Health Update 43

Long time no post. I've been very busy at work, catching up with all the things that never got covered while I was off and stuff that I'd let slide over the past few months.

Got my results from the Liver biopsy last week and, as I predicted, the diagnosis is NASH. Interestingly though the Doctor explained that it's actually a Genetic defect which has come increasingly to the fore with the increase in obesity, crap diet and less exercise. The old adage that I'm fat because of my genes is in fact, true (to an extent). My Liver is incorrectly programmed and instead of burning fat it stores it instead. The condition has only been known about in the past decade and the long term effects have only been realised in the past couple of years. Ultimately the fat stored in the Liver causes the same damage as alcohol abuse (Cirrhosis and then death).

So what to do? Lose weight, eat less fat and help your Liver to burn fat (exercise). Obviously alcohol is a no-no as this will just add fuel to the fire and speed the descent towards Cirrhosis and death (no biggy as I've been practically tee-total for five years). As the disease is relatively newly discovered the drugs are still at the experimental stage. The Doctor said any drug treatment was for more advanced cases and the best thing I could do was lose weight. As he explained it, by slowing down the damage the Liver was suffering due to storing fat I would most likely die of old age than Liver failure. Regular blood tests to check my Enzyme levels (Enzymes feed off dead Liver cells therefore the more Enzymes the more dead Liver cells the quicker the damage) and a Liver biopsy every 10 years should be enough to judge the speed of damage and my long term longevity. Obviously if there was any advance in treatment then that would be considered.

I have lost about 12-14lbs in the past 6-7 weeks which is good. A more fundamental change to my lifestyle will be required to maintain this and reduce the speed of Liver damage. First thing first is to research the dietary requirements for someone suffering from NASH. Hey ho, onwards and upwards.

Tags: Health