hello and HELP

[cathy6299]

I am begining to get frustrated. My son is 14 and we have been getting nowhere. For 2 weeks we have been going to specialist and doctors and noone has any answers. My sons liver enzymes are high. His bilirubin was high, but today I was told it is lower than last thursday. His stools are clay colored. He gets sick if he eats fatty or spicy foods. They did a right  quadrant ultrasound. they said his organs are inflammed and his gallbladder has sludge in it and it has a thick (lining?) or something like that. Also, he is swelling and they say he has fluid that is causing that. Now he is having vitamin K shots because he is not coagulating properly. I am tired of not getting any answers. Please does anyone have a similar experience?

[ggreg]

Cathy,
CalGal's info is very important.  When you go to Riley's, talk to them about what CalGal said.  And get another specialist on board real soon like she said, and tell him the information CalGal provided, too.  What she said in her post could save your son a whole world of trouble.
GG

[cathy6299]

Thank You so very much. Since I have posted this I have gotten a call that they want us to go to Riley's Hospital. They there is some liver test they can do there that nobody elase will do for pediatrics. For some reason the mention of Rileys to anyone scares them severly. I know they best be figuring something out cause they have my son scared half to death. He woke up this morning and when I told him to go back to sleep he said he was happy that he woke up.

[CalGal]

I'd ask the doc point-blank what is going on. If you don't get an answer, you need to get a second opinion. Make sure you get copies of all of the test results.

The doc may be waiting for some of the inflammation to subside before he suggests that you get the GB removed. Docs don't like to operate if they don't have a clear field and with an inflammatory pattern it would make 'seeing clearly' difficult.

The clay-color of the stool - if you're speaking of 'whitish' - suggests he's not releasing bile into the duodenum. This suggests that the sludge may have entered the common bile duct and may have irritated the sphoincter (the muscular opening) at the duodenum. Sludge can cause a LOT of problems. If he has to have surgery, make sure they sweep the common bile duct when the GB is removed to make sure that none of the sludge escapes. It can cause continuing problems like pancreatitis.

Something else could be wrong, but right now with everything you're saying it really sounds like the GB should be considered a concern. Get pushy if you have to, but get some answers.

[cathy6299]

I guess I should add that he had all the test for Hepatitis and pancreas and the infections and they were all normal. the doctor said that the gallbladder is not the cause of this problem, but after everything I have read I am finding this hard to believe.