Avani's NASH* Story 

I'm so happy for you Kevin! 9 days ago I got the worst news of my life...I was told that I have NAFLD, NASH & STAGE 4 CIRRHOSIS OF THE LIVER! Somehow I went from stage 2 in Nov 2022 to stage 4 in March 2023! My Liver Specialist sent me for a special ultrasound in Nov 2022 & called me in Dec 2022 & said you have fatty liver disease & I need to lose weight, that's it! In Feb 2023 she sent me for another different ultrasound (fibro scan) & now I have scarring & hardening of my liver. She is referring me to another Liver Specialist & a Nutritionist & I've already lost 5 lbs in the past 9 days but after doing so much research about what I have, I'm terrified! I have 2 daughters in their early 20's & I feel like I just got a death sentence! I left her office & felt like a deer in the headlights, I was stunned & kept repeating to myself I have stage 4 Cirrhosis of the Liver? How? She didn't say anything to me but just to lose weight...I don't know how you feel about this Kevin, but if you could tell me a bit about what happened to you? I am feeling really sick myself now so maybe if you could tell me how you got through it that it can help me cope? Congrats Kevin on getting a new liver & I hope you have a long, happy & healthy life! Susan from Toronto Canada!

@@susansuarez8954 You are right…I’ve had elevated liver enzymes for years but my doctors never once told me to do anything other than to eat better and lose weight. They don’t explain how bad liver disease can get if you don’t totally change your eating habits. The liver can heal itself totally if you catch it before scarring (Fibrosis) and even with a little scarring, you can turn it around. But once Cirrhosis, it’s hard. You will need to lose 10% of your weight and stop eating carbs (bread, pasta, chips, rice), and no sugar at all. You need to not snack between meals and also good to fast (stop eating from 6 or 7PM all thru next day till 9am or later. This will help your liver get a rest and have a chance to heal. Oh, you need to exercise too, as that removes fat from the liver too. See some videos on liver from Dr. Eric Berg. It can help. Even with a liver transplant, it is a tough road cause you need to constantly take immune suppressants to ward off rejection of that new liver. Good luck. I was lucky in that I got scared enough to ask for an Ultrasound and Fibroscan and first lost 16 pounds prior to those scans and my test came out with only a little fatty liver but no fibrosis or cirrhosis but I’ll continue to eat better from now on as I used to love junk food. No more!

@@susansuarez8954 Good luck, it seems like overall weight loss, as well as limiting carb and saturated fat intake are important factors for improvement

@@Test-zn9rs Thanks but unfortunately with everything that I have including stage 4 Cirrhosis of the Liver, the damage has been done. Scarring is not reversible & what I'm doing now is just keeping my Liver from getting further damage. Scarring for me might be removed with Surgery so I'm waiting to see the Hematologist at my Hospital here in Toronto Canada. I also had my gal bladder removed 8 years ago & the Dr thinks that my Liver damage started from then because I was not told by my Surgeon that I have to change my diet! I consume little to no carbs & saturated fat. My health is declining & I'm see my Liver Dr next Monday for the results of my 3rd ultrasound. I think I said this already but I have Fibrosis as well. I'm afraid that I will have to have surgery for the scarring & if things don't improve, a Liver Transplant.

@@susansuarez8954 I’m so sorry to hear that, well I wish you all the best with your treatment

Hi! We are so sorry to hear that your liver disease was missed. Please feel free to call our helpline to get connected with our Facebook Groups, and for any additional support or questions you may have. You can call our helpline at 1-800-465-4837, or chat on our website at liverfoundation.org/, Mon-Fri 9am - 5pm EST.

My one was missed also, got end stage 4 cirrhosis, was having test for years, bloods were always out, they did not question it, have a rare disease whereas i do not make B3, was feeling very tired few years ago, they referred me, fibro 44.4, liver biopsy, this confirmed, now i have scans every six months, and check-ups, no all through drink though, imposable in my work

Just wonderful, I've been looking for "alcoholic fatty liver" for a while now, and I think this has helped. Have you heard people talk about - Bachalaswin Better Body Rule - (just google it ) ? Ive heard some amazing things about it and my cousin got amazing results with it.

@ZuluReddy, hello and I hope you are doing well..if you feel like sharing I would like to know how you are doing and what your results were. I'm sorry I am not trying to be nosy, I just got my ct scan back and it says my liver is enlarged. So I think I may also have nafld..thank you...

@@jennifermurray4387 how did it go for you? Can I ask what you ALT and AST were if you know? My ALT is 180 and will need more tests. Don’t drink or eat processed foods, almost no carbs and do a lot for my liver do super surprised.

Alicia Barnachea yes I am one of the individuals that have it, I’m 38 and researching more about this as I’d been diagnosed

I am 24 and I was recently diagnosed with non alcoholic fatty liver

am also 23 😭 non alcahol

Well i m now 19. 2 years ago I knew i had NASH (F3) with no symptom. Doctors tell me to reduce weight as i m overweight (but not obesed) and told to lead an active lifestyle. My lifestyle is completely sedentary till now and i also ate a lot of junk food and also fatty foods but now i had reduced junk food and try on healthy diet. Luckily till now i had no symptoms. But i want to ask you if you lead a sedentary lifestyle and ate junk food a lot like me ?

I was 21 when I was diagnosed (now 23).

It’s progressive. It won’t recover. I’m not overweight, and not a drinker and very active but the cirrhosis snuck in and I’ve had ascites for 2 years. I expect to start turning yellow very soon. I’m not afraid of death but my human side is upset about it. I’m upset for my family and how they’ll cope without me doing everything for them. Transplant is a waste of rare resources that someone more needy than me deserves. A transplant will only last about a year so it’s not a quality of life option with all the recovery and anti-rejection medication required.

@@George.JS.Bailey , you got the same thinking with me. Transplant is out of question. Last month I went to Vietnam to try their traditional medicine. The outcome is very good. My ascites is not serious anymore and my stomach water retention is not longer so much. You have not had ascites presently, your liver is not as worst as me and have very good chance of recovering soon. My case I think I have to take this traditional medicine for at least a year inorder to see good result. But need to adhere to strict diet e.g. no seafood only fresh water fish, no fats, no salt, no sour food, no junk/snack food, etc....

@@George.JS.Bailey your life is worth it, intermittent fasting and change everything and put things in god's hands 🙏, the peace of Jesus Christ

me to

Any update?

Elizabeth, over 20 years ago my GP advised me that I had an “enlarged liver” that I should be cautious about - no alcohol, control weight, be careful of certain medications. He cautioned that it could result in serious liver disease. The years passed and I thought of it only occasionally. I don’t drink so that was no problem. I did see my weight gradually climb which was a concern for many reasons. About 4 years ago I was seeing weight increases in spite of putting myself on a strict diet and remaking active. Three years ago I retired, in large measure because I was concerned about my job performance (tired at work, failing to remember critical items, and similar problems). I was advised after an abdominal CT that I had an umbilical hernia which I could not account for. I was getting so large I had to buy larger clothes. Other physical problems began to surface. After retirement my wife was shocked and insisted that we seek more medical help (I worked and lived 1600 miles from my wife so we saw each other a couple of times a year). After a GP, a cardiologist, and three gastroenterologist I finally was lucky enough to find a wonderful gastro doc who commented about my “brain fog” during my first visit (I had not mentioned this problem as I thought it was unrelated). He advised me that sooner or later I would need a transplant, and referred me to a major hospital with a well regarded transplant program. Within a year I fell into acute liver failure (fortunately while I was actually in the hospital). I fell into a coma for 4 days, during which time I was kept alive on a MARS machine. Within two weeks I underwent a transplant. That was over a year ago. Now I live a fairly normal life. My transplant and meds have only resulted in a few lifestyle changes. My strongest message is that if you are not confident in your gastro doc find another. My first, when asked about my wife thought was ascites, said “he’s just FAT”. The second had no clue about my problem even after a needle biopsy of the liver. The rest of my process was truly a case of divine intervention. Be your own best advocate. Buy into your own healing. Be part of the solution. Best of luck to you. (Sorry this was so long. I tried to be brief.)

I thought they were actors?

All I know is a good friend has it. It's a non alcoholic, fatty liver something or another Initially, they came out saying it was irreversible..but now I understand that's all incorrect. Barry (my friend) eats well, drinks lots of water and takes things to help cleanse his liver. He's totally turned it around, and his was NASH too...so I'm not sure what to say about it.

Does your pain gets worst after you eat? Like a burning, stabbing pain?

I pray you get the help you need i have a severely enlarged liver and fatty liver🙁🙏I Would encourage you to find another gastroenterologist the sooner the better!! I had one that said come back in 6 months but I found another one that immediately gave me something for the inflammation and we are working on other things Good luck and GOD BLESS

@@magaDi97Sometimes but not usually. I had my gallbladder out in July of 14

@@kathydurbin437 my doctor told me my fatty liver is mild,but the inflammation pain doesn’t feel mild, I wonder what would be like on other stages?

Tell your doctor to check you for hemochromatosis

My doctor had already screened for it. I am heterozygous for one of the mutations but ideally, that one wild type allele should prevent me from showing symptoms

Here's a page about symptoms from our NASH Information Center: liverfoundation.org/for-patients/about-the-liver/diseases-of-the-liver/nonalcoholic-steatohepatitis-information-center/nash-symptoms/.

@alastairdow4400 how are you doing now?