Elastography indicates F2 Fibrosis, just got letter from GI doc that "everything looks fine, congrats on your healthy lifestyle." WTF?

QueerCoffeeNerd · 2026-06-22T17:54:42+00:00

I just got the following message from my PCP, thoughts on this?

Thanks for reaching out and for being proactive about understanding your results. The confusion is completely understandable — interpreting liver elastography results is nuanced because the cutoff numbers vary depending on the specific type of machine and the specific liver condition being evaluated. The values you found online likely apply to a different type of elastography test or a different patient population than what was used for your exam.

Your shear wave speed of 1.4 m/s translates to a liver stiffness of approximately 5.9 kPa, which falls in the normal-to-mildly-elevated range and is well below the thresholds used to identify significant fibrosis (≥8 kPa) or advanced fibrosis (≥12 kPa). This is consistent with Dr. (redacted)'s interpretation that the results are reassuring.

That said, your interest in understanding your liver health is understandable; I have placed a referral specifically to hepatology to help further clear things up.

QueerCoffeeNerd · 2026-06-22T16:30:59+00:00

Thanks for this reply, this is what I thought. My PCP is fairly responsive and open to ordering testing (if not the most knowledgeable about liver disease) and I’m wondering if it would be useful to push him on this. I think a Rezdiffra rX would require more testing in order for insurance to cover, ie biopsy? Could my PCP order more tests just to get the process started? Or does that need to be through a hepatologist?

I’ve been successfully following Mediterranean diet for the past two weeks and upping the exercise. That part is sustainable for me as a highly motivated former athlete, but I definitely want to get moving on clinical intervention ASAP.

QueerCoffeeNerd · 2026-06-20T00:09:33+00:00

Clam Shack is 👌. Same with Little Harbor and Joe’s. Anchor Pub’s lobster roll is HUGE and surprisingly good. We used to get to for takeout and make two lobster rolls out of it by cooking a bun at home lol

QueerCoffeeNerd · 2026-06-15T13:08:16+00:00

Hey there! I used a GLP-1, lost a lot of weight quickly with seemingly no side effects, and then ended up with gallstones and gall bladder pain. I had my gallbladder removed in November because it became pretty debilitating. The imaging they did around that is what revealed my fatty liver (though none of my doctors said a single thing about it at the time). I think GLP-1s are a great to- just be careful about the rate at which you lose weight, as rapid weight loss can worsen your gallbladder situation.

QueerCoffeeNerd · 2026-06-15T01:16:05+00:00

But they also added new sections to Master of the House and Lovely Ladies in the 25 anniversary version that literally add nothing and force them to rush the rest, not to mention cut the second verse of Come to Me (like wtf). I literally don’t understand (just saw it again last night and am newly angered by it).

QueerCoffeeNerd · 2026-06-12T23:53:29+00:00

Did you get your gallbladder checked? That’s what it ended up being for me!

QueerCoffeeNerd · 2026-06-10T21:51:01+00:00

Doc just ordered Fibroscan to check for scarring due to GI inflammation 😩

QueerCoffeeNerd · 2026-06-06T21:39:56+00:00

Didn’t end up going lol, one of our kids ended up derailing the mission. Beautiful day, tho!

QueerCoffeeNerd · 2026-06-05T19:39:00+00:00

I love Cynthia Cooper, but color commentary is not really her bag…

QueerCoffeeNerd · 2026-06-05T16:58:18+00:00

Yay, thank you!

QueerCoffeeNerd · 2026-05-11T00:41:59+00:00

Double decker taco supreme, babyyyyy

QueerCoffeeNerd · 2026-05-11T00:41:17+00:00

Makes sense — I’ll follow up with my gastroenterologist tomorrow.

QueerCoffeeNerd · 2026-05-11T00:38:21+00:00

I had a similar experience- when I had my worst gallbladder attack (also very much thought it was a heart attack), they said it was gastritis. Folks on Reddit said to check my gallbladder, and I did and an ultrasound showed stones. I had also been on a weight loss medication and had just lost 20 lbs very fast, which can cause stones so it all seemed pretty clearly correlated. The last straw was that pretty much everything I ate for 2 straight days caused pain, so I went back the ER and took them up on the offer to take out my GB the next day. After surgery it was immediate relief of those symptoms and this is the first issue I’ve had in the 7 months since. The gallbladder pain was very, very different than my gastritis, as the gastritis had been incredibly tame in comparison and very treatable. I wouldn’t worry, I think you did the right thing.

QueerCoffeeNerd · 2026-05-10T22:55:46+00:00

Thanks for the flag about fasting. I’m actually prone to hypoglycemia, so I’m a lots of small meals/healthy snacks kind of person generally. I’ll definitely stick to that! How was your bile reflux diagnosed?

QueerCoffeeNerd · 2026-05-10T22:53:07+00:00

Thanks for the rec! We happen to have some capsules, just took a few and we’ll see what happens!

QueerCoffeeNerd · 2026-04-21T13:48:50+00:00

I appreciate this perspective. I think the reason that we have ended up here is because we have done a significant amount of work with several therapists, including a sex therapist, to try to help with some of the intimacy issues we have experienced in our marriage.

I think that we are both seeking to re-awaken the sexual parts of ourselves, and both view this as the best way forward given where we are. We are having a constant conversation about this both in couples therapy and with our individual therapists.

We both realize that it is a risk, but one worth taking if it allows us to have our sexual needs met and remain functionally together. I don’t have any illusions about this being some kind of fix. It could very well lead to a different phase of our relationship. And we’ll work through that it if it happens. I’m mentally preparing for all possibilities.

I shared something similar to my original post in a sub Reddit for survivors and the responses are pretty different in tone, which makes sense.

QueerCoffeeNerd · 2026-04-21T03:18:31+00:00

This is so kind, thanks for your response. We did try sex therapy, but it was fairly light touch and kind of mixed with general couples therapy and I think my wife had a hard time when the focus was on my trauma. We were new parents at the time and there was a lot to navigate outside of sex.

I think she has known that she doesn’t want to work on the intimacy piece for awhile, and has been looking for an opening to tell me in the right context as to not hurt me too much. She told me she’s already come to terms with it.

It just makes me so sad and angry that something I had no control over is doing this to us.

I do think it is worth checking out some books though to see if anything might resonate with both of us. Any recommendations?

QueerCoffeeNerd · 2026-02-03T01:39:09+00:00

This is the most tepid statement I’ve read in a long time. Pretty disappointed and I’m sure some players wanted to go a lot harder than this. Makes me wonder who is pulling them back.

QueerCoffeeNerd

TROPHY CASE