My Story I had always been what I thought a basically healthy person. I had psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis and very mild type 2 diabetes. I had my gallbladder removed in 1994 , But other than that nothing major had ever happened to me.
In 2004 my Dr. suggested that I have a hysterectomy after finding fibroids. during the surgery (while looking for my appendix) he found that my pancreas was "twisted" He did un twist it. and after recovery I went home and back to work as healthy as before. A few months later I started having problems with my sugar. I started using Byetta ( a injectable medication for diabetes) Nothing seemed to work my sugar kept climbing . By 2006 I was sick. Most days my sugar was over 500. Every few weeks I was back at the Dr. each time the diagnosis was " another virus " By 2007 I knew I was in trouble . I had 3 mini strokes in Feb. My family Dr. did test and my ALT/AST ( liver enzymes) were elevated. This sometimes happens from viruses but can be a sign that the liver is inflamed. They wanted me to come back in 6 months to have it rechecked. By June I knew somewhere inside me that I couldn't wait that long , I knew I was dying. I called my Endocrinologist and explained my fears. The first thing he did was stopped the Byetta . They were receiving reports of trouble with the pancreas and he didn't want to take any chance that it may be part of the problem.He also made me appointment with a gastroenterologist that he knew. My enzymes came down with in a few weeks of stopping the Byetta and I started to feel better . By now it was September, My family and I bounced around ideas of what we thought was wrong. We never considered cirrhosis , I didn't drink. With in the first few minutes of my appointment with the GI they told me that I had several symptoms of liver disease. They wanted me to have a Ultrasound to see if they could find a cause. I had the ultrasound a few days later and the next day the office called and said there were some abnormalities and that they wanted to do a liver biopsy. Of course I was certain then that I had cancer. The biopsy was done the first week in October and a few days later they told me that I had CIRRHOSIS. No way I don't drink! My cirrhosis was caused by several different factors . First: my Mother had a liver disorder that although I did not have I was more susceptible to liver problems. Second: I had used a medication called Methotrexate for my psoriasis . Third : The Byetta use ( the jury is still out on this but they are receiving more reports of liver problems) Fourth: And most important I had uncontrolled type 2 diabetes , and high Cholesterol this had caused Fatty liver that had become NASH this in turn became Cirrhosis. I was about to learn more about my liver than I ever thought possible |
What Doctors Treat Liver Patients Primary care Physician : The gate keeper of your general health
Gastroenterologist : The first line of treatment in digestive disorders Hepatologist : The Liver Specialist | A Good Doctor Bedside manner is not the most important quality in a Dr. But fighting liver disease is a disease that will take both of you to win. If you don't like or trust your Dr. Find a new one.
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