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Cirrhosis Symptoms

Some early symptoms of cirrhosis include a loss of appetite, weight loss, abdominal pain, and spider-like blood vessels that develop on the skin. Not everyone with cirrhosis will have symptoms. If the liver becomes badly damaged by cirrhosis, it may stop performing one or more of its normal functions. Among the cirrhosis symptoms that may be present during these late stages of cirrhosis are intense itching, fluid build-up in the stomach area and legs, and a worsening of jaundice (yellowing of the skin and the whites of the eyes).

 

An Overview of Cirrhosis Symptoms

The liver is an organ that performs many important functions. Some key functions of the liver include filtering waste, processing nutrients, storing fuel, and producing bile. Because the liver does so many important things for your body, you can't live without one.
 
Cirrhosis is a medical term used to describe changes that occur to the liver because of long-term liver damage. With liver cirrhosis, large areas of the liver become scarred -- usually permanently. This can make it harder for the liver to do its job.
 
But the liver can handle a lot of damage before it begins to slow down. This means that a person with early cirrhosis of the liver may not even know that his or her liver is being damaged. He or she may not have any cirrhosis symptoms or notice any physical changes to his or her body.
 

Early Symptoms of Cirrhosis

If a person with early cirrhosis does have symptoms, the symptoms may include:
 
  • Exhaustion
  • Fatigue
  • A loss of appetite
  • Nausea
  • Weakness
  • Weight loss
  • Itchy skin
  • A darkening of exposed areas of skin (seen in people with primary biliary cirrhosis)
  • Abdominal pain (or stomach pain)
  • Spider-like blood vessels (spider angiomas) that develop on the skin.
     
(Cirrhosis Symptoms Continued: Page 2)
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Written by/reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD