السلامُ عليكُم و رحمة الله و بَركاتُه
I have Gilbert’s syndrome, it’s a syndrome that makes me have high bilirubin levels. It’s a lifelong condition and it’s genetic, therefore there’s no cure for it. My previous doctor has been telling me to not fast and to eat regularly and to not have long pauses.
Recently I went to my new doctor(I switched my doctors, but not because my previous one was bad or something) and she told me to follow the advice of my previous doctor.
I am still unsure as to what might happen if i fast and if it can be dangerous. It was said that it’s harmless, but then people also tell me it’s dangerous and can damage my liver.
What do I do in regards to this? Do I fast or do I leave it?
GS isn't harmful. But it can increase the risk of gallstones that's why you should keep eating healthy food and drink more water. It doesn't damage liver in anyway though if you have this syndrome, the enzyme is impaired for the reduction of the bilirubin due to a mutation in a certain gene, that's what leads to non life threatening jaundice. Go to a Muslim doctor. It's not a life threatening genetic disorder, but it can become life threatening indirectly due to prolonged fasting like fasting whole day or if somehow you end up having gallstones and GS increases the incidence of Gallstones though even with gallstones the fatality rate is low, as it can be easily treated through surgical and pharmaceutical treatment. But fasting for half a day won't show all signs of jaundice or even if it did it will go off on its own once you start eating. If you have abdominal pain post eating after prolonged fasting then it's due to the unconjugated bilirubin storage and it not being converted to conjugated form and utilised as bile properly later on. When you break the fast don't start eating heavily or fatty rich meals only, this will strain your bile duct liver and gall bladder, that's what makes you feel nauseated if you do feel nauseous or having
right epigastric pain.
If the Muslim doctor told you don't fast..then don't fast and just feed 30 poor or needy people for 30days one proper meal. Or you can also feel 1 person everyday 30 meals or you can give 30 people 30 meals in one day and all of them would do the job
و الله اعلم