Jaundiced Eyes

Hello I am concerned about having jaundiced eyes.  I do have elevated bilirubin (last was 1.3 and has been as high as 2.4) and my eyes appear to be discolored for several months now.  The problem is, I cannot tell if they are discolored with red or a darkish-yellowish.  A lot of the pictures of jaundiced eyes on google look reddish too.  If any of you have had experience with jaundiced eyes, your reply and detailed description of what it look like will be invaluable to me.  I am too nervous to go to the doctor and have them check it out.  I don't want anymore bad news.  

[medicmommy]

If your eyes are truly jaundiced, the color change is the least of your worries...Jaundice looks like the person is oddly "tanned" -a sort of brownish-yellow and is a sign of acute or advanced liver dysfunction. It appears in the skin and whites of the eyes, makes the urine a dark yellow and stinky, and makes your thinking difficult. Liver enzymes are elevated as well...It is usually associated with feeling poorly, fatigued, abdominal pain, fever (sometimes), and/or a bile duct blockage. Okay, a delicate question here...Are your stools yellowish or chalk-colored? If so, this means bile isn't getting through. Are you diabetic? Are you drinking alcohol? Do you have hep C, and if so, have you gone through treatment?
The worry here is, if you have chronic liver disease advanced enough to be causing jaundice, then esophageal varicies and cirrhosis are a concern. All kinds of good news, eh? Good luck...-I hope some of this info helps...~MM

[calimike]

Hi thanks for your reply.  My skin color is normal whitish/pinkish.  But my concern is in my eyes, they seem red, but maybe they are yellow and my eyes are not seeing them right?  My urine is not a dark yellow or stinky.  I have elevated bilirubin 1.3 as of 6/8/2009.  Direct bilirubin is under normal.  I do feel poorly and have fatigue (mostly when waking up in the morning).  No abdominal pain.  Never any fever.  My stools are a light brown very seldomly there are one or two small white spots in them, but not that often at all.  I am not diabetic and have not drunk alcohol in several years.  I am clear on the hep panel ( I post here because this forum has the most educated people in it).  Well I am too young to die I am only 33.  Anyways what should I be looking for in my eyes?  Or should I just suck it up and go to the doctors?  If so, should I go to urgent care or make an appointment with my G.P. or my gastroenterologist?  I was supposed to get my enzyme levels checked this month, but resisted that and believe I will continue to do so.  If nothing can be done to help me then why would I want to know that I was dying or had serious liver problems?  That would just make my life more depressing.  Ignorance is bliss right, and there are no cures for most liver diseases.  The doc says fatty liver, but I don't know why my bilirubin would be elevated then, my feeling is that something else is going on like an undetected/cryptogenic virus.    

[epiphiny]

If it is worrying you as much as it appears in your post, the best thing would be to see your doctor and get checked out.  I would suggest starting with your GP and they can refer you on if needed.  I don't think you should jump to the conclusion that you have a life threatening disease.  You might just have red eyes due to climate, pollution, pollen or even air-conditioning!

If you are worried, get checked out!

Good luck :)

[calimike]

I don't think red eyes would last for several months everyday :(

[CoWriter]

Was this a test to see how educated we are?

Because your bilirubin is NORMAL....and you can't have jaundice if your bilirubin is below 2.5


From Medline Plus......

"Normal Results

Total bilirubin: 0.3 to 1.9 mg/dL  (may vary slightly according to lab)

What Abnormal Results Mean

Jaundice is a yellowing of the skin and the white part of the eye, which occurs when bilirubin builds up in the blood AT A LEVEL GREATER THAN approximately 2.5 mg/dL."

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003479.htm


Co

[calimike]

Naw it's not normal the lab reference is to 1.0 the upper limit my last in June of 09 was 1.3 thus .3 over the normal and has been as high as 2.4

[medicmommy]

You are your own best health advocate. Period. Nobody else can be depended upon to fight for you and your medical care better than you. Fatty livers can cause cirrhosis type problems, elevated cholesterol, high liver enzymes, inflammation, gall bladder and bile duct problems, and even pancreatitis (VERY BAD) because if the common bile duct becomes blocked, it plugs up the pancreas as well (and then you become diabetic...Not good either..) Elevated bilirubin is a SYMPTOM of underlying issues -just like sniffles are to a cold. Mild depression and feeling like poo can also be driven by all of the above, hormonal/ thyroid imbalances and too much more to list here.

So my advice? Put on your Big boy undies and go to the Dr. Have a full physical and metabolic panel (lab tests) done (get copies), and if there's a chance of hepatitis infection, get tested for that too. When was your last liver ultrasound or biopsy? Have you sen a hepatologist (not a GI Dr.)? Make sure your thyroid panel (TSH, Free T-3, Free T-4), testosterone levels, and calcium/ sodium/ potassium levels are checked as well. I know, no fun, -but if you have something brewing and you wait too long, it may not be fixable...After all, your health is one of those things that, if you ignore it, it will go away...~MM

[epiphiny]

I'm sorry if my comment about 'red eyes' seemed facetious, it was not meant that way.  I suffer from red eyes every day of my life due to all the conditions I have noted above.  I have to use an antihistamine eye drop each day, twice a day and moisturising eye drops to combat the effects of the airconditioning in the building I work in, so as you see it is possible that red eyes last for months...

MM's advice is the best you will recieve, let us know how you get on.