My Liver and I
I had not fully appreciated how essential my liver is, but it has made clear that I cannot live without it functioning properly. Liver is the busiest organ in our body, it performs almost 500 functions; primarily, it filters our blood and protects us from poisonous substances like alcohol and drugs. Because my liver is currently unwell, it is testing my patience. Since early March, I became a statistic, one in ten thousand. I was diagnosed with drug-induced hepatitis, or DILI (drug induced acute liver injury). This not widely known form of hepatitis was triggered by a commonly prescribed antibiotic, Amoxicillin Clavulanate, taken together with Acetaminophen better known as Tylenol (paracetamol), a popular pain reliever. It was my bad luck! DILI predominantly affects older people, mostly men. Researching for this blog, I was made aware that DILI is becoming more common in the United States, with 20% to 40% of cases linked t...