Some people with PBC will never get any symptoms of the disease. Clear symptoms of PBC are constant tiredness (for some people this can be severe) and intense itching in any part of the body. Itching, also known as pruritus, may be a result of your liver's inability to process bile. It is thought that bile acids are not the cause of the itching but rather other chemicals that are retained in the body. As with tiredness, the severity of the itching will vary from person to person. Severity is not an indication of the amount of liver damage.
Other symptoms that may develop usually include the following:
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dry eyes and/or dry mouth
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constant or variable ache or discomfort in the upper right hand side, below your ribs
- indigestion, nausea or poor appetite
- arthritis (inflammation of the joints)
- pain in the bones
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mottled palms with red or pink blotches
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diarrhoea
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dark urine and/or stools
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jaundice - yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes.
Tiredness and itching are generally the first symptoms to appear while jaundice is usually associated with the later stages of the disease.