Tired with Liver Disease? There's a Nap for That

Can My Liver Feel Pain?

You know by now that if I have experienced it, I’m going to talk about it to my best friends. That would be YOU. I have heard a lot about liver pain from doctors, internet research, and on forums. That is where we all go for information, right? But it is easy to hear conflicting information about many topics, and liver pain is one of them. There are times when my liver hurts. The dull ache, or sharp piercing always grabs my attention. Fear is sure to follow, paralyzing fear.

What can cause you to feel liver pain? Here is what I know:

Fatty liver is known as steatosis. I was not diagnosed with fatty liver. I have cirrhosis as a result of having Hepatitis C. Cirrhosis and Hepatic Steatosis nearly always go together. I think of it this way: My liver has a lot of fibrous bands growing on it. It chokes the blood supply and keeps my liver from acting as a filter to cleanse my blood. As a result, the foods that are consumed do not get used as well by my entire body. When I eat foods with excessive amounts of fat, my liver swells and presses against nearby organs and surrounding tissue. This includes pressing against nerves. The swelling itself can create a feeling of heaviness. The pressure can create a feeling of fullness and twinges of pain in the upper right quadrant near the ribcage.

The spleen feeds into the liver. When the liver is overloaded and cannot filter blood and metabolize food well, it gets all out of wack. It tries to pass the work to the spleen. The spleen swells, hoards platelets and white blood cells, and loses it’s ability to filter out toxins. Most people can live without a spleen. The liver takes over the job. With cirrhosis and especially portal hypertension, the liver is not able to lend a hand, so the spleen enlarges and can be painful.  The enlarged spleen is due to portal vein hypertension. The blood goes to the spleen when scarring fibrosis keeps it from flowing into the liver. It’s a bloody traffic jam and can cause a full or bloated feeling in your stomach. Even if you do not have liver disease, bloating can feel uncomfortable.

Gas and bloating can cause pain. This is almost too easy to figure out. It is also embarrassing to talk about. So I'll make it quick. A friend of mine who has cirrhosis pointed this out to me when I was concerned about pain under my ribcage. For those who have fibrous banding on the liver, it makes sense that when the colon presses on it after a meal, it could create discomfort. Haha. I'm such a girl. I hate talking about that. But I love ya too much to NOT tell you what I know.

Poor posture can cause pain in the area of the liver. Sitting in a hunched over position at a desk, or even in bed can put pressure on the liver. It is good to be aware of the placement of that live giving organ that has kept us alive through the Hepatitis C Virus and cirrhosis.

I’m going to tell you the truth: I had daily pain in my liver area for a couple of months. Scary-awful-reading-everything-I-could get-my-hands-on-and-worrying-about-it-way-too-much-kind-of-pain. I had come too far to have my liver fail now. I needed to stop and listen to my body.

The first thing I noticed was how I hunched over my desk while grading papers during the day, and again at night while reading or writing at the computer. Then, I began to be more conscious of how erect I sat or stood. One particular yoga pose has always been a favorite to open up the liver area. Instead of staying in the pose for just a few minutes, I lingered twice as long and hugged my liver.

We all know what a nutritional ninja that I am. Yet, a closer analysis of my diet made me stop and think. After spring break, I was eating on the go a lot. Although my habit of eating a liver loving diet is firmly in place, some laziness had crept in. A few of the seniors had taken to bringing hot and fresh donut holes into my 1^st hour class. Of course they bribed me with a little bag. (Okay, truth be told, I confiscated them) I was doing this every day for weeks. Then around lunch time, I began hitting the cafeteria when the cooks served up fresh hot rolls. Now you know my little secret - My weakness is bread!

If I had done this a few times a month, it could be easily balanced out through the day. I was doing this several times a month! I decided to make a few changes for 2 weeks and see if there was a difference. My experiment consisted of a different protein shake in the morning that had more raw organic food. I reasoned that the probiotic effect would be better if I had Greek Yogurt for lunch 3 days a week. I kicked it on the Forbidden Rice (black rice) at the same time. As this routine wore on I forgot about it. Literally, it never came to mind. A few weeks later, I logged on and remembered my painful liver post. That is when I realized that there was NO pain whatsoever.

By listening to my body I was able to take a mental inventory of my diet, posture, and exercise. Not only was the pain gone, but my mind was free of the fear that had been hanging over me like a black cloud.

Let me remind you that I am not a doctor. If the pain level had been constant, severe, or unending - You know my transplant and gastro would have gotten a call from me. They will certainly get to hear my story at the next appointment, or they may read this blog post. You should also contact your doctor with any chronic or acute pain in your liver area.

Can My Liver Feel Pain? I say yes. One of the reasons for this blog is to remind you that you may have some control. I will never know for sure what caused my liver pain. I do know that with some modifications, it is gone. If I get into a rut again, someone please remind me to change up my diet, posture, and exercise? It will sure save me a lot of worry. I hope this helps you if you've been worried about live pain. Your pain free for now Best Friend, Karen:)

Have you had pain in your liver area and been told that the liver does not feel pain?

Can My Liver Feel Pain?

Images via imaginationforsaleblogspot, yogajournal.com, yogaposeoftheday.com