fibroscan question

[rexx73]

hello everbody,

today i had a meeting in my clinic because i will start treatment in 4 weeks.
they made some bloodtest and a fibroscan.
today the scan showed between 30 kpa and 70 wich was a shock for me,beause last years scan showed only 9 kpa.
before 2 years the scan showed already 70 kpa but this was because the operator placed the scan head not in the right position.
is it possible that in just one year the liver can get so much worse.from 9 kpa to 35 kpa?

before 3 weeks my plattelets were 187000,ast alt normal and i have no other symptons of cirrhosis.
the doc told me that the scan is not always accuarate and that this not automatic mean i have cirrhosis.
but im very very scared again.

can someone give some advice

thanks a lot

[johnny679]

good to treat the stress of this alone will make life very difficult for you , you are probably still a stage 3 , your platelets at 187 000 dont sound like cirrhoisis

[rexx73]

yesterday i had a call from the prof. wich is the chief of the hepatology clinic,and he s very sceptic about the fibroscan also.
2009 fibroscan said 70
2010 fibroscan said 9
2011 fibroscan said 30
this would mean 2009 cirrhosis,2010 no cirrhosis,2011 cirrhosis.

he said the only thing we know is that i was f3 before 3 years.maybe i have early cirrhosis, maybe not,but this doesnt change anything now for me.
i have to treat and see what happens.

[johnny679]

very rare to progress that far in a year , maybe time for another biopsy , I dont trust the fibroscan

[rexx73]

my biopsy showed f3 back in 2008.

[johnny679]

Thanks will , much appreciated , I really paniced , i am over the moon .

[willbb]

I wondered how that went for you. Great to hear it was a mistake!
Best..
Will

[johnny679]

yeah stage 2 , have you had a biopsy ?

[rexx73]

you mean you are stage 1 dont you??

because stage 11 i never heard the scale goes futher than 4 (metavir)

[johnny679]

Hi I had a fibroscan last month which showed a score of 16 STAGE 4 , and last year my score was 8.3 , it really scared me I was a nervous wreck anyway I had a biopsy 2 weeks ago , today got my results and I am a STAGE 11 . I am so relieved you have no idea .  Biopsy only way to know , as in my case the fibroscan was way off luckily and I have heard many similar stories .

[rexx73]

thanks to all for replys,

i had an ultrasound done 4 weeks ago,and i ask the doc what he think about check for varices and he said my bloodflow is fine and now its not necesary to do that.
sometimes im so much scarred of dying from bursting varices,and in about 4 weeks i start my telaprevir treatment and im scared also that my liver could fail during treatment.
i will do the therapy in a transplant center in switzerland and i hope/think the know their business.

kind regards

[HectorSF]

Ask your gastroenterologist if you have cirrhosis or not. They have all your data and should be able to come up with a diagnoses.

Having a platelet count of 187, 000 makes it unlikely that you have cirrhosis. While it is possible to have cirrhosis without portal hypertension it is not common and would indicate your cirrhosis would be in the very early stage. A low platelet count is caused by portal hypertension and an enlarged spleen which sequesters the platelets leading to a lower number of platelets in the blood system.

Did you have imaging performed. Ultrasound, CT scan or MRI? If you have cirrhosis it should be able to be seen. Micro and macro nodules would indicate cirrhosis.  Even if you do have cirrhosis you can still treat your hepatitis C as long as the cirrhosis has not decompensated. If you had decompensated you would know it. Ascites, encephalopathy, varices an enlarged spleen.

Cirrhosis and platelet count explained:
Blood flows from the spleen..... through the portal vein.... then through the liver. Scar tissue in the liver (cirrhosis) can interfere with that blood flow...... causing pressure to build up in the portal vein (portal hypertension), and the spleen to enlarge (splenomegaly).
As the spleen enlarges, it traps platelets. (The amount of platelets in the bloodstream is reduced. The spleen is busy trapping them.)
So usually--- people with cirrhosis end up having a problem with portal hypertension and an enlarged spleen, and a reduced platelet count in the bloodstream.
As time goes by, the liver may try to repair itself by growing new cells.
IF (IF) there is alot of scar tissue already present--- the new cells grow between scar tissue (and result in abnormal nodules).
(The nodules and scar tissue can further interfere with blood flow through the liver.)
So over time-- people with advanced cirrhosis can end up having a problem with more and more abnormal nodules and scar tissue forming..... which interferes even more with blood flow through the liver.....which makes the spleen continue to enlarge and the platelet count continue to drop.

Good luck with your treatment.
Hector

[coeric]

best of luck with your treatment.
blessings
eric

[coeric]

Prior to starting triple therapy a month ago my platelets were running about 100,000.

[coeric]

i think with platelets of 187,000, the fibroscan overestimated your fibrosis. as you found out, operator skill is so important to get an accurate reading. four years ago i was administered a scan by the most experienced operator in the US. he went to paris and was trained by the inventors of the fibroscan.  back then my scan was 58 which would indicate cirrhosis, portal hypertension and esophageal varicies.  i had an endoscopy and no varices were found.  three months ago a transjugular liver biopsy did show some cirrhosis and some bridging fibrosis.  i believe the fibroscan did overestimate my scarring.  

[donnieraye]

I'm sorry I have no advise. I too wonder if I have moved into the cirrhosis. I'm bumbing your post to the top, maybe youcan get some advise.