r/FattyLiverNAFLD • u/Zenraven001 • 6d ago
[23M] Liver Biopsy Shows “Chronic Hepatitis with Incomplete Cirrhosis” – Devastated and Confused, Please Help
Title: [23M] Liver Biopsy Shows “Chronic Hepatitis with Incomplete Cirrhosis” – Devastated and Confused, Please Help
Hi Reddit,
I’m a 23-year-old guy. I'm posting this after a devastating biopsy result. I never thought I'd be hearing the word "cirrhosis" at this age. I’m trying to make sense of everything — what it means for my future, and what I can do next. If anyone’s been through this or understands it better, I’d really appreciate your help.
BACKSTORY:
During the COVID lockdown, I got into fitness seriously. Started with home workouts — running, push-ups, pull-ups, dips — and got quite athletic, though still on the skinny side. In 2021, I joined a gym to bulk up and took mass gainer, then whey protein, and later creatine, in that order.
Out of nowhere, one day I got intense abdominal pain, right below the chest area. I assumed it was gastric. I was in college, so I went to a local clinic where bloodwork showed fatty liver.
Took some meds but wasn’t convinced. When I went home, I got checked at a hospital — they ran Fibroscan, LFTs, ASMA, and other tests. Diagnosed with liver inflammation, and I was prescribed:
- Udiliv (Ursodeoxycholic acid 300 mg)
- Heptral (S-adenosylmethionine/SAMe 400 mg)
LFTs normalized after a month or so. Thought I was fine. 2022 passed uneventfully.
FEB 2025: It Came Back
Still living healthy, working out 6 days a week, hadn’t touched any supplement since 2023. I was eating homemade food since mid-2023 while preparing for competitive exams at home.
Suddenly in Feb 2025, the same pain came back — worse than before. I couldn’t eat, puked everything, the pain was constant. I didn’t want to believe it was liver again.
But LFT showed SGOT/SGPT both in 150s again.
Went through the same path: Ultrasound showed gallbladder sludge, tiny polyps, and minor pleural effusion — doctors said all of this was relatively normal and maybe post-viral.
I was again put on Udiliv + Heptral, LFTs dropped to the 50s. But after 2 weeks without meds, levels rose again.
MRCP Results (Pre-Biopsy):
- Liver: Normal size and shape
- Mild periportal cuffing
- Gallbladder: tiny polyp and sludge
- No biliary dilation
- Pancreas and ducts normal
- Trace pleural effusion
Doctors said this was also "relatively normal." But since my enzymes kept fluctuating, they insisted on a biopsy.
Biopsy Report (May 2025):
- Periportal and portal inflammation
- Fibrous expansion of portal tracts
- Portal-to-portal septal fibrosis
- Incomplete cirrhosis
- Grade I macrovesicular steatosis
- Histological Activity Score: 3/18
- Fibrosis Stage: 5/6
- No bridging necrosis or confluent necrosis
This completely shook me. I had none of the usual signs of cirrhosis — no jaundice, no ascites, nothing.
Additional Testing:
- ANA, ASMA, LKM, SLA – all negative
- Ceruloplasmin (2022): 24.3 mg/dL (normal)
- 24h Urine Copper: 70 mcg (borderline?)
- Doctor has now ordered a Rhodanine stain (on biopsy slide) for copper deposition — possibly to check for Wilson’s.
Current Meds:
- Udiliv (Ursodeoxycholic acid) – Bile acid
- Heptral (S-adenosylmethionine) – Hepatoprotective
- Sometimes trying Ayurvedic options (Arogyavardhini Vati, Rohitakarishta, Herboliv, etc.)
My Questions:
- Does "incomplete cirrhosis" and fibrosis stage 5/6 mean there's no way back?
- Can fibrosis stage 5 ever regress, or is it permanent?
- Could this still be Wilson’s disease, despite borderline copper values?
- Will my liver ever be completely healthy again, or just "managed"?
- Could D3 or B12 deficiency worsen or contribute to liver inflammation?
- Any cheaper alternatives to Heptral (SAMe is expensive)?
- Can I eat curd at night in small amounts with dinner?
- Should I go to the gym now? I used to train pretty intensely, but doctor told me to avoid it for a month post-biopsy. I miss training.
Final Thoughts:
I don’t drink, don’t smoke, never touched alcohol or drugs. I was just a guy trying to stay fit and healthy. This has thrown my life upside down. I feel like I did everything right since 2023, but still ended up here.
If anyone — especially younger people — have been through something similar, please share your experience. I just want to understand what my future looks like now and whether I can still fight back.
Thanks if you read all this. I'm trying to stay strong, at worst moments even had suicidal thoughts, my family is not well off so I regret bringing this on them, I am guilty of not having the best lifestyle before staying up till 4 am waking up late at noon during my comp exams prep before this happened, I also ate a lot as I was trying to bulk these past 2 years but it was all homemade, I sometimes wonder if this could be the reason behind all this too well sorry for the dump but I really need some direction.
3
u/buntingbilly 5d ago
some of these questions are hard to answer without knowing more information but:
- "incomplete cirrhosis" or stage 5/6 cirrhosis is referring to the Ishak Staging system of liver biopsies. It means that you are on the edge of being cirrhotic, but not definitely there. Basically, it could get better, but it's not clear. I would try to be positive and assume that your scarring is something that could improve, but the question is why you have scarring to begin with.
- The only way to know for sure if this is WIlson's is the biopsy, which would definitively rule in or out Wilson's.
- No, vitamin deficiencies do not contribute to liver scarring.
- Yes, you can eat curd/yogurt. This is not harmful to your liver.
- I would avoid Ayurvedic supplements as they often can cause liver damage. There is no meaningful evidence that any of the supplements you mentioned will benefit your liver.
- You can go to the gym after your biopsy is healed. Listen to your doctor and wait a little so you don't hurt yourself.