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just stepped on the NHS conveyer belt

L

lilybet

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23
So a year ago, I posted that I had raised enzymes in my liver. I recently had my annual fasting blood test and the result showed that the enzyme levels had almost doubled! My GP was unsure whether to send me for a liver ultrasound as the NHS have been complaining to GP's that they are sending too many people for scans and it is expensive!
However, my GP erred on the side of caution and sent me ten days ago.
The only symptoms I have had is feeling bloated and as a woman of 51, that can be down to age, or diabetes meds!
I was told that the results would take about a fortnight, but the next day received a call from the surgery to come and see the doc urgently.
They found that I have a fatty liver, (which the doctor was expecting to find), however they also found a 10cm cyst on my right ovary.
So this could be benign but could be ovarian cancer. Needless to say, the fatty liver has kind of taken a back seat in the proceedings!
I have further scans this week and see a consultant next week, exactly 19 days after the first scan.
Surgery is the next stage as the cyst has to be removed and depending on what is found perhaps more radical surgery.
So for all of you ladies out there, please don't ignore persistant bloating. It can easily be explained as being down to metformin, eating carbs, or age related, but if it is persistent, then ask your GP about it.
The strange thing is that I feel well and have had no obvious symptoms such as back ache, pain in my tummy etc; However, thank god my GP decided to ignore the hospital complaints about referrals. If he hadn't sent me for the liver ultrasound, I wouldn't have known about the cyst.
As yet no-one has addressed the fatty liver, so I have altered my diet and am trying to keep fit and healthy as surgery will be sooner than later.
So I don't want to alarm anyone, but ladies be aware of the symptoms of ovarian cancer.... it could save your life........
 
Hi Lilybet, goodness that must have been such a shock about the ovarian cyst. Hope it is benign, but still a big worry for you. At least you're seeing a consultant quickly and things are happening, fingers crossed for a good outcome.

I'm around your age and I too have a fatty liver - my GP sent me for an ultrasound straight away after the blood test results came back showing enzymes double what they should be. In fact, I'm having another ultrasound tomorrow, since the first one appears to have gone walkabout :roll:

My GP hasn't done anything about my raised enzymes either, other than saying I have to have further blood tests every 3 months to keep an eye on them. When I asked her what it meant, she kind of skirted around it and brushed it off, so, like you, I am still none the wiser as to what raised enzymes/fatty liver are, whether it is anything to be concerned about, or whether it can be reversed. Anyone know?
 
Hi Sooliz
Yes, it was quite a shock, to be honest it still seems so surreal.
I wasn't expecting any other news as I feel great.
When I spoke to my doctor this week, I asked him about fatty liver, what should I do about it, should I see a nutritionist etc; however, he said that I should concentrate on the cyst for now!
So my husband and I have done a bit of research and although we don't fry things, only grill or ovenbake etc; I have had to ditch olive oil, (thought that was healthy)!
According to my doc the only people who benefit from the Mediterranean diet are people who were born there!
I thought it was preferable to the Scottish diet, but apparently not!
Red meat should be used sparingly, pastry cakes biscuits etc; all have fat in them, however, I wasn't eating them much anyway.
The truth is that there appears to be fat in everything and anyway the body needs a certain amount of fat to function, so I am still at a loss.
I am hoping that I will get more info over the next few weeks, although it would appear that everyone is concentrating on the cyst and ignoring the fatty liver.
Actually I would prefer to address everything as there appears to be a link between the two, although I suspect that the link exists because the scan for fatty liver often shows up the cysts!
So if I glean any info re fatty liver I will let you know, in the meantime, there may be someone with a lot more experience along at some point to put us both right!
Keep healthy and embrace your fatty liver!
Best wishes
x
 
That must have been a shock for you. I had to have an ovarian cyst removed about three years ago. Luckily it turned out to be benign but it was still a scary few weeks. They seen to be moving quickly which is good. I hope it isn't anything serious. Do let us know.

Take care, Emma
 
It is a good job in a way that you had those blood tests and scan Lilybet. I hope all goes well with the rest of your treatment, and you are able to breeze through it without any problems x
 
Fingers crossed for you lilybet!
 
Sorry to hear about the results of your scan. You need to visit the British Liver Foundation website and learn about fatty liver. For many years the medical profession thought that cirrhosis was related exclusively to alcohol consumption. Not so.

As someone who has never consumed even one drop of alcohol (even in medicines) imagine my shock at finding out that I have cirrhosis which is progressive, untreatable, and will require a liver transplant at some not-too-distant point in the future. If only a small portion was affected, they could have done a living transplant but my cirrhosis is such that all I can do is try to lose body fat and hope this makes life more comfortable.

Cirrhosis is a silent killer, and most GPs don't bother with scans for elevated enzymes: I was sent for a CT scan of my kidneys due to passing blood in my urine for well over one year. The first time it happened (Jan 2009), I was fast-tracked and spent a day in hospital for all sorts of tests and imaging of kidneys, urinary tract and bladder (usually referred to as KUB on the form sent to the hospital) and also had a cystoscopy. The next hospital investigation for KUB happened in May 2010 between two hospitals, keeping my GP out-of-the-loop. I asked him to chase-up the CT scan report and next day I get a phone call saying I needed to be seen by a hepatologist, which happened 7 days later.

I was in such a state of shock that I had to have a second opinion and even paid for MRI scans to confirm the cirrhotic condition of the liver. I've been told that 40% of those who undergo a post-mortem are found to have previously undetected cirrhosis of the liver. Liver disease also brings other complications, like portal hypertension, varices and ascites and can be debilitating and even disabling. The most common signs are redness of the palms and referred pain in the right shoulder. I don't suffer from hypertension/high blood pressure -- if anything, I fall below or within the recommended range, but I have hypertension in my liver -- so blood pressure is not necessarily an indicator for liver disease.

If you've been referred, scanned, tested and diagnosed all inside of three weeks, you're not doing badly. Presumably, at some point you'll see a hepatologist (if not, insist on being referred to one) so make sure you're well-informed beforehand.
 
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