Fatty enlarged liver in T1 diabetics?

Hi,

Sorry to hear about this. I don;t really know about this, although I did have to have a liver scan once, due to some questionable blood results. I can see that you are T" though, and you have posted this in teh T1 section...so might be worth reposting it in another section, so someone who does know something can see it?

All the best,
From another survivor of a mis spent youth )although my youth is now only a memory!)

Hi

Fatty livers usually develop through being overweight or through drinking alcohol on a moderate basis. They are not to be ignored and will unfortunately develop into more serious liver disease if nothing is done to rectify.

I wish you well with all this and hope that your liver will get smaller again but think the best thing if this doesn't happen, is for you to be referred to see a liver specialist at hospital.

Hi There,

Isnt Diabetes a joy!! About three months ago I was happily ticking along when over a weekend my sugars went through the roof. Didnt seem like insulin I was taking was working, despite taking more and more. Had some blood tests and liver results came back as having AST levels of 980 (normal 35). THis has also happened before when I first was diagnosed 3 years ago and then too my sugar levels had been high. They have mentioned the dreaded biopsy.........but to be honest went into a cold sweat as I just dont do pain!! Will have to club me out to get me to agree to that one I think, lol, anyway they cannot find a reason why this has happened. Seems to be when sugars get high they aggitate liver and then sugars get worse and so does liver. Its really a barrel of laughs. I am told a fatty liver does effect your diabetes control and yes the normally presume that because you are bigger that you will have one, so god knows what they will say to you. Think tight control does help your liver. I know not the answer but just thought might help to know your not on your own!! Hope it gets sorted for you!!

TheSparkyPony said:

Me again, you must be sick of my frequent questions

Anyhoos, has anyone else got the same condition as me? I do have high cholesterol through my diabetes which is being controlled by tablets, although it has risen from some recent DKAs

Apparently it's over twice the size it should be, and my spleen is also enlarged. If it hasn't improved by next clinic visit (January) I'll have to have it biopsied.
Does anyone know if this whole huge liver issue will have any implications further on down the line, as per everything else?

I feel so old am and only 18! Body is falling apart due to stupid mistakes when I was younger.

Thanks in advance for any advice! xx

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Here is a link to The British Liver Trust with information about NAFLD (Non Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease) and NASH (Non Alcoholic Steatohepatitis) which is a development of the disease. There is much information there.

http://www.britishlivertrust.org.uk/hom ... -nash.aspx

I understand why you posted in the T1 area but I think you might get more responses in the Ask A Question section so have moved it there for now. It is not a Type specific disease and I do know we have some members with it so hopefully they might post some more responses for you.

Non alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)
NAFLD is actually a term for a wide range of conditions characterised by the build-up of fat in the liver cells of people who do not drink alcohol excessively.

At one end of this range is simple fatty liver, or steatosis. This is the stage where fat is first detected in the liver cells and is generally regarded as benign (harmless).

Non alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a significant development in NAFLD. This is a more aggressive condition that may cause scarring to the liver and can progress to cirrhosis. Cirrhosis causes irreversible damage to the liver and is the most severe stage in NAFLD.

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Another link to possible causes:

http://www.britishlivertrust.org.uk/hom ... liver.aspx

I too have an enlarged fatty liver and have never liked alcohol and bmi 24 so according to doc its often found in diabetics
Must stress that the next statement is just my opinion and thats its the statins that I took for so long that did this and wonder if they scanned everyone that was on long term statins they would find lots of us with this condition
On statins my liver enzymes were 38 and since coming off them a few months back its now down to 17 so statins do have a liver effect

Can't find anything about Statins being a cause, in fact quite the opposite, they are being considered as a treatment option......see here from The British Liver Trust......

These include statins, a class of drug used to treat cardiovascular disease. Statins decrease the production of cholesterol and it is thought that this may have a benefit in treating NASH. In the past there have been concerns about the use of statins in patients with liver disease but it is now clear that patients with fatty liver disease and NASH can take these drugs as safely as any other patients.

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This is the list of known drugs which can possibly cause it.......

Medications associated with fatty liver
A number of drugs prescribed for other conditions have been linked with fatty liver. In some cases this liver damage is related to high doses of the drug. With other drugs the fatty liver only occurs in a small minority of people. This is known as ‘idiosyncratic drug reaction.’

The drugs most commonly associated with causing fatty liver in this way are:

• prednisolone and hydrocortisone, used to treat inflammation
• premarin and ortho-est (synthetic estrogen), for menopause
• amiodarone, used to treat heart arrhythmia
• tamoxifen, used to treat breast cancer
• diltiazem, used to treat high blood pressure
• methotrexate, used to treat rheumatoid arthritis

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This from 24/11/2010........British Heart Foundation.

Cholesterol-cutting statins are widely thought to have an adverse effect on the liver, but the findings of a new study show that statins should be safe for patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

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http://www.bhf.org.uk/news-and-campaign ... sease.aspx

So if anyone knows if Statins may be a cause of Fatty Liver........give us the information please.