I'm a new member and have recently had some problems. A routine physical in January showed abnormal liver function tests, sorry, I'm not sure which ones or what the readings are. Two weeks ago, an ultrasound showed some fatty infiltration, but also some spots on the liver. I am booked for a CT scan in two days - they got me in very quickly and my doctor apologized all over the place for giving me the ultrasound results over the phone. They're not wasting any time.
I quit smoking 7 months ago, I drink maybe every couple of weeks ( 4 drinks is an occasion) and I am not taking any medication that may cause an abnormal liver function, not even OTC or herbal remedies. I am in my early 40's, I haven't taken birth control for years and am usually relatively healthy. I am taking pain meds for an unrelated condition (atypical facial pain) and have been since '99, no new meds. There is no family history of any problems, all my grandparents saw 90 or were very close to it despite some heavy drinking habits. I no longer have a gall bladder, it's been gone for 10 years or so.
Looking back, I have had symptoms for a few months now, maybe 6, maybe more. I have had some pain in the liver area, I have been fatigued, I have frequent dizziness or feel off balance, I tire easily and I have had swelling of my hands and feet at times. I don't remember what a normal bowel movement is like, it's been so long. I just chalked it up to my pre-existing condition, bad diet and lack of exercise.
Has anybody else had something like this that hopefully turned out to be nothing? My husband and I are scared to death.
Thanks, Boo 63 from Alberta
Last edited by Boo63; 05-07-2007 at 02:05 PM.
Reason: forgot something
The Following User Says Thank You to Boo63 For This Useful Post: mamie sud (01-23-2012)
Hi there,
You are not alone. I know the stress you are under and the waiting is the worst.
Anyhow, they thought I was having gallstone pains (pains by my liver) so they gave me an ultrasound. My gallbladder was fine however, they told me I had fatty liver. I was shocked. I don't drink but my diet isn't the healthiest so I tried to eat better. This whole situation bothered me and about a year later I requested follow up blood work because I was having tingling in my face and neck. Bloodwork came back fine but she sent me to a specialist. Another Ultrasound revealed some type of irregular mass which they thought was fatty liver that had deposited unevenly. So went for cat scan with contrast, showed that it wasn't fatty liver but a mass, could be a hemagioma, adenoma, FNH, or cancer. Off for an MRI which they finally determined that it was most likely FNH (but you can never be 100% sure). Dr. told me I could have a biopsy or monitor it for growth. I am just monitoring it. Stress was causing my tingling. I too suffer from bouts of dizziness which I think is inner ear related. I don't know if all of your symptoms are related. I do believe that elevated bloodwork is typical with Fatty Liver. Remember that Fatty liver is quite reversible with proper nutrition. My friends mom was recently diagnosed and she is not even fat, she gave up sugar and lost 14 lbs.
I think birthcontrol taken many years ago can still cause things. You don't know how long those spots have been there for, maybe 10 or 15 yrs. Ultrasounds can be vague, the Cat scan will be better. Try to relax and remember there are lots of benign liver spots. Are you sure your pain meds don't affect your liver? I would search the net and type in whatever meds you are taking with the word liver next to it. Good luck and keep us posted!
Don't worry unless and until you have reason to.
"Spots" on the liver are most likely benign hemangiomas that require no further concer.
"Fat infiltration" seems to be the newest buzzword that almost everyone hears...maybe a justification for giving everyone an echogram with each case of indigestion. We are an obese society and since the liver is the fat processor of the body maybe it's no wonder everyone has some fat in his liver.
The CAT scan is the right way to procede...but even THAT doesn't always confirm hemangiomas, alas.
I am taking 25mg of amitriptyline (Elavil) at night, the dosage has gone up and down over the past 7 years. I am taking 60mg of slow release morphine twice a day for about the same amount of time, it too has gone up and down, but I have been on this dosage for close to a year now. They are both for the atypical facial pain, the amitriptyline has the side effect of helping with pain. I tried all the other pain medications before getting on the morphine, nothing else worked for more than a week. Without it, I was howling in pain. For the past few months, I have also been taking Serc (8mg, four times a day) for my dizziness, nut I don't think it's helping much. Probably because I forget to take it 4 times a day, usually only 2 or three times.
I haven't heard anything from my doctor yet, but I have a follow-up appointment on the 16th.
The dizziness is getting really annoying and it has worsened in the last few weeks. My facial pain has also been increasing. It may have something to do with stress, but I'm usually pretty laid back. When the doctor first called me about the spots, I was quite freaked out and stressed, but I've managed to relax quite a bit since then.
Dizziness and facial pain: Go see an ENT guy. A main facial nerve (trimengial nerve???<don't quote me>) goes through the middle ear and both conditions can be tied to your ear.
I had a stapedectomy and part of my face went numbish and food tasted funny on one side.
They thought it was trigeminal neuralgia at first, that's why they tried the antiseizure meds at first because TN does not respond to painkillers. My facial pain does respond to painkillers, so I don't have TN. All the wonderful doctors could do was shrug their shoulders and say we don't what causes it and we don't know how to treat it, just throw some painkillers at me. At least I can somewhat function now, I couldn't before, just lay on the couch with an icepack and howl.
Spots on liver ultrasound, anyone else? 
