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I totaled my car...

MedicMom

By MedicMom,
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MedicMom

MedicMom

Posted
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First, I totaled my car today. The toddler was trying to get out of his seat and I looked back to tell him to sit still, and at that moment the full size pickup truck in front of me decided to do a quick U turn.

 

Second, I hit my head and because I was vomiting, my husband told me I had to go to the ER. He was the paramedic that responded and I didn’t argue. So off I went.

 

Third, they somehow screwed up and did a CT scan of my abdomen instead of my back and neck. And discovered I have advanced non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, or fatty liver disease. The ER resident said the radiologist said it was severe and unusual in someone of my age and weight(not skinny by a long shot, but not obese, and I don’t drink).

 

I seriously just want to crawl into bed and not get out for a long time.

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unsinkable

unsinkable

Posted
Posted

First, I totaled my car today. The toddler was trying to get out of his seat and I looked back to tell him to sit still, and at that moment the full size pickup truck in front of me decided to do a quick U turn.

 

Second, I hit my head and because I was vomiting, my husband told me I had to go to the ER. He was the paramedic that responded and I didn’t argue. So off I went.

 

Third, they somehow screwed up and did a CT scan of my abdomen instead of my back and neck. And discovered I have advanced non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, or fatty liver disease. The ER resident said the radiologist said it was severe and unusual in someone of my age and weight(not skinny by a long shot, but not obese, and I don’t drink).

 

I seriously just want to crawl into bed and not get out for a long time.

Oh my gosh, you poor thing!

 

Your DH must have had his heart in his

 

throat when he recognized your car.

 

:grouphug:

 

Can the liver disease be reversed with diet or meds?

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melmichigan

melmichigan

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I can't imagine your husband responding to that call.  I'm glad to hear that your toddler is fine and your concussion is mild.  Didn't you recently have one with a fall?  (Maybe my memory is off.)  

 

A friend of mine has advanced fatty liver disease, also caught inadvertently when they were doing fertility treatments.  She is doing much better with medication and diet/exercise two years later.  I hope the inadvertent scan will be beneficial in the long run.

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PeterPan

PeterPan

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Oh my goodness! I was in an accident, and it took me a while to feel comfortable driving again, etc. :(

 

Did you end up with a concussion? I had a mild one recently (not related to that car thing), and I ended up doing cranial sacral for the headaches that remained after it should have all cleared up. Kinda weird, but it actually helped.

 

I hope you get rest and enough help so you can follow doctor's orders!

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SebastianCat

SebastianCat

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Many hugs to you. You’re going to feel very sore most of this week, so please get some help with the kids and get lots of rest. I was in a car accident in September where my car was totaled, and it took me a few days to get over most of the major soreness. Hot showers and ibuprofen helped, as did seeing a chiropractor for about 6 weeks for the neck pain.

 

But I totally feel your pain. It’s no fun to deal with insurance, buying a new vehicle, paperwork, etc.

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JudoMom

JudoMom

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Will you be seeing a specialist? It's possible it's something called autoimmune hepatitis. Mine presented non-traditionally, and I remember the liver specialist saying he'd think fatty liver, except it made no sense given the rest of my health. It's uncommon. When I was dxed, I was 1 stage away from cirrhosis (3) and I just had a biopsy last year and I'm down to stage 1 for both inflammation and scarring. I'm on a daily immune suppressant and have been for 7 years. They ended up dxing me by saying "try this. If your labwork improves, it's AIH."

 

I'm sorry about the horrible day.

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ktgrok

ktgrok

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I had fatty liver at one point, but I was definitely obese. But it's related to sugar consumption and blood sugar more than weight. I know you were working overnights and lack of sleep can mess with blood sugar, as can stress which you've had plenty of. And I know a lot of medical people doing odd shifts end up eating a lot of sugar just to stay awake. Any chance that is the issue?

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Catwoman

Catwoman

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Posted (edited)

First, I totaled my car today. The toddler was trying to get out of his seat and I looked back to tell him to sit still, and at that moment the full size pickup truck in front of me decided to do a quick U turn.

Second, I hit my head and because I was vomiting, my husband told me I had to go to the ER. He was the paramedic that responded and I didn’t argue. So off I went.

Third, they somehow screwed up and did a CT scan of my abdomen instead of my back and neck. And discovered I have advanced non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, or fatty liver disease. The ER resident said the radiologist said it was severe and unusual in someone of my age and weight(not skinny by a long shot, but not obese, and I don’t drink).

I seriously just want to crawl into bed and not get out for a long time.

Will you be seeing a specialist? It's possible it's something called autoimmune hepatitis. Mine presented non-traditionally, and I remember the liver specialist saying he'd think fatty liver, except it made no sense given the rest of my health. It's uncommon. When I was dxed, I was 1 stage away from cirrhosis (3) and I just had a biopsy last year and I'm down to stage 1 for both inflammation and scarring. I'm on a daily immune suppressant and have been for 7 years. They ended up dxing me by saying "try this. If your labwork improves, it's AIH."

I'm sorry about the horrible day.

JudoMom, I’m so glad to hear that you’re down to stage 1!!! :hurray:

 

MedicMom, you need to see a liver specialist and get a liver biopsy as soon as possible. A CT scan isn’t enough to determine the extent of fatty liver disease and can not definitively diagnose NASH, and as JudoMom said, it could also be autoimmune hepatitis. My dh was never overweight, was very athletic, and ate a healthy diet, so he wasn’t a “typical†case, either. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter whether or not you have common symptoms because you already know there’s a problem and now you need to find out the extent of that problem so you can treat it while there’s still time to reverse it. And again, you may not have NASH. Often, doctors use that term whenever someone has a fatty liver but doesn’t present with typical symptoms like obesity or diabetes, but they really don’t know for sure based on a CT scan.

 

Don’t let anyone tell you that you can wait for the biopsy. My dh was told that fatty liver doesn’t usually progress to cirrhosis and that he didn’t need to bother with a biopsy... and then a few years later during gall bladder surgery, the surgeon took one look at dh’s liver and that’s when our journey toward his liver transplant began. I don’t want to see that happen to you — and it probably won’t because only a very small percentage of people with fatty liver disease will progress to having cirrhosis — but you need to know for sure, and then as long as you find out that you don’t already have cirrhosis, you can take steps to prevent it.

 

A liver biopsy sounds very scary, but in reality, it was not a big deal at all. My dh was imagining it to be awful and painful, and afterward he said he had worried for nothing. Now when he needs a biopsy, he doesn’t even worry about it!

 

But again, a CT scan can not differentiate NASH from NAFLD (nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.) NASH is the most severe form of NAFLD, but it only affects a small percentage of people with fatty liver. I think the doctor was far too hasty in diagnosing such a serious condition, because without biopsy results, he’s just guessing.

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Catwoman

Catwoman

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I had fatty liver at one point, but I was definitely obese. But it's related to sugar consumption and blood sugar more than weight. I know you were working overnights and lack of sleep can mess with blood sugar, as can stress which you've had plenty of. And I know a lot of medical people doing odd shifts end up eating a lot of sugar just to stay awake. Any chance that is the issue?

Actually, if MedicMom has been diagnosed with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (which shouldn’t have happened because she hasn’t had a biopsy,) there isn’t a clear cut cause for that. Sugar can certainly be involved, but with NASH, it doesn't have to be. It is the most extreme type of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and only affects a very small percentage of the population. Up to 25% of the population has fatty liver disease, but less than 5% have NASH.

 

Often, when a person has NASH, the cause is never determined. That’s what my dh had, and he didn’t fit into the typical profile at all.

 

I’m hoping that once MedicMom gets a liver biopsy, it will show that her condition is far less severe than she has been told it is. A CT scan is not a definitive way to determine the severity of fatty liver disease — a biopsy is absolutely required for that — so I think the doctor in the ER was more than a little bit hasty in making such a specific diagnosis. I could also understand the doctor saying she has fatty liver disease, but without a biopsy, NASH can’t be determined for sure.

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MedicMom

MedicMom

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The radiologist said it was “presumed†NASH and actually called the ER to talk to the doctor as he felt it looked so bad. My primary doctor said she’d request the radiology report and go from there. I don’t eat a lot of sugar, but I have a long history of PCOS and insulin resistance which can cause this. My doctor said we’d get a biopsy just to see what’s actually going on and to exercise more.

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Catwoman

Catwoman

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The radiologist said it was “presumed†NASH and actually called the ER to talk to the doctor as he felt it looked so bad. My primary doctor said she’d request the radiology report and go from there. I don’t eat a lot of sugar, but I have a long history of PCOS and insulin resistance which can cause this. My doctor said we’d get a biopsy just to see what’s actually going on and to exercise more.

Ok, that makes a lot more sense. I’m glad you’re going to have the biopsy so you’ll know what is really going on, and so you’ll have a baseline so you can find out if lifestyle changes and/or medications are working for you as time passes.

 

The accident and the CT scan that was done in error may have turned out to be blessings in disguise, because now that you know about the fatty liver, you have time to do something about it. I still think back on my dh’s gall bladder surgery and how annoyed he was at having to get it done, but if he hadn’t gone for that surgery, he might very well not be alive now.

 

Praying that your biopsy results come back showing that the extent of your fatty liver is much milder than the doctor is anticipating! :grouphug:

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unsinkable

unsinkable

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JudoMom, I’m so glad to hear that you’re down to stage 1!!! :hurray:

 

MedicMom, you need to see a liver specialist and get a liver biopsy as soon as possible. A CT scan isn’t enough to determine the extent of fatty liver disease and can not definitively diagnose NASH, and as JudoMom said, it could also be autoimmune hepatitis. My dh was never overweight, was very athletic, and ate a healthy diet, so he wasn’t a “typical†case, either. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter whether or not you have common symptoms because you already know there’s a problem and now you need to find out the extent of that problem so you can treat it while there’s still time to reverse it. And again, you may not have NASH. Often, doctors use that term whenever someone has a fatty liver but doesn’t present with typical symptoms like obesity or diabetes, but they really don’t know for sure based on a CT scan.

 

Don’t let anyone tell you that you can wait for the biopsy. My dh was told that fatty liver doesn’t usually progress to cirrhosis and that he didn’t need to bother with a biopsy... and then a few years later during gall bladder surgery, the surgeon took one look at dh’s liver and that’s when our journey toward his liver transplant began. I don’t want to see that happen to you — and it probably won’t because only a very small percentage of people with fatty liver disease will progress to having cirrhosis — but you need to know for sure, and then as long as you find out that you don’t already have cirrhosis, you can take steps to prevent it.

 

A liver biopsy sounds very scary, but in reality, it was not a big deal at all. My dh was imagining it to be awful and painful, and afterward he said he had worried for nothing. Now when he needs a biopsy, he doesn’t even worry about it!

 

But again, a CT scan can not differentiate NASH from NAFLD (nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.) NASH is the most severe form of NAFLD, but it only affects a small percentage of people with fatty liver. I think the doctor was far too hasty in diagnosing such a serious condition, because without biopsy results, he’s just guessing.

I'm glad you're so willing to share your familiarity with liver disease but it makes me so sad how you came about all your knowledge. :-(

 

PSA...Sign up to be an organ donor!

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Selkie

Selkie

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:grouphug: I'm so sorry! Thank goodness you and the kids are okay, and I'm glad the doctors made the error that detected your liver condition.

 

I hope you're able to get the rest you need to heal from the concussion. Is it you that just had another concussion very recently? I thought it was, but my apologies if I have you mixed up with someone else.

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MedicMom

MedicMom

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:grouphug: I'm so sorry! Thank goodness you and the kids are okay, and I'm glad the doctors made the error that detected your liver condition.

 

I hope you're able to get the rest you need to heal from the concussion. Is it you that just had another concussion very recently? I thought it was, but my apologies if I have you mixed up with someone else.

I had one in January. I was pretty well healed from that and then this happened. I don’t think I really hit my head that hard, but it was enough to make me throw up repeatedly.

 

It was a totally crappy day.

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dirty ethel rackham

dirty ethel rackham

Posted
Posted

I think you’ve reached your limit of bad luck for the year. I hope things start looking up soon and the liver problem can be easily resolved.

Oh, I agree. My stomach just jolted when I saw that it was you MM. Praying for some rest (not just the physical kind, but the mental and emotional kind) and healing. Hope the car situation works itself out without too much stress and that the scan mistake turns out to be a blessing in disguise.

 

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk

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