Is Your Liver Fatty, or Is It Just Me??

My official diagnosis from my hospital stay last weekend is Acute Fatty Liver Syndrome of Pregnancy. Sounds sexy, right?

No, it sounds like I am a 400 lb. woman who has just spent her life engorging herself on fried foods, red meat, and pretty much anything else that is bad for you and is now paying the price by having a big, old, nasty fatty covered liver while trying to carry a baby (or two for that matter). In fact, when people ask me what was up with the hospital stay, I feel the urge to whisper the diagnosis very quietly behind my hand, almost like they discovered a shrunken twin growing out my back or something to that effect.

If you google this Fatty Liver issue, it basically scares the pants off you. Terms like "life-threatening" and "organ shut down" occur in the descriptions. So, after one day of investigating, I have banned myself from any Fatty Liver searches on the computer. The OB, the GI and various other medical professionals had faith that I am healthy enough to go home, they are monitoring me, and if I start to feel crappy, I just need to make a phone call that will probably land me back in the hospital with people sucking out and deciphering my blood again.

What I do know from what the doctors told me is that

1 - It is rare (1 in 10,000 to 1 in 15,000) pregnancies
2 - Nothing I could have done to prevent it
3 - It will go away 2-3 days after delivery

All I can do is eat a low-fat diet and hope my fatty liver hangs on until those babies get out of my belly.

So, here's to grilled chicken, veggies, and driving past Chic-Fil-A without stopping. Me and my (whisper)fatty liver have to stay away from you for awhile!