elevated biliruben, jaundice, itching

[maggiebleu]

19 year old daughter has the same symptoms as debmom 10/06.  elevated bilirupen, elevated alkaline phosphates.  nothing found in ultrasound and ct scan.  all healthy organs.  her eyes are yellow.  skin is yellow and really itchy.  fatigued.  negative on hep a, b and c.  bil is 12.  no fever.  no vomiting.  waning appetite. she has now had it for 4 weeks.  any ideas?  

[Kalio1]

She needs further evaluation from a liver specialist I think. Did they check her for mono?

[cantlivenotknowing]

I would check GGT as well to see if it is elevated along with the Alk Phos. That would usually indicate a liver origin. I would check for Primary Biliary Cirrhosis (PBC). PBC is an autoimmune type of Hepatitis which attacks the bile ducts. It can't really diagnosed without a liver biopsy. There are a couple of antibody tests which suggest PBC (I think one of them is Anti Nuclear Antibody), but you would have to ask a Hepatologist about that.

[dpombo]

I just got over the same thing...it lasted over 4 weeks and they determined that my gallbladder needs to come out. Doctor feels that I must have had a gallstone blocking a bile duct, and I may have passed it. I had no abdominal pain which is unusual, but not impossible. I lost 12 lbs and felt awful! My billliruben got up to 15.Try a diet for gallbladder...it helped me.
dpombo