Non-Viral Hepatitis

Hi. I have been having some adominal (abdominal) pain for some time. I had bloodwork done and my liver enzymes came back at 1200. I was hospitalized and had a liver biopsy done. I have non-viral hepatitis and scaring of the liver. I have an appointment on the 22nd of August and will find out more. I had more bloodwork done. I am feeling sick and cannot eat or drink anything. What should I expect with this? Any imsight is appreciative. I am 32 and a mother of 4.

[tumbleweed1999]

Hi

I am pretty new at this and not a physician so don't take what I say "to the bank". -:)   A couple of questions.  

Why were you hospitalized? For the pain or ??.  Biopsies are usually "outpatient" is why I asked. What other labs were high, do you know? Always ask for a copy of your records and keep a file.  That  way you have something to compare with and know what they did when,   Plus, when you are posting and someone asks a question, you have something to refer to and don't have to try to remember all the numbers.-:)).

How long have these symptoms been going on? They really don't sound like something that I am familiar with but I'm sure there will be others with better insight than myself and also with other questions.  The people here are absolutely awesome!! -:))

I had a biopsy done a couple of weeks ago, and am I guess what you would call "autoimmune pos.".
Non-viral.  My Alk Phos. was 1108, Alt - 132, Ast - 105, ASMA - 48, and ANA 1:640.  I was pretty much asymptomatic - other than fatigued.  I'm not nauseated or anything like that - just no appetite.

I am assuming that you got the lab results but no diagnosis/prognosis until Wednesday, correct?  That makes it hard.  They at least told me what the diagnosis was and then I had to wait until the Dr. came back from vacation to get the prognosis and treatment started.  Your enzyme level could be from several things, to my understanding, so I am not even going to go there.  I am still learning and Tarsha, this is a good place to do it. -:))  Read, read, read.  But don't take 'everything' to the bank. k?

I know I have not given you mch help, but just know that there are a lot of us who are pulling for you and will do all we can to "help".  It's a great sounding board as well as for questions/answers.

TTYL  & God Bless

tmblwd

Stay focused on being a Mom, pray and try not to panic.  It's the not knowing & uncertainty that can drive you up a wall faster than your kids can. -:).

[alone and scared]

I am new to this myself.  I need some chat friends right about now.  I was diagnose with chronic hep B and acute Hep B. That's all I know at this time until my next appoint.    My exposure was Feb 2007.  I need someone who can understand where I am coming from.  I hope we can continue to chat.  

[tumbleweed1999]

More than willing to chat - but I must be honest - I know zip nodda about viral Hep.  I have been diagnosed with "non-supportive, destructive cholangitis" (still don't undertand that one) and "Bridging fibrosis stage 3" and that I am AIH.  I am thanking the Lord that I didn't have all this when I  was trying to raise my kids. (I'm 65).  

The Drs. say that what I have is not a result of anything that I have done, or not done.  ???  I asked them,  so what causes this - "If we knew that we would get a pill and you would be cured."   My GI has me on 40mg of Prednisone (just started Thurs.), which is something that you will NOT, most likely, be on, since it is an immunesupressant (sp).  

There are many, many folks on here that are much more knowledgable than I and I'm sure will be "talking" with you as time goes on.  Read the threads. Most are very informative and some hilariously funny, which we need just to keep our sanity.  If you find a few posters that you like to read, check them out even if the post itself doesn't sound like it has anything to do with you.

You are not "alone" here and we are not only willing to chat with you but pray for you.  So you "hang in there", try not to panic over results, read and chat.  k?

ttyl
tmblwd

[Tarsha]

Thanks for the comments. They hospitalized me based on my enzymes level and my symptoms. Fatigue, stomach pain, diarhea (diarrhea), no appetite with vomiting. Sometimes I even vomit a little blood. I believe it was my Alkaline that was 1200. The reason I had a biopsy was because they were afraid that I might of had a blockage to my liver due to a herniated bowel. The only way to know that was to have exploratory surgery. They didn't find any evidence of the herniated bowel, so they went ahead and did a liver biopey. My doctor is away on vacation too. I went to the doctor the other day because I have a stomach tube in and I thought it was infected. One of his partner doctors looked at it and told me a little regarding my biopsy results. They did some more bloodwork. Autoimmune, smooth muscle, etc. I will find out the results of those on Wednesday. I do have fibrosis too, but I am not sure of the extent. My levels have gone down some while I was hospitalized, but they are still abnormally high.

Alone and Scared~I am so sorry you are going through this and I would love to chat.

[tumbleweed1999]

How are you doing?  Haven't seen you around?  Have you been able to speak with your Dr. since he got back from vacation??  What's happen',, young'n?

Tmblwd