I recently got the results back of an abdominal CT scan, and it was all normal, aside from the fact that they saw that I have a "fatty liver." Does anyone else have this, and if so does it mean I'm going to need a new liver???

My doctor didn't seem too perturbed about it, and she said it was another side effect of the PCOS, but I want to know if I'm going to die early because of something like this!!

gah.

I have done some research, but have been unable to come up with much. Mostly what I found, were the causes and how to "treat" it (losing weight). I also found out that it can lead to cirriasis (spell?)

But I have no good leads

The glucophage can lead to liver damage and liver scan abnormalities also. I never had any liver issues despite being overweight until AFTER I took the glucophage for several months... then I started having elevated liver enzymes, and this spring, for the first time (I have an abdominal CT scan and an MRI the two years previous), on an abdominal they showed possible "fatty liver". But I had the CT scan in 2002, and the MRI in 2003, neither of which showed any indications of such a thing, and are both more detailed than an ultrasounds. I had the CT scans and MRIs because I started showing the elevated liver enzymes in 2002.

Hi there,

I read your posting and immediately identified with your anxiety. I was diagnosed with a fatty liver a couple of years ago. Of course, I can't offer medical advice, but I also searched the net and read through some medical journals at the hospital where I work. What I understand is that fatty liver is a benign condition but could lead to cirrhosis but it is rare. It is fat accumulating in the liver which is hormone related and quite common - especially for women. Weight loss can help the problem but weight loss is also harder because the liver is not functioning at its optimum because of the fat accumulation. So, exercise and eat food healthy for the liver (lemon is good, beets and greens) and lose weight is what I understand the keys to the problem to be.

I was completely freaked out by the diagnosis and the good folks here helped me (Jennifer and Noodles in particular). The liver is a vital organ and we can not live without it. It is also a very forgiving organ and can recover and rejuvenate itself which means a positive outcome for you and I. Skinny folks can also have fatty liver but it is said that 60% of overweight women (morbid obesity) have fatty liver but don't know about it because they haven't had an ultrasound or it hasn't been mentioned to them. Let me know how you are doing. I understand your fear because I have been there too. Just keep doing the healthy things that you are doing for yourself and chalk this up to another symptom of insulin resistance. At least we know the problem and its reality and we can work with our body to recover.

Hope that helps, you certainly aren't alone and I know how scary those words can be. Just keep looking after you and it will be alright - your liver enzymes are good I assume so that is good...

Jenaya

HI Ladies,

You may also want to look into taking a Milk Thistle Supplement. It is supposed to be protective for the liver, and helpful in encouraging the liver to regenerate new healthy tissue. My mom has had undiagnosed Hep C for probably 30 years - which should have been devastating for her liver - but has minimal liver scarring, which she attributes to her taking milk thistle for the last 10 years. I'm not sure how it would affect a fatty liver, but it is protective against cirrhosis from other casues (alcohol abuse, for example). Hope that helps!

Ciao!
Solarmama

I can't believe I've had this thread under my nose all this time and didn't 'see' it. I also have fatty liver. I was never told anything to do for it except lose weight. I recently asked another doctor about it and she said exercise will help. Lots of exercise! If you have insulin resistance also, exercise is vital to losing weight (moreso than a non insulin-resistant person).

I read The Fat Flush Plan, and while some people think it is a bunch of hooey, there are some good, solid ideas in it. Hopefully as your liver 'de-fats', you will find weight loss to be a bit easier. Good luck!

Many things can cause fatty liver, and yeah, it is relatively benign, but it is one of those "sentinel" type diagnoses; if you have a fatty liver, you should be careful about what you are eating/drinking/taking, and yes, it could lead to cirrhosis or other liver dysfunction.

One major cause of fatty liver is alcohol consumption. Even mild alcohol consumption can cause an increase in deposition of fat in the liver, and the effects, of course, are vasty compounded in the alcoholic. If you drink alcohol, even in moderation, it may be wise to stop and see if that affects it any.

Then there is the non-alcohol related fatty liver. This can be caused by drugs, toxins, or sometimes it can be completely idiopathic (we have no idea what causes it).

I was reading today about metformin and fatty liver. Scientists reversed fatty liver in mice with met. I will look for the article and post it in the PCOS Articles forum.

Here's the citation for it:

Lin HZ, Yang SQ, Chuckaree C, Kuhajda F, Ronnet G, Diehl AM: Metformin reverses fatty liver disease in obese, leptin-deficient mice. Nat Med 6:998–1003, 2000

I looked over the abstract; interesting stuff. It is important, however, to take this with a grain of salt; these mice were induced-obese not through forced feeding or a more "natural" approach, but through knocking out gene for leptin. The reason this is important is because leptin research is one of the areas that gives us a pointed lesson in how just because something happens one way in one animal model, doesn't mean it works the same way in the human. Millions were spent researching leptin for humans before it was decided that leptin truly only works in the mouse model.

It's still an interesting idea; it's surprising from the date of publication (over four years ago now), that this hasn't been pursued more deeply.

That is very interesting that they think metformin/glucophage would heal liver issues in humans since the drug carries a very strong warning that it may cause liver damage! I certainly never had ANY issues (barring a brief possible exposure to hepatitis A when I was in Eastern Europe in '89) with my liver until after I took the glucophage. As soon as they pulled me off of it, I started showing consistantly elevated liver enzymes (though they change with each test: one set will be elevated one time, the next test another set will be elevated and the ones that were elevated will be normal). Prior to the glucophage, I had a abdominal ultrasound and a CT scan that were both negative for everything. AFTER the glucophage, I had another abdominal ultrasound that showed possibly fatty liver.
I'm pretty well convinced that its from the glucophage.

Anonymouse, what can you do about it now?

I also started on gluphormine and have a fatty liver but I dont think its smart for me anymore.

How much id glupohormine helping in loosing weight?

I don't know what gluphormine is, so I can't tell you. My doctor took me off of the medication because it made me very sick. It was only after I was off the medication that the liver enzyme issue showed up. You'd need to talk with your doctor. They have not found any other medication to take the place of glucophage for me, so I don't take it. My insulin levels have come down, but that is due to exercise and some minor weight loss.

Anonymouse - did you take the brand Glucophage or the generic metformin? I was on the generic for awhile and got all kinds of progressively worsening gastrointestinal symptoms. I went to my doctor who took me off metformin and they cleared up. I am now taking Glucophage and don't have any symptoms except for a little gas. My liver enzymes are slightly elevated but I was told by an endocrinologist that this is not unusual with diabetics (this was before I took Glucophage or Lipitor, which also can damage the liver). Milk Thistle is supposed to be good for the liver. One caveat: try to ascertain that it is organic milk thistle because otherwise the pesticides can nullify the benefits.

I tried both Glucophage and the extended release. The initial trial was with glucophage the brand, because they were samples from the doctor. But, then we went to the metformin generic, and things didn't get any better with any of the types we tried. By the time they took me off of it in July, I was wearing my winter coat because I was freezing all the time, and the SMELL of food made me nauseated.