Liver pain and liver disease. Liver pain can be dull and nonspecific, but it can also be severe. It may result in a backache.
Pain in the Upper Right Abdomen
So what does liver pain feel like? It manifests in different ways, but a common form is a dull throbbing. For some people, it occurs as a sharp, stabbing pain. Sometimes the pain migrates to other nearby areas, such as the right shoulder blade and the back.
Pain related to the liver may be caused by inflammation (hepatitis), an abscess, liver scarring (cirrhosis), or an enlarged or failing liver. Symptoms of liver problems include pain in the upper right abdomen and/or back, fatigue, nausea or lack of appetite, and jaundice.
The pain occurs when fatty liver disease progresses to inflammation and enlargement of the organ (NASH), which stretches the capsule (the liver's covering) to cause discomfort.
If you've been diagnosed with any fatty liver disease, let your health care provider know if you have any symptoms that mean the disease is getting worse. These include fatigue, loss of appetite, weight loss, weakness, fluid retention, or bleeding.
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.
People with fatty liver disease often have no symptoms until the disease progresses to cirrhosis of the liver. 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.
Chronic fatigue or weakness. Abdominal discomfort, such as cramping or nausea. Confusion or difficulty thinking. Bruising or bleeding easily, including nosebleeds.
The normal treatment for fatty liver disease, whether it's alcohol-related or not, is to reach a healthy weight through diet and exercise. So what should you eat? In general, foods that fight cell damage, make it easier for your body to use insulin, or lower inflammation can help reverse the condition.
The good news is that fatty liver disease can be reversed—and even cured—if patients take action, including a 10% sustained loss in body weight.
Symptoms of an inflamed liver can include: Feelings of fatigue. Jaundice (a condition that causes your skin and the whites of your eyes to turn yellow) Feeling full quickly after a meal.
Liver problems
Liver-related pain may be caused by an abscess, inflammation (hepatitis), liver scarring (cirrhosis), hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), or a failing or enlarged liver. Symptoms you may experience include: Fatigue. Pain in your back or upper right abdomen.
Back pain often occurs because some people who are experiencing stress tense their muscles unconsciously. Stomach pain and bloating are more common in people who have stress as well as an underlying condition, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
As the liver becomes more severely damaged, more obvious and serious symptoms can develop, such as: yellowing of the skin or whites of the eyes (jaundice) swelling in the legs, ankles and feet caused by a build-up of fluid (oedema) swelling in your abdomen caused by a build-up of fluid known as ascites.
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. It's more likely your healthcare provider will discover it during an exam. They might notice that your liver is palpable to the touch, which it normally wouldn't be.
Nausea. Vomiting. A general sense of feeling unwell (malaise) Disorientation or confusion.
Blood tests used to assess the liver are known as liver function tests. But liver function tests can be normal at many stages of liver disease. 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.
An average period of 6 weeks to 2 months is an expected timeframe to recover from fatty liver disease. However, lifelong adherence to particular diet and lifestyle changes may be necessary to prevent relapse.
Healing can begin as early as a few days to weeks after you stop drinking, but if the damage is severe, healing can take several months. In some cases, “if the damage to the liver has been long-term, it may not be reversible,” warns Dr. Stein.
How long it takes to reverse fatty liver disease may depend on the cause. If your fatty liver is because of alcohol, you may be able to reverse the effects in about 2 weeks. If you have NAFLD, it will depend on how quickly you lose weight. But remember, be careful not to lose weight too quickly.