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Diabetes and Fatty Liver

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Carina1962

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
After having a scan last year it was found that I have fatty liver and the doctor wasn't really that concerned about it but I am concerned as I hear that diabetes and fatty liver can go hand in hand. I am obese so will losing weight help me reverse the fatty liver? I do have liver function tests every 6 months and my blood tests have always come back normal. Do I need to worry? what can I do about it? thanks
 
At diagnosis l was told l had a fatty liver & was told that losing weight would help. They didn't seem concerned either.
 
How did you get a scan done? I was referred to have a scan because I thought I had gall stones as I had a mild pain/discomfort (which I still have) under my right rib and it was discovered that no gallstones but I have a liver cyst and fatty liver :-( I am trying very hard at the moment to lose weight and don't know how long I've had the fatty liver but hope it's not too damaged.
 
PLEASE get your GP to do a full panel of LFTs (liver function tests) including ALT, AST, GGT and an autoimmune assay.
I was diagnosed with NAFLD 3 years ago, never linked it to diabetes (although the link is well established) and now I am undergoing tests for autoimmune liver disease as my test results are getting worse.

Losing weight will help with NAFLD, but you need to rule out autoimmune disease which can lead to liver failure.
 
How did you get a scan done? I was referred to have a scan because I thought I had gall stones as I had a mild pain/discomfort (which I still have) under my right rib and it was discovered that no gallstones but I have a liver cyst and fatty liver :-( I am trying very hard at the moment to lose weight and don't know how long I've had the fatty liver but hope it's not too damaged.
I wasn't given a scan. They found it through blood tests. Which surprised me.
 
Fatty liver and diabetes are part of the metabolic syndrome. Getting rid of the liver and pancreas fat is what Prof. Taylor's current T2 research and 900cal trial, funded by DUK is all about. A gentler way is with the LCHF diet. As it seems a good diet to remove triglycerides by increasing fat burning. I know it's strange to think that having fat in your diet will reduce liver and body fat. I found it really was the sugars and starch carbs
http://www.nutritionjrnl.com/article/S0899-9007(14)00332-3/fulltext#bib94
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an excellent video on explaining blood tests results
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BFRi-nH1v8
 
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PLEASE get your GP to do a full panel of LFTs (liver function tests) including ALT, AST, GGT and an autoimmune assay.
I was diagnosed with NAFLD 3 years ago, never linked it to diabetes (although the link is well established) and now I am undergoing tests for autoimmune liver disease as my test results are getting worse.

Losing weight will help with NAFLD, but you need to rule out autoimmune disease which can lead to liver failure.

I have had full LFT's but not sure about the autoimmune test but am due to see my GP next week so will mention it. Why are we not made aware of all this anyway?
 
I have just had a look at my LFT's that I have had to date and they are as follows:-

serum albumin
serum alkaline phosphatase
serum alanine aminotransferase
ALT/SGPT serum
serum bilirubin
serum gamma-glutamyl transferase
serum ferritin

These are the tests I have had to date and have all come back normal. I know that the ferritin test can check the fatty liver but are there any others that I need to know about?
 
You have to understand that fatty liver is a symptom, like a headache, that can have a dozen different causes. The most well known is alcohol abuse, but various drugs and diseases can affect the liver too.
If you've been diagnosed with a fatty liver your GP should be pursuing the cause, and at least ruling out some of the more serious options. If you've had a scan them they've obviously ruled out tumours and other obvious physical causes, and if you're not a heavy drinker/alcoholic then it's not likely to be that. The next step is to review your medication - statins, some pain killers, some vitamin overdoses and herbal supplements as well as some other drugs are known to have an adverse effect on the liver. Diabetes is a known cause of fatty liver, but autoimmune liver disease is on the rise and can lead to liver failure if not treated.
Not all GPs will go this far though, and take the attitude that if it's not causing you any problems then they're not going to dedicate time/money/effort to finding out the 'why'. But in my (educated but not professional) opinion it's worth a blood test to rule it out, because the only option for treating complete liver failure due to autoimmune disease is a transplant.
 
Thanks for alerting me to this, I had no idea so will mention it to my GP next week and see what he says.
 
I have a fatty liver too due to the pancreatectomy. No one seems very concerned - it seems it's quite 'normal'.
 
The YouTube link you have sent me to view above is quite scary :-( he really brings it home how diabetes can shorten your life, is this if you have diabetes in general? I am so scared of this disease and envy anyone who has managed to 'reverse' it including my partner's mum who after losing 3 stones in weight is now in non-diabetic ranges (she was pre-diabetic before). The fatty liver came as a shock to me last year as I had no idea that it was all related to diabetes and is part of the metabolic syndrome. I have made an appointment with my GP next week to go over all my fears and concerns about this horrid disease. I will keep you posted on his replies.
 
The YouTube link you have sent me to view above is quite scary :-( he really brings it home how diabetes can shorten your life, is this if you have diabetes in general? I am so scared of this disease and envy anyone who has managed to 'reverse' it including my partner's mum who after losing 3 stones in weight is now in non-diabetic ranges (she was pre-diabetic before). The fatty liver came as a shock to me last year as I had no idea that it was all related to diabetes and is part of the metabolic syndrome. I have made an appointment with my GP next week to go over all my fears and concerns about this horrid disease. I will keep you posted on his replies.
I hope the GP is able to ease your concerns Carina {{HUGS}}
 
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