Re: Re: home from the hospital -- to

[Guest guest]

Cyndie,

The thing with my GI is that apparently he is the best in the area. My surgeon

is in B'ham at one hospital (carraway) and the GI is inB'ham at another

(montclair). The surgeon consulted with two GIs at his hospital and they both

said I was too complicated for them to feel comfortable with. They said they

send their difficult panc cases to Dr. Sigman, who is my GI! My surgeon was

also impressed that Dr. Sigman was able to get to the bile duct through ERCP

(because of my gastric bypass). The surgeon said he must be very good at the

ERCP to be able to get that far. I have heard that he is one of the best at

ERCP. The nurses say his patients almost never have an attack after ERCP

because he is extremely careful not to aggravate the panc when he's in there.

Anyway, it seems that my surgeon has convinced the GI that just sitting back and

letting me continue to suffer is not an option. It amazes me how much a doctor

will listen to another doctor when they have totally ignored what the patient is

telling them!

They ended up putting 9 lbs of fluid on me while I was in the hospital. Does

anyone else have this problem? My right arm and hand is still all swollen from

the IV that infiltrated. I am having trouble with two fingers being numbe when

I use my hand. I have used moist heat all day yesterday but it's only helping

minimally.

Re: home from the hospital

>

>

> Hi ,

> Welcome home! This is new member Cyndie from Indiana.

> I wanted to say something in regard to elevated liver enzymes.

More

> often than not, my Amylase is only slightly elevated or sometimes

> even normal, but my liver enzymes are always sky-high! My GI said

> that was because of the close proximity of the liver & pancreas

and

> the adjoining bile ducts and that it was " normal " for the liver

> enzymes to be effected also. Last month my PCP did some routine

> blood work on me and noted that the liver enz. were high and just

> asked if I had just gotten over an acute attack w/ Mr. P and I

told

> him yes that I had 2 weeks before.

> Then at other times when I've not had a recent attack my liver

enz.

> will be normal.

> So, I don't know what to think now. Maybe I SHOULD be concerned

about

> my liver, huh?

> Anybody???

> Take care and best of luck & God's Blessings with the

> procedure/surgery next month.

> Cyndie :-)

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> In pancreatitis@y..., " Weston " wrote:

> > Well, I am home once again. I thought when I went to the

hospital

> that the surgeon was going to go ahead and do a laporotomy to

look at

> the pancreas and also do a liver biopsy. After he admitted me,

he

> decided he wasn't sure if that's what they should do. When I got

to

> the hospital on Wed. evening, my amylase and lipase were normal.

> However, my liver enzymes were higher than they had been the day

> before. The liver enzymes more than doubled from Wednesday night

to

> Thursday morning, but then this morning they were starting to go

back

> down.

> >

> > My surgeon talked at length with my GI and a couple of GIs at

his

> hospital. The GIs at my surgeons hospital said I was much too

> complex a case for them to feel comfortable with, They both said

> they send their difficult cases to Dr. Sigman, who is my GI. So,

my

> surgeon said I am probably with the best GI (for panc stuff) in

the

> area. Anyway, they have now decided that the sphincter of oddi

has

> to be causing my problems. The surgeon said there is no way that

> adhesions would cause the liver and pancreas enzymes to be

elevated.

> The surgeon explained that the sphincter of oddi is not

functioning

> properly at times. He said this is the cause of the pain and

> nausea. He said at times it's functioning so poorly that it is

> irritating the pancreas and causing the enzymes to rise. He said

at

> other times it is only malfunctioning enough to irritate the

liver

> and keep the liver enzymes elevated. He said sometimes it might

only

> be malfunctioning enough to cause me severe pain and nausea but

not

> mess up the blood levels.

> >

> > On Wednesday, the GI is going to go in and open the duct more

so

> the sphincter of oddi can work properly. If that does not work,

the

> next step will be a sphincteroplasty. However, the surgeon said

that

> is a very major and difficult surgery. The surgeon gave me the

> choice of staying in the hospital or going home and coming back

on

> Wednesday. I elected to come home. He sent me home with plenty

of

> pain meds. He told me to take the meds round the clock and to

not

> allow my pain to get bad. He gave me mepergan fortis

> (demerol/phenergan) and said I could take up to 3 at a time if I

need

> to. He also told me if it gets worse again, I am to contact him

> immediately.

> >

> > Obviously, from the amount of drugs he is willing to give me,

he

> truly believes me when I tell him the pain is severe.

> >

> > Anyway, I am much better than I was Wednesday. I'm going to

just

> eat light between now and next Wed. when they do the procedure.

> >

> > I am also going to monitor my blood sugar over the next few

days.

> >

> > Thanks to everyone for all your concern, prayers, and

encouragement.

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >