Thursday, September 06, 2018

Yikes!

More test results ...


VCTE (measures liver fibrosis)

6.0 - 7.5: mild or borderline fibrosis

Above 7.5: moderate liver fibrosis

Above 10: severe fibrosis and/or cirrhosis (> 12 or 14)

Your score 14.0

The blood work would seem to rule out hepatitis, and any "hard-drinking" image I might have is more cultivated by talk than realized in action.

That is, in my early 20s I suppose I drank to excess on occasion, but not on a sustained daily or even weekly basis. Even that tapered well off by the time I hit 30.

In the last 20-22 years, I have probably only been even a little "drunk" less than 10 times, completely sozzled once or twice, and these days probably average less than a drink a month (for example, the last time I drank was in New Orleans at the beginning of July; over the course of three days, I consumed one double bourbon and cola, and one swig of moonshine; before that, I think I had one double bourbon and cola in March).

I see from a little online research that fibrosis occurs more rapidly in men (check,) people over fifty (check), people with compromised immune systems (not that I know of), people who drink heavily (see above), and people with insulin resistance (check). But as to root cause, I have no idea yet.

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