ASK THE DOCTOR
Every week Cork GP Dr Pixie McKenna answers your questions
The doctor thought I had gallstones and sent me for a scan. The report said I had a fatty liver. It annoys me how doctors always seem to blame being fat on everything. My own GP said what he always says, go on a diet!
Fatty liver is, as it sounds, a liver that’s become fat! It is divided into two types, alcoholic and non alcoholic fatty liver. This differentiates a liver that has become fat due to alcohol consumption and one that has become fat due to other causes.
Fatty liver due to other causes can be simply down to being fat, your genes, medication, high levels of fat in the bloodstream and ironically it can also be due to rapid weight loss.
The only difference between the two types is alcohol. So you can potentially damage your liver as much by being obese as you can from booze.
So what might be your trigger? How much alcohol you consume is an important consideration and ideally you need a minimum of two alcohol free days each week.
A binge is defined as six units in one sitting. That’s six small glasses of wine, so do the maths because the combination of being overweight and booze could be a double burden on your liver.
Patients with type 2 diabetes and/or Polycystic Ovary Syndrome also have greater risk.
So too do those on drugs such as oestrogen, steroids, the cardiac drug amiodarone or the antibiotics tetracycline which is often used for skin conditions like acne. Fatty liver can also be due to infections like Hepatitis.
A staggering one in five people in Europe have a fatty liver. Most don’t know and don’t exhibit symptoms. Some can however feel off form and get pain under their right rib case at the front. The problem with this condition is that it can progress from fatty change to fibrosis and ultimately even cirrhosis.
Weight loss is essential. You should aim to lose one to two pounds per week and eliminate any other factors. The doctor may seem like a pain telling you to slim down but all the scientific research asserts that this is essential if you don’t want the condition to progress.