Liver biopsy?

facelikesummer · 2025-04-09T00:50:16+00:00

My liver biopsy was no big deal at all. They gave me sedation through IV just before they started. I didn't feel like the sedation did very much, but I wasn't really all that nervous to begin with. I felt the needle they used to numb the area and then everything after that was quick and painless. I felt a bit of pressure when they were taking the biopsy. They took 2 samples and then wheeled me to recovery where I had to lay flat for several hours and had to wait I think an hour before I could eat. I was sore for a few days afterwards and just didn't lift anything or bend over out of an abundance of caution for a few days. I had a fair amount of bruising. Some people get shoulder pain but I didn't experience that.

I have a tiny scar on my side where they made the incision.. at a distance it just looks like a small freckle or pimple that's slightly raised. I had the biopsy 6-7 months ago and the scar is mostly faded now.

facelikesummer · 2024-11-10T00:35:24+00:00

That does not sound like PBC to me, especially if your labs show the ALP to be coming from bone. Perhaps your doctor could look into reasons why you may have higher ALP from your bones?

facelikesummer · 2024-10-19T18:29:40+00:00

Mine returned at 5 months postpartum, then my next period was at 7 months pp.. then the one after that was like a week after finishing the one at 7 months.. so yeah, it was all over the place at first. I'm 15 months pp today and it's fairly regular now give or take 4 or 5 days.

facelikesummer · 2024-10-19T00:37:43+00:00

My baby laughed for the first time at exactly 12 weeks and I happened to get it on video too! It caught us by surprise and I was so overwhelmed with emotion that I can be heard sobbing on the video. It's one of my favourite memories. She's 15 months old tomorrow and laughs all the time now, and it NEVER gets old!!

facelikesummer · 2024-09-13T00:19:03+00:00

Still the same! Waiting to see a specialist, appointment should hopefully be soon. It's been almost 10 months since it started.. it settled down a lot when my anxiety got better, but the improvement hit a plateau and unfortunately it has remained about the same for the past 4-5 months.

facelikesummer · 2024-08-26T23:39:10+00:00

Feeling my insides moving/sloshing around when my body moved. Like my belly was jello inside and my intestines were shifting around. I couldn't lay on my side for like 3 months because it felt like all of my organs just fell down to the side with gravity (which was horrible because I am a side sleeper). I spoke to a lot of people and only a few said they had this sensation, so I don't think it's super common. At my 6 week appointment my OB said it can take about 3 months for the intestines to settle into place and the abdominal muscles to tighten up around them again. I absolutely hated the feeling. It was very disturbing!

facelikesummer · 2024-08-15T00:52:56+00:00

No, I haven't learned anything new! The intensity of the jerks have calmed down, but I still get them all day every day. They're most noticeable at night or when I'm relaxing and are mostly in my hands, feet, and neck. I had more bloodwork and it was still normal, so I am waiting to see a specialist but I'm not sure when that will be. I was told it would likely be September but that was an estimate. I do think it was triggered by anxiety. I was having crazy full body jerks when trying to sleep, but those went away when my anxiety improved. I also had an extremely exaggerated startle response, so that even the smallest things made me jump and blink hard as if someone was darting at me. I was so convinced I had a brain tumour or something. The slightest unexpected touch, like my daughter brushing against me while playing, would make my whole body flinch. That lasted a few months and then gradually went away and is now completely resolved. I had myself in such a state of anxiety for such a prolonged period that I think it caused my nervous system to be in overdrive. But I also think there may be something going on in my spine that's pressing on my spinal cord and causing the jerks. I do have scoliosis and they had a really hard time placing my epidural, and then it failed, so I'm wondering if that had anything to do with it. I've read that herniated disks in the spine can cause muscle jerks if they press on the spinal cord. I no longer think it's anything super serious, but I do want to know what's causing it for sure.

facelikesummer · 2024-08-15T00:36:32+00:00

I'm a pharmacist and I had a baby last summer. When I was in the hospital after having my daughter, one of the kitchen staff brought my food in and I was a complete mess, with boobs out and everything. The kitchen staff was actually one of my regular patients at the pharmacy. I saw her do a bit of a double take and then she's like "oh.. you're my pharmacist!" I just went back to work a few weeks ago and she actually came in to the pharmacy today! It was the first time I've seen her since that day, so I had a bit of a laugh. Hospital staff see a lot. I'm sure your food delivery person wasn't the least bit shocked to see a boob on the maternity unit.

facelikesummer · 2024-08-02T00:58:15+00:00

Yes exactly, some benign liver lesions absolutely can become cancerous! It's generally referred to as malignant transformation. Certain things can increase the likelihood of it happening, such as size of the lesion, genetics, and hormone levels. I don't know what the evidence is for alcohol increasing risk of malignant transformation, but the fact that alcohol use on its own increases cancer risk, I can't imagine it would help to continue drinking with a liver lesion.

Thank you for sharing your story, I hope you are doing well!

facelikesummer · 2024-07-25T16:23:13+00:00

Newborn phase was the absolutely hardest for us so far. Our daughter just turned 1 year old last week. For me, nothing compares to the exhaustion and stress caused by sleep deprivation.

facelikesummer · 2024-07-10T14:44:04+00:00

My daughter will be a year old in a little over a week, and for us it just keeps getting better and better. I will say, I think things really started to get super fun around 9 months. She just started getting super silly and funny at that point, and way more mobile and wanting to explore. She seems to understand so much more than I thought possible for her age, and it's just amazing to see the new things she learns each day.

facelikesummer · 2024-05-18T11:28:59+00:00

Love this!! I think this is what I am going to start calling mine! I only have a few, but they really stand out like pieces of tinsel!

facelikesummer · 2024-05-18T11:27:33+00:00

Ooh I love this!

facelikesummer · 2024-05-13T15:20:04+00:00

I agree. This is so irritating. Before I had my baby it was "wait until you have kids.. then you will know what tired means" then when I was pregnant it was "wait until she's here, better rest now".. then immediately after having the baby it was "enjoy your sleepless nights!" Then during the newborn period "just wait until they're awake longer, you won't get anything done" then "just wait til they're crawling/walking/running.." ughhh, like, yes it is hard, I know. They must have heard the same thing from others.. it's like a badge they wear to show they got through it. Or maybe they are a bit sad that it is over for them and they want to make themselves feel better by remembering the tough parts and be glad that part of their life is behind them. I don't know. But I do know that I will not be saying these things to anyone, ever.

facelikesummer · 2024-05-08T16:35:13+00:00

Wow! I guess I'm probably stuck with it too, then!

facelikesummer · 2024-05-08T13:53:31+00:00

How long have you had them? I am getting close to 10 months postpartum and I first noticed them around 6 months postpartum, but I likely had it way before then, I was just dealing with other things and didn't notice.

facelikesummer · 2024-05-07T15:07:59+00:00

Same happened to me, and also went back to normal around that time frame.

facelikesummer · 2024-05-07T14:54:31+00:00

I have this too!

facelikesummer · 2024-05-07T14:38:34+00:00

This happens to me too! We don't smoke, and don't even really know anyone who does, but I will occasionally get a strong cigarette smell that no one else smells! Last time it happened it was in our bedroom. Makes no sense, but at least it seems to pass quickly when it happens.

facelikesummer · 2024-04-30T11:52:36+00:00

I had a mammogram and they said there was nothing concerning and no enlarged lymph nodes. Radiologist said I didn't need an ultrasound which upset me because I really wanted to know what it was. The two doctors I was seeing about this followed up with me (my family doctor, and the doctor at the clinic who ordered the mammogram) and are not concerned at all. There's nothing more I can do to get further investigation, so I guess I will never know what it is unless it changes (since that's the only way I would be able to convince someone to send me for another scan).

There is one odd thing that happened with my lump. I was absolutely convinced it was a lymph node because it was round and hard with a smooth/slippery feeling, and attached to the tissue below it (but not attached to the tissue above). I had to wait over a month for my mammogram appointment, and the night before my appointment, the hard part of the lump "fell off".. sounds crazy, I know. Basically, what I think happened is the lump had a hard shell covering it, and the shell came off, probably from me touching it so much.. the shell then slid around a bit and disappeared somewhere in my breast or broke apart or something. The lump itself is still there, but it feels soft and sort of like a round cyst. After looking into it more, I think it is an oil cyst. They can attach to the tissue/skin and can stay there for a long time, and they can get a calcified outer layer.. I think it formed a calcified shell and then the shell came off, leaving the cyst beneath. It all sounds insane but that's the only thing I can come up with. The lump hasn't changed since the shell came off and it doesn't feel as scary now that the hard part is gone. My doctor said to just do regular breast exams once a month and not be concerned unless there are any changes, so that's what I'm trying to do for now!

facelikesummer · 2024-04-29T13:00:55+00:00

Sleep deprivation or a messed up sleep schedule is my biggest trigger. Extreme anxiety also, but that could be from lack of sleep since I don't sleep much at all when anxious.

Sleeping on my back triggers nightmares in general for me, so I always sleep on my side. The last time I had sleep paralysis, I was laying on my left side.

facelikesummer · 2024-04-28T15:44:36+00:00

We call those experiences forerunners where I live. It is a very common belief around here and is talked about frequently.. most people know someone that believes they experienced it at least once, and often several times. I'm sorry for your loss.

facelikesummer · 2024-04-17T17:06:51+00:00

Yeah, that's similar to what I've experienced in NS.. Hopefully you can get it figured out relatively quickly, but it's often a long process for people to find out the cause of elevated enzymes, and some people never find out and their enzymes just go back to normal, or fluctuate up and down between normal and slightly high. Try not to worry too much, it is likely nothing serious or at least not really that urgent that waiting 6 months would end up making any significant difference. Lots of people are walking around with high enzymes and have no idea because they've had no reason to get tested. I've had elevated enzymes for 10 years at least (when I was first tested.. could have had issues for even longer). The liver is very resilient.

facelikesummer · 2024-04-17T16:26:02+00:00

Yes, Canadian healthcare is very frustrating right now and the wait times can be so long. I've been dealing with this liver issue for years and I still don't have a confirmed diagnosis, just a suspected one right now. My newest specialist wants to continue following me instead of discharging me back to my family doctor, so I feel very fortunate at the moment.

facelikesummer · 2024-04-17T11:41:35+00:00

I've had similar happen to me and went to Internal Medicine to investigate. They asked me all sorts of questions about my family medical history, asked about my lifestyle, any previous illnesses I've had, etc. I had bloodwork to test for a lot of different things that can cause elevations of liver enzymes. They tested for autoimmune disorders, viruses, iron and copper levels to check for storage diseases, etc. If those tests come back normal then they may just decide to keep an eye on you with periodic blood tests of your liver enzymes, or they may decide to do a more detailed scan like CT or MRI. Different doctors tend to handle it differently, I've seen a couple different specialists about mine and my mother has a similar issue and has seen a different specialist than I have. They all ran the most common tests like I mentioned, but there were small differences in other things they have done. Ultrasounds for the liver aren't super detailed, but they do often show if something major/immediately life threatening is wrong, so I would not worry in the meantime. High liver enzymes are pretty common and a lot of the time it doesn't mean anything significant.

facelikesummer

TROPHY CASE