Getting Started with a Healthy Lifestyle

In my last blog I mentioned how important it is to begin focusing on healthy eating and healthy living to heal your liver. The liver is an amazing organ. Did you know that you can completely heal a fatty liver! In this blog I want to share what I did initially to get started on my path of healthy living. Small changes will get you started. Before I talk about first steps, I want to share some really exciting news that I received this week!

I had a follow-up phone appointment with my liver doctor (hepatologist) this week. Because of my cirrhosis, I get blood work and an ultrasound every 6 months in June and December. My ALT and AST numbers were really good and my ultrasound shows no sign of cancer. All of that is good, but here is  the really cool news. My doctor didn’t know how much weight I had lost because I had not been in to the office to get weighed since last December. At that point, I had lost 20 pounds since diagnosis. When I told him that I had lost a total of 45 pounds so far, he said, “Oh, that explains why there is no more fat in your liver!” I was amazed and thrilled to hear this news. There is still some level of cirrhosis. I know this because my spleen is still enlarged and my platelets are low. So I asked what I can do to continue healing my liver. The doctor said, “Continue doing what you are doing. Your liver is working! You are a rock star!” I am so encouraged by this news. I know I have more work to do to completely heal my liver. It is great to know that I am on the right track. I didn't get cirrhosis overnight and I will not heal overnight.

Now how did I get started on my healthy lifestyle journey? With the current fatty liver diagnosis in December 2018, I was concerned, but not necessarily alarmed. My healthcare system referred me to attend a workshop about fatty liver disease and suggested taking advantage of healthy eating education. I signed up for both of these learning opportunities. I was also referred to the hepatologist. He asked me to get specific blood tests and a fibroscan. The NAFLD workshop was helpful. It was the first time I heard about the various levels of fibrosis. I think this is the first time that I realized there was a progression to liver disease. I was still not too concerned at this point. The information was helpful, but I didn't yet think it applied to me. I still thought all I needed to do was begin to start losing weight slowly. I signed up for the healthy eating program. It was a 16-week program with a long wait list. While I was waiting to hear when I could start the healthy eating program, I scheduled my blood work, fibroscan, and appointment with the hepatologist. These appointments took about 6 months. I consider this time “getting ready” time, scheduling all suggested education, testing and appointments. I also tried to make small changes to my eating habits with little success. If anything, I learned about how hard it was to make changes to my eating routines when I was eating based on my emotions. I was willing to get started on my healthy lifestyle, but not yet able.

For this week, I will stop here on my journey. “Getting Ready” is an important part of the process. What did you do when you first learned you had fatty liver disease?