5 Reasons to Get Your Liver Checked

If you’re on this site, you had an episode with your liver. Maybe it was an all out emergency room diagnosis like me. In that case, you know the 5 reasons to get your liver checked. Liver disease may run in your family. You might have googled a symptom and found this blog. Others may have had a blip on their liver enzymes after a few years of drinking a little too heavy. You may have made changes and then moved on. Your doctor may have given you a list of things you can do to save your life after an office visit.

Maybe you’re just putting on years, and weight, and know that your risk of liver disease has gone up.

Liver disease is silent and hard to detect without a medical exam and testing. There are rarely symptoms during the first few stages. How surprising is it that it is the largest organ in your body, and performs a LOT of processes? Some of those processes can create scarring or fibrosis. The liver is a hard working organ.

Your liver is a hard working organ

You can take it down to 3 main main functions.
Cleans and Purifies: It takes toxins and filters them out like a trash disposal. It also takes care of blood cell health.
Creates Harmony: It takes all of your food and regulates them into things it can use like carbs and protein, and it works with your gall bladder to remove bile. It also regulates your fats and sugars.
Contains and Stores: It’s like a warehouse that puts out energy from the food you eat. It gives you what you need when you need it.

When your liver is sick or weak, it can’t help you. Your body gets out of whack. It’s like a domino effect for you. You can begin to suffer a lot of symptoms.

5 Reasons to Get Your Liver Checked

1. Liver disease has already been diagnosed. There are so many different types of liver disease and here is a blog about the different types. They range from easy to fix all the way to life threatening. Some newborns get jaundice and it goes away. There are viruses like Hepatitis A, B, C, or D. Fatty Liver Disease, NASH, Primary Biliary Cholangitis, bile duct disease,  or other bile duct issues. Alcoholism and drug addictions are often the forerunner to liver disease. If you have any other these issues, please get your liver monitored. It could save your life.

2. Symptoms of liver disease is another good reason to get your liver monitored. By getting your liver enzymes checked, your doctor could keep an eye on your liver. Many people are at a stage where they have made positive changes. By changing their diet and lifestyle, the liver can heal. If your doctor has suggested a liver friendly diet, check mine out. It has changed thousands of people’s lives. Keep getting your liver examined when your doctor suggests to watch your progress.

3. Liver disease runs in your family. Genetics can play a role in liver disease. My dad was an alcoholic. He quit drinking and reversed the cirrhosis. His story is here. After over a decade of increased health, he started drinking again. He lasted another 3 years after that. My sister also got her liver checked and her doctor advised her to quit drinking.

I never drank, so after a diagnosis of Hep C, I asked why my liver failed while I was so young. I was only 53 and was dying from cirrhosis. The medical doctors said that for some people, a weak liver can run in the family. It’s like smoking or drinking. Some people can get a way with it, but not for a lifetime. In my family, liver disease would strike early.

4. You are a social drinker, daily drinker, or binge drinker. Drinking any kind of alcohol keeps the liver working overtime. It is like smoking; no one walks away from it without damage. If you drink daily, your liver never gets a rest from filtering. When the liver is constantly inflamed, damage is occurring. If you are an active drinker, just keep your doctor cued in and make sure you get your liver health monitored. Please do this before it is too late. You can always modify your lifestyle, and it may save your life.

5. Screen for cancer. Liver Cancer is one of the fastest growing cancers in the world. If you have cirrhosis at the late stage, you are in the same category I was. Every six months, I had to take off work and drive to get an ultrasound. My medical team also took fasting blood labs. I always dreaded it, but it is a good thing that my doctor insisted. They found a tumor on my liver in 2014. They were able to save my life by keeping the tumors small and listing me for a transplant. Not everyone needs a transplant. Sometimes the cancer therapy will take care of the tumor if found early enough.

It’s been quite a journey over the last decade of learning about liver disease. One thing I know for sure, is that finding a caring medical provider is top priority. Let them know that you have a concern about the above lists of liver diseases and then ask for monitoring. Have some fasting lab work done, get a dopplar ultrasound, and a physical exam.

You only have one body, and one precious life to live. If you are struggling to take care of your liver, let’s talk about it. Most things with liver disease are fixable with diet, exercise, and lifestyle changes. xo Karen