Listen to these numbers, amylase 300+, lipace mid 100s. Went do digestive Dr. a week later, the amylase is down to normal, and lipace about 100, just slightly elevated. With those higher numbers, I was convinced I should heed the Dr. advice and get a Catscan. Now that the numbers have come down to almost normal, I'm not sure at all. btw, blood sugar number normal, 88 What say ye, MDs. of the gazini?
Not an internist or gastroenterologist but rather a retired Ob-Gyn...but here's my 2 cents: Those numbers suggest pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas). Google or Wiki pancreatitis to get more details. The fact that your numbers are now normal or almost normal suggest the inflammation of the pancreas is subsiding. Your doc ordered the CT scan to look for the cause of the pancreatitis (gallstones, certain liver conditions, etc). Offhand, I think an ultrasound would be the first line of diagnostic attack (no ionizing radiation with such a scan) but that is something to discuss with your MD. But if I were in your shoes I would submit to some type of imaging. Don't know if you were in a lot of pain but, brother, you do not want to ever experience a rip-roaring case of pancreatitis, so my advice would be to try to nip this thing in the bud or head off a recurrence at the pass, so to speak, and find out why your lab values went out of whack in the first place. I could give you better advice if you were pregnant or in labor .
thanks bevo, I researched the Pancreas diseases, and it's a mystery to me. No symptoms of the itis, no alcohol, drugs, no family history, only thing I have is obesity. I have had high numbers in my liver before, which I think is related to the fact that I took Accutane 30 years ago, it didn't work, so I took it again, right after that. I will get the cat next week.
oc, if you are obese then you may have fatty liver. IIRC, fatty liver itself can be a cause of pancreatitis, though I ain't 100% sure about that (I'm rusty on GI stuff, plus I have not practiced what I preached to you and read up on pancreatitis on Wiki/Google...hey, after all, I'm retired!). If indeed you do have fatty liver and if that can be a cause of pancreas inflammation, then maybe you had a subclinical case of pancreatitis, a situation where your enzymes went up but you weren't having any pain or other GI symptoms. In any event, I'd still be in favor of your getting imaged, whether it be an ultrasound or CT scan. As I posted before, I'd vote for the ultrasound, since there is no radiation risk, but maybe a CT would reveal more in your situation, or is more accurate...again, discuss with your doc. Hopefully a HornFans internist or gastroenterologist will weigh in soon. Perhaps there are other causes of elevated amylase/lipase besides pancreatitis. Keep us updated as to what you find out...good luck!
thanks bevo, I agree completely with you about fatty liver. My wife showed me an article about fatty liver today and said "read this and see if this is you" It was me to an absolute T. Some of my symptoms are coming from both the fatty liver and sleep apnea. The article had 6 symptoms, and said if you had two, you most likely had fatty liver. I have three of the symptoms easily. The treatment for fatty liver according to this article is a very specific diet that will clean my liver and hopefully re-energize me. I am also getting the scan next week, and it will be interesting to see what happens. Really ironic how this whole thing got started. I responded to an internet ad for a study that was to be about people who have sleep apnea who can't/won't wear a mask. I had to have good blood levels, and boom, these came back. So, in addition to the sleep apnea/fattty liver combo., the Cat. might show something else, a lesion, etc. I wouldn't be surprised if it showed a lesion, an enlarged liver, and not much else.
Probably fatty liver alone - not a lesion. Get tested though. And it might not hurt to get tested for Hepatitis. Let your doctor decide. You will need to work on your diet - limit carbohydrates and soft drinks and drink more water. You will need to stop drinking alcohol (if you do drink). Limit medicines especially those metabolized in the liver and limit multivitamins and OTC meds (such as Tylenol) and supplements. And most important get lots of exercise. It doesn't need to be rigorous but get into a routine. BTW, the advise I gave is good for almost everyone so even if you didn't have a fatty liver it would be appropriate.
yes, uninformed, that's part of it. This diet from the expert is far more strenuous than that. He has the patient taking supplements to help clear the liver of toxins, but the emphasis during the first four weeks is to stop consuming some of the items like dairy, wheat bread, and some other stuff I don't remember. The good news is I have no excuse, I still have from now to August 16th, when I go back to school. The toughest part will be bringing my huge thermos of cold water to the ballpark, where I cook, instead of drinking all the 7 up and DP I want. I wonder how much water I will drink. My thermos only holds half a gallon. This part will be interesting. Some of the other stuff is interesting, I don't drink, and around Christmas, some Dr. thought I had Hep. If I had known about fatty liver then, I would have gone further and probably found it then.
I don't know if this will help you but could you possibly be addicted to the bubbles and carbonation of the sodas, even partly? I know I am and love the fizz and all they offer. Since you mentioned 7up which has no caffeine it made me think of this. It's a legit addiction or habit. If so, perhaps drink sparkling water that has no sodium or anything in it. Put that in your thermos or drink at times you crave the soda and it may help a bit and increase the water intake. Buy one of the home soda makers that carbonates to offset long term cost? I squeeze fresh fruit as the flavor to my water and it's delicious and refreshing. Just a random idea that may or may not help. Hope all goes well. No, great.
The big problem that I have with strict diets is that people get tired of them. They stick with them for a month or so and then go back to their bad habits. I prefer diets that may not be as comprehensive but that people can stay on forever. Also, diet without exercise has limited value. Many people do one or the other and then wonder why they don't see a difference. Exercise (along with diet) is vital to good health.
I agree, the good thing is the no dairy, no gluten portion of the diet is supposed to last only six weeks. I am currently exercising, a bootcamp program that I will cull from when I go back to school. We have a small group that works out in the morning in the gym and has pretty good results. The knowledge and support are there.
Doing it in a group is a great idea compared to trying to do it by yourself. Much harder to motivate just you. But the encouragement and even teamwork in a group helps a lot. Have you thought of getting into something like Crossfit when you get a bit stronger, elastic and conditioned?
loop, I like your idea about 7 up, but I'm not addicted. I do miss it some, I guess, but wow! Two days of working at the ballpark, Monday and Wednesday, and not a drop of bubbles, etc. I won't kid you, Monday night was pretty tough, watching all of those other workers eat all of that ****, and me not having anything to eat. I finally got smart and ate what would be considered to be on my diet, some pico and some "lean" meat, some chicken we use for nachos and tacos. I was feeling almost faint before I ate that pico and chicken. Tonight I was much smarter. I brought my own food to the park, I had visited the Mexican grocery store, and bought some fresh produce, and cut it up. I cut up one jalapeno, an onion, some tomatoes, and threw in some minced garlic. I also cut up some corn tortillas. (Now, I'm not totally convinced about the tortillas. both people I spoke to said tortillas are okay for this no-gluten diet. I'm not quite convinced but I went with it). Also, I threw in some fresh spinach, put in a tiny amount of salt and a decent amount of pepper, and thew in a pretty good amount of lemon juice. Now comes the good part. I mixed the coffee leftover from the morning with soy milk and put the liquid in a thermos on ice. You will not believe me, but this stuff tasted incredibly good tonight at the ballpark. Wow!!! On the other front, this morning I had my CT. Not as easy as it sounds. The guy had to stab me twice for the IV. Also, he tortured me by slowly removing the bandages that were around the needle. He did apologize ahead of time. For those of you old enough to remember Gunsmoke, I flashed back to the scene, a famously scary scene, in which one of the good guys has been wounded. He is slowly bleeding to death, and has to decide whether or not to let a prisoner or a lady stand over him with the red-hot coals to stop the bleeding by cauterizing the wound. Anyway, I really wanted that piece of wood in my mouth to bite down on. Instead I just laid there and shook like a leaf. That was the longest 5-10 seconds of my life!! Next time I will shave my arm. No doubt. Hell, I will shave both arms, just in case the tech decides to use the other arm!!!! from some internet source: "Cauterizing a wound is the process of literally burning the flesh in order to seal it off and stop the bleeding. It has been around for a long while, and is a legitimate medical technique."
and the results of the CT are in! nothing remarkable about the pancreas, the liver and kidneys both have benign cycsts. The diagnosis of the liver is "mild fatty liver". I call BS, maybe. Mild fatty liver, hmmm, I would have thought it would be more serious than that. I will continue with the fatty liver diet, and pick up the Dr. report tomorrow.
YES!!! And keep us informed on the goings on. I am sure a couple of people reading this will be motivated to begin some life changing/bettering habits so do it to it.
