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What Does My Liver Ultrasound Scan Report Indicate?
Question: I am a 28 y/o female. I have been drinking excessively over the course of 3 or so years. At my worst, I would drink all day long until I passed out. Within the last several months, I am drinking excessively, but only at night. My doctor told me that my liver enzymes are extremely elevated (both around 600.) He is sending me for a liver ultrasound. I'm really scared that I have done permanent damage to my body. What is the likelihood that I can reverse this if I abstain from alcohol?
Brief Answer:
quite good.
Detailed Answer:
Ok, you have certainly done some permanent damage to the liver and maybe brain damage and nerve damage.
And, The liver has enormous reserves. Certainly most of it has to be gone before there are any symptoms.
There are three classes of liver disease and these categories were set up most of a century ago. There is some disease (category A). There is having continual signs of some liver failure (class B, you are not in that category if you have not been hospitalized ever) and class C which is dying from liver failure. If dying from liver failure there is about a 5 year life expectancy from diagnosis. If you are not in class C then stopping and you will never get into class C.
So, unless there is something other than JUST alcohol (like chronic viral infection with hepatitis virus), then the likelihood is basically 100% that if someone stops prior to any hospitalizations, the liver won't fail.
quite good.
Detailed Answer:
Ok, you have certainly done some permanent damage to the liver and maybe brain damage and nerve damage.
And, The liver has enormous reserves. Certainly most of it has to be gone before there are any symptoms.
There are three classes of liver disease and these categories were set up most of a century ago. There is some disease (category A). There is having continual signs of some liver failure (class B, you are not in that category if you have not been hospitalized ever) and class C which is dying from liver failure. If dying from liver failure there is about a 5 year life expectancy from diagnosis. If you are not in class C then stopping and you will never get into class C.
So, unless there is something other than JUST alcohol (like chronic viral infection with hepatitis virus), then the likelihood is basically 100% that if someone stops prior to any hospitalizations, the liver won't fail.
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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