Same Ol', Same Ol'

Well, there's good news and there's bad news. This was the lead-in during the follow-up call after my liver biopsy.

The good news: The fibrosis in my liver has remained steady and is the same as my most recent prior biopsy, which was done in November 2009. The even better news is that the degree of inflamation has decreased on its scale, from 7 to 3.

And then there's the other news: There was 80 percent fat in the tissue sample. I don't know exactly what this measurement means, but 80 percent fat sounds bad no matter how it's explained.

As far as my liver is concerned, this is the same ol', same ol'. The biopsy results just raised more questions. If my liver is less inflamed than it was eight months ago, why are my liver enzymes elevated? And how in the world can there be 80 percent fat in my liver. In the biopsy I had in February 2009, there was 30 percent fat - and that was bad. But that November it was 10 percent. So in the past eight months, my liver is less inflamed but the percentage of fat went from 10 to 80 percent? Huh?

Fat in the liver can be an indication of fatty liver disease and/or metabolic syndrome, which contribute to poor liver health (among other things). Gotta get this sorted out. More blood work next week, with new tests to measure I'm-not-certain-what. Yep, it's more of the same thing. I'm hoping for some answers - fingers crossed!

Photo by Rose Ann