are urine exams accurate

[koko8o]

I took a urine exam and showed a small amount of bilirubin.  Does that mean that I have hepatitis or can there be other reasons.  I also had coffee and it made my urine sample darker than usual.  Any information would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks.

[Xenigma]

Thanks for answering.  I'm in SW Broward County but am willing to travel to Miami-Dade to (hopefully) get better care. I had heart surgery at Jackson in 1994 and the level of care was great. BTW-
I did do the survey and didn't qualify. (not sure why?) Hmmm...
Anyway-Thank you again
Enigma

[Showboat]

I am so very happy for you.  I love my Doc and my PA too.  It really makes a world of difference when you have a connection with your medical "gurus"... :>)  It is a very secure and safe feeling. I can say anything to my doc/pa and they really listen, and we actually have great discussions about varied topics after the Hep C "talk" is over. (we even discuss this forum) My husband has been to every appt with me, and he certainly adds "spice" to all the discussions. :>)  We are never felt like we are "rushed", we are "seen" in a very timely manner, and my doc/pa always ask me about sx and are ready to come to my aide in a heart beat....they are marvelous. I get "good bye" hugs from the nurses too.    My husband was treated at the same clinic for hep c three years ago.  (he is SVR..."was" 1a)  I am sooooo happy that you have found this Doc......I completed tx 2 weeks ago, and I am starting to feel better everyday....I just wish my hair would start making a come back.....Oh, well...small price to pay (lol) Take care....Love to ya

[cindee]

Hi hep family, I am still so excited that I had trouble falling asleep last nite, and wouldn't you know it...the cable T.V. was down!!!! LOL I still pinch myself, every once in awhile to make sure I wasn't "dreaming"!!!! LOL

Thank you all for your kind words and to say that I deserve the "best". I have to agree w/ you..God wouldn't want it any other way!!!! I have truely been "blessed". I, of course let all of my family memebers know about my "new" doctor. My Mother who has been in denial of my disease, throughout my 1st tx. almost "cried" when I told her of my news yesterday. She used to fuss @ me for coming to this forum so much!!!! LOL I think it has finally sank in that you guys are the most wonderful ppl in the world. She has actually added all of YOU to her prayer list!

I can't wait to be able to report more to you all, as I learn more myself. Honey, I hate to say it...but NO he's no doctor brown eyes. But to me he is one of the most beautiful ppl I have ever met! When he talks to you...it is total eye to eye contact. He even sat and held my hand some as we talked. His manners are wonderful. You know you can tell when someone is genuine. Well HE is. To me he's worth more than all the "gold" in the world!
TY again for all your kind words, I love you ppl soooooo much!

Well, I'll go for now. We're gonna watch a movie..just finished good 'ole "fish camp" carry out! Bet some of ya don't know about "fish camps" huh? We had flounder filets, shrimp, baked pot., hushpuppies and yummy cole slaw.

I want to wish you all the best of health and lots of happy times this week-end. you all deserve it too! Lots o love, Cindee

[honey1616]

Yeah..They do itch and then like you said get scaly and dry out.  Some of the riba rash is just little red bumps but some of these are showing up bigger in diameter and also feel almost like a mole but then like I said they do clear. I know what you mean as its really weird that some weeks are fine and then you have a week that is almost like beginning weeks.  And you are right...when I get in that mood,,,its easier just to tell everyone "look out" lol  Hey...2 more weeks and you will be halfway. Not bad huh?

[snook_man]

Dr. Schiff is one of the best.. If you are in Miami area, there are a few other Dr.s, that work with his group, and compare notes and treatment plans.. Dr. Goldberg, but you will only get PA to treat you and overlook tx.. I personally went with Dr. Rodriguez.. He is a member of the liver transplant team, and has been treating Hep for over Ten years..Thousands of patients..They all treat based on Dr. Schiffs trials.. My mother is on the list to see Dr. Jefferies in july.. She has been waiting months, and actually a few years for tx,  as she has medicare and Dr.s just want to make money by testing unnecessary things, instead of virus..I like Dr. Rodriguez, he knows an awful lot.. Did not have to think about answers, he just broke them down, and in a language that was understandable..A big plus!!

[DebbieDo]

Yes, i dont know if they are moles or not........they itch.......and the are sort of dry and scaley.....I go to the doc Monday....Does yours itch.......Its mostly my left arm.......lol.........Im doing pretty good, all things considered.......THE SHOT kicked my booty this week....I had night sweats realy bad, anxiety, and the "you better not get in my face attitude".......feeling better today........i hate myself when i get anxiety.......anything can push my button.....and i have to really be on guard.........lol
I have managed so far.........
Nice to hear from you.............Deb  :)

[Xenigma]

I'm glad your first shot went well.  I made my appt. with Doctor Schiff 3 months ago and am still waiting to see him.  My appt. is the end of August. (His appt's are 6 months out) I'm starting to get anxious but he's well worth the wait. (from what I hear)
Tell, me, how long did he take with you on the first visit?  Was he caring and did he listen to what you had to say? Did he order blood work and biopsy? I've only heard good things about him and Dr. Jeffries. (and the rest of the team)
Again-I'm glad you're shot went well.  
Everyone here say's it's the anticipation of it
that really get's ya!
Take care
Enigma

[ringeding]

hey.....just wanted to let you all know and i think there are 3 or 4 of you doing your first shot tonight......i will be thinking of you as i know everyone else will be as well.....good luck...hang tough, it will get easier i promise!!!!
huge huge kudos to you all starting!!!!
.......and the rest of yah too!!!!

maybe kinda late to post this now as they are all in bed by now...but hopefully all will be feeling better tommorrow

hugs
kimmy

p.s....scott....what you confused?  must be the urine! haha theres a new title for a 'tom' tune in there somewhere i'm sure!!
cheers

[cindee]

Hey gang, Well I went to my NEW hepatologist earier today, well actually @ 3:15 Friday! Boy HE is the GREATEST! I  qualify for one of his 3 studies underway! YEAHHHHHHHHHH! It's gonna be free too! I am so thankful to God for all of his answered prayers! Thanks you guys for praying for me. He has ordered a bx. and took a lot of blood today...the lab is in his office! That's just the coolest! No running around. I will however have to go to the hospital for my bx. As soon as results are back, he will decide which meds to try me on. He says these new meds had very little sx!!! The news just keeps getting better!

He is doing the same clinical trials as Duke and he knows the doc I saw @ Duke. They study on the same panel. I can't believe all this. He was VERY up-set to hear of the way my last liver doctor handles things. When I told him I found out by the receptionist...in the parking lot...going to lunch...that I had relapsed, he almost fell off his stool, NO KIDDING. And when I told him, I've never heard from the last doctor yet, he just shook his head in disbelief.

If anybody is in the Charlotte, North Carolina area and looking for a good doctor....his name is Robert W. Reindollar,MD @ Carolinas Center for Liver Disease. This is a wonderful man! After he checked my tummy area and we talked a long time. I told him I had never had things explained to me...Indy you remember me saying my old liver doctor told me to let "him" worry about my numbers???? Well my NEW doc is going to explain everything to me.

He said the study that is being worked on the hardest right now is what I went through. ( At 12 wks I had cleared....no sign of virus) EVR.....and then all of my blood work after that showed no sign of the virus...SVR   and then when I finished 48wks of combo...I RELAPSED. He said this really has the doctors baffled. They are studing hard to get to the root of this. It has been seen very often. When he told me all of this and that I DID qualify and everything would be free...I jumped up and held my hands out to the Heavens and said Thank-You GOD!!!! And then of course I cried tears of joy!!!!

When he started to head me to the lab down the hall...he first shook my hand, and then I said...oh NO....You're getting a HUG from me!!!!! So we Hugged, and I got lipstick on his white lab coat!!!!! I asked him when we got to the lab, if I needed to write his wife a note, explaining about the lipstick?!?! I thought all the nurses and lab people were never going to stop laughing!!!!

So my family, it won't be long and I'll have more news for you all. Like I said I have to have my bx and results from that and the blood work.....then we'll know more. He did say it might be 4 to 6 months before I start the new tx he thinks he wants to start me on. But we will see. WOW I am so happy.

And yes my g.daughter went with me and stayed and listened to all he had to say...but she didn't want to go in the lab LOL....she stood outside in the hall and held my purse. She was a big help...she spotted the office, before I did, told me where to turn and even where to park. I told them all she had been my little nurse in the past....how to fix my coffee and different things. It was funny because my doctor quizzed her on a few things about hep c. He was amazed to know how much she REALLY DOES know about this dreaded disease! BTW Today she only went to school for 3 1/2. She's thru for the year...will be placed in 6th grade w/ honors!!!  LIFE IS GOOD   I love you all and will be back on Sunday! TY again for all the prayers...I will continue to pray for you all. Much Love, Cindee
p.s. I hope you all are having a good nite and I wish for you a wonderful, restful, no side effects   week-end!!!!! XOXOXOXOXOXO

[hepcgetlost]

I am so happy for you...what a wonderful story. Now I'm going to bed...it's almost 3 am here and I don't know why I'm still up...but I'm glad I was since I read your wonderful news and it made me happy...g'night and  god bless...Judi

[deenee]

just wanted to let you folks know, my plate is full and i feel very blessed to be so.  my children are great, insightful, intelligent and talented...sounds like a mom, huh?  i was dx 3-4 weeks out of hospital with twins in sept 1991.  had symptoms bad then lost 12# in one week, would fall asleep with both twins in arms and 15mo old daugther in lap to keep me from dropping them. lol seriously, i went back to the hosp where i had boys and test was positive.   retested liver functions about every 4-6 mos since then.  for last year or so pain,nausea,jaundice,vomiting, alternating with const and diah, swollen most days like 9mos pregnant,major depression was hosp for a week in jan to relearn how to cope,ad's really help,fatigue seems to be the WORST,BUT INSOMNIA DOESNT HELP.  THINK MAYBE PCP MISDX? ALL BLOOD TESTS SEEM NORMAL, BUN,CREATINE A LITTLE LOW AT TIMES, WBC a little high at times?  my gi who does my colonoscopy,egd every year--i have GERD--is a good doctor but so very busy its hard to get to him...he did a rna genotype test about two years ago but have lost results they are sending a new copy will let know when get that, at that time OCT 2002 he asked me had i ever had rib/int tx i said no and he just left it at that...so not real sure about docs....mom does love me just doesnt want me or her to be scared...husband very supportive...says GO FOR TX I WANT YOU TO BE WELL!!! it's in GOD'S HANDS IS ALL I KNOW AT THIS TIME....BTW, does anybody bruise just at a touch.....i look like i have been beaten and just by bumping something i get huge ugly bruises...sorry to take up so much space...after "lurking" i feel like i know you all and am happy for the good and pray for the not so good.....you folks have provided a ton of info...i know i got to get to doc but it helps just to know if someone else has had the same situations.  see ya sometime this weekend.  kids may not let me have computer back until sunday..

[honey1616]

Cindee...Great News!!  Couldn't happen to a better person either! This is wonderful that you don't even have to pay for it! What is this...no sides???  I wonder what it is?? Do you know?  Your new Dr sounds so very nice,,,I wish I lived there,,I would change to him in a flash!  He wouldn't happen to be another "dr brown eyes" LOL

Deena,,,,Your story is amazing and I know it must be so hard for you to be feeling this way and to have the kids and trying to keep up with your family!  I know what you mean about your mom as mine worries so much also and sometimes just doesn't like to talk about it!  Keep us posted on how you are doing!

[honey1616]

Hey...Great to hear you are still alive and well...Not that bad huh?  I sure can relate on how emotional that first shot was...like you said the beginning of the unknown!  Good Luck!

Debbiedo...I know last week you posted something about all of the sudden getting moles...flesh colored.. Have you been to dr yet and also...I thought they were same thing as you but now noticing they are drying out and coming off so maybe...riba rash? Not sure myself but would be interested in what you found out! Hope you have been feeling great lately!

Chevy...Yes...I totally agree that we all need to keep in touch as we all have been through alot together. I know you, cuteus are finishing up not too far down road...Showboat, Berlynn and so many others are through....sniff sniff and I'm hoping that all of you will continue to come here just to keep us going.  We could look at this as class of 2003/2004 and keep up with each other..Also....Dallastar...anyone heard from her? I hope she is doing good and think of her often!

[snook_man]

Last night I did my first shot.. Wife gave it to me, and it was quite emotional.. I have been waiting for this night for months, and it finally came, and I almost could not believe it..She shot me, and it brought tears to my eyes.. Wait, grown men do not cry!!! It did not hurt or anything, it was just facing the unknown.. After the shot, I watched Gladiator!! Boy, what motivation!!
Now it is almost 9:00 am., and I'm still alive!! Felt meds spreading about one or two..I could not sleep..Woke up, told wife I was going to paint house or mow the yard.. Fell back asleep, with alot of tossing and turning, but no sx yet..My mouth was incredibly dry, and nose dry.. I usually have constant runny nose..I am not very religous, but I am praying for a good experience..

As for different meds, I have seen comparisions between the two, and that pegysus states less sides.. I live in Miami, FL.. The Dr Schiff at the university of Miami, is one of the leading Dr.s in the world on Hepatitis C.. Through his many trials of the different drugs, he has better svr rates with peg-intron 2b.. He recommends pegysus only for patients that have had trouble with this treatment already..

Whatever the tx, we have to face it.. I am hoping for an easy ride, but know that life plays rough..Well, here goes my first day on treatment!! Now all that lays ahead is SVR for life!!!!

[cuteus]

welcome to the club, oficially.  There use to be a riba card handed out to the newbies  some months back, now that ringy is back maybe she can find the darn cards? I don't know if vicki knows where they are and she is too busy lately...;-}
I would ask the dr if the higher svr s were on genotype 1.  they group ALL genotype statistics and the non geno1 raise the total.  If you break it down by genotype, many studies show pegasys advantage to geno 1. slight, but there.  Ask him to break down his stats by genotype.  this is a tough bug to beat and you want to give it the best SHOT(;-} ) available.

[DebbieDo]

Welcome aboard Snook........its a a crazy ride.........go with the flow......I will do #22/48 on Monday........i deal with each day as it comes.....

Cindee, i have waiting to read a post from you.......I'm so happy for you.......having a great doctor is very important.....someone who cares, or seems like they do.....lol
          Keep us posted.......God Bless you......Deb  :)~

[TnHepGuy_]

<b>Go Cindee, Go!!!</b>

That really is wonderful news you've posted here! It makes such a difference when you are confident that you are in good hands.

I hope you have been feeling better, too.


May God's blessings be upon you.


TnHepGuy

[cuteus]

Let's all flock to the carolinas and meet DR Dream!!!  What a blessing you have earned.  The fact that he is baffled is even better, it challenges him and motivate him to find answers.  Great news. couldn't happen to a more deserving person.

deenee:  there is still no mention of any biopsy or other tests in your narrative.  what did they show? any scans, sonograms, etc?  Your symptoms need answering asap.
  Having twin babies and acute hepatitis at the same time, what an ultimate challenge! I hope you find here the support and knowledge many of us have found.  
I am pasting some urls that might explain some of the symptoms you are showing, some might be liver condition related and some hcv presence related.
http://www.hepnet.com/hkn/c21.html;/www.hepcassoc.org/links.html;
www.hepcvets.com/glossary/H.html
Be Well

[raheem]

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003595.htm
This article from the NIH talks a little bit about bilirubin in urine.  You mentioned you were a weight lifter...did you do any steroids? "Increased urinary bilirubin may indicate: biliary strictures, cirrhosis, gallstones in the biliary tract, hepatitis with associated biliary obstruction, surgical trauma affecting the biliary tract, tumors of the liver or gall bladder." However, drugs than can falsely elevate the test result include allopurinol, some antibiotics, barbiturates, chlorpromazine, diuretics, ethoxazene, oral contraceptives, phenazopyridine, steroids, and sulfonamides.  Don't get all shook up without knowing the results.

[Indiana]

Now is it Really possible to have both "Volumptious" AND "Perky" breasts at the same time????
Send pics.............

[cuteus]

they might have been testing for the rheumatoid factor, but you will have to ask your dr for copy of the bloodwork.  keep your own folder with copies of tests, tests reports, etc. they don't usually test for hep c if you complain of joint pain, the first time around.  you need to ask them what you were tested for.

[koko8o]

I went to the doctor because I had some joint pain, I'm an ex-weight lifter(I know its a symptom of hep as well).  They took a blood sample but, I dont know what they were testing for, and it came out negative.  Does anyone know if they were testing for hepatitis or something else.

[mikesimon]

That will probably be okay. I would definitely not drink any alcohol at all. And if you notice anything unusual call your doctor. I wish you good luck - I know this is scary for you but try to relax as best you can. Mike

[koko8o]

I have an apptment for june 3rd, should i go asap or is that ok. will it make a difference.