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EXCITED TO SEE THE GI DOCTOR TODAY
How bad is it when your excited to see your GI doctor today so you can figure out what's going on with my stomach. I see him at 3:15pm and then I'll be going to see my sister after that (sorry I don't know if I'm allowed to put that in) but I'm very excited to see the GI doctor to see if he can figure out what causing all the issues in my stomach. Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers on this. I appreciate you. Tuck, Sherry, Bree, Sandee, Sara, Flower, Mary, Alison, Jaybay, Dontunderstand, and everyone else, a HUGE THANK YOU and hope you all have a pain free day!
Hi Karen,
I'm VERY glad that you came on home. I hope that you won't try to work until you get to feeling better!! PLEASE take care of yourself.
That's REALLY good news about your Sister. Hopefully, that will be a LITTLE of the stress lifted off of your shoulders. Do they have any idea how much longer she will be staying in the Hospital?
You BOTH are in my Thoughts and Prayers. Sending you my Love.....Mama Sherry
I'm VERY glad that you came on home. I hope that you won't try to work until you get to feeling better!! PLEASE take care of yourself.
That's REALLY good news about your Sister. Hopefully, that will be a LITTLE of the stress lifted off of your shoulders. Do they have any idea how much longer she will be staying in the Hospital?
You BOTH are in my Thoughts and Prayers. Sending you my Love.....Mama Sherry
Jaybay,
Thanks for the information. I know he ran the hepatitis panel of stuff and that all came back clear, thank goodness. So, we will just have to wait and see what's going on with everything. Robyn, I'm glad you told me about the AIC because I didn't really know what that was, so now I know. I went to work today, and started feeling sick so I came home. It's been one of these weeks where I just dont feel very well. I just wanted to say thank you to everyone. I saw my sister last night and she is doing a lot better, much better than I am right now, so thank you for your support.
Thanks for the information. I know he ran the hepatitis panel of stuff and that all came back clear, thank goodness. So, we will just have to wait and see what's going on with everything. Robyn, I'm glad you told me about the AIC because I didn't really know what that was, so now I know. I went to work today, and started feeling sick so I came home. It's been one of these weeks where I just dont feel very well. I just wanted to say thank you to everyone. I saw my sister last night and she is doing a lot better, much better than I am right now, so thank you for your support.
I'm sending you a PM in response to your questions. Don't panic. The fact that your surgeon is waiting until the latter part of September should signify that this is not an emergency situation. Trust that if it were life threatening you would have been hospitalized immediately.
So we need to think positive and just get to the bottom of what may be happening. The entire picture need to be considered before anyone can jump to conclusions. I am sure that is the reason he is ordering additional diagnostic testing. When all the pieces of the puzzel areavailable he can put it together and come up with a dfinative diagnosis. .
I hope you are feeling better today. I'll look forward to your updates. :)
You're in my thoughts and prayers.
~Tuck
So we need to think positive and just get to the bottom of what may be happening. The entire picture need to be considered before anyone can jump to conclusions. I am sure that is the reason he is ordering additional diagnostic testing. When all the pieces of the puzzel areavailable he can put it together and come up with a dfinative diagnosis. .
I hope you are feeling better today. I'll look forward to your updates. :)
You're in my thoughts and prayers.
~Tuck
I'm very sorry to hear that your appointment didn't go well and also that you are facing another surgery. I know it's got to be very scary, but I'm hoping that with this surgery they will finally be able to find what is causing your pain and begin to treat you appropriately.
I'm afraid I don't know a whole lot about the liver enzyme levels, other than mine have been elevated in the past also - usually when I'm sick with something else - and they, so far, have always gone back to normal. At one point, my levels were actually even higher than yours, which was a very scary situation.
I actually had an A1C test done not too long ago as my blood sugar on a routine blood test was elevated. The A1C gives the doctors a better look at how your blood sugar has been over a more extended period of time than a regular blood glucose test will. The blood glucose test basically gives them just what your reading is at that time, but the A1C will tell them what your levels have been doing over a period of time (I'm not sure of the exact amount of time, but I know that it's not an "instant read" level like the blood glucose test is). Fortunately, my A1C came out at the high end of normal, so the doctors were less concerned than they had been when they had received the results of my blood glucose test. So for now, we just have to keep an eye on it to make sure it stays within the normal range. My brother in law has Type II diabetes and he gets an A1C test done periodically (in addition to doing his normal testing at home) to get a read on how his levels are doing.
I hope that all made sense.
Sending healing thoughts and prayers and best wishes that they find out the cause of your pain and other symptoms quickly.
Robyn
P.S. Did you get a chance to talk to your sister? Is everything ok on that score?
I'm afraid I don't know a whole lot about the liver enzyme levels, other than mine have been elevated in the past also - usually when I'm sick with something else - and they, so far, have always gone back to normal. At one point, my levels were actually even higher than yours, which was a very scary situation.
I actually had an A1C test done not too long ago as my blood sugar on a routine blood test was elevated. The A1C gives the doctors a better look at how your blood sugar has been over a more extended period of time than a regular blood glucose test will. The blood glucose test basically gives them just what your reading is at that time, but the A1C will tell them what your levels have been doing over a period of time (I'm not sure of the exact amount of time, but I know that it's not an "instant read" level like the blood glucose test is). Fortunately, my A1C came out at the high end of normal, so the doctors were less concerned than they had been when they had received the results of my blood glucose test. So for now, we just have to keep an eye on it to make sure it stays within the normal range. My brother in law has Type II diabetes and he gets an A1C test done periodically (in addition to doing his normal testing at home) to get a read on how his levels are doing.
I hope that all made sense.
Sending healing thoughts and prayers and best wishes that they find out the cause of your pain and other symptoms quickly.
Robyn
P.S. Did you get a chance to talk to your sister? Is everything ok on that score?
Here's a good "readable" article I found on AST and ALT. Try not to freak out since by themselves, they don't mean much. That's why your doctor wants more testing. There are several pages to this article, but I've only posted a couple of them. Go to the link below for the full article.
********************************
http://www.medicinenet.com/liver_blood_tests/page2.htm
What do elevated liver tests (AST and ALT) mean?
AST (SGOT) and ALT (SGPT) are sensitive indicators of liver damage or injury from different types of disease. But it must be emphasized that higher-than-normal levels of these liver enzymes should not be automatically equated with liver disease. They may mean liver problems or they may not. For example, elevations of these enzymes can occur with muscle damage. The interpretation of elevated AST and ALT levels depends upon the entire clinical evaluation of an individual, and so it is best done by physicians experienced in evaluating liver disease and muscle disease.
Moreover, the precise levels of these enzymes do not correlate well with the extent of liver damage or the prognosis (outlook). Thus, the exact levels of AST (SGOT) and ALT (SGPT) cannot be used to determine the degree of liver disease or predict the future. For example, individuals with acute viral hepatitis A may develop very high AST and ALT levels (sometimes in the thousands of units/liter range). But most people with acute viral hepatitis A recover fully without residual liver disease. To the contrary, people with chronic hepatitis C infection typically have only a little elevation in their AST and ALT levels. Some of these individuals may have quietly developed chronic liver disease such as chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis (advanced scarring of the liver).
It is, therefore, worth mentioning that these liver enzymes do not give an indication of the function of the liver. Sometimes they are mistakenly referred to as “liver function tests” or LFTs, but it is a misnomer commonly used even by most physicians.
What liver diseases cause abnormal aminotransferase levels?
Abnormal liver tests may be detected in the blood in a variety of liver conditions.
The highest levels of AST and ALT are found with disorders that cause the death of numerous liver cells (extensive hepatic necrosis). This occurs in such conditions as:
acute viral hepatitis A or B,
profound liver damage inflicted by toxins as from an overdose of acetaminophen (brand-name Tylenol), and
prolonged collapse of the circulatory system (shock) when the liver is deprived of fresh blood bringing oxygen and nutrients.
AST and ALT serum levels in these situations can range anywhere from ten times the upper limits of normal to thousands of units/liter.
Mild to moderate elevations of the liver enzymes are commonplace. They are often unexpectedly encountered on routine blood screening tests in otherwise healthy individuals. The AST and ALT levels in such cases are usually between twice the upper limits of normal and several hundred units/liter.
One of the most common cause of mild to moderate elevations of these liver tests is a condition called fatty liver. In the United States, the most frequent cause of fatty liver is alcohol abuse. Other causes of fatty liver include diabetes mellitus and obesity. Chronic hepatitis C is also becoming an important cause of mild to moderate liver enzyme elevations.
What medications cause abnormal aminotransferase levels?
A host of medications can cause abnormal liver enzymes levels.
Examples include:
Pain relief medications such as:
aspirin,
acetaminophen (Tylenol),
ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin),
naproxen (Naprosyn, Naprelan, Anaprox, Aleve),
diclofenac (Voltaren, Cataflam, Voltaren-XR), and
phenylbutazone (Butazolidine)
Anti-seizure medications such as:
phenytoin (Dilantin),
valproic acid (Depakote, Depakote ER, Depakene, Depacon),
carbamazepine (Tegretol, Tegretol XR, Equertro), and
phenobarbital
Antibiotics such as:
tetracyclines, [for example, tetracycline (Achromycin)]
sulfonamides,
isoniazid (INH) (Nydrazid, Laniazid)
sulfamethoxazole (Gantanol),
trimethoprim (Trimpex; Proloprim, Primsol)
nitrofurantoin (Macrodantin; Furadantin; Macrobid),
fluconazole (Diflucan ) and some other anti-fungals, etc.
Cholesterol lowering drugs such as:
the statins:
lovastatin (Mevacor, Altocor),
pravastatin (Pravachol),
atorvastatin (Lipitor),
fluvastatin (Lescol),
rosuvastatin (Crestor),
simvastatin (Zocor), and
niacin
Cardiovascular drugs such as:
amiodarone (Cordarone),
hydralazine (Apresoline)
quinidine (Quinaglute, Quinidex), etc.
Other drugs
Antidepressant drugs of the tricyclic type
With drug-induced liver enzyme abnormalities, the enzymes usually normalize weeks to months after stopping the medications.
********************************
http://www.medicinenet.com/liver_blood_tests/page2.htm
What do elevated liver tests (AST and ALT) mean?
AST (SGOT) and ALT (SGPT) are sensitive indicators of liver damage or injury from different types of disease. But it must be emphasized that higher-than-normal levels of these liver enzymes should not be automatically equated with liver disease. They may mean liver problems or they may not. For example, elevations of these enzymes can occur with muscle damage. The interpretation of elevated AST and ALT levels depends upon the entire clinical evaluation of an individual, and so it is best done by physicians experienced in evaluating liver disease and muscle disease.
Moreover, the precise levels of these enzymes do not correlate well with the extent of liver damage or the prognosis (outlook). Thus, the exact levels of AST (SGOT) and ALT (SGPT) cannot be used to determine the degree of liver disease or predict the future. For example, individuals with acute viral hepatitis A may develop very high AST and ALT levels (sometimes in the thousands of units/liter range). But most people with acute viral hepatitis A recover fully without residual liver disease. To the contrary, people with chronic hepatitis C infection typically have only a little elevation in their AST and ALT levels. Some of these individuals may have quietly developed chronic liver disease such as chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis (advanced scarring of the liver).
It is, therefore, worth mentioning that these liver enzymes do not give an indication of the function of the liver. Sometimes they are mistakenly referred to as “liver function tests” or LFTs, but it is a misnomer commonly used even by most physicians.
What liver diseases cause abnormal aminotransferase levels?
Abnormal liver tests may be detected in the blood in a variety of liver conditions.
The highest levels of AST and ALT are found with disorders that cause the death of numerous liver cells (extensive hepatic necrosis). This occurs in such conditions as:
acute viral hepatitis A or B,
profound liver damage inflicted by toxins as from an overdose of acetaminophen (brand-name Tylenol), and
prolonged collapse of the circulatory system (shock) when the liver is deprived of fresh blood bringing oxygen and nutrients.
AST and ALT serum levels in these situations can range anywhere from ten times the upper limits of normal to thousands of units/liter.
Mild to moderate elevations of the liver enzymes are commonplace. They are often unexpectedly encountered on routine blood screening tests in otherwise healthy individuals. The AST and ALT levels in such cases are usually between twice the upper limits of normal and several hundred units/liter.
One of the most common cause of mild to moderate elevations of these liver tests is a condition called fatty liver. In the United States, the most frequent cause of fatty liver is alcohol abuse. Other causes of fatty liver include diabetes mellitus and obesity. Chronic hepatitis C is also becoming an important cause of mild to moderate liver enzyme elevations.
What medications cause abnormal aminotransferase levels?
A host of medications can cause abnormal liver enzymes levels.
Examples include:
Pain relief medications such as:
aspirin,
acetaminophen (Tylenol),
ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin),
naproxen (Naprosyn, Naprelan, Anaprox, Aleve),
diclofenac (Voltaren, Cataflam, Voltaren-XR), and
phenylbutazone (Butazolidine)
Anti-seizure medications such as:
phenytoin (Dilantin),
valproic acid (Depakote, Depakote ER, Depakene, Depacon),
carbamazepine (Tegretol, Tegretol XR, Equertro), and
phenobarbital
Antibiotics such as:
tetracyclines, [for example, tetracycline (Achromycin)]
sulfonamides,
isoniazid (INH) (Nydrazid, Laniazid)
sulfamethoxazole (Gantanol),
trimethoprim (Trimpex; Proloprim, Primsol)
nitrofurantoin (Macrodantin; Furadantin; Macrobid),
fluconazole (Diflucan ) and some other anti-fungals, etc.
Cholesterol lowering drugs such as:
the statins:
lovastatin (Mevacor, Altocor),
pravastatin (Pravachol),
atorvastatin (Lipitor),
fluvastatin (Lescol),
rosuvastatin (Crestor),
simvastatin (Zocor), and
niacin
Cardiovascular drugs such as:
amiodarone (Cordarone),
hydralazine (Apresoline)
quinidine (Quinaglute, Quinidex), etc.
Other drugs
Antidepressant drugs of the tricyclic type
With drug-induced liver enzyme abnormalities, the enzymes usually normalize weeks to months after stopping the medications.
Tuck,
I haven't noticed anything about my stools, but he was very concerned that my stomach seems to feel a lot better when I curl up, and that was actually one of the things that he seemed to pick out. I still seem to be nauseated a lot. I do have the surgery date it's September 22nd, but they are also wanting to do further blood work testing, whatever an AIC and do a MRI and a CT scan. Some of the tests that they are running, I'm not sure why, but he said he thinks I have chronic pancreatitis maybe from having it years ago ( I had it when I had my gallbladder out) and he thinks it may come and go, but also wants to put me through some other stuff. Basically yesterday he said I just look sick, I'm not sure what that means, but I guess that means something to a doctor.
Tuck and everyone, I wanted to give you one medical test that freaked me out when I saw it, I was telling you about my liver enzymes: this is why they hospitalized me:
SGPT/AST is supposed to be between 10-45 units mine was 730 (h) and then my other test SGPT/ALT is supposed to be between 26-65 units 330 (h) if anyone understands what that means, let me know. By the way I was re-reading my comment and said that my blood work came back ok, that was incorrect, almost all of my bloodwork came back bad. I'm sorry about the mistake but through my tears it appeared I typed wrong. Thank you everyone for all your help!
I haven't noticed anything about my stools, but he was very concerned that my stomach seems to feel a lot better when I curl up, and that was actually one of the things that he seemed to pick out. I still seem to be nauseated a lot. I do have the surgery date it's September 22nd, but they are also wanting to do further blood work testing, whatever an AIC and do a MRI and a CT scan. Some of the tests that they are running, I'm not sure why, but he said he thinks I have chronic pancreatitis maybe from having it years ago ( I had it when I had my gallbladder out) and he thinks it may come and go, but also wants to put me through some other stuff. Basically yesterday he said I just look sick, I'm not sure what that means, but I guess that means something to a doctor.
Tuck and everyone, I wanted to give you one medical test that freaked me out when I saw it, I was telling you about my liver enzymes: this is why they hospitalized me:
SGPT/AST is supposed to be between 10-45 units mine was 730 (h) and then my other test SGPT/ALT is supposed to be between 26-65 units 330 (h) if anyone understands what that means, let me know. By the way I was re-reading my comment and said that my blood work came back ok, that was incorrect, almost all of my bloodwork came back bad. I'm sorry about the mistake but through my tears it appeared I typed wrong. Thank you everyone for all your help!
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