Why is my liver messed up if I don't drink at all ?

For generalized medical advice I tend to look first on WebMD.com, which has always seemed to have good information of this type, so I’d recommend that as a good source to answer some of your general questions.

As to the other specifics of your question, I would have a chat with the doctor when I go there again (if I were you) asking how the receptionist knows specifics of your medical condition (number one) and why that person is dispensing medical advice (number two). Both of those are issues that the doctor should put a stop to. In the fist place it is a violation of the doctors’ confidentiality rules for them to be sharing advice with a non-medical person (a receptionist not bound by any rules of medical ethics or confidentiality), and in the second place a non-medical professional should not be advising patients / clients on medical issues.

You’d do well to talk to the nurse in the meantime – and you might mention these issues to her, too, after you have had your own questions about your specific case answered to your satisfaction.

@CWOTUS There isn’t anything wrong with my receptionist, I called specifically for the update and results of my bloodwork. The receptionist didn’t advise me, he just told me what they saw on the results.

@CWOTUS The receptionist is a really nice person, has worked there for years, please don’t attack him. My question wasn’t about the receptionist. I should not have even mentioned it. I called and asked him specifically about the results, that’s why. And the nurse is going to call me later on today.

First, we are not medical professionals here and cannot give any medical advice for that reason. I know a little about liver issues but, again, I cannot advise you in any way.
Do you eat a high fat diet? If fatty liver disease is an issue it can be induced by poor diet or being overweight not just alcohol consumption.
There are many possibilities with liver trouble, including auto-immune disorders, etc.

You just need to go back for the follow up appt. with your doctor and see, exactly, what the tests indicate.
Try not to panic, easier said than done I know, but the liver is a remarkable organ and can, often, but not always, regenerate itself with the right treatments. Your doctor will advise you of what treatment approach he thinks is best for you. The sooner you find out exactly what the trouble is the sooner you can be advised on diet and other possible treatments.

@FlutherBug I also have a problem with the receptionist knowing your private medical information. I understand that you don’t have a problem with it but it is unprofessional of the actual medical staff to share that information with him or her. And he or she DID advise you when he told you that you should stop drinking.
I love my receptionists too but i would be very uncomfortable with them knowing , for example, that I had an STD (which I don’t) or to be left with the idea that I have a drinking problem.
The only way a non medical person could know these things is if somebody was gossiping or something close to it.
I wouldn’t want to go to a clinic where people gossip and share private information with the office staff even if it isn’t done maliciously.

As for your question, ask the doctor who ran the tests

I am also displeased to hear about @Dutchess_III‘s STDs. This is why medical information should not be generally known.

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Lots of reasons from mild to severe..talk to your Doctor.
If it was serious they would had booked you for another appointment?

Anything that works can break. Anything that functions can fail. Anything that lives can die. A certain disease or condition could have more than one cause. My father died of lung cancer, and he never smoked in his life.

I agree that the receptionist should not be dispensing medical diagnoses or advice, no matter how much you like him. (And he could have got it just by looking in your chart, right?) But random people on a website have even less information about you than he does. The right person to talk to here is your doctor.

First thing is get a retest. Then sit down with Doctor.

What was the specific test that was done? I ask because the first blood test that showed anything was wrong with me showed increased liver enzymes. I didn’t understand what that meant at the time so I assumed I had a liver problem (I also didn’t drink, yet, at that stage of my life). It was a digestive problem. These things don’t always mean what they sound like. Talk to an actual MD before drawing conclusions.

@CWOTUS I DON’T HAVE AN STD!!! Well, I thought I did once, but it turned out to be a baby.

This is still confusing me. You got the results from a receptionist who assumed you drink too much. I assume they thought that, because that is what the doctor thought.
It is imperative that you follow up with your doctor and explain that you don’t drink so they can look for other causes. What is he or she supposed to do if they don’t know this?

The way it was handled just blows my mind, actually.

@Dutchess_III has an STD? I’m sorry to hear that. I hope you get it taken care of quickly.

THE DEAR LADY DOES NOT HAVE AN STD!

Apparently, she has ‘several’ STDs.

@Dutchess_III, thank goodness for penicillin hey? At least you know there’s a cure for what ails you.

@FlutherBug, as has been said, there are many reasons why your liver might not be functioning properly. Only your doctor can tell you what’s causing the problem in your case. You need to go back and see the doctor to talk to them about your problem.

As to the receptionist imparting this information, I’m stunned that you think this is okay. The receptionist is not medically trained, they don’t have the knowledge to respond to any medical questions about your results and for that person to suggest you should stop drinking is really out-of-line. The right process is ‘you need to make an appointment to see the doctor to get the results of your test’. I also agree with those who have mentioned confidentiality. However, for me, the main thing is knowledge. The doctor’s receptionist is not a medical practitioner and should stick to doing their own job.

Usually a nurse might call with test results if the doctor doesn’t, so for me, if my doctor had his receptionist making calls like that, I’d probably see a new doctor.

As @Mariah pointed out, there’s not enough information here for us to guess what is wrong with your liver. We would need to know the specific details of your results. @Jeruba is right; organs can fail for a variety of reasons and in a variety of ways. Drinking is not the only thing that affects liver health; the liver does not exist solely to process alcohol, and alcohol is not the only thing that it interacts with. There may be other things that you are doing that have affected the health of your liver – or it may just be luck or genetics, and beyond your control.

But these are things you should really discuss privately with your doctor. Always take health advice from strangers on the internet with a hefty dose of salt!

We have to be careful what we eat. The food in the stores is not anymore what it used to be. Our body is not designed for this modern life. Our bodies evolved for tens of thousands of years only with good natural healthy food. Now, all of a sudden it needs to cope with modified foods grown in a controlled environment. It is no wonder that there are s

And of course, the main triggering factor of most illnesses is stress. Stress is number one enemy.

I hate you guys!~

@Tsumia I think you have hit the nail on the head!

@Tsumia

Finally someone with a brain. Your answer was the best here. Thanks, and yes you are totally right about food and stress. I have been eating healthier and I just got ultrasounds done to my tummy / liver / organs, etc. I should find out in a few business days what is going on.

@jca

LOL wow you obviously have no idea what you are talking about…. I called the receptionist specifically asking about my results.

The receptionist is a good person, has been working there for YEARS. Jesus Christ you guys need to lay off the damn receptionist.

As I said, I regret even mentioning the receptionist.

My question was NOT about the receptionist.

Thank you.

@Earthbound_Misfit

STOP ATTACKING MY RECEPTIONIST. THE RECEPTIONIST IS NOT THE PROBLEM. I CALLED AND ASKED HIM SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THE RESULTS. STOP. JUST STOP. THE RECEPTIONIST IS FINE.

@Mariah

Yes, I got more tests done and should find out in a few business days what is happening.

Everyone attacking and complaining about the receptionist being in the “wrong” needs to back off.

Everyone attacking and complaining about the receptionist being in the “wrong” needs to back off. There is nothing wrong, again, I called and asked him SPECIFICALLY about the results, and I also spoke to nurses there. We are like a family. STOP ATTACKING my receptionist. He has worked there for YEARS. I regret even mentioning about the receptionist, my question was not “DO YOU THINK MY RECEPTIONIST IS FINE?” my question was asking about the liver.

Look, no one is “attacking” the receptionist, okay? I’ve read the responses – including re-reading my own, and there is no “attack” anywhere. However… what you have described is bad practice in a medical office in the USA or any other place that styles itself after US practice of medical privacy. In that sense it is a wholly valid criticism of a process and a medical establishment who follows such a process. “Receptionists” (in general) are not bound by the same codes of medical ethics as doctors and nurses. If it got to be general knowledge that your family-friendly, “wonderful practice” was running this way it would probably hurt their business a lot, and very likely open them to debilitating lawsuits.

It’s not an attack; it’s criticism meant in an entirely helpful way. On the other hand… if the receptionist IS a nurse and IS knowledgeable about HIPPA policy, practice and compliance, and if that person has also ascertained your identity in a positive way (rather than just reading the record to whoever calls for “Jane Doe’s case information”), then the criticism may not be apt.

We all agree that the receptionist is a fine fellow, and certainly trying to be helpful and responsive – but if he doesn’t know what he is doing, then he could be opening the practice to huge liability AND jeopardizing clients’ information.

Aside from that, why not call your receptionist and ask for his advice?

@CWOTUS Yup I do ask for his advice, happy now?

@FlutherBug
“Finally someone with a brain.”

Guess the rest of us brainless types needn’t have bothered to try to answer your question.

So, what did the doctor say?

The doctor is currently seeking diagnostic advice from the receptionist, to determine whether we’re brainless or merely brain-dead. ;-)

Answer a question and get insulted for trying to be helpful. Lovely.

Well, to be fair the question wasn’t about her receptionist!

@Dutchess_III

Exactly that was my point…. I appreciate everyone answering, and I formally apologize if I sounded ornery, annoyed etc…. but yes…. very annoying people were commenting more about the darn receptionist…...

@Dutchess_III

Well it turns out everything is fine with me, yay! They did ultrasounds on my liver, organs, kidney, tummy, etc…... Everything came back fine which is good…. However the doctor said it is due to my vegetarian / vegan diet…...... I was vegan for a long time…. Now I started to eat a little meat here and there…. Need the right nutrition…. I had no idea diet could affect it that much. I thought I was super healthy…... Now I eat more fish, protein, organic chicken breast, etc.

@jca I want to apologize to you, I just got annoyed people were commenting more on the receptionist than my actual question….. (P.S The receptionist is still a cool guy, just spoke with him the other day.) But I completely understand where you guys are coming from…..

@Brian1946 That made me laugh :) Funny joke :) :)

No problem, @FlutherBug. Apology accepted. :)

Very interesting, @FlutherBug. I’m glad you asked this question. Most people think you can’t drink too much water, but, as I stated above, you can. And it will mess up the sodium count in your liver. I had to cut back on my water consumption too.

@FlutherBug
(New here and just discovered this area a few minutes ago)
I ask you to check this possibility: https://www.fluther.com/211553/anyone-have-pbc/.
Just for the record, I started tanning in the sun when I was about 5 and quit before I turned 9. The “tan” never went away.

If you think this is a possibility for yourself or anyone you know, don’t just accept that—go to a doctor about it and get it checked. This may not pertain to you at all.

Also, I worked for doctors for years, both as an assistant and as a receptionist. Depending upon the individual’s job description, both assistants and receptionists may have necessary access to your medical records. We would type the doctors’ written notes, file the doctors’ notes, read patients’ records for various reasons, etc. Of course, then, such personnel will know patients’ records. In the offices I worked in, it was forbidden for us to say Word #One about what we knew of any patient either to that patient or to anyone else, unless we were in private conversation with the doctor. However, I can imagine that in some places, in some offices, that could be different, especially when having a long and actual relationship with the patient. I don’t know, but that could happen. If FlutherBug is all right with that, then it must be all right, I might think. Otherwise, FlutherBug would have taken action.

Wait…as a 5 year old you started sun bathing specifically to get a tan @Qav? I didn’t do that until I was in my teenage years. Even then it was so boring I gave up on it. Can’t imagine a 5 year old staying still long enough to get anything accomplished.
Are you also saying that at the age of 9 you never went out in the sun again? Never went swimming or playing outside in the sun?

@Dutchess_III I lived in a small northern California town, by the Pacific, where being in full sun was not over-warm. I also had two older sisters, the oldest of whom I particularly idolized—a real sweetheart who treated me extremely well. What they did, I did, except I would take my required naps in the sun.

When I was 8–½, we moved to a place I hated passionately. It was horridly hot there in the spring and summer. My oldest sister had married and moved to San Francisco. I no longer had a reason to tan, but I would ride my bike and skate, thus keeping my tan, I thought.

I am confused. Why wouldn’t playing in the sun tan you as well as sun bathing? It always did me. Why would a 5 year old be concerned about getting a tan?

I merely question: Was it truly a tan or was it my liver already working on me, and I don’t know the answer.

I had no idea you had liver problems. Are you @FlutherBug?

@Dutchess_III If that last question was to me, Dutchess_III, no, I am not FlutherBug. Just me. :)This is my only persona here, :) although I am considering having a second I.D. here, if it is acceptable.

It is, as long as you don’t do it trying to deceive people in to thinking you’re not really you. I have a second account that I have to use when I’m on my phone because, for some reason, it wouldn’t read the III right when I tried to log on with my regular account. So I made a 2nd account.

I am still confused. Your skin was showing manifestations of liver problems when you were a child, and you thought it was just a tan? I think liver problems causes skin to be jaundiced, like a yellowish color.

RE the second persona, it would be for the purpose of asking questions, getting ideas re responses, regarding a personal relationship problem that I don’t have the guts to reveal as me. Maybe it would be wrong. ??

Regarding my skin color, I think, in hindsight, that what I thought was a tan MAY have actually been the color of my PBC already changing things. I don’t know. It’s just that I never lost my “tan” after I quit sunning myself.

For my PBC, my doctors have been useless. They know little. I’ve been through doc after doc, and all they can do for me is test me, say “Yep, you have it,” but they don’t even attempt to give me info or help, except for very expensive meds that they admit they do not know will help. It’s all very confusing.

My skin color looks like a yellowish tan, with large splotches under my clothes that are quite brown. It’s not an unpleasant yellowish. People think it is a tan. Also, my eyes don’t have that yellowish cast except on very rare occasion.

No, you can ask questions anonymously that you just would feel comfortable asking under your real “name.” They just don’t want you to be a white male Jewish doctor in real life, acting like you’re a transgendered black female science teacher! :D :D :D

:D :D You’re cute. :D

Yeah. This shakes me. Not sure I have the guts and not sure if I should even ask. about it—I should just keep my mouth shut and be grateful for what I have. No one’s life is perfect.

Well, those questions are for doctors.