Newbie-ish w/Drug-Induced Hepatotoxicity

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Newbie-ish w/Drug-Induced Hepatotoxicity
4
Thu, 05-03-2007 - 12:18pm

This is a quick overview of what's been going on with me:

* My dh was diagnosed with prostate cancer about a month ago. In the midst of deciding what treatment to go with.

* Went to the ER on an unrelated issue this weekend. The blood tests show my liver enzymes at over 10x normal. I was taken off of my mood stabilizers and my antidepressant immediately. I go in for another blood test today. Seeing my regular doc and psychiatrist on Wed.

* Have an uterine ultrasound on Thurs. Probably to be followed by an endometrial biopsy.

* Had my mammography last week. I got a call today. I have node that they want to look closer at in my right breast. I have an ultrasound for it on Thursday.

____

Yesterday's doc appts are over. My PA came in the room (after standing outside reading over my file for at LEAST 5 minutes), sat in the chair and asked me how much I drink. Did I tell you that I don't like her? Well, that "dislike" increased 10 fold today. I have one to two drinks once every two to three months. I don't know, but I'm pretty sure that isn't going to cause me to have liver damage. >HUGE EYE ROLL< Anyway, there wasn't much for her to do but record that she saw me and that I was going to see my pdoc in a little while. Oh, and her ever so (un)kind reminder of my annual exam due in December.

I get in to see my pdoc. NO ONE told her what was going on ahead of time for her to review my meds and file. Grrrrrr She is a good pdoc. I have no complaints about her. She's been practicing for 40 years or so. She has only had *one* other patient in all the years she's practiced have this happen. It is clearly due to the meds. The Hep tests came back normal. So she has taken me completely off of ALL of my meds, including the clonazapam. She gave me one so that I don't have withdrawals from the narcotic she took me off of today. It's one that is absolutely okay for my liver. In two weeks, I go back for a blood draw to see where my liver enzymes are at. One week later, I see her again. She doesn't sound like she wants to put me back on any mood stabilizers or antidepressants, although I could have misread what she was saying. I did say that the ER doc had said something about reintroducing meds one at a time to see if we can figure out which one it might be. She kinda shook her head, but didn't say anything. I guess we'll see.

In the mean time, we went to the vitamin store at the factory outlet. (YEAH for them!) For less than I would normally pay for my quality brand Omega3's, I was able to get better Omega-3s than I've been taking, 2 bottles of B12 and a GREAT multivitamin that has my chromium in it. I had been using Omega-3 already was because I was able to take less mood stabilizers with the Omega-3.

Yesterday, I was definitely hypo-manic, and my head felt muddy like after you take a strong pain killer.

I did sleep last night, not well, but I slept. My head still feels muddy today. On to the ultrasounds today...

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iVillage Member
Registered: 09-01-2004
Sat, 05-05-2007 - 3:00pm

I was facing the same, although not sure exctly how high my liver enzymes were & I've got kidney issues, too boot--terrified I was going to have to quit my Lithium, which I credit for my stability.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Sat, 05-05-2007 - 7:36pm
The fish oil I'm taking is a liquid. I know. Yuk. It smells like oranges. It tastes like, well, oil, but it doesn't taste fishy. LOL I just keep a glass of juice with me to take it with. It's not too bad. The Omega-3 EPA is 715mg. The Omega-3 DHA is 470mg. These are the two things that you should be looking at when considering an Omega-3 for any assistance with mood stabilization. I take a double dose. The cost of this last bottle, on sale, was $16. It will last me about three weeks. I get the liquid because I get better EPA and DHA at a much lower cost than capsules. I do recommend getting the supplements from a vitamin/natural food store or coop. You need GOOD quality for this. It doesn't work for everyone. I'm very fortunate that this is something that has helped me and, hopefully, will continue to help me.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 09-01-2004
Sat, 05-05-2007 - 10:51pm
I never realized there was such a difference!
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Sat, 05-05-2007 - 11:01pm

I've been reading some of your posts on the board yesterday and today. Sounds like we have a lot in common.

I was noticing your siggy. Your dgs, Bryan, is the same way I spelled my ds's name, Bryan. I'm "Grandma Honey" to Zoie 5yo, Sade 3yo, Kaytlin 1yo, Treslynne 1yo, and Malaki 7 months old. Baby Caydence and another grandson are due in the next couple of weeks, within a week of one another.

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