My last liver biopsy was about five months ago. I remember that the next day we drove 300 miles to spend the weekend with my sister.
I've had two liver biopsies. The first one was done only under local. It only numbs the skin, so I could feel the pressure of them digging in to get a sample. It was a thick needle but the procedure only took a few minutes.
The second one - they wanted to knock me out with sedation plus medazalem but I refused it. That stuff doesn't work on me properly and I said I wanted to be awake and compos. So again, it was only done under local. Trouble was, this time they needed samples from different parts of my liver and I hadn't expected it. The nurse who was holding my hand looked like she was going to faint.
However, with hindsight - I'm still glad I did it my way. It worked for me. The procedure isn't pleasant but it's over quickly.
It's up to you, if they offer you sedation. Your choice.
You also have to lie still, on your back, for several hours afterwards. The liver has a lot of blood vessels and they need you to lie still so it can begin to heal itself and stop bleeding. If your liver bleeds badly, they may need to monitor it. Lying on your back helps them do this.
So take a good book, some music, an eye mask - whatever you choose to stay relaxed, occupied, not too bored.
My recent biopsy showed a great deal more fatty infiltration than previously. No large mass, just diffuse fat. My current strict diet plus diet pills is the result. And it's working. I've lost about 16 Kg (36 lbs) in 4 months. I haven't had my liver enzymes checked again since the beginning of the year, but they were pretty awful, the worst they have ever been.
So we do what we have to do, in order to get well. Not much choice, really.
But I do feel much better since losing even a little bit of weight. I'm hoping to be much smaller by summer. It also means I should be able to look pretty good as mother of the groom in November.
Marg