and never really did consume much alcohol.
IF you're bumping up against this beast known as "metabolic syndrome" - high blood pressure, high blood triglycerides, low levels of HDL cholesterol and insulin resistance - with or without obesity - you might want to ask your PCP about
NAFLD. in retrospect I've known 3 people who died from
NAFLD over the past few years.
last but not least - to illustrate just how pervasive this has become in the population - when I had my limited abdominal ultrasound followed by a HIDA scan this past June, the tech told me that she'd done THREE young adults that week with fatty liver disease - one of which was a13 YO and another under 18 with disease that was quite advanced. I was gobsmacked to say the least.
if you think you might be a candidate, talk to your PCP about it. a good hint is recurrent rt upper quadrant abdominal discomfort - just under the ribs and a sense of "fullness" in your liver . . .
ETA: now that the "holly-daze" are over I'm solidly back on KETO and intermittent fasting - don't want that nastiness back EVER again
) All of them internal where there is nothing I can do about them, and with increasing severity of the problem.
