Re: newly diagnosed with AIH

[Guest guest]

> hi everyone,

> i wrote to you about a month ago just before i went in for my liver

biopsy, and some of you were so kind, harper, bert, gayle, and ann,

ive been reading your e=mails since then been but have been putting

off writing again as this has been a very hard time for me.this is

going to be quite lengthy but i need some help and i dont know where

to turn. ist let me tell you about me, my name is Theresa, i live in

Florida in the Tampa bay area, i am 43 yrs old,i have 2 daughters, my

16 yr old has cerebral palsy and lives with her dad about 2 hrs south

of me as she is in a special school for her (guilt) my 6 yr old lives

with me and is the only thing that is keeping me hanging on right

now. my husband of almost 8 yrs left me last october and told me on

the day of briannas 5th birthday party.

> since then my entire life has ben falling apart all around me, i

was i a bad car accident in march which has left me with shoulder

injuries that must be operated on. the 17 yr old who hit me had no

insurance, florida is a no fault state therefore my uninsured

motorists coverage must pay, there is not enough so this is causing

me financial physical and emotional turmoil, in may i fell down the

steps at the condo i was living in which belonged to my in-laws and

broke my finger on my left hand, the condo association

> fought me on this and i lost. so now i have a finger that barely

bends. in May i met Joe a sweet man orignially from NY who fell head

over heels in love with me and wanted to spend every waking moment

with me, you'd think i'd be happy, but my husband was my world, my

heart and soul, and i could not forget him, although i tried. in

august we decided to move in together and leave my in-laws condo, we

moved into a beautiful villa like a house, my father-in-law told me

this was a mistake as we were not dating very long, but i woulndt

listen. my husband came to me at that point and wanted me back

offering anything i wanted, i was so confused. i took advice from

many people who knew us both and they said he was just playing me so

i would break up with Joe and things would be good for a while then

he would go back to his old ways again (cheating, partying etc) so i

moved in with joe. in september i got very sick in and out of

emergency rooms my primary doctor decided to do some blood tests and

my liver enzymes were high, she sent me to a GI who scheduled a liver

biopsy. on november 19th i had my biopsy whereas my lung was

punctured during the procedure, i was laid up for over a week in

severe pain and trauma over waiting for the results. on december 4th

my GI diagnosed me with AIH, i am now on 40mg of prednisone and 75mg

of sandimmune, i contracted bronchitis a week and a half ago, went

for a followup today at my primary to find out it is worse, lungs

only working 80%, now on top of the bactrim i was taking, i also

have albuterol and flovent inhalers. one week ago i asked joe to

leave, he went to his sisters houseon the other coast and took a

leave of absence from work. he says he loves me with all his heart, i

am so confused. the holidays

> my husband, joe, my health. i feel like i am sinking into an abyss

of sadness, yet the one who loves me i sent away. i have been trying

to get some therapy but there is a long waiting list, i broke down in

my doctors office today, and she is trying to help, she gave me

effexor to help with the depression.i just feel i need to get my self

under control both physicallly and emotionally before i can love

again, and to ask him to take care of me would be selfish, i have

deteriated so much this pass year both physically & emotionally that

i dont even recognize myself. i am so scared of this disease, i am

sick of being tired and tired of being sick, and with all else that

went on this year i dont know how much more i can take, someone told

me God doesnt give you any more than you can handle, he must have

made a mistake, because im broken down, not a day has gone by since i

was diagnosed, without tears, it was the straw that broke the camels

back on my year of heartache. i want my life back. i am so sorry this

went on and on, i dont want it to seem like a pity party or saga, i

just dont have anyone else to talk to and i thought if i wrote it all

down in black and white maybe i could make some sense out of it, or

if any of you went through similar situations i would appreciate any

and all advise, that could help me snap out of this sadness.

> thank you very much for being here.

> theresa

Don't know about the rest of it, but as far as AIH goes, three years

ago this month I was where you are now. I was afraid I was going to

die and then felt so awful I was afraid I wasn't. It was a disease

I'd never heard of, in fact, I'd never even heard of the

word " autoimmune " . I started on a high dose of pred and low Imuran

and felt better, but started to gain weight and felt awful again.

However, at some point(and you will get here too, honest)I settled

down and began to learn what I could about the disease and the meds I

took. I tried to adopt as cheerful an attitude as possible(looking

back on it, this was the best thing I did)and gradually things got

better, much better. 3 years later, I'm not taking pred at all

anymore, just Imuran. So far my LFT's are good and I feel pretty

well except for bouts of tiredness and occasional joint pain. Three

years may seem like a long time to you--but with this disease I'm

told that it often takes at least two years for the immune system to

settle down. BETTER TIMES WILL COME--don't lose sight of this

fact. Jean

[Guest guest]

Theresa I'm sorry you are feeling so bad. You need to give your meds a chance to kick in. You can vent here anytime. We'll be right here for you. We go on chat on Thursday night around 9:30, please try and join us at that time. Girl talk can be fun and relaxing and very informative. Ann [ ] newly diagnosed with AIH hi everyone,i wrote to you about a month ago just before i went in for my liver biopsy, and some of you were so kind, harper, bert, gayle, and ann, ive been reading your e=mails since then been but have been putting off writing again as this has been a very hard time for me.this is going to be quite lengthy but i need some help and i dont know where to turn. ist let me tell you about me, my name is Theresa, i live in Florida in the Tampa bay area, i am 43 yrs old,i have 2 daughters, my 16 yr old has cerebral palsy and lives with her dad about 2 hrs south of me as she is in a special school for her (guilt) my 6 yr old lives with me and is the only thing that is keeping me hanging on right now. my husband of almost 8 yrs left me last october and told me on the day of briannas 5th birthday party.since then my entire life has ben falling apart all around me, i was i a bad car accident in march which has left me with shoulder injuries that must be operated on. the 17 yr old who hit me had no insurance, florida is a no fault state therefore my uninsured motorists coverage must pay, there is not enough so this is causing me financial physical and emotional turmoil, in may i fell down the steps at the condo i was living in which belonged to my in-laws and broke my finger on my left hand, the condo associationfought me on this and i lost. so now i have a finger that barely bends. in May i met Joe a sweet man orignially from NY who fell head over heels in love with me and wanted to spend every waking moment with me, you'd think i'd be happy, but my husband was my world, my heart and soul, and i could not forget him, although i tried. in august we decided to move in together and leave my in-laws condo, we moved into a beautiful villa like a house, my father-in-law told me this was a mistake as we were not dating very long, but i woulndt listen. my husband came to me at that point and wanted me back offering anything i wanted, i was so confused. i took advice from many people who knew us both and they said he was just playing me so i would break up with Joe and things would be good for a while then he would go back to his old ways again (cheating, partying etc) so i moved in with joe. in september i got very sick in and out of emergency rooms my primary doctor decided to do some blood tests and my liver enzymes were high, she sent me to a GI who scheduled a liver biopsy. on november 19th i had my biopsy whereas my lung was punctured during the procedure, i was laid up for over a week in severe pain and trauma over waiting for the results. on december 4th my GI diagnosed me with AIH, i am now on 40mg of prednisone and 75mg of sandimmune, i contracted bronchitis a week and a half ago, went for a followup today at my primary to find out it is worse, lungs only working 80%, now on top of the bactrim i was taking, i also have albuterol and flovent inhalers. one week ago i asked joe to leave, he went to his sisters houseon the other coast and took a leave of absence from work. he says he loves me with all his heart, i am so confused. the holidaysmy husband, joe, my health. i feel like i am sinking into an abyss of sadness, yet the one who loves me i sent away. i have been trying to get some therapy but there is a long waiting list, i broke down in my doctors office today, and she is trying to help, she gave me effexor to help with the depression.i just feel i need to get my self under control both physicallly and emotionally before i can love again, and to ask him to take care of me would be selfish, i have deteriated so much this pass year both physically & emotionally that i dont even recognize myself. i am so scared of this disease, i am sick of being tired and tired of being sick, and with all else that went on this year i dont know how much more i can take, someone told me God doesnt give you any more than you can handle, he must have made a mistake, because im broken down, not a day has gone by since i was diagnosed, without tears, it was the straw that broke the camels back on my year of heartache. i want my life back. i am so sorry this went on and on, i dont want it to seem like a pity party or saga, i just dont have anyone else to talk to and i thought if i wrote it all down in black and white maybe i could make some sense out of it, or if any of you went through similar situations i would appreciate any and all advise, that could help me snap out of this sadness.thank you very much for being here.theresa

[Guest guest]

Oh dear Theresa...I am really sorry that you are fighting this battle! Please don't turn your back on love. Joe sounds like he truly loves you. Your ex has truly tried to hurt you. Go with your heart for now. If he is willing to hlep you out, then accept that. Sometimes it is difficult to accept gifts. Joe sounds like he is this gift. Accept his love.

debby

[ ] newly diagnosed with AIH

hi everyone,i wrote to you about a month ago just before i went in for my liver biopsy, and some of you were so kind, harper, bert, gayle, and ann, ive been reading your e=mails since then been but have been putting off writing again as this has been a very hard time for me.this is going to be quite lengthy but i need some help and i dont know where to turn. ist let me tell you about me, my name is Theresa, i live in Florida in the Tampa bay area, i am 43 yrs old,i have 2 daughters, my 16 yr old has cerebral palsy and lives with her dad about 2 hrs south of me as she is in a special school for her (guilt) my 6 yr old lives with me and is the only thing that is keeping me hanging on right now. my husband of almost 8 yrs left me last october and told me on the day of briannas 5th birthday party.since then my entire life has ben falling apart all around me, i was i a bad car accident in march which has left me with shoulder injuries that must be operated on. the 17 yr old who hit me had no insurance, florida is a no fault state therefore my uninsured motorists coverage must pay, there is not enough so this is causing me financial physical and emotional turmoil, in may i fell down the steps at the condo i was living in which belonged to my in-laws and broke my finger on my left hand, the condo associationfought me on this and i lost. so now i have a finger that barely bends. in May i met Joe a sweet man orignially from NY who fell head over heels in love with me and wanted to spend every waking moment with me, you'd think i'd be happy, but my husband was my world, my heart and soul, and i could not forget him, although i tried. in august we decided to move in together and leave my in-laws condo, we moved into a beautiful villa like a house, my father-in-law told me this was a mistake as we were not dating very long, but i woulndt listen. my husband came to me at that point and wanted me back offering anything i wanted, i was so confused. i took advice from many people who knew us both and they said he was just playing me so i would break up with Joe and things would be good for a while then he would go back to his old ways again (cheating, partying etc) so i moved in with joe. in september i got very sick in and out of emergency rooms my primary doctor decided to do some blood tests and my liver enzymes were high, she sent me to a GI who scheduled a liver biopsy. on november 19th i had my biopsy whereas my lung was punctured during the procedure, i was laid up for over a week in severe pain and trauma over waiting for the results. on december 4th my GI diagnosed me with AIH, i am now on 40mg of prednisone and 75mg of sandimmune, i contracted bronchitis a week and a half ago, went for a followup today at my primary to find out it is worse, lungs only working 80%, now on top of the bactrim i was taking, i also have albuterol and flovent inhalers. one week ago i asked joe to leave, he went to his sisters houseon the other coast and took a leave of absence from work. he says he loves me with all his heart, i am so confused. the holidaysmy husband, joe, my health. i feel like i am sinking into an abyss of sadness, yet the one who loves me i sent away. i have been trying to get some therapy but there is a long waiting list, i broke down in my doctors office today, and she is trying to help, she gave me effexor to help with the depression.i just feel i need to get my self under control both physicallly and emotionally before i can love again, and to ask him to take care of me would be selfish, i have deteriated so much this pass year both physically & emotionally that i dont even recognize myself. i am so scared of this disease, i am sick of being tired and tired of being sick, and with all else that went on this year i dont know how much more i can take, someone told me God doesnt give you any more than you can handle, he must have made a mistake, because im broken down, not a day has gone by since i was diagnosed, without tears, it was the straw that broke the camels back on my year of heartache. i want my life back. i am so sorry this went on and on, i dont want it to seem like a pity party or saga, i just dont have anyone else to talk to and i thought if i wrote it all down in black and white maybe i could make some sense out of it, or if any of you went through similar situations i would appreciate any and all advise, that could help me snap out of this sadness.thank you very much for being here.theresa