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Tex,
You know the drill. I had been doing OK for a while and then started having a flare a couple of weeks ago. Then starting Sunday, the real watery explosive stuff has had me running for my office. My question is (and this gets graphic) last night b/f I went to bed, it was so watery that there was no food particles just this light tan cloud in the water (kind of like when you are prepping for a colonoscopy when you are finally cleaned out of bulk). What is that stuff (the cloud that is)? Of course I went through 2 diapers while sleeping last night which is another bummer since I have not had any accidents in about a month. I was still going at night it was just that at least I was waking up to get to the office so there were no accidents.
Anyway, I have always wondered about that cloudy stuff and I could not find anything on the internet about it and knew that you could answer me.
Love,
Rose
A Question for Tex
Moderators: Rosie, Stanz, Jean, CAMary, moremuscle, JFR, Dee, xet, Peggy, Matthew, Gabes-Apg, grannyh, Gloria, Mars, starfire, Polly, Joefnh
Hi Rose,
I've been in that situation before, but to be honest, I just assumed that "clouds" like that are just the result of "sediment" in the colon being picked by the fecal stream, and flushed out. That can also happen when someone is on a liquid diet. I lived on water, 7-up, and jello, for a couple of weeks, one time, between clinic tests, and that was the routine, as I recall.
The fact that you are going through an all-out reaction, (again), is very troubling, to say the least. Since your kitchen is not GF, (you also cook meals that contain gluten), and this cycle keeps repeating, I'm beginning to wonder about diet contamination. You know, you cannot open a bag of wheat flour, without particles or flour escaping into the air. You cannot pour wheat flour, without particles of flour escaping into the air. You can't dip wheat flour, without flour dust escaping into the air. You can't breathe, around wheat flour, without blowing flour dust into the air. You can't even handle an unopened bag of flour, without flour dust escaping into the air, (the dust will be blown out of the seams/openings of the bag, as you squeeze it while picking it up). In short, you cannot have a bag of wheat flour in your house, without having flour dust in the air. Flour dust is so fine, that it is not necessarily always visible in the air, (unless it is really concentrated), and it can take a long time to settle out. Air currents can carry it a long way, throughout the house.
If you have wheat flour in the house, it will be on all your counter tops, tables, appliances, and it will be on/in any pots and pans, and other cooking utensils that are exposed. When you open a cabinet, to get out a plate, pot, etc., flour dust will drift into the cabinet, and settle on everything in there, (of course there will be much less in there, than there will be outside the cabinet, though). Wiping counter tops helps to clear them, of course, but the compressed air waves ahead of your hand, as you vigorously wipe the surface, will tend to dislodge some of the dust, and force it to become airborne, again, ahead of the cloth, or pad, used for wiping. As we all know, dust can be very "insidious" stuff. We dust regularly, and we do everything we can think of, to keep it out of the house, and yet it seems that every time we turn around, the house needs dusting again. Most dust, of course, is pretty much innocuous, but for most of us here, wheat flour dust is toxic.
Once flour dust is airborne, it's difficult to say how long it takes to settle out - that will depend on the fineness of the dust, air currents in the house, temperatures, human movement/activity, etc. If we view the process as a mathematical, or engineering problem, the half-life will probably be somewhere in the range of a few minutes, for the bulk of the material, but it may take the last few particles, a few hours to settle out, and this is assuming that nothing is present to interrupt the settling process. If someone walks through the room, for example, the dust affected by the resulting agitation to the air, will be re-launched, to varying degrees, and it will have to begin the settling process, again. A few minutes after wiping a counter top, if you touch that surface with your hand, close examination under a microscope would probably reveal flour dust on your hand.
Do you see the problem? For some of us, that scenario may not be a big issue, because the trace amounts of wheat flour that settles on our pots, pans, food, etc., may be below our threshold for triggering a reaction. For someone who is extremely sensitive, though, it can be a real problem. I can't say with any degree of certainty that this is your problem, but I have a gut feeling that there is a good chance that it might be. If you don't have any wheat flour in the house, then obviously, none of the above applies.
Maybe some other type of cross-contamination might be happening. Certain utensils can be difficult to thoroughly clean. Do you, by any chance, use the same sieve to drain both conventional and GF pastas? IOW, I think that we're overlooking something here, something that is happening regularly, and it's confounding your recovery. Whatever it is, it's something that you do virtually every day, (or at least fairly often), so you "assume" that it's safe. For the vast majority of us, whenever we finally track down the last thing that is preventing us from enjoying remission, we are usually quite surprised, because it is almost invariably something that we "knew" was safe.
Love,
Tex
I've been in that situation before, but to be honest, I just assumed that "clouds" like that are just the result of "sediment" in the colon being picked by the fecal stream, and flushed out. That can also happen when someone is on a liquid diet. I lived on water, 7-up, and jello, for a couple of weeks, one time, between clinic tests, and that was the routine, as I recall.
The fact that you are going through an all-out reaction, (again), is very troubling, to say the least. Since your kitchen is not GF, (you also cook meals that contain gluten), and this cycle keeps repeating, I'm beginning to wonder about diet contamination. You know, you cannot open a bag of wheat flour, without particles or flour escaping into the air. You cannot pour wheat flour, without particles of flour escaping into the air. You can't dip wheat flour, without flour dust escaping into the air. You can't breathe, around wheat flour, without blowing flour dust into the air. You can't even handle an unopened bag of flour, without flour dust escaping into the air, (the dust will be blown out of the seams/openings of the bag, as you squeeze it while picking it up). In short, you cannot have a bag of wheat flour in your house, without having flour dust in the air. Flour dust is so fine, that it is not necessarily always visible in the air, (unless it is really concentrated), and it can take a long time to settle out. Air currents can carry it a long way, throughout the house.
If you have wheat flour in the house, it will be on all your counter tops, tables, appliances, and it will be on/in any pots and pans, and other cooking utensils that are exposed. When you open a cabinet, to get out a plate, pot, etc., flour dust will drift into the cabinet, and settle on everything in there, (of course there will be much less in there, than there will be outside the cabinet, though). Wiping counter tops helps to clear them, of course, but the compressed air waves ahead of your hand, as you vigorously wipe the surface, will tend to dislodge some of the dust, and force it to become airborne, again, ahead of the cloth, or pad, used for wiping. As we all know, dust can be very "insidious" stuff. We dust regularly, and we do everything we can think of, to keep it out of the house, and yet it seems that every time we turn around, the house needs dusting again. Most dust, of course, is pretty much innocuous, but for most of us here, wheat flour dust is toxic.
Once flour dust is airborne, it's difficult to say how long it takes to settle out - that will depend on the fineness of the dust, air currents in the house, temperatures, human movement/activity, etc. If we view the process as a mathematical, or engineering problem, the half-life will probably be somewhere in the range of a few minutes, for the bulk of the material, but it may take the last few particles, a few hours to settle out, and this is assuming that nothing is present to interrupt the settling process. If someone walks through the room, for example, the dust affected by the resulting agitation to the air, will be re-launched, to varying degrees, and it will have to begin the settling process, again. A few minutes after wiping a counter top, if you touch that surface with your hand, close examination under a microscope would probably reveal flour dust on your hand.
Do you see the problem? For some of us, that scenario may not be a big issue, because the trace amounts of wheat flour that settles on our pots, pans, food, etc., may be below our threshold for triggering a reaction. For someone who is extremely sensitive, though, it can be a real problem. I can't say with any degree of certainty that this is your problem, but I have a gut feeling that there is a good chance that it might be. If you don't have any wheat flour in the house, then obviously, none of the above applies.
Maybe some other type of cross-contamination might be happening. Certain utensils can be difficult to thoroughly clean. Do you, by any chance, use the same sieve to drain both conventional and GF pastas? IOW, I think that we're overlooking something here, something that is happening regularly, and it's confounding your recovery. Whatever it is, it's something that you do virtually every day, (or at least fairly often), so you "assume" that it's safe. For the vast majority of us, whenever we finally track down the last thing that is preventing us from enjoying remission, we are usually quite surprised, because it is almost invariably something that we "knew" was safe.
Love,
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Tex,
Thanks for your insight on the "cloud." As far as cross-contamination goes, I know there is a risk, but to be very honest with you (and it is a little embarrassing) I don't bake so I don't own flour. I use separate utensils, bowels, plates, water bottles, coffee cups, etc from the rest of the family. When I make sandwiches, I make them on a plate in the sink so that as soon as I am done, I wash the plate, rinse the sink and turn on the disposal. I prepare my food in a separate place than the rest of the family. I don't even sit at the table when they are eating pizza and once they are done I clean the tabletop. I don't cook any pasta for me anymore b/c I don't like the consistency of the GF pasta. I do use a separate microwave safe bowel to steam my veggies. But, I will go through my routine once again and see if there are anymore holes in it. I guess it is time for the family to go GF.
I really appreciate all of your insight.
Thanks for your insight on the "cloud." As far as cross-contamination goes, I know there is a risk, but to be very honest with you (and it is a little embarrassing) I don't bake so I don't own flour. I use separate utensils, bowels, plates, water bottles, coffee cups, etc from the rest of the family. When I make sandwiches, I make them on a plate in the sink so that as soon as I am done, I wash the plate, rinse the sink and turn on the disposal. I prepare my food in a separate place than the rest of the family. I don't even sit at the table when they are eating pizza and once they are done I clean the tabletop. I don't cook any pasta for me anymore b/c I don't like the consistency of the GF pasta. I do use a separate microwave safe bowel to steam my veggies. But, I will go through my routine once again and see if there are anymore holes in it. I guess it is time for the family to go GF.
I really appreciate all of your insight.
Rose,
Hey, I don't bake, either, so I don't see anything wrong with that.
Really, for someone following a paleo diet, (or a variation of it), it's hard to justify the baking process, anyway. You can bet that the paleo people didn't own an oven. The main point is, flour is a highly refined food, and we shouldn't be eating it, anyway, from that viewpoint.
Well, with no flour in the house, that shoots down that possibility, so we're back to square one. I have to admit, from your description, your food-preparation routine seems to be almost bullet-proof. Maybe someone else can find a weak link in it, but as far as I can tell, what you're doing appears to be pretty safe. To be honest, I'm not at all sure that changing the diet of the rest of the family would help, (as far as safety is concerned), but who knows?
Incidentally, on the pasta, have you tried Dee's tip, to improve the texture/consistency of GF pasta?
Love,
Tex
Hey, I don't bake, either, so I don't see anything wrong with that.
Really, for someone following a paleo diet, (or a variation of it), it's hard to justify the baking process, anyway. You can bet that the paleo people didn't own an oven. The main point is, flour is a highly refined food, and we shouldn't be eating it, anyway, from that viewpoint.Well, with no flour in the house, that shoots down that possibility, so we're back to square one. I have to admit, from your description, your food-preparation routine seems to be almost bullet-proof. Maybe someone else can find a weak link in it, but as far as I can tell, what you're doing appears to be pretty safe. To be honest, I'm not at all sure that changing the diet of the rest of the family would help, (as far as safety is concerned), but who knows?
Incidentally, on the pasta, have you tried Dee's tip, to improve the texture/consistency of GF pasta?
http://www.perskyfarms.com/phpBB2/viewt ... inse+pastaGF Pasta: I will only use Tinky'ada brown rice pasta. The key to making it similiar to normal pasta is to make sure that after the alotted boiling time, make sure you rinse it in cold water for at least 30 seconds... Then put it back into the pot that you boiled it in and turn the stove to medium and stir the pasta for a little bit to take excess moisture out of the pasta.
If I think of anything else, I'll pop in and post again.
Have any questions?? Give me a holler!!!
Love,
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Rose,
Have you tried eliminating corn? I see your intolerances list the G, C & S. You may have more intolerances. I certainly have a long way to go but I used to have that exact kind of D. It was so explosive that it would get all over my back and I would have to change clothes. I'm really feeling for you.
Hope you can figure this out soon!
My BIL in a dr and he has known about my situation forever and just this past Sunday he talked about an Endocrinologist and that maybe I should go to him and get checked for some obscure hormone abnormalities, not female hormone but other ones. I'm trying to give this diet a chance but that may be an option if the diet fails. I'm not saying that is what you should do but may be an option.
Pat
Have you tried eliminating corn? I see your intolerances list the G, C & S. You may have more intolerances. I certainly have a long way to go but I used to have that exact kind of D. It was so explosive that it would get all over my back and I would have to change clothes. I'm really feeling for you.
Hope you can figure this out soon!My BIL in a dr and he has known about my situation forever and just this past Sunday he talked about an Endocrinologist and that maybe I should go to him and get checked for some obscure hormone abnormalities, not female hormone but other ones. I'm trying to give this diet a chance but that may be an option if the diet fails. I'm not saying that is what you should do but may be an option.
Pat
Tex,
I didn't know you were a "caveman" also. I have been reading up on that diet and I am kind of Paleo with the exception that I don't eat red meat or eggs and I cook my veggies to mush. I need to investigate that diet more.
My Rheumatologist did a CBC last week and they are sending me a copy of the report in the mail. His nurse said that my liver enzymes are elevated again, but I don't know how bad.
BTW, I wanted to tell you that I was looking around on the net yesterday and on the American College of Gastro. web site, it states that chronic watery d and malabsorption is also caused by cholestastic liver disease. I was diagnosed with this when I had the cyst removed from my liver (and they did a biopsy of the liver as well) three years ago. I just feel like I have so many strikes against me, but I keep going up to bat for remission.
Pat,
Thank you for your insight as well. I have had my hormones checked a couple of years ago when my ob was trying to determine if I was pre-menopausal (which I wasn't), I guess I need to get that checked again as well.
I didn't know you were a "caveman" also. I have been reading up on that diet and I am kind of Paleo with the exception that I don't eat red meat or eggs and I cook my veggies to mush. I need to investigate that diet more.
My Rheumatologist did a CBC last week and they are sending me a copy of the report in the mail. His nurse said that my liver enzymes are elevated again, but I don't know how bad.
BTW, I wanted to tell you that I was looking around on the net yesterday and on the American College of Gastro. web site, it states that chronic watery d and malabsorption is also caused by cholestastic liver disease. I was diagnosed with this when I had the cyst removed from my liver (and they did a biopsy of the liver as well) three years ago. I just feel like I have so many strikes against me, but I keep going up to bat for remission.
Pat,
Thank you for your insight as well. I have had my hormones checked a couple of years ago when my ob was trying to determine if I was pre-menopausal (which I wasn't), I guess I need to get that checked again as well.
Rose,
While I'm very familiar with the paleo diet, I've never actually been on it, primarily because potatoes have always been a part of my diet, and basically, any of the root crops that require cooking, are not paleo. They're a neolithic food item.
The CBC may hold some insight into what's going on. Hmmmmmm. I had no idea that you had cholestastic liver disease. Was/is it intrahepatic or extrahepatic, (IOW, what caused it)? That could certainly be a primary part of the puzzle, all right.
Love,
Tex
While I'm very familiar with the paleo diet, I've never actually been on it, primarily because potatoes have always been a part of my diet, and basically, any of the root crops that require cooking, are not paleo. They're a neolithic food item.
The CBC may hold some insight into what's going on. Hmmmmmm. I had no idea that you had cholestastic liver disease. Was/is it intrahepatic or extrahepatic, (IOW, what caused it)? That could certainly be a primary part of the puzzle, all right.
Love,
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Tex,
We don't know what caused it. It all started with my psoriatic arthritis. My Rhum. wanted to put me on Methorexate so they ran blood tests and it came back that my liver enzymes were elevated. I was also having pain/burning on my upper right side under my breast bone. My Rhum. sent me to my GI and he had an ultrasound done on my liver and thats when they found the cyst. The GI ran a CAT Scan on my liver and cyst and found out that my gallbladder was not functioning. So to make a very long story short when I had the surgery to remove the gallbladder and cyst the surgeon also did a biopsy of my liver and thats when I found out I had Cholestasic liver disease. My enzymes have been elevated ever since and we still don't know what is causing this either.
I am just a mess.
Pat,
I have had a Thyroid test, but like I said it was a couple of years ago. I think that you are right though and I should have everything checked just to rule it out.
Love,
Rose
We don't know what caused it. It all started with my psoriatic arthritis. My Rhum. wanted to put me on Methorexate so they ran blood tests and it came back that my liver enzymes were elevated. I was also having pain/burning on my upper right side under my breast bone. My Rhum. sent me to my GI and he had an ultrasound done on my liver and thats when they found the cyst. The GI ran a CAT Scan on my liver and cyst and found out that my gallbladder was not functioning. So to make a very long story short when I had the surgery to remove the gallbladder and cyst the surgeon also did a biopsy of my liver and thats when I found out I had Cholestasic liver disease. My enzymes have been elevated ever since and we still don't know what is causing this either.
I am just a mess.
Pat,
I have had a Thyroid test, but like I said it was a couple of years ago. I think that you are right though and I should have everything checked just to rule it out.
Love,
Rose
Rose,
I hope I'm wrong, but here's what I think - remember I'm not a medical professional, so this just an irrelevant opinion:
Since your doctors discovered the cholestastic liver issues by accident, you were apparently asymptomatic, (otherwise, surely, your doctors would have checked for it sooner). (It's very common for the disease to be asymptomatic). If you were asymptomatic, then you may have had the condition for years. Fatigue is the most common symptom, but when allowed to progress, the disease tends to cause problems such as hypertension, cholesterol issues, malabsorption of fat-soluble vitamins, and autoimmune disorders will begin to develop. IOW, this issue may possibly have preceded all your autoimmune issues, including the PA, RA, etc. It is also very likely the cause of your MC, since it commonly results in some form of IBD. Another issue that it tends to cause is autoimmune thyroid disease, so Pat's advice is probably on target - IOW, sooner or later, you may develop thyroid issues, if you haven't already.
If your liver enzymes are still elevated, then the problem is apparently still ongoing. This should have been addressed long ago, of course, before all the autoimmune issues surfaced, but as we all know, hindsight is 20-20, and asymptomatic diseases rarely get diagnosed in a timely manner.
Your doctors need to collaborate, assimilate all this information, and come up with a comprehensive plan to resolve your primary problem, rather than to continue to treat isolated issues, while ignoring the primary cause, and allowing it to to continue to propagate new autoimmune diseases. This seems to me to be a primary problem with medical treatment these days - everyone wants to treat his or her specialty, while ignoring the primary cause. This results in the patient being treated forever, for progressively expanding issues.
As to what initially caused the liver issues, very, very often, they are caused by chemicals, the most common of which is medications, of course. It could be prescription meds, OTC, or even "natural" compounds. Quite often, just stopping the use of the chemical/drug/whatever, will resolve the liver issues. Are you still taking something that you started taking way back before all these problems began?
Love,
Tex
I hope I'm wrong, but here's what I think - remember I'm not a medical professional, so this just an irrelevant opinion:
Since your doctors discovered the cholestastic liver issues by accident, you were apparently asymptomatic, (otherwise, surely, your doctors would have checked for it sooner). (It's very common for the disease to be asymptomatic). If you were asymptomatic, then you may have had the condition for years. Fatigue is the most common symptom, but when allowed to progress, the disease tends to cause problems such as hypertension, cholesterol issues, malabsorption of fat-soluble vitamins, and autoimmune disorders will begin to develop. IOW, this issue may possibly have preceded all your autoimmune issues, including the PA, RA, etc. It is also very likely the cause of your MC, since it commonly results in some form of IBD. Another issue that it tends to cause is autoimmune thyroid disease, so Pat's advice is probably on target - IOW, sooner or later, you may develop thyroid issues, if you haven't already.
If your liver enzymes are still elevated, then the problem is apparently still ongoing. This should have been addressed long ago, of course, before all the autoimmune issues surfaced, but as we all know, hindsight is 20-20, and asymptomatic diseases rarely get diagnosed in a timely manner.
Your doctors need to collaborate, assimilate all this information, and come up with a comprehensive plan to resolve your primary problem, rather than to continue to treat isolated issues, while ignoring the primary cause, and allowing it to to continue to propagate new autoimmune diseases. This seems to me to be a primary problem with medical treatment these days - everyone wants to treat his or her specialty, while ignoring the primary cause. This results in the patient being treated forever, for progressively expanding issues.
As to what initially caused the liver issues, very, very often, they are caused by chemicals, the most common of which is medications, of course. It could be prescription meds, OTC, or even "natural" compounds. Quite often, just stopping the use of the chemical/drug/whatever, will resolve the liver issues. Are you still taking something that you started taking way back before all these problems began?
Love,
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Tex,
I think what started the liver issues was when the Rhuem. put me on sulfasalizine for the arthritis. I could never get up to the full dose b/c of the s/e. We tried for 2 months to up the dosage gradually and nothing worked. Then I started getting nauseated and then my side started hurting. When we got the results of from the gallbladder test (I can't remember the name of it) and found out that it was not functioning properly and needed to be removed, my GI assumed that this was the cause of the liver enzymes being elevated. Once the biopsy came back with the diagnosis we (my dh & I) asked the GI what this meant and if I need to do something about this. He told me that we would just do enzyme tests every 6 months to make sure that they do not get too high. According to the GI my enzymes are not high enough to be a concern and a lot of people just naturally have elevated enzymes. Since this was the first time they were being tested we don't know when they started to climb.
I have always thought that this is not normal, but I can never get anyone to address the issue. My Rhuem. tells me it is a GI issue, but the old GI tells me not to worry about it. Now the new GI has all of my records and I can't remember if we brought up the Cholestastsis or not. I know that he looked at the pathology report b/c he brought up the removal of the cyst and the gallbladder. I have to check my print-out that I brought to him. It just makes me wonder how much these high priced doctors really know what the heck is going on.
You are once again a doll for helping me out with this.
Love,
Rose
I think what started the liver issues was when the Rhuem. put me on sulfasalizine for the arthritis. I could never get up to the full dose b/c of the s/e. We tried for 2 months to up the dosage gradually and nothing worked. Then I started getting nauseated and then my side started hurting. When we got the results of from the gallbladder test (I can't remember the name of it) and found out that it was not functioning properly and needed to be removed, my GI assumed that this was the cause of the liver enzymes being elevated. Once the biopsy came back with the diagnosis we (my dh & I) asked the GI what this meant and if I need to do something about this. He told me that we would just do enzyme tests every 6 months to make sure that they do not get too high. According to the GI my enzymes are not high enough to be a concern and a lot of people just naturally have elevated enzymes. Since this was the first time they were being tested we don't know when they started to climb.
I have always thought that this is not normal, but I can never get anyone to address the issue. My Rhuem. tells me it is a GI issue, but the old GI tells me not to worry about it. Now the new GI has all of my records and I can't remember if we brought up the Cholestastsis or not. I know that he looked at the pathology report b/c he brought up the removal of the cyst and the gallbladder. I have to check my print-out that I brought to him. It just makes me wonder how much these high priced doctors really know what the heck is going on.
You are once again a doll for helping me out with this.
Love,
Rose
Hmmmmm. Not having any previous test levels of those liver enzymes makes the situation more complicated. The professional recommendations for prescribing sulfasalazine include instructions for monitoring liver function tests before and after initiating the drug, (because approximately 13% of patients are hypersensitive to sulfasalazine). Somebody dropped the ball. 
Two months is a long time to take a drug, if it might be causing liver damage. Did you have a rash while you were taking it?
I think that usually, when you stop taking something like that, the enzymes should return to normal within several weeks. Interestingly, recent research shows that sulfasalazine can be used to reverse liver damage, but presumably, that would be for people who are not hypersensitive to it, (I'm just guessing about that, though, for hypersensitive people). It apparently helps to heal the liver by blocking the production of proteins that keep scar tissue cells alive.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/5382172.stm
The liver is actually a pretty sophisticated organ, with a big job to do, and I don't believe we understand near enough about it. It gets "kicked around" pretty severely, by a lot of the things that we swallow, (or get injected with), but no one seems to worry about it, until it acts up.
It's true, of course, that a lot of people have elevated liver enzymes. That doesn't mean that it's normal, though. There's always a reason for everything, we just aren't always capable of discovering the reason.
Love,
Tex
Two months is a long time to take a drug, if it might be causing liver damage. Did you have a rash while you were taking it?
I think that usually, when you stop taking something like that, the enzymes should return to normal within several weeks. Interestingly, recent research shows that sulfasalazine can be used to reverse liver damage, but presumably, that would be for people who are not hypersensitive to it, (I'm just guessing about that, though, for hypersensitive people). It apparently helps to heal the liver by blocking the production of proteins that keep scar tissue cells alive.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/5382172.stm
The liver is actually a pretty sophisticated organ, with a big job to do, and I don't believe we understand near enough about it. It gets "kicked around" pretty severely, by a lot of the things that we swallow, (or get injected with), but no one seems to worry about it, until it acts up.
It's true, of course, that a lot of people have elevated liver enzymes. That doesn't mean that it's normal, though. There's always a reason for everything, we just aren't always capable of discovering the reason.
I'm not sure that we would really want to know that - it might scare the heck out of us.Rose wrote:It just makes me wonder how much these high priced doctors really know what the heck is going on.
Love,
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Tex,
While I was on the sulfasalizine I had to go to his office to get blood work done every week for a month, then every two weeks and then I was suppose to go once a month (but I stopped taking it b/f it got to that) to check my liver, so I am assuming that my levels were normal when I started seeing him (he did do blood work at my first appointment with him). Now I have to say that he is not the Rhuem that I see now. As usual, I was originally referred to a real a**hole (my dh wanted to deck him at the very last appointment we had with him) so I have been with this Rhuem (which we absolutely love) for 5 years now. The one I am seeing now was the one who wanted to put me on the Methotrexate and did the blood work that showed my enzymes were elevated. I do not remember I had a rash from the sulfasalizine, I just remember that I was sick as a dog while taking it. I do not have any copies of the blood work that the original doctor did, just my x-rays.
Love,
Rose
While I was on the sulfasalizine I had to go to his office to get blood work done every week for a month, then every two weeks and then I was suppose to go once a month (but I stopped taking it b/f it got to that) to check my liver, so I am assuming that my levels were normal when I started seeing him (he did do blood work at my first appointment with him). Now I have to say that he is not the Rhuem that I see now. As usual, I was originally referred to a real a**hole (my dh wanted to deck him at the very last appointment we had with him) so I have been with this Rhuem (which we absolutely love) for 5 years now. The one I am seeing now was the one who wanted to put me on the Methotrexate and did the blood work that showed my enzymes were elevated. I do not remember I had a rash from the sulfasalizine, I just remember that I was sick as a dog while taking it. I do not have any copies of the blood work that the original doctor did, just my x-rays.
Love,
Rose
Tex,
I just got my CBC in the mail from my Rhuem and I have been scouring the internet to find out what some of these results mean and/or have an impact that I need to be concerned about. My AST & ALT are elevated which I knew and know what that is all about, but what the heck is a ION Balance and mine is below normal range. Also my glucose is below normal (53) and my MCV and Automated Monocyte are both above normal. My RBC and Hemoglobin count are normal, but in the very low range of normal.
I know you are not a doctor, but I can't find what these are.
Thanks,
Rose
I just got my CBC in the mail from my Rhuem and I have been scouring the internet to find out what some of these results mean and/or have an impact that I need to be concerned about. My AST & ALT are elevated which I knew and know what that is all about, but what the heck is a ION Balance and mine is below normal range. Also my glucose is below normal (53) and my MCV and Automated Monocyte are both above normal. My RBC and Hemoglobin count are normal, but in the very low range of normal.
I know you are not a doctor, but I can't find what these are.
Thanks,
Rose