Blood tests can also detect if you have low levels of certain substances, such as a protein called serum albumin, which is made by the liver. A low level of serum albumin suggests your liver is not functioning properly.
Serum albumin test.
This test is used to measure the level of albumin (a protein in the blood) and may be useful in the diagnosis of liver disease. Low levels of albumin may indicate the liver is not functioning properly.
Liver function tests check the levels of certain enzymes and proteins in your blood. Levels that are higher or lower than normal can indicate liver problems. Some common liver function tests include: Alanine transaminase (ALT).
The liver function tests typically include alanine transaminase (ALT) and aspartate transaminase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), serum bilirubin, prothrombin time (PT), the international normalized ratio (INR), total protein and albumin.
Signs and symptoms
However, as your liver loses its ability to function properly, you're likely to experience a loss of appetite, nausea and itchy skin. In the later stages, symptoms can include jaundice, vomiting blood, dark, tarry-looking stools, and a build-up of fluid in the legs (oedema) and abdomen (ascites).
Loss of Appetite
Loss of appetite is a common cause of liver disease. It is especially likely if the person also has nausea and vomiting as symptoms. Not surprisingly, weight loss is a common result. The good news is that this is considered an early sign of liver disease.
Liver failure occurs when your liver isn't working well enough to perform its functions (for example, manufacturing bile and ridding your body of harmful substances). Symptoms include nausea, loss of appetite, and blood in the stool.
Gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase test: This test measures the level of gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (an enzyme that is produced in the liver, pancreas, and biliary tract). This test is often performed to assess liver function, to provide information about liver diseases, and to detect alcohol ingestion.
There are at-home liver panel tests that can determine liver function by screening for proteins and enzymes like albumin, globulin, ALP, ALT, and GGT. These tests use a finger-prick sample and include materials to collect and send your specimen to the lab. You can order a liver panel from home and get tested in a lab.
Even though it's the largest organ inside your body, it can be hard to pinpoint the pain from your liver. It's easy to confuse it with pain from your stomach, just to its left. Depending on the cause, a liver that hurts may show up as pain in the front center of your belly, in your back, or even your shoulders.
Reversing liver damage Liver Basics
Barring complications, the liver can repair itself completely and, within a month, the patient will show no signs of damage. However, sometimes the liver gets overwhelmed and can't repair itself completely, especially if it's still under attack from a virus, drug, or alcohol.
The liver can develop new cells, but prolonged alcohol misuse (drinking too much) over many years can reduce its ability to regenerate.
So what happens when you stop drinking? The good news is that the liver is the only organ that can restore and regenerate itself. Because the liver is in a constant state of regeneration, in many cases the healing process can begin within just weeks after foregoing alcohol.
One of the challenges with liver diseases is that they can go undetected for years. While some people with liver problems have symptoms of end-stage liver disease like yellowing of the skin, or jaundice, many others have either no symptoms or symptoms such as fatigue that could suggest a number of other conditions.
“The scary thing is that they're only in their 30s and 40s,” he says, noting that the chances of developing liver disease go up the longer a person has been drinking and is most common between the ages of 40 and 50. Other Yale Medicine doctors have diagnosed people with liver disease when they are still in their 20s.
Stage 1: Inflammation
In the early stages of liver disease, the liver will become swollen or inflamed as the body's natural response to injury. Liver inflammation, or hepatitis, can also occur when there are more toxins in the blood than the liver is able to manage. The earlier the diagnosis, the better.
The first stage of liver disease involves inflammation of the individual's bile duct or liver. Abdominal pain is often the first symptoms of this inflammation as the person's body attempts to fight off the disease or infection.
Dark urine (orange, brown, amber or cola-colored) and light-colored stools (lighter than normal) coupled with aforementioned symptoms can lead to a range of life-threatening liver diseases such as Liver Cancer, Cirrhosis, Hepatitis (A, B, C, D & E), Bile Duct Obstruction and Alcoholic Liver Disease.
In some severe cases, you might notice a feeling of bloating or fullness in your belly, or an ache in your upper right abdomen, where your liver is.
If you do have symptoms, they may include: Abdominal pain or a feeling of fullness in the upper right side of the abdomen (belly). Nausea, loss of appetite or weight loss. Yellowish skin and whites of the eyes (jaundice).