Status report

Went for my pre-op this past Monday. Had blood drawn, EKG, etc. The doctor calls Thursday night saying there are irregular findings. I have two elevated liver enzymes and an irregular EKG. He said the EKG finding is indicative of ischemia and asked if I had ever had a HEART ATTACK or if I ever had chest pain.!?!?! I have been singing my hemochromatosis song since before my January WLS and all reports including the liver biopsy came back negative. I HAVE been taking Black Cohosh for hot flashes and found a few incidences on the internet of of liver problems following cohosh use, so I have stopped that. I got right on the phone Friday with Dr. K's office to get copies of all lab work from January. They said no prob. The Medical Records Dept. however is a REAL stickler--you can imagine. I had to type a letter with ALL necessary info and put it in snail mail. They would NOT accept a fax. In the letter I explained that my procedure depends onthe receipt of the EKG. I have done my part, the UVa doc may need to rattle some cages. I looked up the high enzymes on the internet and both can be indicative of hemochromatosis, OR hepatitis, OR cirrhosis or Ca. I imagine that will have to be investigated now as well. Just imagine, down 114 pounds, hiking/walking/running 3-6 miles a day, feeling TERRIFIC and having all this sitting on a platter in front of you. Oh well, not one of these things can hurt any more than what has already happened. We'll see what this week brings. Time to go take a hike . Lois

Lois...I TOTALLY understand what you are going through. I was recently diagnosed with a second...more serious heart arrythmia...for which I just started ANOTHER med for. Hopefully, the med will work....and I won't have to have heart surgery...which is scary. I am only 37...and like you...had the surgery to get healthy...all my labs have been GREAT...and had started to feel sexy for the first time in a long time after losing 110 lbs...then this comes out of nowhere. Really wierd. I hope that BOTH of us get through all of this just fine. Hang in there. Hugs, Stephanie

Hi Stephanie, Let's do keep up with each other on this. I've been dealing witih possible liver probs since my mom was diagnosed with the disorder over 25 years ago, but the HEART thing is new territory for me. I've been reading about ischemia causing silent heart attacks and silent angina--you would think as much as I exercise I would have SOME symptom if there really were a prob. Lois

Lois, I know this probably isn't any consolation, but thankfully you are down 100+ pounds and if you have to have any surgery you will be in much better shape. I don't know if that is in the future or not, but it's a thought. You've been through a lot Lois, and I know you are a strong woman. You're in my prayers! love donna

It is a consolation, Donna. The smallest things are consolations now. I am a member of griefnet.org, specfically the parents who have had children die group. I am SO thankful I did not cause the wreck that killed Co. I am thankful I did not have two children die in the wreck. I am thankful Cody's remark about my dying before she had children spurred me to get my WLS. I am thankful I am normal-sized (although not as small as I want to be yet), and feel great. The gyn remarked that I am in much better stead for the surgery now than I would have been last year at this time. We both agree with you. As I said, nothing I have to go through can hurt anymore than that which has already happened. If the surgery has to be postponed then it is all in Divine Right Order and I will be patient, rejoicing in my new life and health. Thanks, Donna Lo

Sorry to hear about your EKG issues. I can tell you that among post-ops elevated liver enzymes are very common. A non-scientific survey on one yahoo group had about 25% of respondents saying they had issues. Obviously it is important to follow it up and get it checked and make sure it isn't something serious. Many folks go to a gastro and get liver biopsies and usually nothing is found which is a good thing. My liver enzymes were elevated from about 6 months post-op on. The doc was just monitoring 'em because I had had other surgery and anesthesias. When I was hospitalized with chest pains (which ended up being esophageal spasms from my vitamins getting stuck) in June, the one of the enzyme levels was in the 300s. The docs there weren't happy. CT scan and ultrasound completely normal. They checked it the next day and it had dropped in half. My doc was thinking of sending me to gastro for a liver biopsy but I wanted to wait a bit longer. I started taking milk thistle supplements which cleanses the liver. My last set of labs had 2 out of 3 of the enzymes in normal range with one still elevated. I go for my 18 months labs in two weeks and we'll see how it's doing. I've read of folks that say their levels stay fine as long as they stay on the milk thistle. If they come off of 'em, it rises again. But who knows, ya know? The info on the milk thistle isn't perfect but my doc felt it was okay to try. I've also read on the WLS-grads board that someone's doctor felt that her liver was reacting to the high intake of vitamins. So he had her cut back on some (don't know which ones) and her liver enzymes improved. It wouldn't be the Bs since those aren't stored but I believe some of the fat soluable ones may be stored in the liver. I believe the person was Charlie from FL (blondish gal). Good luck with everything! Hugs, K

Glad you responded. I will hve info for the doctor. I will certainly try the milk thistle. Walmart must have it. Also, I am taking 2 multivits w/iron in the a.m. and 2 hair and nails in the pm/ I thnk I will cut back on that AND go off the iron for a while. Itg was only the AST and the ALT which were twice normal. From what I have read some people have them MUCH higher than that. I also think very high protein diets are hard on the liver. The gyn can't really evaluate all this aabout the liver. I think he will refer me to Digestive Health. I amm more concerned about the irreg EKG. JEEZ I hope I can get all this in before 12-31! Thanks again for posting this. Lois

Lois, Glad to help - anytime! Didn't want you worrying too much about the liver since I know it is a fairly common issue for post-ops. My ALT is now double what it should be. The AST and alpha phosphotase (think I got that right) are normal. My ALT was up in the 300s at one time and the AST was at least double as well. Only change I made was the milk thistle. I did get it at WalMart though I believe I've bought some online at some time. The current ones are Spring Valley. Might have gotten those at The Vitamin Shoppe. The dose I've seen recommended for post-op use is 500 mg 2-3 times a day. I just checked my bottle and the pills are 175 mg each. The last brand I had was much higher. Shoot. I'm not taking as much as I was. I'm taking 3 of the 175s. Think I'll up that back to what I was taking. Good luck with the EKG. Rich had something unusual on his when he did his pre-op testing before RNY. They made him get cardiac clearance. The doc looked up his EKG from years back when he was hospitalized and it was indentical. The cardiologist told him that is a normal rhythm for him so cleared him. Hope all goes well for you. Take good care, Kathy

Lois, I guess I really am behind on what's going on around here as I didn't know you had surgery upcoming. I hope everything that is going on with your EKG and blodwork come sout normal. I will be thinking about you and hoping for the best! Kirsten

Thanks, Kirsten