Loss of appetite, belching and acid reflux – easily overlooked liver disease!

Every outpatient clinic, we always come across most patients with liver disease who have many symptoms such as loss of appetite, belching, abdominal distension and other gastrointestinal diseases, and come to our liver disease specialty after ineffective treatment in gastroenterology department. Recently, a female patient, 2 weeks ago due to lack of appetite, abdominal distension in the epigastric region, belching or vectors, to the gastroenterology outpatient clinic, to the acidulant, intestinal bacteria and traditional Chinese medicine to strengthen the spleen, stomach and digestion after treatment of the symptoms did not significantly improve, to my department for further treatment, again carefully questioned the medical history, the patient has a history of chronic hepatitis B for more than 20 years, has never been systematically examined to assess, except for the symptoms of fatigue, anorexia, distension and discomfort of the liver region, and further examination of liver enzymes, the patient has a history of chronic hepatitis B for over 20 years, never systematic examination and evaluation, except for the above symptoms still have a lack of energy, anorexia, liver area distention The patient had a history of chronic hepatitis B for more than 20 years and had never been systematically examined and evaluated. Except for the above symptoms, he still had fatigue, anorexia, distension and discomfort in the liver area, and the liver enzyme ALT had risen to more than 500U/L and the total bilirubin was 21mmol/l. After active liver protection and enzyme lowering and other treatments the patient was cured of the above seen symptoms, and the liver enzyme ALT was normalized after 2 weeks of re-examination. It can be seen that the patient was suffering from spleen and stomach dysfunction due to liver disease. The liver is located in the right mid-abdominal region of the human body, below the diaphragm and above the stomach. The main physiological function of the stomach is to receive and putrefy water and grains, and the stomach is harmonious with the spleen by descending. In the five elements, liver is wood, spleen and stomach are earth, liver qi stagnation, affecting the spleen and stomach healthy movement, “wood not sparing the earth”, can be seen in the loss of appetite, stomach and epigastric distention and fullness, such as the spleen and stomach dysfunction symptoms. If liver qi is against the stomach, liver and stomach disharmony, the wood is strong against the earth will lead to not think about food, bitter taste and aversion to oil, epigastric distension and pain, belching and acid reflux and other symptoms of liver qi against the stomach. As early as in “Su Wen? Yuji true viscera theory” said “five Tibet is affected by the gas in its birth, the transmission of its victory …… liver is affected by the gas in the heart, the transmission of the spleen …….” This is through the use of the theory of the five elements of the birth and death of the five organs of the disease of the transmission law, predict the occurrence of disease and the law of transmission. The “Golden Chamber” in: “The treatment of the disease, see the disease of the liver, know that the liver passes to the spleen, when the first real spleen, four seasons of the spleen is not evil, that is, do not make up for it; in the work do not know its transmission, see the disease of the liver, not to solve the real spleen, but also the treatment of the liver.” This article from the overall view of the human body organs, discussing the rules of transmission and treatment of internal organs, with “both the disease prevention and transmission, the first treatment of the organs of the disease,” the idea. So the liver and the spleen and stomach live in the same diaphragm, foot syncopated yin liver meridian hold stomach on both sides, and the liver can system bile to help digestion, so the liver and the spleen and stomach of the relationship between the closer, if there is a decrease in appetite, bloating and fatigue, nausea and anorexia of oil, belching, regurgitation of acid and other symptoms of discomfort of the spleen and stomach, do not ignore the possibility of liver disease.