Next morning I couldn’t stop drinking water, I then vomited it all up. An out of hours doctor sent me to hospital. There I had a chest X-Ray, an ultrasound scan, a CT scan and eventually a gastroscopy. Afterwards I was sent home feeling ill. The follow-up appointment with a surgeon showed a gallstone. I saw the anaesthetist a number of times. He was becoming increasingly worried about operating because I have asthma and was getting weaker and needed a wheelchair to reach my appointments. At the next appointment the stone wasn’t there. Was it was someone else’s scan?

2016 I had another gastroscopy, a hiatus hernia, gastritis, and the possible remains of two peptic ulcers were found. My ALT continued to go up and down. A dietician was seeing me in a local hospital, as I could hardly eat. She put me on Fresubin because I was losing weight.

The doctor seeing me there thought it was all in my mind. I was on tablets for anxiety and depression. I became scared of being left on my own and begged my husband not to go out. By June I was shaking and staying in bed. The GP put me on an antipsychotic. It stopped the shaking, but left me like a zombie. The GP agreed I should stop. Continual blood tests were done, LFTs went up and down.

Diagnosis

2017 started reasonably. They were still thinking of removing the gallbladder. By April my ALT had gone up to 700. Jaundiced again, the hospital doctor who saw me locally admitted me to hospital they stopped my antidepressants. I had an MRI scan, an ERCP with sphincterotomy and was discharged on 4^th May. I was readmitted several times between May and July, during which time I had a painful liver biopsy, afterwards I had a vasovagal incident and was in recovery some hours. On 22^nd June I was diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis (AIH).

Next day I had a psychotic episode and I was taken from home by ambulance, sectioned under the Mental Health Act and put in a secure unit.

Not eating, weighing 42.8kg I was re-admitted on 2^nd July to the main hospital with sepsis again. Once better returning to the secure unit I was still having psychotic episodes. It improved as the dose of steroids was reduced and immunosuppresants introduced. It hasn’t returned. Near the end of July my liver was getting better and I was starting to eat properly; I was allowed to go home at the start of September weighing 47.8kg.

I continue with blood tests, follow-ups and scans. I’m now under the care of another consultant at a different hospital as my doctor left. My life saved, for which I am grateful, it took a long time to diagnose AIH.

This badly affected my family who were worried, AIH being partly genetic my children, thought they could contract it.

I have since been told I have cirrhosis but that my liver is stable. I do feel however, whether rightly or wrongly, that I should have been thoroughly investigated the first time I was jaundiced.  Maybe, just maybe, cirrhosis could have been prevented.