Liver Problems, Any Insight? - Liver & Pancreas Disorders Message Board

feistygirl75 · 02-01-2006, 05:23 PM

My friend came down with what he thought was the flu, he had fever, nausea, upset stomach. A few days later he had dark urine so he went to the dr. The dr. took blood because he thought he had diabetes. He then came down with jaundice. A few days later the dr. ruled out diabetes, took more blood and ordered a cat scan. He did the cat scan and saw the specialist he was referred to who told him he didn't see anything abnormal in his blood except for high levels of DBile and he does not have Hepatitis of any kind. The cat scan shows nothing and the dr doesn't want to see him for another week in a half which I find very strange. He is in no pain at all, I was thinking maybe gallstones but that seems unlikely at this point. I know we should all stop looking up symptoms on the internet and trust the dr's but this seems very mysterious and odd. Anyone have any ideas?

inyourdreams · 02-01-2006, 05:39 PM

Has he had his kidneys looked at? Urine test, scan of the kidneys, etc. If urine is dark, why would they look at the liver?

If he had fever and didn't drink enough--he might just have been dehydrated, thus the reason for the dark urine.

High levels of Dbile?? Do you mean bilirubin? That's from the liver--and means it's not functioning correctly, for whatever reason. Possibly even dehydration could cause a high bilirubin level, I'm not sure. High bilirubin causes jaundice--but you need to find out why he's getting the high bilirubin. When you go back ask the Dr. if it could be caused from dehydration.

Your last line made me chuckle to myself----I have a very hard time trusting any Dr's. When it comes to my health, I'm gonna read, research and do whatever it takes to make myself feel better. I think everybody should walk into a Drs office at least knowing where your organs are and how they function. The internet is a great place for support also.

Let us know how your friend is feeling and what happens with his appt.

feistygirl75 · 02-01-2006, 06:00 PM

Hi in your dreams, thanks for your response. I'm not sure about the billirubin, that's probably what the dbile means. Between that and the jaundice it sounds like the liver and not the kidneys but I guess anything is possible. I don't think it's a dehydration problem because he drinks a lot of water everyday and is into physical fitness.

You are correct, when it comes to my health I will do everything and anything to find out what's going on but sometimes I drive myself crazy assuming I have diseases I don't!

feelbad · 02-06-2006, 07:28 AM

When your bili is high,it will definitely cause the dark urine,my sons urine was the color of coke.and he was not even severely jaundiced at that time.there is definietly some much more in depth testing that needs to be done to try and determine the cause of his high bili and jaundice.this is NOT the least bit normal and needs much better/quicker attention than his current doc is actually giving it.He really does need to be seeing a good GI doc or if things are getting any worse at all,he would probably be treated much much better and more thoroughly in the ER than with this actual doc treating this like it is really nothing.They need to find out why this is occuring,so testing is crucial to getting to the real cause of this.and it needs to be done sooner rather than later.there could be any number of possible reasons for this and some would require more prompt treatment than he is currently getting.you relly need to get him to another doc for a full eval and to a good GI doc for possible treatment of whatever is actually going on.sitting on his butt because his doc does not appear to actually care,is not doing anything for your friends health and could be causing something more to deteriorate.if your friend seems to appear more 'cloudy" or seems confused or kind of out of it?get him to an ER asap.this could be a possible bulid up of ammonia that generally goes right to the brain cells.this can happen when there is a malfunction in the liver and it is not processing protien properly.it DOES need immediate attention.ask him if he has also noticed any changes at all in his bowel habits as in anything 'strange' about the appearance(I know this is kinda a wierd situation but it is critical)anything really white or really really dark,that kinda looks like coffee grounds needs a trip to the ER as well,this could indicate other types of liver issues as well.He just definietly needs to be seen by another doc as soon as possible for a second opinion,really.going to the er at any time would really allow just that.and it fdefinitely would not hurt and only help.better safe than sorry.Please keep us posted on what you find out,hopefully soon?good luck,Marcia