LaynesADDICTION-results?

[feelbad]

Hi layne, Just wondering if you have gotten the biopsy results yet.You know, we have alot in common.I also,besides my neck and spinal cord hell, have polycystic kidney disease with liver involvement.Didn't know I even had this until my son got sick in 99 and was Dxed with it.It is familial so my husband and I both had to be tested to see where my son got it from.My ultrasound showed polycysts on and inside my kidneys and my liver.What my son was first Dxed with was the PKD with congenital hepatic fibrosis.We found out about seven months after he was first given the fibrosis Dxs that he actually had primary sclerosing cholengitis.He eventually required a TX and was Txed on June 7 2000.He is doing really well now(thank god).What have your ALT<ASTand alkiline phos and bili been like?You know, one thing that really amazed me about when my son was first Dxed with all of this was the fact that his bili was only around the 5.0 range, he was down to only 20% liver function(believe it or not, he didn't even seem sick!)and he showed absolutely no signs of jaundice(that didn't show up until around the end of March).I had always assumed that when you had a liver problem, bingo,you automatically had jaundice.Not so.I have some concerns about my liver these days.After my last surgery in Sept of this year, my ALT started to climb.I was a little freaked out as my labs have always been within normal ranges despite the fact that I have these god awful cysts all over my kidneys and liver.My kidneys are actually in worse shape than my liver,cyst wise.My doc said that my elevated ALT was probably due to the numerous meds that I was slammed with after surgery.It has since gone back down.I was rather curious about something you said in another post.You said that your liver fibrosis was caused by toxic exposure from oxycontin and dilaudid?Exactly what is the toxic part?I know that neither one of these drugs contain APAP,so was it just very large amounts of these drugs that you were taking that started the scarring?It really amazes me at just how much your liver can take before it finally gives up and says "hey I have had enough".I was just curious as to how your biopsy turned out.I hope I am not being too nosey here.If you don't want to answer the questions I have asked,I will understand.I am hoping that things came out well for you.Hang in there okay? take care, Marcia

[LaynesADDICTI0N]

Hi Marcia, thanks for the attention ok, ill give you the scoop, last march I checked into a treatment center for a supervised detox to withdraw from opiates. I was given a blood test and all my liver enzymes were elevated, which is normal if you're using narcotics for a long period of time, my doctor told me that I had SOME liver damage but it could repair it-self. I had to leave after 10 days though because I was also on Klonopin and they gave me phenabarb instead and that is a WHOLE other story, so I left AMA. But I was warned about my liver.
I stayed clean for about 2 weeks before I started chewing a few oxycontin here and there, like 160mg a day. Went back to using iv and was taking in about 7 to 800mg of oxycodone a day. One day I woke up and I could NOT stop vomiting. I kept nodding off on top off the toilet just to wake up, throw up and fall back asleep. I noticed I had put on a 100mcg duragesic the night before so I figured I had overdosed but I was too weak to even get up so I just layed there and fell back asleep. I cant believe I actually woke up and drove to the urgent care. I kept telling them I didnt know what was wrong, I think I have the flu and I just wanted a shot of phenergan to stop the vomiting. The other doctor on call knew me quite well and recognized my name when he saw my chart and took over. He knew I had problems with heroin and cocaine in the past and I had bruises and puncture holes all over my body so he took blood to see if an abscess had entered my bloodstream. They put me on an Antibiotic IV and the doctor came in a few hours later, gave me this look and said "are these your car keys?" I said yes, and he put them in his pocket and said, "this is a first for me, you're about 150% toxic. I did not know what he meant at the time, I dont remember much more other than they were all very nice to me and I was released with "toxic drug exposure" and went to a treatment ceter again and left out-patient methadone. I'd go a week then back on the MMT program until I finally went on suboxone, that was cut short do to the Klonopin. So I just went back to using, I know a lot of doctors so the habbit got pretty evil. I had no need for heroin because I had access to Dilaudid and Fentynal Citrate. My blood became so thin It was back tracking orange, and I was passing blood in my urine so I called for an assessment to go back on MMT but was pulled over on the way (MY LUCK!) at 8 in the morning but they let a family member come by and pick me up so I checked into another in-patient hospital instead of MMT. They took blood and my liver enzymes were off the chart. My SG's were well over 45, my creatinine was elivated, and my TPRO was elevated as well so I requested they do an RNA test to see if the protiens were viral, instead of the basic HCV test. I've never shared nor have I ever reused a sharp but I did a lot of cold shots with cocaine so I was still at risk. It was negative but my ALT, AST and Bilirubin are still high so I had a biopsy done a week ago, I waited so long because my sed rate was also 120 and I was have GI problems so had to get "the probe" on BOTH ends. eeek! Ironic, When I had those done and when they stuck that monster in me under my ribs they used fentynal to sedate me and that is what was killing me. Anyway that's the story, between the Hydrochloric Acid in the Oxy & Dilaudid and no one ever knows what's in street drugs, I got this drug poisoning. I talked to someone on this board months ago that was taking over 1,000mg of MS Contin a day and had the same problem, I havent seen him since I came back though.

Cade

[LaynesADDICTI0N]

Let me just add, I might be young but I didnt start abusing narcotics until years after I was put on them for other medical issues. I was never a bit curious to what they did.

Cade

[sadsister]

Layne-
Read your post..hope that you are ok.Some pretty heavy using-sounds a bit like me.I should get tested for liver levels/etc..i reused my last rig for a long time-did most cold shots/etc..frightening..i did most H/and dilaudid-occassionally oxys crushed/
How old are you?I didn't start this stuff till i was in my mid-30's..i had no idea/curiousity either.
Amazing what life throws at you-
Thats why i gotta stick to the suboxone..cos i can't stop myself.
Please take care cade/wishing you good health
Goddess bless
sadsister

[feelbad]

Layne, just let me say WHEW!!That is truely unbelievable.Quite the little nightmare you have been living through.You must truely have a gardian angel looking down upon you.You said that your creatinine was elevated and you had blood in your urine, so how is your kidney function?When you mentioned the phenobarb and the fact that you were taking klonopin,I seem to recall something about those two drugs having some type of reaction to the liver when used at the same time.Did your doc even know this?(obviously not?)You never did say, or maybe you still don't know, with regard to your biopsy results.What exactly were they looking for there.I know the only times that my son has had the biopsies done was to check for rejection. During all of the tests that you were given over this period of time ,did they ever tell you just how much of your liver is still functioning at this point in time?Do they have any type of prognosis or give you any indication as to what your treatment would consist of?I know that for the most part, my son was being treated for the many symtoms that kept popping up.he actually first presented with vomiting of blood.this was the first indication that there was even anything wrong with him.By that time, he had a total portal vein obstruction caused by the repeated scarring that was occuring in the liver.They ended up sclerosing the varices in his throat that were actively bleedeing that day and two days later they put in a TIPS to give the backed up blood a new place to flow.One really amazing thing about his little saga was before the Tx, he was seeing drs constantly (GI and kidney)and was having to have blood drawn twice a week to keep tabs on his ammonia level.I figured that if this was this bad now, I could only imagine just what all would be involved AFTER Tx.But to my surprise, things actually got alot better with regards to blood draws and Dr appts.i was expecting many hospital stays and twice as many problems as we had before the Tx,but our lives(with regard to my son)have pretty much gotten back to normal now.Modern medicine is truely amazing.Did they give you any indication as to whether or not you would be looking at a Tx any time in your future?I would think that with having a toxic liver, this must have been discussed at some time.Unless your liver is actually starting to heal somewhat now since it is not being slammed with the same plethora of drugs as it once was.I have to say that your story sounds like it would make a very interesting movie of the week you know?You are quite the little survivor there Layne.I certainly hope that things work out well for you .Keep me posted okay?I really do want to know how things go and are going for you.You are in my prayers. Sadsister, you mentioned on another thread that your son has some medical problems,is he doing okay?And what exactly is the problem?(if you don/t mind me asking).I really think you are right in saying that you should go in and see your Doc about having a hepatic panel run on your liver.From the sounds of what you did in the past, you are at an extreme high risk of several types of liver damage and or diseases.You need to find out if there are any problems at the very least for your son.I hope things are going well for you.You are also in my prayers sadsister.Well, I think I have rambled on long enough(too much). Marcia