Liver Disease

A healthy liver helps your body fight infection. It cleans your blood, helps you digest food, and stores energy for when you need it. When the liver is damaged, it may be inflamed, enlarged, or tender without causing you any discomfort. When a healthy liver is damaged it is able to grow back or regenerate. Damage caught early enough can be treated successfully. However, permanent liver damage can result from untreated disease.

There are many different types of liver disease, but they tend to progress the same. The liver can be infected with a virus, injured by chemicals, or under attack from your immune system and become so damaged that it can no longer work to keep you alive.

Anything that keeps your liver from doing its job – or from growing back after injury – may put your life in danger.

Signs & Symptoms of Liver Disease

Weakness
Chronic Fatigue
Weight loss
Loss of appetite
Nausea
Vomiting
Yellow discoloration of the skin, jaundice
Abdominal pain and swelling
Swelling in the legs and ankles
Itchy skin
Dark urine color
Pale stool color, or bloody or tar-colored stool
Tendency to bruise easily

Causes of Liver Disease

Hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E
Autoimmune hepatitis
Primary biliary cirrhosis
Primary sclerosing cholangitis
Genetics
Hemochromatosis
Hyperoxaluria and oxalosis
Wilson’s disease
Cancer and other growths
Chronic alcohol abuse
Fat accumulating in the liver
Excessive amounts of certain drugs like acetaminophen, Vicodin, Norco, and statins
Cirrhosis
Epstein Barr virus
Iron overload

Diagnosis of Liver Disease

Blood tests
CT scan
MRI
Ultrasound
Tissue analysis

Treatment of Liver Disease

Lifestyle modifications (decreased alcohol, Tylenol, etc.)
Weight loss
Medications
Surgery
Liver transplant

You can trust the highly experienced, board-certified gastroenterologists at Atlantic Digestive Specialists to provide you with personal care and the latest diagnostic and treatment capabilities. Experts in treating liver disease, contact us now.