Recently diagnosed with hep c

[mhoustong]

After being admitted to the hospital with acute pancreatitis caused by gall stones I was diagnosed with Hep c.

I have since felt like I was dying going from being self employed to someone who doesn't have the energy to get out of bed.

Since I didn't have Insurance I have racked up over $30,000.00 in doctor bills and now I am getting treatment from the county.

Now to my question based on my last blood test I had an ALT of 708, AST of 733, T billirubin of 2.8 with many more elevated enzymes.

Is my liver getting ready to fail and is that why I have no energy.

I hope someone can help.

Thanks MG

[belle19]

you should check into clinicaltrials.gov.  that's what i did and received the best care.  good luck to you.  belle

[mhoustong]

Thank you for your response.

The only medication I am prescribed is tramadol 60 mg.

I don't drink alcohol or take any over the counter pain medication. Until 6 months ago I was a healthy 37 year old man who worked out 5 days a week and enjoyed life.

6 months ago was the last tattoo I received and seems like it is where I got the hep c from since I don't inject drugs.

As far as Insurance I don't have any, I was working as a contractor for local moving companies. So I have been using county Doctors and to this point It they are waiting for my last results to see the genome type of hep c i have.

As far as other elevated levels my Alk Phos was at 174,  glucose 107, monocyte 12%, Mcv 93, Basophil 1%

And once again thank you for you response.


MG

[HectorSF]

Your AST and ALT are almost 20x normal. This usually indicates Acute liver damage (due, for example, to infection, toxins or drugs, etc.) or the acute phase of hepatitis C infection 2-6 months after exposure.

Glad you have Insurance if you have liver disease, it can be very expensive to diagnose an treat.
If you can't see a Hepatologist you see at least see a Gastroenterologist ASAP.

If you are talking and prescribed meds look at the side effects and see if any of them are toxic the liver and notify the doctor that prescribed them. If you are taking any vitamins or supplements you should stop. No Alcohol at all. Something is injuring your liver cells and will cause damage to your liver.

Billirubin of 2.8 is another sign of damage to your liver. If it rises about 3.0 your eyes may start to turn yellow.

"Is my liver getting ready to fail and is that why I have no energy."
It is doubtful unless you poisoned yourself somehow by taking a liver toxic dose of Tylenol or some other toxin.

You have no energy because your liver is being seriously injured. Glycogen and Glucose are the two forms of sugar that your body employs to store and use as energy . Glucose is the sugar your body converts into energy. Glycogen is the sugar your body stores in both your liver and muscle cells. Your body can't use glycogen directly as a source of energy, and cannot store glucose. So when the liver is damaged it can't covert glycogen to glucose for your body to use for energy.

Are all of your other blood tests normal?

Good luck to you!
Hector

[orphanedhawk]

Your liver is indeed in distress which is why you have no energy.
You need to see a good hepatologist ( liver specialist) asap.
Obviously, you should refrain from drinking any alcohol.

If you  don't have insurance and are low income, you may qualify for charity care at one of many local hospitals/liver clinics. I'd advise calling local universities/ and or hospitals with a liver department and ask about financial aid or charity care.

Good luck.