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Autoimmune & The Liver

This week we will be discussing Autoimmune Hepatitis with our guest Michelle Irving.  

A pioneer in the Chronic Illness space, Michelle Irving is the Queen of the Underworld. She mentors women around the world, teaching them how to create a life filled with love, meaningful work and deep personal power.  She believes we can all have a positive relationship with ourselves even in the midst of experiencing illness.  Not to be deterred by a chronic illness, Michelle started her own podcast titled "Pyjama Interviews" as well as providing a six month online course for people living with disabilities or chronic illness.  You can find out more from her website: "Queen of the Underworld"

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Autoimmune hepatitis is a chronic disease in which your body’s immune system attacks the liver and causes inflammation and liver damage. Without treatment, autoimmune hepatitis may get worse and lead to complications, such as cirrhosis.

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Autoimmune hepatitis is a rare but serious disease of the liver. Autoimmune means that the body attacks itself; in this case, it mistakes healthy tissue and cells for infected tissue and cells and sends out antibodies (which usually rid the body of infections) to attack the healthy liver cells.

Hepatitis occurs when the healthy tissue of the liver become inflamed. If not treated, the problem may advance to cirrhosis (scarring) of the liver, and ultimately to liver failure. If the liver becomes severely damaged, a liver transplant may be necessary.

Autoimmune hepatitis is categorized as Type 1 or Type 2:

  • Type 1 is diagnosed in adolescents or adults. This type is more common and is usually found in North America.

  • Type 2 is diagnosed mostly in children and can be more difficult to treat.

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