Liver disorders and itching... - Liver & Pancreas Disorders Message Board

housemum · 11-15-2004, 05:19 PM

What does that mean?

My dh has had very high liver enzymes and was told its probably fatty liver, well he lost some weight, but now has terrible itching. The Dr. said it could have something to do with his liver. Why?

Also they might do a liver biopsy, and I'm wondering what that entails.

He seems fine about it all, but I'm getting worried it could be something very serious. He doesn't drink, but does take dilantin for Epilepsy.

Any info would be appreciated.....so many here seem so knowledgable about medical things.

Thanks

vamp36 · 11-16-2004, 07:39 AM

WHen I started to get sick with my liver, I itched like crazy!!! I could not see anything though like a rash. It was excess bilirubin that causes the itching. After awhile my eyes started to turn yellow. Then my skin. I have Autoimmune Hep. My immune system is attacking my liver. But normally, the itching from a liver problem is by to much bilirubin in the body. THe liver biopsy is an easy procedure. They use needles and like an ultrasound guide to go into the liver and take out a biopsy. Then the patient must lay in recovery for several hours to prevent bleeding. The patient is usually sedated. Good luck to you

butterflytrans · 11-17-2004, 10:46 PM

Good points from vamp36; Has your dh had any jaundice at all? Usually the itching will stop if there is a reversible cause of the liver problem. If there isn't, there are a few medications which can be given to help control the itching, and these include:

Atarax (hydroxyzine), Benadryl (diphenhydrinate) and Questran (cholestyramine).

Morrow · 12-27-2004, 08:30 PM

I had a liver biopsy done a year or more ago and was diagnosed with Non-Alcoholic-Fatty-Liver-Disease. I had thought from some testing done about 12 or 13 years ago that it was more like a congenetal problem causing chronic hepetitis (not the catching kind). My doctor says the only "cure" is to keep my diabetes under control. I have recently discovered that I have gall stones and am having the GB removed in a couple of days..
To get "on-topic" .. the thing that prompted me to post here is the comments about itching.. my back constantly itches.. sometimes worse than other times.. it is REALLY annoying and drives me crazy. I thought I had read somewhere that it had to do with the liver but am glad to see here that that might indeed be the case.. I am sure that the gall problems have affected the liver... so I am going to be glad to get this gall bladder taken out and be rid of pain that I have been experiencing (ended up in the ER once which is what led us to discover the problem)
I will keep in mind the meds suggested and if the problem continues I can inquire of my physician.
thanks

butterflytrans · 12-27-2004, 11:05 PM

Hey Morrowcoteacher,

If you have NAFLD, your doctor is totally right, the two ways you can keep the disease under control is to control your weight and watch your diabetes. The gall bladder thing is a separate issue. It might have been a factor in the itching--that is usually a result of some blockage in the liver and the backing up of the liver's products (i.e. conjugated bilirubin) in to the bloodstream where it normally isn't in high concentrations. You may notice that your urine is a little more dark than usual, and you MAY be jaundiced, but aside from all this, people usually notice the itching first. I have named three drugs above that can often help with the itching.