TOPIC:

Hi guys!
I was hoping there would be only good news to share since my BF has succesfully finished his treatment and achieved SVR12.
But...
He's been experiencing some dull pain in his liver area last couple of days. He even said that he's never felt that much pain before. And now we're afraid and we've been thinking about what is causing it. As I mentioned in my previous posts he's quit smoking and he's been vaping for a couple of months now...Is it possible that the e-cigarette (specifically the propylene glycol contained in e-liquids) could be the problem? He's also started exercising daily (couple of pushups) but that shouldn't be a problem...

If any of you have an answer or at least idea what could it be, please help.
Thank you

Hello Sonja,

Certainly, you use your serratus anterior muscles to do push-ups and these attach to your ribs over your liver. Pain from that should be on both sides and it should hurt to touch.

If it hurts taking a deep breath in then we call that sort of pain pleuritic (pleurisy) and it could be related to the vaping.

Liver cancer is typically painless until very advanced, but if your boyfriend has cirrhosis then there is a 3% per year risk of getting this. An ultrasound is usually the easiest way to check this, but CT or MRI would do. If he has a normal alphafetoprotein (AFP) test then this is unlikely.

Hi James,
thanks for answering.

It doesn't hurt to touch nor when taking a deep breath. It's just a dull pain that comes and goes...when it hurts it helps him when he warms up that area (for example with a waist belt).

Considering he succesfully finished the treatment, his blood results were great, he's taking care of himself (eating well, mildly exercising...) it just caught us by surprise. But maybe some pain after treatment isn't completely uncommon?

If it comes and goes it coul be gall stones. These can cause a few hours of pain after food, with fatty food making it worse.

He had problems with gall stones few years back and they removed his gallbladder...

I guess I'm gonna continue to search for an answer, maybe go through some other topics of this forum, anyway- thanks

Hi guys!
I'm here to share some great news that my BF recieved a few days ago!
He did fibroscan and he's down from his previous 23,4 kPa to 11,2 kPa! He was also told that it's expected that he gets even lower next year - hopefully that's true!

Also, he's been virus free for more than year now and his blood results (ALT, AST etc) are regularly great.

He's been feeling amazing and even started exercising last year and he exercises almost every day, eats healthy and he's not been smoking cigarettes for more than year now

Have a nice day all of you and once again- thank you for your support through this journey

That is awesome news Sonja, congratulations This vast improvement in health and quality of life is typical of people who achieve SVR. It's also remarkable how the liver starts immediately healing itself once it is virus free.

Wow, how time flies.

It seems like only yesterday we were worrying, and now things are looking great.

It's important that your boyfriend has regular ultrasounds (every 6 months) of the liver to check for HCC for at least a couple of years, but other than that there is nothing much else that needs to be done.

The new healthy lifestyle sounds good.

Hi Sonja,

Wasn't a member here when you were posting about your BF's journey,however always great to hear these stories of good health after having been cured .

Best to both of you!

S

Hi Sonja,

It's wonderful to hear that things are going so well for your BF. Well done to both of you - I know you walked every step of the way with him and that support is invaluable.

Coral

Hi guys!

It's been a long time since I posted my last message here...

First of all, I'm sorry I'm not replying to any topic related to Covid and vaccination but I figured it would be better to post here since I'm asking on behalf of my friend who I wrote about here.

Anyway, he has been wondering if it's better for him to get vaccinated now, are the current vaccines safe for him, or it's smarter for people with this stage of fibrosis to wait for (maybe) some better option?

I know in these tough times the vast majority of us have been wondering about the same (vaccination in general) but maybe you guys have some opinion from the "fibrosis perspective"

Thank you very much for any answer.
Stay healthy!

Hello Sonja,

There are almost no good reasons not to get vaccinated. All the vaccines that have made it to market are much safer than actually getting Covid.

To answer your question specifically fibrosis is not a reason to avoid vaccination.

In terms of waiting for better options, the options we have now are pretty much as good as it ever gets in terms of safety and efficacy.

No vaccine is 100% safe and 100% effective but then again, COVID is 2-3% fatal and close to 100% of people will get it (in the absence of a vaccination).

Hi DrJames

Thank you very much for your answer and confirmation, I appreciate that:)



Stay safe & take care all of you

Hi All

I just wanted to share great news with you - my friend recently did fibroscan and the score is now 9,6 !!!

For the comparison, his first fibroscan result was 23,4

I hope these results will give hope to many that it's possible to get better and you should never stop fighting & trying!


Thanks again to all of you for great support and kind words, it's been very appreciated on this journey

Hi Sonja, that's great news, congratulations to your friend . Thank you for letting patients with liver fibrosis know that it's indeed reversible with successful Hep C treatment.