liver biopsy and also some wonderful news (off topic)

[Guest guest]

Hello all,

I had an appt with my GI/hepatologist yesterday. He said he really believes the

reason for my increased problems lately is because of my liver and not my

pancreas. He does not think there is a 'mechanical' problem in the pancreas or

bile ducts. He thinks that my liver disease is flaring and that is why my liver

enzymes (ALT/AST) and alkaline phosphotase are elevated when my pancreas pain

flares up. My GGT, which also has to do with the liver, has also been elevated

so it really may be the liver disease at the root of the problems. It does kind

of make sense that it may be my liver. He increased my liver med, Imuran, from

100 mg a day to 150 mg a day on Sep 11th when I was in the hospital last time.

The last week and a half or so, I have felt better overall. When I was telling

my hubby that, he said, " yeah, you even cooked dinner three times last week! "

That is probably a record because I don't really like to cook and he is a better

cook, so he does most of the cooking. In addition to cooking, I've also done a

lot more around the house and have gotten out more than I've been able to for a

while. That's one of the things about liver disease is that it makes you so

incredibly tired! My itching had also pretty much stopped until yesterday

evening and it started up again. It's a different kind of itch and I can always

tell when it is liver related. There is never a rash of any sort and scratching

doesn't help because it feels like the itch is really deep. You can't help but

scratch, even though it does no good. I have atarax (sort of like benadryl but

prescription strength). It helps but not enough! Anyway, I'm hoping that the

decrease in my fatigue and just overall feeling better is because of the

increase in the Imuran. I've still had my typical panc pain but it is easier to

deal with when I have more energy.

Anyway, I am going to have a CT guided liver biopsy done by a radiologist on

Tuesday. I called the hospital where I'm having it done to ask if they would be

starting an IV and also if they give anything for pain, nausea, and perhaps some

sedation. they do start an IV - I guess they use contrast, which means they

can't use my port a cath, so I'll try to see if I can buy myself some good

veins. They said that if the doctor that ordered the liver biopsy also

orders something for pain, nausea, sedation, etc., they will give it to me. So,

I called and talked to my GI's nurse and told her that I would like for him to

write an order for me to have meds for pain, nausea, and also something for

sedation. The biopsy is scheduled for 11 a.m. and I have to be NPO after

midnight so that means I can't take any of my oral meds for pain/nausea. I feel

pretty sure that my GI won't have a problem with telling them I can have the

meds. His nurse will probably call me tomorrow to let me know for sure.

Even though I have actually been feeling better for about the last week and a

half, I've also still had my typical 'pancreas' pain under my right rib, which

pretty much stays at least at a level 3-4 without pain med. I've also had a few

episodes of the really intense, please shoot me, level 8-9 pain. thankfully,

I've been successful at keeping the pain med and phenergan down and the intense

pain has settled down after an hour or two (with pain med). So, I don't think I

am willing to have them stick a huge needle into my liver and basically go the

whole day with nothing for pain and/or nausea. They do numb the outside skin

with novacaine, but some people say the liver biopsy is still very painful. Of

course, others say that they have just a few seconds of pain and that's it. You

do have to lie on your right side for 1-2 hours after the liver biopsy because

the most common complication is bleeding. Since my pain is typically under my

right rib, lying on my right side can be very uncomfortable if my pain is more

than about a 4.

If the liver biopsy doesn't show that my liver is responsible for the elevated

liver enzymes, and everything else going on, then my GI said we will discuss

finding a surgeon locally that will do the pain block, ERCP, etc.

laparscopically. So, I should know in a couple of weeks what our new game plan

is.

On a totally different note, my daughter, Nikki, found out last Thursday that

she is pregnant after almost a year of trying. She had to take the medication,

Clomid, to make her ovulate because she was only ovulating about 3 times a year.

It took just one cycle of Clomid for her to get pregnant! She and her husband

are so excited, as is the rest of the family. It is so precious to see them

both so happy. The baby is due June 2nd. I am a redhead and so is

(Nikki's husband), so the chances that all of their children will have red hair

is pretty strong. That is good because as soon as they became serious as a

couple, Nikki said she wants red headed babies and if their kids didn't have red

hair, she would send them back! Of course, we will all be thrilled regardless

of the hair color, boy or girl. We just want a healthy baby and healthy mom!

Also, knowing that I will be 'Nana' in a few months is all the more reason for

me to do whatever is necessary to get myself healthier.

W

[Guest guest]

Well somebody Praise God for his blessing apon your family.

Congradulations Nana, what a joy a new baby is. As a mother of a

daughter, I am excited to see her evolve into a woman and probably a

wife in the next few years. She and her boyfriend are discussing

marriage when they finish school and a baby a couple of years after

marriage, I personally can't wait for grand babies. I will make him

or her rotten and send him or her home with the parents. I don't

really want to interfere with their family. I just want grandbabies

in the future once their education is done, and when they are

fiancially stable enough and stable enough as a couple for such a

responsibility. Then bring on the kids, I love to sew and can't wait

to make little outfits for the baby to wear. Congradulations once

again!

Atwell LPN

> Hello all,

> I had an appt with my GI/hepatologist yesterday. He said he

really believes the reason for my increased problems lately is

because of my liver and not my pancreas. He does not think there is

a 'mechanical' problem in the pancreas or bile ducts. He thinks

that my liver disease is flaring and that is why my liver enzymes

(ALT/AST) and alkaline phosphotase are elevated when my pancreas

pain flares up. My GGT, which also has to do with the liver, has

also been elevated so it really may be the liver disease at the root

of the problems. It does kind of make sense that it may be my

liver. He increased my liver med, Imuran, from 100 mg a day to 150

mg a day on Sep 11th when I was in the hospital last time. The last

week and a half or so, I have felt better overall. When I was

telling my hubby that, he said, " yeah, you even cooked dinner three

times last week! " That is probably a record because I don't really

like to cook and he is a better cook, so he does most of the

cooking. In addition to cooking, I've also done a lot more around

the house and have gotten out more than I've been able to for a

while. That's one of the things about liver disease is that it

makes you so incredibly tired! My itching had also pretty much

stopped until yesterday evening and it started up again. It's a

different kind of itch and I can always tell when it is liver

related. There is never a rash of any sort and scratching doesn't

help because it feels like the itch is really deep. You can't help

but scratch, even though it does no good. I have atarax (sort of

like benadryl but prescription strength). It helps but not enough!

Anyway, I'm hoping that the decrease in my fatigue and just overall

feeling better is because of the increase in the Imuran. I've still

had my typical panc pain but it is easier to deal with when I have

more energy.

>

> Anyway, I am going to have a CT guided liver biopsy done by a

radiologist on Tuesday. I called the hospital where I'm having it

done to ask if they would be starting an IV and also if they give

anything for pain, nausea, and perhaps some sedation. they do start

an IV - I guess they use contrast, which means they can't use my

port a cath, so I'll try to see if I can buy myself some good

veins. They said that if the doctor that ordered the liver

biopsy also orders something for pain, nausea, sedation, etc., they

will give it to me. So, I called and talked to my GI's nurse and

told her that I would like for him to write an order for me to have

meds for pain, nausea, and also something for sedation. The biopsy

is scheduled for 11 a.m. and I have to be NPO after midnight so that

means I can't take any of my oral meds for pain/nausea. I feel

pretty sure that my GI won't have a problem with telling them I can

have the meds. His nurse will probably call me tomorrow to let me

know for sure.

>

> Even though I have actually been feeling better for about the last

week and a half, I've also still had my typical 'pancreas' pain

under my right rib, which pretty much stays at least at a level 3-4

without pain med. I've also had a few episodes of the really

intense, please shoot me, level 8-9 pain. thankfully, I've been

successful at keeping the pain med and phenergan down and the

intense pain has settled down after an hour or two (with pain med).

So, I don't think I am willing to have them stick a huge needle into

my liver and basically go the whole day with nothing for pain and/or

nausea. They do numb the outside skin with novacaine, but some

people say the liver biopsy is still very painful. Of course,

others say that they have just a few seconds of pain and that's it.

You do have to lie on your right side for 1-2 hours after the liver

biopsy because the most common complication is bleeding. Since my

pain is typically under my right rib, lying on my right side can be

very uncomfortable if my pain is more than about a 4.

>

> If the liver biopsy doesn't show that my liver is responsible for

the elevated liver enzymes, and everything else going on, then my GI

said we will discuss finding a surgeon locally that will do the pain

block, ERCP, etc. laparscopically. So, I should know in a couple of

weeks what our new game plan is.

>

> On a totally different note, my daughter, Nikki, found out last

Thursday that she is pregnant after almost a year of trying. She

had to take the medication, Clomid, to make her ovulate because she

was only ovulating about 3 times a year. It took just one cycle of

Clomid for her to get pregnant! She and her husband are so excited,

as is the rest of the family. It is so precious to see them both so

happy. The baby is due June 2nd. I am a redhead and so is

(Nikki's husband), so the chances that all of their children will

have red hair is pretty strong. That is good because as soon as

they became serious as a couple, Nikki said she wants red headed

babies and if their kids didn't have red hair, she would send them

back! Of course, we will all be thrilled regardless of the hair

color, boy or girl. We just want a healthy baby and healthy mom!

>

> Also, knowing that I will be 'Nana' in a few months is all the

more reason for me to do whatever is necessary to get myself

healthier.

>

> W

>

>