8 Symptoms of Liver Disease

The liver is the largest organ in the body, and perhaps also one of the most important. It helps protect your body tissue from damage and filters toxins out of your blood stream. It’s even capable of repairing damaged tissue on itself, but certain liver conditions can permanently damage the organ, which, if left untreated, could become life threatening. But if caught early, liver disease can be treated effectively. Liver disease may not show any noticeable symptoms in the beginning stages, but as the condition worsens, you will begin to notice symptoms like fatigue, nausea, weight loss, abdominal pain, weight loss, and others.If you begin to notice these symptoms, it is important to discuss them with a doctor before determining what the cause may be. Your doctor will determine whether you have a poorly functioning liver through blood tests, imaging scans, or by analyzing tissue. If you do have liver disease, your doctor can help you determine the best treatment plan for your particular condition. Making changes to your lifestyle, such as removing alcohol from your diet or losing excess weight, can treat some mild forms of liver disease. Others require medications or surgery to repair the damage. If your liver condition leads to liver failure, you will likely need to treat it with a liver transplant. Here are eight signs of liver disease you should look out for.

1. Fatigue

This is probably the most common symptom of a poorly functioning liver, especially because the liver plays such an important role in many of the body’s functions. Fatigue is different than just being tired, though. It’s actually a mental lack of energy or motivation to exert yourself when doing daily activities. Although it can affect someone any time of the day, it’s most common in the morning, about an hour after waking up. A diseased liver can cause fatigue because the liver involved in the process of supplying the body with energy. It converts glucose into glycogen, stores it, and releases it when the body needs energy.A liver that is not functioning properly has less ability to produce glucose and also less space to store it. Additionally, the liver can also produce more carbohydrates from things like protein and fat when the body is not producing enough on it’s own. Those who are suffering from liver disease, suffer from tiredness as a result of the immune system’s response to this. A healthy immune system response involves the brain releasing certain chemicals. Liver disease causes the body stress, which as a result, weakens the immune system and causes it not to release the appropriate chemicals.Next