If You Have NAFLD, How Would You Know?

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[robinq]

If Fatty Liver is THE precursor to cirrhosis, why wouldn't you do ultrasounds & check liver enzymes on those patients who have all the factors that indicate the condition is likely present? Must we wait for the most severe irreversible diagnosis before treating a condition that is not only treatable but reversible? My hepatitis DR who treated me for Hep C informed me recently that she doesn't treat other chronic "liver disease". But would do a colonoscopy (with no evident signs of my needing one) if I wanted one... but no follow up with blood work or scans to see if my liver is in better condition or not. Healthcare in Europe sounds a helluva lot better that what we get in the US!

[HHummer]

Why wait until people are in bad shape and the liver disease has progressed? Thinking it would be better to treat in the early stages so less medical intervention is needed.

[sanekabc]

Dietary changes can likely correct NAFLD.

[fernandocabanillas]

Every time I have blood work done I’m asked if I drink beer, even in the early 2000’s when I was in the army in the best shape of my life as a cardio machine I was always asked if I was a heavy drinker. I’ve NEVER drank a sip of any alcoholic beverage or have done any type of drugs. Would this qualify as non alcoholic fatty liver?

[akeleven]

Recently I had the test and the technician called to say I had fatty liver. When I went in to see the doctor he said it was normal. Change doctors?

In the 70s I told the doctor I was tired. He told me to gain weight. I wish I could get back to shouting distance of that weight again.

[tenminutetokyo]

You will get very very tired and muscle weakness. That is how you will know.

[Tuner]

More than 1/3rd of the US population has fatty liver disease. There was a study done i believe it was in 2016, that found that at least 80% of the US population had at that point been diagnosed with NAFLD. Now those numbers don't include all of the people that have NAFLD but haven't been diagnosed.

[Tuner]

You can have fibrosis/cirrhosis without being having diabetes. I'm on anticonvulsants and have been for 17 years. When I was first put on anticonvulsants they impacted my liver bad enough to switch me to a different set of pharmaceuticals. Unfortunately all 3 of the pharmaceuticals I'm on are linked to fatty liver. I know I have fatty liver because of jaundice, pain in right side of abdomen, and excess bilirubin in my urine (been going on for at least 1 year). Yet every time I seek help from a medical practitioner for my liver concerns they say "your liver is fine" without ordering any tests other than a hepatic blood test that shows I have fatty liver.

[warrenklein]

Ok, interesting, but how do you fix it?

[gretaeberhardt]

With keto diets being so popular have there been studies that show any links between NAFLD and a keto diet? I do not eat keto but when I read the stories of large weight loss it’s hard to dismiss it. When people on the diet have their blood tested it is a hard no for me though..

[lilaccilla]

i have extreme bloat and pain after eating the smallest of meals or snacks, plus terrible burping and reflux with it ! my stomach and weight has expanded . I am also suffering from Dermatomyositis, Fibromyalgia and Hashimoto's . But the bloating and reflux is the worst pain of of my daily life . What do I do to get my Doctor to test me for a fatty liver ?

[sammy]

Doctor did test say i have that so im on a changed diet

[garretlizotte]

Wait... Men and women are different?!?!

[hanapapercuts]

Around the 5 minute marker when Dr. Brandman talks about the expense of screening people who are healthy and have the potential to reverse the disease, she back pedals and talks about treating sicker people...this kind of sums up health care for me...statistics (dealing with the shifting markers of "normal") and treating disease rather than helping healthy people get healthier and pursue a better trajectory for their health. Very disappointing.
I was in the store behind a couple with a very chunky toddler. They opened a box of cereal...or what passes for a food-like substance...that little guy at 3 or 4 has all the markers for addiction and the store (Costco) should be called out for selling that crap...or no, the company that makes those little cluster-fucks of sugar.

[nico]

Drs only want to deal with people who are already sick. Why not screen and prevent sickness?

[Yeon]

Hereditary fructose intolerance

Hereditary fructose intolerance is a serious type of fructose intolerance. However, it is treatable and manageable.

It occurs when a person is unable to digest neither fructose nor fructose precursors, such as brown sugar.

Those with hereditary fructose intolerance lack sufficient activity of an enzyme called fructose-1-phosphate aldolase, which helps digest fructose.

The fructose then accumulates in the liver and kidneys, causing serious and potentially fatal complications, such as liver and kidney failure.

[pmest]

To bad they dont have a liver machine at the gym