[SnowAngel72]

So I had my normal three months appt with my primary doc. I had my blood work drawn for the labs last thursday. On Monday at my appt. I was surprised to learn that my liver enzymes were 1167 when they are usually 20 to 23. My ferritin was 244 when its usually 31 to 41. I am not jaundiced looking. In fact I look pretty healthy. I was told to stop the iron supplement for a month and have bloodwork done at a month out. If I feel sluggish I am to do the bloodwork sooner so we know what the iron level is.

I had a fatty liver before the surgery. in june or july I had a ultrasound done to check my liver and it had shrunk and looked normal. No signs of a fatty liver anymore. My doctor is thinking either hep a or I have too much iron in my body. too much iron can effect the liver. to rule out lab error and to check for hep a she ordered another lab draw for today. Now I am awaiting the results. I really hope its just a fluke or its just too much iron. I wish she would have checked my ferritin levels again with this lab to see if they have gone down since stopping the iron supplement. I don't know how quickly it leaves the body.

[activeadventurer]

I had ferritin levels around 1000. A WL surgeon told me that this happens with rapid weight loss. That the rapid weight loss inflames the liver, which has too much too process. Ferritin is an inflammation marker. My Ferritin levels have been steadily dropping over the last 6 month. I did not have any elevated enzymes but went nuts with worry until I got a second opinion. He said he sees this all the time and that it resolves with time.

[jiffypop]

My goodness!!! here's hoping it's just a fluke and not hepatitis!

[SnowAngel72]

No word on the Hep but the labs done this past thursday for my liver labs went from 1167 down to 27 and one of the other ones went from 997 to 90. With the second one still in the 90's she is thinking its too much iron in my body. I have no symptons of hep, no jaundice and my urine is almost clear.

Good news.

[faiora]

My understanding is that losing weight makes your liver work hard, along with other organs, and that this is normal. I'm surprised that your doctors seem bothered by it, and that they don't see it every day with every one of their patients who are losing weight. But I am not a doctor.

Good to hear the numbers are going back down, and that you're not having symptoms consistent with illness.

[SnowAngel72]

She was concerned because my surgery was in August 2013 and my liver labs have been pretty much in the 20's before and after surgery. I get labs done roughly every 3 months. This time it was 2 months and in 2 months they went from my normal 20's to 1197. I am glad she was concerned. They should not have jumped up to well over a 1000 especially considering that right now I am not losing as much as I did when I first had my wls in aug. 2013. I also had a fatty liver before surgery. I have had problems with my liver before surgery. Thank you, I am happy that the numbers are going down.

[jiffypop]

Originally Posted by faiora

My understanding is that losing weight makes your liver work hard, along with other organs, and that this is normal. I'm surprised that your doctors seem bothered by it, and that they don't see it every day with every one of their patients who are losing weight. But I am not a doctor.

Good to hear the numbers are going back down, and that you're not having symptoms consistent with illness.

I think what you've said here is the core issue of the problem. The docs see it 'a lot' in patients who've had surgery, so they think it's 'normal.' Unfortunately, it might not be. I've been 'normaled' because of vomiting - turns out it was a bad gall bladder. and turned into a bleeding ulcer. and my lower blood and iron levels have been 'normaled' by the PCP, and I now have what the hematologist describes as 'severe, long term anemia.'

Docs MUST start understanding that there's a good chance that there's something wrong if one of us has some issues. And we deserve to have these issues investigated and treated. They MUST step away from the idea that everything that goes wrong is due to our weight, or lack of it, or surgery. At this point, it's nothing but an excuse for them to be lazy.

So glad your doc is on her toes, SnowAngel. and that everything is getting back to where it should be.

[activeadventurer]

I can't agree more jiffy. I have suffered since surgery with a bacterial infection. I was "normaled" for the longest time and treated with derision after that. Finally got some new pratictioners. I still have the infection but at least I am dealing with someone who at first glance seems to care.