Welcome Jeff

March 17, 2008

Hi, Jeff. Welcome to the group. About the itching, I have a very snarky attitude

somtimes about doctors. I am assuming that your BILI T was fairly normal for a 9

MELD, and this is why the doctor said he or she didn't think the itching was

from the cirrhosis. BUT, and this is a big BUT>... wait one minute, They now

know that pruritus can happen REGARDLESS of BILI T number. Yes, people who are

bright yellow from the bilirubin gone wild will itch and thus scratch holes

right into themselvs. I'm working on a pothole right now on my back to the left

of my spine. I think by morning, I will reach China. I am going to search and

search until I find the published paper about pruritus no longer being

associated with only BILI T, but toxins in general. You have known portal

hypertension, therefor you can be presumed to have collateral circulation,

therefor it can be presumed that the blood in that collateral circulation is not

being completely cleaned up by your

scarred liver. I didn't make this up, I was told this by my hepatologist, who

is the associate Proff at CU, Denver. So, he teaches med students this stuff. I

tend to believe him, and like I said, I will find the paper tonight. I think it

is always prudent for them to investigate other causes of the itching, but it

seems like a safe bet that that it is indeed from your liver disease, and

anyway, I had a meld of 9 and itched like crazy, and he tried to blame it on

pain medications until I showed him clinic notes from a year earlier where it

was well documented by a gastrointerologist, and I wasnt on any pain meds then.

After I showed him that, his jaw dropped, and he admitted to me that BILIRUBIN

TOTAL isnt always the cause of the itching. Now I go searching... Bobby,

Moderator, LCS YAHOO

________________________________________________________________________________\

____

Be a better friend, newshound, and

know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now.

Recommended Posts