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Avatar universal

liver biopsy in 2 weeks,scared out of my mind

hi,
Im new here. i am also newly diagnosed with hbv. I was told that i have to have a liver biopsy in two weeks or so. i was wondering what all of that entails. Do i have to be cut open? i have been doing research for the past couple of days on hbv, and havent really found any answers. I went to the emergency room this past thursday. i had been feeling sick for three weeks. i was constantly nausiated, but i couldnt make myself throw up. i couldnt seem to get any energy, constantly tired, my body aches. i could regulate my body temperature, terrable cold sweats. stomach cramping, my urine was so dark it was almost brown. finnaly i said "i am sick of being sick". i was reluctant to go to the emergency room because i just turned 18, no insurance. they ran tests took blood all that jazz. then they tell me i may have hepatitis, and the enzymes in my liver are rediculously high and my liver is swollen. and i have to wait for the tests and they take days to come back and i had to make a follow up appointment. so i did. i went today to my appointment. i have hbv, but that is not what is making my liver act up. apparently i have the hbv virus in me but its not "active" so i had it sometime or another in my lifetime. but there is still the problem with my liver. so my doctors are stumped. i have to go to a liver specialist, and have an ultrasound and biopsy done. i have never had surgery before and i am scared silly. any help would be greatly appreciated. thank you for reading my mess of problems. i just need some of your imput on this, how did you go through all of this? thank you
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Avatar universal
hi i had a liver bipsy done 2 weeks ago.. i was fine but after week and a half i start feeling pain in  right ribs and cant sleep on right... any sugestions...
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Avatar universal
Dark urine may indicate that something is affecting the liver and the kidney's filtering ability...
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Avatar universal
I am getting a blood test done called the NASH Fibro Sure INSTEAD OF having a liver biopsy.  There are HCV Fibro Sure tests also.  This is a non-invasive alternative to the biopsy that is supposed to show the liver stages that doctors are looking for.  You can google it and the test is trademarked (TM).  Maybe you should see if you could get that done instead of the biopsy.
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Avatar universal
I had a biopsy just a month and a half ago and I was just as scared and freaked out about it as you seem to be.  But I have to say it was a piece of cake...  Outpatient, I had no pain killers, laid around for two hours after the procedure and then drove home.  There was no actual pain during the procedure and once they got the spot where the needle would go in marked with the aid of ultrasound it went really quickly, just a loud click of the needle gun thing and it was over.  The worst part was getting the I.V.
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Avatar universal
I am so sorry you are having to deal with this, especially so young.  Here is a lot of good reading on liver biopies.

http://janis7hepc.com/biopsy.htm

I am glad you are seeing a hepatologist.  They should be able to diagnose your problem better.  You could possibly have autoimmunie hepatitis (AIH) and I know that it takes a good doctor to diagnose this.

My biopsy went smoothly.  I think you will be fine
frijole
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Avatar universal
I was very scared, too, it's not bad at all.  I had one last year and they put me semi-out for just a few minutes, then they covered me with a warm blanket and let me doze for hours.  I felt fine in nthe morning.  

I had one in 1993, and it was a nightmare.  They stabbed me between the ribs, this monstrous needle, done by the hepatologist, and she hit some nerve or something and I felt like I was kicked in the liver by a mule.  My liver rolled and spasmed and jumped for three days, like an abalone on a hot tin roof.  I know every inch of my liver.  It still twitches when I'm freaking out.

The new ones are a piece of cake.
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Avatar universal
I too was scared, remembering how a liver biopsy used to require opening you up many moons ago, more than I care to admit actually.  For me the procedure and post effects were quick and relatively painless.  I did go for the mild sedative when it was offered, just to help settle my nerves and tension of being in an outpatient operating room and not knowing what to anticipate for the procedure.  Doc doing procedure thought that was a good idea too.  In retrospect, I wished the doc or nurse who was treating me at the time would have explained it a bit better to me, it certainly would have helped.  But then again, this foul-up was probably the lesser one they committed during my  tx period with them.
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Avatar universal
The biopsy is a pretty simple procedure.  Believe me we were all scared out of our minds and didn't believe it wasn't going to be horrible.

But it's not - you hardly know at all that it's going on.  Your liver has no nerves to feel anything happening...so it's not so bad at all.

Make sure it's an ultrasound guided procedure though - that is crucial!

You'll be FINE. You won't believe it!
Helpful - 0
91778 tn?1252555170
Hi, I know you are scared right now but there is no need. The biopsy is not bad at all. You will be out while it is being done. It is done as an outpatiant and you only need to lay around for one day. They do it with a guided ultra sound so they know exactly were to go. You are so young to have to be going through this. From what I read you had hep b in the past but it is not active so that is good news. Maybe after the biopsy you will find out what is causing the problem. Good luck to you, Try not to worry until some more results come in.Debi
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Avatar universal
thank you all so much. i really thought i was going to be cut open. i dont even know when or even how i got hbv. they just told me that it is in my system but not whats causing my liver to swell. thank you for your support. this forum really is a nice resource to have :)
Helpful - 0
137025 tn?1217764741
Wow, so much info in your post, you need to take a breath.  We mostly talk about Hep C around here, but liver biopsy is one thing Hep C and Hep B does have in common.  A liver biopsy is such a scary sounding process, but in reality, it is just a bit of a cramp for about 30 seconds.  

Then they give you good meds to relieve any pain and you are up and about in 48 hours.  As far as Hep B, boy, I don't know much about it.  Try to find common ground with one of your doctors or your nurses, ask questions and be persistant about getting answers.

You can plug in "Hep B" and get sooo much information on the web, you will be reading for days.  I do know that there are a few new drugs for Hep B that are supposed to be very good, so relax and dedicate yourself to becoming as smart as you can about what you need to do for yourself.  So sorry to hear about all of this for you, wish I was smarter about Hep B, but my virus is a Hep C.  But like I said, the biopsy is over so quick, it will be one of the easiest parts of what you have to do.  Keep in touch.
Willow
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