Friday April 2, 2004
The alphabetic Hepatitis tests came back negative/normal. Can't really say I don't have Hepatitis though, since it really means 'liver disease' and my liver (or pancreas or both) is certainly not at ease.
More blood tests on Monday and the ultrasound results should be back by then, too.
But I am almost doctor prescribed chemical free now. Not much protecting the world from the REAL me, he he he.
Several weeks ago I told my psychiatrist I wanted to get off the Celexa. The weaning process had started just before this yellow episode. No sense getting a month's supply to stop taking it in another few days. Perfect timing, so, no more anti-depressants.
Too bad it's not Halloween: jaundiced eyes would lend a cool realism to a demonic ghoul costume.
Remember that question about what I'd do with my energy now that I have a reasonable landlord? I have to stop giving the universe such perfect setups. I am busy learning all kinds of things about bilirubin and impaired liver related itching in an attempt to get the energy budget back in the black.
Dixie looked alarmed by the many leaps I made from bed cursing the damned itch during the night. I tried everything: sunburn lotion, letting cool air into the room (which left me scratching my goosebumps), rubbing alcohol, benadryl. These were semi-useful except for the soles of my feet so finally: a cold pack at my feet. I think I may have slept a whole hour.
During one of my out of bed spells, I searched the web again and found a couple of interesting things one of which is that light breaks down bilirubin which may explain why it's worse at night. Maybe. I'll try leaving my light on tonight. Might help. Also, that epsom salt soaks may help release the toxins that my skin is accumulating and provide some itch relief. Another thing to try.
So, no sleep and no anti-depressants. This is going to be interesting. I don't recommend this as a weight loss strategy, but I am decidely not hungry as often and not able to comfortably consume as much food as usual.
0) { ?>Have you checked out Medline in your travels? It's run by the National Library of Medicine and is probably the best all-purpose medical website around. The consumer health section (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/) is good for basics, and if you're doing more advanced research and have access to a medical library -- as you do at Queen's -- PubMed is an excellent database (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi). It's actually accessing the same data as Ovid Medline, it just has a simpler (but less powerful) interface. Or of course there are probably organizations dedicated to liver conditions, those sorts of sites are often extremely useful as well.
And if you want some more general health and nutrition information that's a little more upbeat, I've been browsing "Shape" magazine online (http://www.shape.com/). 'Taint a substitute for any of the other stuff, but it's probably more fun if you find yourself in need of a break. ;)
Posted by: Tyla at April 2, 2004 10:10 PMThanks for the links. I used to have these very ones until NS lost most of my carefully culled bookmarks.
Although I haven't been to these particular sites (due to the reasons above =), I did stumble on other medical sites, mainly medical schools and cdc type things. The unfortunate result was a lot of believable folks being very clear about the fact that while incessant and whole body itchiness can be a severe problem for people with liver malfunctions, there are questions regarding what the actual cause is and no clear remedy at the moment. There are some Rx drugs available and I did ask the person who called about the Hep tests about getting some, but she didn't call me back as planned. I am not even a bit upset, because I know how overworked my doc's office appears to be. I may even get a call tomorrow from someone - who knows?
On a small world note: Columbia is conducting research on this very thing.
Hopefully I just have to get through the weekend and then once they know more (exactly would be nice ;) about the cause of things; they can fix it and I won't need to know any more. I can hope.
BTW: this itch would be the ultimate torture tool, but only if you had the antidote at hand, otherwise, it would be a cruel and unusual punishment.
Posted by: janice at April 3, 2004 12:02 AM