Liver disease often fluctuates, meaning that one day you could feel well and the next be severely ill or too tired or sleepy to do anything. This makes it hard to predict and plan your life.
If signs and symptoms of liver disease do occur, they may include: Skin and eyes that appear yellowish (jaundice) Abdominal pain and swelling. Swelling in the legs and ankles.
You may not have any symptoms in the early stage of cirrhosis because your liver can still function despite being damaged. You tend to get symptoms if your liver becomes more severely damaged. The main symptoms of cirrhosis include: tiredness and weakness.
This simply means it comes after the other stages of have damage which can include inflammation (hepatitis), fatty deposits (steatosis) and increased stiffness and mild-scarring of your liver (fibrosis). Many people with cirrhosis can feel quite well and live for many years without needing a liver transplant.
You should notice your general health and well-being improving when your liver starts to heal. For example, you may notice clearer thinking, more energy, improved appetite, and less pain.
It takes upwards of ten years for alcohol-related liver disease to progress from fatty liver through fibrosis to cirrhosis to acute on chronic liver failure. This process is silent and symptom free and can easily be missed in primary care, usually presenting with advanced cirrhosis.
The liver has a unique capacity among organs to regenerate itself after damage. A liver can regrow to a normal size even after up to 90% of it has been removed. But the liver isn't invincible. Many diseases and exposures can harm it beyond the point of repair.
Cirrhosis of the liver can be a grim diagnosis, which is why prevention and early detection are so important. Caught early, it's possible to turn cirrhosis around and get back to living a normal life.
Many people with liver disease have unpredictable symptoms and good days and bad days. Try to give as much information as possible about the number of days you have symptoms and how bad you are on your bad days.
Many people are not aware that they have cirrhosis, since they may not have signs or symptoms until their liver is badly damaged. A healthy liver (left) and liver with cirrhosis (right).
The pain may be throbbing or stabbing, and it can come and go. If you experience this type of pain regularly, or if the intensity of it prevents you from functioning normally, seek medical attention as soon as possible.
Acute liver failure can happen in as little as 48 hours. It's important to seek medical treatment at the first signs of trouble. These signs may include fatigue, nausea, diarrhea, and discomfort in your right side, just below your ribs.
Sometimes, jaundice is caused by the breakdown of a large number of red blood cells, which can occur in newborns. Jaundice is usually the first sign, and sometimes the only sign, of liver disease.
Acute liver failure causes fatigue, nausea, loss of appetite, discomfort on your right side, just below your ribs, and diarrhea. Acute liver failure is a serious condition. It requires medical care right away. If treatments are not effective, you may be a candidate for a liver transplant.
You likely won't notice an enlarged liver on your own. In some severe cases, you might notice a feeling of bloating or fullness in your belly, or an ache in your upper right abdomen, where your liver is. It's more likely your healthcare provider will discover it during an exam.
Stage 3: Cirrhosis
During this stage of disease, symptoms become more noticeable: pain and discomfort, fatigue, appetite loss, fluid retention, jaundice, and an itchy feeling around the liver.
Sleep disturbances, particularly daytime sleepiness and insomnia, are common problems reported by patients suffering from liver cirrhosis.
Avoidance of Alcohol for Patients with Cirrhosis Cirrhosis
Patients with cirrhosis, regardless of etiology, should not drink any alcohol at all.
Do all alcoholics get alcoholic hepatitis and eventually cirrhosis? No. Some alcoholics may suffer seriously from the many physical and psychological symptoms of alcoholism, but escape serious liver damage. Alcoholic cirrhosis is found among alcoholics about 10 to 25 percent of the time.
Compensated cirrhosis: People with compensated cirrhosis do not show symptoms, while life expectancy is around 9–12 years. A person can remain asymptomatic for years, although 5–7% of those with the condition will develop symptoms every year.
People with cirrhosis in Class A have the best prognosis, with a life expectancy of 15 to 20 years. People with cirrhosis in Class B are still healthy, with a life expectancy of 6 to 10 years. As a result, these people have plenty of time to seek sophisticated therapy alternatives such as a liver transplant.
People with cirrhosis of the liver have a life expectancy of between two and 12 years. If you have early-stage cirrhosis, treatment and lifestyle changes can help you live longer. People with advanced cirrhosis of the liver have a much shorter life expectancy.
In the past, liver cirrhosis was considered an irreversible phenomenon. However, many experimental data have provided evidence of the reversibility of liver fibrosis. Moreover, multiple clinical studies have also shown regression of fibrosis and reversal of cirrhosis on repeated biopsy samples.
Certain liver diseases go away on their own. Others can last a lifetime and cause serious illness. Although liver disease often has no symptoms, warning signs can include a swollen abdomen, nausea, itching, or jaundice (having a yellow tint to the skin and the whites of the eyes).
Damage already done to your liver is permanent. But your liver is a large organ. If part of your liver is still working, you might be able to slow the progression of disease, depending on its cause. For instance, if your cirrhosis is caused by alcohol use, talk to your provider about how to stop drinking.