The liver is one of the body’s quiet workhorses, filtering toxins and helping to digest the food we eat. When it begins to enlarge, however, the change is often silent.
Julia Warter received a diagnosis of an enlarged liver following a series of physical symptoms that indicated her body was struggling. Her liver had swelled to 19cm before she managed to reduce it to a healthier measurement of 16cm.
She has since shared the warning signals she experienced, many of which she had previously dismissed as entirely unremarkable.
Taking to TikTok, she said: “These are just five of the things I thought were normal but were actually not normal,” Warter noted, highlighting how easily such symptoms can be overlooked.
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Persistent exhaustion was among the first indicators that something was amiss with her health.
“I was fatigued all the time because my energy levels had really crashed, and that was just because I had a poorly functioning liver,” she recalled.
Her skin also deteriorated significantly during this period, presenting another overlooked symptom.
“The second was really bad acne. My skin was horrible during this time, and it seemed like I had really poor wound healing.”
She observed that blemishes and scarring took considerably longer to fade than one might expect, noting: “When I had acne scars, they lasted a long time. That can all be symptoms of an enlarged or irritated liver.”
Water noticed another peculiar pattern emerge in her sleep, as she would frequently wake up at 3:00 am.
“This would happen to me a lot,” she said. “I would wake up at 3 am wide awake, just really feeling awful, very tired and wired, but couldn’t fall back asleep.”
Scientific research supports this connection between liver conditions and nocturnal disturbances.
A 2024 study published in Cellular and Molecular Gastroenterology and Hepatology found that individuals with fatty liver disease experience 55 per cent more night-time awakenings than healthy people.
In addition to this, Warter also suffered from gallbladder complications linked to her liver condition.
“Number four, I was actually having gallbladder attacks,” she revealed, describing severe digestive difficulties when consuming fatty foods.
“The gallbladder and the liver are very closely intertwined, so if you’re having any sort of digestive issues, bowel movement issues, definitely take a look at your liver,” she advised.
Julia experienced five symptoms in the lead-up to her liver scan
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The final warning sign concerned changes to her body’s ability to process energy efficiently.
“Number 5 is your metabolism,” she said. “If you feel like your metabolism has slowed down, that really could be due to an enlarged liver or any sort of liver issues.
“The liver is so important for maintaining a healthy metabolism, so if you have some weight that won’t come off, it’s worth looking at your liver.”
Because liver disease often has no symptoms until it is advanced, the NHS highly recommends that anyone with a higher risk of the condition get checked in advance.