Aa
Swlloen Ankles
Hi Everyon,
I haven't been on in a long time- hidin my head in the sand. My hubby and I both have Hep C- right now it's my husband that I'm worried about. We just went to his gastro to discuss starting tx (he has put it off til December- hubby that is!) and the doctor noticed that his ankles were retaining a bit of fluid. I know this can be from liver failure, but the gastro didn't seem alarmed, just said it's one more reason to tx. My husband, judging from his bloodwork, most likely has at least Stage 3 liver damage- is this a definite sign of cirrhosis? How alarmed should I be, is what I'm asking I guess?
I haven't been on in a long time- hidin my head in the sand. My hubby and I both have Hep C- right now it's my husband that I'm worried about. We just went to his gastro to discuss starting tx (he has put it off til December- hubby that is!) and the doctor noticed that his ankles were retaining a bit of fluid. I know this can be from liver failure, but the gastro didn't seem alarmed, just said it's one more reason to tx. My husband, judging from his bloodwork, most likely has at least Stage 3 liver damage- is this a definite sign of cirrhosis? How alarmed should I be, is what I'm asking I guess?
Check out my picture of swollen ankles in my profile. This is with stage one, so don't go by blood work, a biopsy is the thing he should have to find out stages and the other thing, I 'm having a memory outage right noW.
HARRY
HARRY
Thank you all for your replies :) .
Trinity, my husband did get the FibroSpect II test and scored 67, but I don't think it was accurate since his platelets were 160 at the time of the test, instead of his usual level of about 100 (he had pleurisy- inflammation makes platelets rise). Bx couldn't be performed cuz they couldn't get an IV going on hubby's impossible veins... so we're just assuming it's time to tx due to te low platelets and albumin dropping to 3.5 too. I definitely have reservations about this doctor- he is just TOO laidback for my comfort! My husbands platelets have been falling steadily for years and this doctor never pushed him to tx- whereas when I told my gastro about hubby's platelets, he said,"Oh, he needs to treat- now!" I'm very nervous that this doctor is just not going to have the expertise to handle this situation. My husband is male, 54, slightly overweight, diabetic, genotype 1a, high viral load and has a dx of fatty liver- all negative predictors for SVR- so we need a doctor who really knows his stuff and is willing to get aggressive and give rescue drugs rather than dropping the tx dose. Well, I guess we'll just say our prayers and hope this doctor is up for the job...
Fretboard, I'm sorry to hear about your ankles swelling but I must say, it's a relief to hear that it can happen without cirrhosis being the cause! You're right, if it's that common, it makes sense that the doctor wasn't alarmed about it. Hmm, I wonder if methadone has anything to do with retaining water- my hubby and I both are on it and I have noticed it really makes one gain weight.
HCA, thank you for the correct spelling. I was able to get more info on it that way!
Trinity, my husband did get the FibroSpect II test and scored 67, but I don't think it was accurate since his platelets were 160 at the time of the test, instead of his usual level of about 100 (he had pleurisy- inflammation makes platelets rise). Bx couldn't be performed cuz they couldn't get an IV going on hubby's impossible veins... so we're just assuming it's time to tx due to te low platelets and albumin dropping to 3.5 too. I definitely have reservations about this doctor- he is just TOO laidback for my comfort! My husbands platelets have been falling steadily for years and this doctor never pushed him to tx- whereas when I told my gastro about hubby's platelets, he said,"Oh, he needs to treat- now!" I'm very nervous that this doctor is just not going to have the expertise to handle this situation. My husband is male, 54, slightly overweight, diabetic, genotype 1a, high viral load and has a dx of fatty liver- all negative predictors for SVR- so we need a doctor who really knows his stuff and is willing to get aggressive and give rescue drugs rather than dropping the tx dose. Well, I guess we'll just say our prayers and hope this doctor is up for the job...
Fretboard, I'm sorry to hear about your ankles swelling but I must say, it's a relief to hear that it can happen without cirrhosis being the cause! You're right, if it's that common, it makes sense that the doctor wasn't alarmed about it. Hmm, I wonder if methadone has anything to do with retaining water- my hubby and I both are on it and I have noticed it really makes one gain weight.
HCA, thank you for the correct spelling. I was able to get more info on it that way!
My ankles swell and I'm not cirrhotic, I am prescribed lasix and a potassium supplement. The potassium makes me drink tons of water, I don't take it everyday as prescribed as I've been swelling for a long time and I have to make too many pit stops, if you know what I mean. My doctor said at my age sometimes ppl retain sodium, although this is definitely connected to my HepC. Could be your hubs Gastro wasn't alarmed b/c alot of ppl have swelling of their ankles. At least that's what my old doctor from the methadone clinic says. I don't go to a methadone clinic, I just happened to talk to him recently. God Bless
Unless your husband was given a Fibrosure Blood Test to determine the approx amount of liver damage he has, just a routine liver panel in not a predictor of what stage he is at. Has he had a liver biopsy? That is the most accurate test for staging liver disease.
Stage 3 is considered advanced fibrosis and most people are advised to start treatment. Stage 4 is considered cirrhosis.
You may want to consider a liver specialist instead of a GI, because it doesn't sound like your GI has done the necessary testing to determine the actual degree of his damage. Fluid retention could be totally unrelated to liver disease or his liver could be progressing to stage 4 , you cannot know this without a biopsy. Just the fact the GI is not concerned with his symptoms suggests you need to find another doctor.
Good Luck
Trinity
Stage 3 is considered advanced fibrosis and most people are advised to start treatment. Stage 4 is considered cirrhosis.
You may want to consider a liver specialist instead of a GI, because it doesn't sound like your GI has done the necessary testing to determine the actual degree of his damage. Fluid retention could be totally unrelated to liver disease or his liver could be progressing to stage 4 , you cannot know this without a biopsy. Just the fact the GI is not concerned with his symptoms suggests you need to find another doctor.
Good Luck
Trinity
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