Suzy--
You had your appointment-- like yesterday.
What did you find out??

Well harry i dont have hepatitis.He doesnt think i have lupus or liver problems.He said i dont seem to have any symptoms of anything.He ordered more extensive blood tests to try and find out why my ANA test came back positive.Right now he seems to be stumped cause i show no symptoms of lupus,even tho my ANA test came back positive.He said soon as he gets the results back of my blood tests he'll phone me.Hes got no idea what the pain under my breast on the ribcage is.He did a lot of poking and prodding and tapping on me.So for now im just left hanging.Got a gastro doc appt this friday,so we'll see what he has to say.Thats about it.Thanks for askng.Take care.

Sorry to hear that you are still having problems. I just about slapped my GI on my last appointment. It was my second appointment with. On the first visit, he said that he didn't think I had IBS and gave me several reasons why he thought that. He had me do some stool cultures for ova and parasites. The stool tests were negative and on my second visit the guy said well "you have had a pretty extensive workup and like I said last time, you probably just have IBS". I was like WHAT? You did not say that last time but you said the complete opposite. Anyway, he doesn't want to see me again for 3 - 4 months.

I keep pointing out that my cholesterol is bouncing all over the place from month to month (251, 193, 252, 186 on the last four tests). I asked what's going on because I didn't think it was normal for you cholesterol to make such drastic changes in such a short period of time. Also, on my last two tests, my liver enzymes (AST and ALT have been slightly elevated outside the reference range). The doctor said no big deal because you allow yourself a variance of two standard deviations from the normal range. How big is the standard deviation? I don't have a clue. Anyway, I may be reaching but it seems that my URQ and liver tests point to something may be going on with my liver. I should be able to trust my GIs since they have seen so many patients and have lots of experience. So for now I will wait until I get my blood tested again in a month. If I still see these sort of numbers, I will be going to a hepatologist or hematologist.

Take care.

Gee Actudan you think a pain in the right side on the ribcage would be easy to diagnose.These gi's are making a lifes work at it.I feel like there not ever going to find out whats wrong with either of us.When i went to the rheumey i was also concerned about elevated liver enzymes.Matter fact he said my liver enzyme test werent cause for any concern as far as he could see.It was like he was mystified why i was there,because i was only there because my ANA test was positive.So now im still left with that darn nagging pain.This last gi doc has done every test but and endoscopy which i want done.Im still thinking i have a developing ulcer.So i dont know whats next short of more blood tests.Im going to get them done tomorrow.Doctor said hed call soon as he got the results.He setup and appt for 2 wks but told me if the tests came back negative there would be no reason for me to have to keep it.Im really sorry to hear that your doctor is being a jerk.But we got to press on .I'll keep you in my thoughts and prayers.Take care.

Well the right sided pain has gotten worse over the last few days and since my liver enzyme are still elevated, I asked to be tested for hepatitis which they did on Friday. I have been tested once before when all these problems first started but that was when it was more of a stomach issue and my liver enzymes were normal at that time and I didn't have an URQ discomfort. Good luck Suzy and I know that you will keep us posted on your progress.

Take Care,
Dan

hi dan hi suzy - what's going on? I just read some of your posts - I hope you guys are doing better today.

I miss you guys. As far as I am concerned, as I told Dan - nothing has changed, my hands still turn blue after a shower but I figure if I haven't died in 3 months - lol - that it can't be all that serious. Then my ankles are STILL swollen the past 4 months. It's actually not the ankles but the bone on the ankle - what IS that called - lol. It's like my ankle is so skinny then you got this bone bulging out and my legs are puffier. It's not something you'd see and say wow. I just notice it. Other than that my pains are ok. Except I think either I have eczema out of nowhere after 35 years or something. There are these two spots on my arm right above the wrist - on the inside I mean - that itch sporadically - I scratch so hard it leaves marks. It's just those two spots - it's so weird. Otherwise I am fine.

Hope you guys are doing well - please keep in touch :-)))))