Yellow eyes (jaundice) yesterday & today, so an unscheduled visit to the oncologist. :(

Sorry you are having liver
Sorry you are having liver troubles, but it sounds like your oncologist is on top of it and the stent will solve the problem. Your PET/CT scan results are fantastic and I'm glad you are feeling well and enjoying life!

Laura

Bili lights
Linda

I can't say what you should do--if I were in your shoes, I'd be in the sun as much as possible without getting burned. High bilirubin levels are toxic and you know your level already so you don't have to freak out about it. You are already excreting bilirubin in your urine & the sunlight might help encourage that process.

As your tumors died off, you had some inflammation & subsequent scarring which is probably blocking the bile duct. The other possibility is that your gall bladder is full of stones. Since you are not in any pain, the latter is unlikely. In any case, you might want to eat a diet low in fats & oils as you can't digest fats & oils at this time.

After the stent, you should resolve the jaundice over time--sooner with light therapy.

I'm so happy to hear your good news! Have a great weekend & take pictures.

lindaprocopio said:

Carol: I have an INSANELY dark tan: a real sun LOVER!
Thanks for your advice; I appreciate it and everyone's good wishes. I had to smile about your recommendation that I get some sun, as I have a super dark tan this year (darker than I've been in decades), between the gardening & the new pool & a week at the beach. Even when it's too cool to use the pool, I stretch out on a lounger and read a book between my projects and chores and fun. It's supposed to be sunny and in the 70's here all weekend, so I'll be in the sun at a football game and probably at the pool with the grandkids as it's heated & we crank it up when anyone wants to swim.

So you think that orange urine is a GOOD thing? It looks like Tang (do they even still make Tang?)

A couple of wierd things from today's labs: My platelets that were already low last week at 90 are down to 64 today. That's gonna knock Gemzar off my list as my next possible chemo, my oncologist doesn't like me getting repeated platelet transfusions. I can't imagine why my platelets keep dropping when I've been off chemo 6 months & wonder if I might have an internal bleed somewhere. Any thoughts on that. anyone?

& my potassium was borderline low for the 1st time and they've called in a prescription for me for a supplement for that.

& although my liver-specific blood work is still off, my Alkaline Phosphates dropped since last week.

Anyhoo, they're re-doing the labs on Monday so we can see if we need to pick up the pace here and get this stent in fast. I was told that the jaundice and crazy-colored urine and stools stop almost immediately once the bile gets flowing again. I'm to phone immediately if a get a fever or vomiting or diarreah (sp?) incoherent thinking, or intense itching, as those are the rest of the symptoms they look for that signal bilirubin build up (in addition to the yellow eyes, pale stools, & dark urine I already have). Can't wait to see my CA125 labs from today which dropped 9309 points after my radioembolism, but is still a scary 2042.

Someone asked about radioembolism. It's still not FDA approved for ovarian cancer, but my insurance covered it (to the tune of $500,000) and if you have liver mets it's worth exploring. Here's a link to an article about it: http://www.radiologytoday.net/archive/rt_071408p26.shtml

Orange urine and more thoughts
Yeah, I guess that bilirubin has to go somewhere so it is going out thru your urine. Now that you described your tan, it's likely that the tan is covering up the rest of the jaundice--you don't just get yellow eyes in such a condition. And you are probably in worse shape than I originally thought.

I don't know how low your potassium is but you probably also have low magnesium (they never routinely measure magnesium as it is an "intra-cellular electrolyte"). Watch for heart palpitations and muscle cramps. The orange urine could be creating a diuretic effect but I suspect that is where you are losing potassium. Make sure you are keeping up a good fluid intake.

The good news is the alk phos is down--that leads one to think that your jaundice is less likely from an overall liver condition one that would cause portal hypertension but I am only guessing at that. On the other hand, your low platelet count would lead me to consider you as more of an emergency situation as your risk for hemmorrhage has increased.

When pressure builds up in the liver, it backs up in the veins of the esophagus--creating esophageal varices. These are varicose veins inside the esophagus just like you would see on someone's legs. What we call "hemorrhoids" are varicose veins of the hemorrhoidal veins in the rectum/anus. Should the veins rupture, you would be vomiting blood and become a medical/surgical emergency. Sometime's you don't vomit the blood but notice black tarry stools instead. I don't know if this is the reason for your low platelets or not.

Here's one of the problems with your situation: no one knows exactly what's going on until you have some kind of testing (ultrasound or endoscopy) on you. I would opt for an ultrasound ASAP--even before an endoscopy just so that the guy putting the scope in you has no surprises. You can learn a lot from an ultrasound of your liver.

I don't mean to ruin your weekend but the only additional thoughts I had on your situation were scary ones. There's an expression in medicine when someone is having a heart attack: "time is muscle"; another expression for when someone is having a stroke: "time is brain tissue." This probably applies to your situation, Linda, regarding your liver.

antcat said:

So sorry Linda
Linda, I'm so sorry to hear of what you're going through and really hope everything turns out good for you when you get the stent. I'm really glad that no new tumors have shown up and I'm glad you are having a good weekend. Hope everything goes well with your oncologist and keep us posted.

you are a true fighter
and you will get through this too. A colgged bile duct can me mananged and you will be on your way to ned. I am glad you are feeling well and enjoying yourself. After this is over go on vacation to Hawaii or Vegas and play the craptables...I bet you would win..val

Yes
I am pretty sure they do still make Tang.. I'll look tomorrow at the grocery store. You are amazing, I get tired just reading your posts. You are such a little energizer bunny.. so much energy, so much living crammed into ea. day. Enjoy your weekend. I don't have any sage advice.. will be hoping and praying for good news and a quick plan of action.
Hugs,
Cindy

Linda,
you are simply amazing. You face every challenge with such grace. You inspire me today.
I am praying for you in this ongoing battle!
Hugs,
kathleen