Liver function tests in long term

[Mugwump]

In the next few weeks I will know for certain how well my liver is functioning. After over 1.5 years of being HCV free for the first time since I was in my teens I am hoping that my liver shows a reversal of cirrhosis. How low my bilirubin is will tell the tale. It has not been normal for my age yet post treatment.

The symptoms of liver disease seem to be easing off and the constant itching is definitely reduced in the past 4 months or so. The little spots that show on my fingers are reduced so all indications are that I am one of the lucky ones that got treated in the nick of time!

I hope beyond hope that the doctor will tell me that my liver is almost normal for a change, it was discouraging seeing my test results get worse every 6 months until the call was made that I had progressed to cirrhosis.

I still have far too many fish to catch before I check out for good!!

Cheers and all the best to everyone who has liver damage from this terrible affliction.
Eric

[dragonslayer]

Best of luck to you Eric!   It would be so great if you clawed your way back from Cirrhosis.. Great for you, and for all those in a similar boat looking for any signs to hang onto that reversal really can happen.

Speaking of boats, Fishermen of the world UNITE!

[Lynn K]

Good luck to you Eric hope you have better news than me.

Platelet count still low but that is only test out of normal.
Pre treatment Fibroscan was 27 one year post was 33.

Good luck I hope at least some of us get to moon walk back from the precipice

[I fightis thetitis]

Good luck Eric!

Have you been feeling better with time? Sounds like you were taken to the edge and started treatment in the nick. That seems to be the story for a few of us.
Any symptoms of liver damage in the last 6 mos?
Are you taking any herbs/spices/nutrients like Milk Thistle ect?

NAC and Alpha Lipoic Acid are getting a new round of thumbs up I see. I have been taking them for years.

It seems that immune system boosting with natural ingredients like Garlic/Ginger/Tumeric works better for me/us at F4 rather than inflammation herb fighters, since the DAA's wiped out the virus and reduced or eliminated active Liver inflammation.
I suspect immune boosting would help protect us more than the inflammation fighters now that we cleared the virus..
Boosting our bodies natural interferon effect.. One can hope that boosting our immunity will create stronger cells and help repair Liver function.. and perhaps regenerate or bypass where there was bridging that left scar tissue..

I read that the sudden drop in Liver inflammation from the DAA's was a hypothesis for the HCC reoccurrence from those european studies. But who knows right?

Keep us in the loop and I'm sure your classical music has a natural healing effect as well. At least on the soul..

Cheers,

Greg

[KimInTheForest]

Good luck with those tests, Eric!

kim

[FutureThinker]

Mugwump, fingers and toes crossed for you!! Sending lots of positive and healing thoughts your way.  FT

[Mugwump]

Decent results this time all well within safe levels, so I guess my liver is functioning fairly well for an old piece of meat the size of Texas! My platelets are also within safe levels so I guess the pressure on my spleen is easing down somewhat.

Although my RBC is slightly high at 5.46 read at 10 to the twelfth so I guess my system is letting a few too many red cells out at a time so my iron levels are most likely still a little high, which is common for a stocky size guy at my age. All in all I guess I have a few more fish to fry. I had the feeling that my bilirubin was finally starting to normalize because my joints hurt much less than they did only a year ago and I am showing less so called "age spots".

If my cirrhosis was progressing at all I am sure the detailed readings would show it. 

Total Bilirubin 8
   
<17 umol/L

Alkaline Phosphatase 65
   
40-145 U/L

Gamma GT 33
   
<49 U/L

ALT 27
   
<50U/L

AST 32
   
<36 U/L

Platelet Count 163
   
150-400 10*9/L

[KimInTheForest]

Great numbers, Eric! Congrats!

kim

[Lynn K]

All right Eric!!

Looking great congrats!

[gnatcatcher]

. . . If my cirrhosis was progressing at all I am sure the detailed readings would show it. . . .

Eric, these numbers are so good that if you had pre- and post-tx FibroScans to compare, the kPa score probably went down. Great news for you, not so great for the fish -- go get em!

Gnatty

[Philadelphia]

Nice numbers Eric! Good work.

[Mugwump]

Thanks everyone for the kind words.

Good luck Eric!

 

It seems that immune system boosting with natural ingredients like Garlic/Ginger/Tumeric works better for me/us at F4 rather than inflammation herb fighters, since the DAA's wiped out the virus and reduced or eliminated active Liver inflammation.
I suspect immune boosting would help protect us more than the inflammation fighters now that we cleared the virus..
Boosting our bodies natural interferon effect.. One can hope that boosting our immunity will create stronger cells and help repair Liver function.. and perhaps regenerate or bypass where there was bridging that left scar tissue..

I read that the sudden drop in Liver inflammation from the DAA's was a hypothesis for the HCC reoccurrence from those european studies. But who knows right?

Keep us in the loop and I'm sure your classical music has a natural healing effect as well. At least on the soul..

Cheers,

Greg

As you say "who knows?" but the known properties of tumeric, garlic and ginger no doubt help liver function.
OK YOU GOT ME GOING
Here is the old school labour intensive way of doing it.

1 cup fine diced onion saute with four tablespoons each of minced garlic and ginger in clarified butter. DO NOT OVERHEAT slow saute only

2 lbs of 1 inch  diced good chicken meats not to fatty with skin removed.

Make a clear chicken broth from the roasted bones and skin and then strain out fat reduce to two cups. or use a commercial broth that does not contain MSG! 

THE CURRY
A good quality fresh ground spices only!
one powdered star anise, one teaspoon cumin, one quarter teaspoon cinnamon no more, two teaspoons green cardamom, 1 teaspoon cayenne or less depending on how hot you like it, one teaspoon coriander, four tablespoons tumeric

make combined spices into a paste with hot clarified butter to add after meat is slowly cooked in original broth.

If you are using salted clarified butter add no salt to dish.

Stir chicken broth into spice mixture separately from the main dish and use arrow root thickener and butter to make it moderately thick. Some use tomato paste as a thickener however the original dish does not.

Balance the dish with rice vinegar and cane sugar the same way you balance any great dish with hot, sweet, sour in Asian cooking.

Serve over basmati rice with a good side of dal, roti and curried beet or whatever greens.

Your liver will thank you

Cheers
Eric 

[elias]

Thanks for recipe, eric

Wish theyd have section here on forum specifically dedicated to liver health. So we could have it all in one  convenient place. Many here r getting cured of HCV , and hope to restore liver health after years n decades of damage

[Lynn K]

Hi Elias, Greg and all interested

If you like guys could just start a new discussion in that topic bet you would have a lively sharing of ideas and recipes then we could find that info all in one location instead of sprinkled throughout many threads

Maybe in the off topic forum

Just a thought

[elias]

k. lynn...would be more convenient if there were section for it though, rather than just one thread

[Lynn K]

Maybe one of the other moderators with control over forum settings could set that up as a topic

Can you suggest a title?

[elias]

perhaps:

"Recovery from HCV: Healing the Liver"