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Abdo Ultrasound & Gastroscopy...

:D Well this week I had my abdominal ultrasound one day & my gastroscopy the next! The gastroscopy showed a couple of slight stomach erosions. Some biopsies were taken. Since I can't take most meds, & even the Carafate (Sucralfate) made the pain worse, I am left with over-the-counter stuff like Gaviscon & Mylanta. Of course I am sworn off aspirin (& other NSAIDs & prednisone) if ever tempted again!

Now the abdominal ultrasound was no big drama...just a little unpleasant when slight pressure was applied over the liver. Relieved to hear that gall-bladder, pancreas, spleen, common bile duct, kidneys & abdominal aorta appear OK.

"Impression: The liver demonstrates a slightly coarsened echotexture which is nonspecific but may be seen with viral hepatitis, chemotherapy, and early cirrhosis. The liver demonstrates generalised increased parenchymal echogenicity which is usually seen with fat infiltration. The liver contour is, however, normal and no discrete liver lesion is identified."

So here's the rap...this is an abnormal picture & is known "unpleasantly" as a teratogenous (if I have spelled that right?) liver...and my Gastroenterologist has ordered some relevant blood tests to exclude a few causes eg viral, autoimmune etc

FBC, UEC, LFT, Hep B S Ag, Hep C Ab, ANA, SMA, IgG, ENA, Copper,
Coeruloplasmin,
Alpha 1 antitrypsin, Iron Studies.

None of this surprises me, but it's a relief to know a bit more of the puzzle...

Comments

Good to see things are moving and they have located some of your issues, lets hope they can treat you effectively.

cheers!!!
 
Yes...and it is surprising how long it has taken to get a simple abdominal ultrasound that helps clarify an issue that was at least partially evident some years ago, in a raised ALP...sigh.
 
as heapsreal said its good to see that things are moving along...its great that your doctor seems to really be trying to find out whats wrong..

i hope the test doesnt show anything serious and whatever may show up is easily taken care of...take care : )
 
Gald that your doc is investigating you properly, their doing a good job with the other tests that they have orderd, they have included things like copper and iron which will pick up things like wilson's disease and hemochromatosis, which can damage the liver, a lot of docs forget to do theses, as you say it should have all been done years ago. hope your tests come back with some helpful information soon.

All the best
 
hurtingallthetimet;bt6809 said:
as heapsreal said its good to see that things are moving along...its great that your doctor seems to really be trying to find out whats wrong..

i hope the test doesnt show anything serious and whatever may show up is easily taken care of...take care : )

Thank you hurtingallthetimet. It's been a long co-operative & costly process to get to this point, largely self-driven.
 
rlc;bt6812 said:
Gald that your doc is investigating you properly, their doing a good job with the other tests that they have orderd, they have included things like copper and iron which will pick up things like wilson's disease and hemochromatosis, which can damage the liver, a lot of docs forget to do theses, as you say it should have all been done years ago. hope your tests come back with some helpful information soon.

All the best

Thanks rlc. Yes I am fortunate my specialist is also a Hepatologist!
 
Oh Mez honey, that's not good news about the conditon of your liver but it is good news that finally things might be rolling along for you. xoxo
 
Hi Meryl - gald to see you are fianlly getting somewhere - well done for having the determination. I do hope they can manage to work out exactly what is going on with you and offer some treatment/
Hugs, Justy xx
 
Hi Meryl, sorry to hear about your liver - you must feel pretty awful, I am shocked that you had difficulty getting an ultrasound, I have never had any trouble. Was it your GP that gave you the run-around?
I have had liver issues in the past & I found a great magazine article was very helpful. Unfortunately I no longer have it but I do remember the foods it suggested to avoid. Sugar, Saturated Fats, Chocolate, Caffeine all pretty obvious ones. But it mentioned the strain vegetables of the brassica family put on the liver i.e cauli, brocolli etc
I followed this closely & it helped my liver along quite a bit. Obviously it is no cure for liver problems but it certainly alleviates the strain ;). All the best.
 

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