enlarged spleen

[trapper]

My c-scan in feburary showed a enlarged spleen along with enlarged liver.  I'm 8 weeks in on s/o treatment.  my ast and alt are now down in normal ranges.  Will my spleen go down in size with my liver or is their something I need to be concerned with.  Has anybody had or have a enlarged spleen with hep c and what did you do. thanks trapper   

[Lynn K]

Will your enlarged spleen improve maybe.

I have cirrhosis and portal hypertension that results in having an enlarged spleen and also low platelets because they ar being held in the spleen which is what causes the enlargement. Do you know what your fibrosis score is or your platelet count?

Have you asked your liver doctor what is the cause of your enlarged spleen? That would be the best place to go for answers.

Good luck

[trapper]

hi lynn.  thanks for your reply.  my liver biopsy results say;  portal inflammation/piecemeal necrosis 3+,  lobular necroinflammatory activity 2+,  fibrosis 3+,  iron stain; 2-3+.     my platelet ct before treatment  147  after 4 weeks of treatment s/o 159.  alt before treatment  121 after 4 weeks treatment 39.  ast before 64 after 20.  trapper

[Lynn K]

Ok per your biopsy you were F3 one stage before F4 aka cirrhosis. Your platelets were close to normal before treatment so that's good. My platelets are in the 80 to 90 range.

How old is your biopsy?

But if I were you I would ask my doctor about the cause of the enlarged spleen especially since your platelets look reasonable and you have fibrosis F3 so no cirrhosis at that time.

[trapper]

Thanks Lynn.   Ct scan in Feb showed Chrossis.  Biopsy in Aug. All in 14'. Should a person get a sonigram done. I'll ask Dr.   Thanks trapper.

[Lynn K]

Dunno about different testing. All I have ever had were biopsies until I was F4 cirrhosis and abdominal ultra sounds. Had a fibroscan this fall to confirm cirrhosis again 7 years later just i case my insurance needed it. Never had a catscan.

If you have cirrhosis that is likely the cause of your enlarged spleen. They do say that once we get rid of hep c our livers may be able to heal and so maybe your spleen will return to normal over time. No one knows for sure.

[HHburme]

My spleen was removed after rupturing in 1977, received several blood transfusions and that is most likely when i was infected. My platelet count is high, increasing every one of the last 6 years. Maybe because I don't have a spleen, IDK.

[Rubye]

Hi Trapper,

An enlarged spleen is very common with cirrhosis. Here's a very good article that will explain a lot to you. http://hepatitiscnewdrugs.blogspot.com/2010/11/cirrhosis-what-happens-when-spleen-is.html

I also have cirrhosis and an enlarged spleen with a rather low platelet count - it was 65 before treatment and with my last labs they were up to 85. I say this so I can let you know that I have had no side effects from the low platelets. So far anyway. My doctor told me they don't really worry until they down to around 35.

Best wishes to you for a great new year.

[Johnny_Wayne]

This is good information. I was in a tiff because my platelets are about 86 and I didn't know what to make of the info. Thanks again.

[trapper]

john wayne.  my platelets are about what yours are and I asked my dr about platelets.  He said they are all over the place in regards to the number.  I'v been in normal range and below normal.
I asked about my enlarged spleen and weather it will return to normal size.  He said it probably would not reduce in size because it is caused from portal hyptertension.  depends on how bad you are.  good luck  trapper