Suggest Treatment For Bruises On The Side Of Waist

Posted on Tue, 25 Aug 2015

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Tue, 25 Aug 2015 Answered on

Mon, 21 Sep 2015 Last reviewed on

Question : I have drank a lot of alcohol over the past 20 years. I am 43 years old and 5'10 and 360 pounds. My stool has been light brown and looks to be yellow on the toilet paper for a while now. I think sometimes that I have some discomfort on my right side sometimes. My urine is dark in the morning and lighter during the day. I have just found a bruise on my right side above my waist line. Dont know if it has anything to do with it because I bruise easy because I am on blood thinners. I am worried that I have done a lot of damage to my liver

Answered by Dr. Ivo Ditah (9 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
More likely to be related to your blood thinner!

Detailed Answer:
Hi and thank you so much for this query.

I understand your concerns about your liver. Having drank so much alcohol in the past, this is definitely a reason to be concerned. The good news is that you have stopped and certainly these symptoms are not typical of a liver disease.

Dark urine is often caused by insufficient fluid intake. I will advice that you increase your fluid intake and monitor this urine again. If it were a liver disease, there is no reason why it will not be constant.

Bruising is more typical of the blood thinners. I will recommend getting a blood test to make sure that your INR is in the right range and not to high that can lead to bleeding problems.

Finally, when you get the chance, do a complete liver panel test to make assurance double sure. This way, you will have objective evidence to stay calm.

I hope this helps. I wish you well and thank you so much for using our services. Feel free to ask for more information and clarifications if need be.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar