Elevated Liver Enzymes?

[gf4life]

I would like some input from others out there who have had/are having a similar problem. I have seen quite a few of you mention problems with elevated liver enzymes. I am having problems with elevated liver enzymes and pain (mild to severe) that comes and goes in my liver area, preceded (by about 2 days) and accompanied by a severe headache that lasted for 3 weeks. The headache finally started to ease up, but I had been taking Motrin 800mg tablets round the clook everyday during that time. I could not take any Tylenol products, since they made the pain worse in my side. I also had dizziness and nausea.

This all started the first weekend in November and a few days into it the pain was so bad and I was vomiting so much I ended up in the ER. Where I was promptly treated like trash by the incompetent ER doctor who told me he thought it was just gastritis and if my blood tests came back showing nothing that I wouldn't see him again that night and he left to take a nap. A few hours later after they ran tests and my liver enzymes were moderately elevated they ended up shooting my up with a ton of Demerol and sending me home. The Demerol made me sleep the entire next day and that was the only time I didn't feel the horrid headache. Even the Migraine pills and the Motrin 800mg just took the edge off the headache. There was about a week where I couldn't drive because I couldn't see straight and I was so dizzy that things that were standing still seemed like they were moving to me.

The strange part about this whole thing is that my 10 year old son and my friend and her 9 year old daughter (all gluten intolerant by the way) also exhibited similar symptoms. Except only my son and I had blood tests done. I actually haven't gotten the results for my son yet, so I don't know if his enzymes were also elevated.

I was wondering if anyone else has had an experience similar to this, or if it really is just some strange viral infection (like my friends doctor thought) that apparently only affects gluten intolerant people on a Gluten-free Casein-free diet! I thought maybe some sort of food poisoning, but it went on too long. Then I thought maybe Hepatitis A, but my tests came back negative for that. My son was tested for that too and they would have called by now if he were positive. My doctor is keeping an eye on me and will order an abdominal CT scan if the pain returns, but the abdominal ultrasound they did din't show any inflammation or problems with my liver, pancreas, kidneys, bile duct, or spleen. So they are just at a loss. I still have pain in my liver area, but it only hurts really bad if the doctor pushes on it. Since I don't go around pushing on my liver all day the pain is barely noticable now. I am extremely tired too. I was going to donate blood tomorrow at a blood drive, but I just don't feel strong enought right now. I was fortunate that my illness occured at the same time as my daughter having her tonsils out, since I was able to stay home with her for a few weeks and didn't have too many other obligations anywhere else but at home.

I would appreciate any input anyone has. I would love to be able to know what the heck is going on in my body.

God bless,

Mariann

[judy05]

Mariann,

Just a thought, are you sure the headaches and abdominal pain are

connected or are there two different issues? Your headaches/vertigo

sound like the problems I have whenever I have fluid in my ears

and is sometimes accompanied by sinusitis. Is the headache more

on one side? If it is over both eyes your sinuses could be infected,

sometimes an x-ray of your sinuses is the only way to find out.

If you have fluid in your ears this can cause extreme vertigo and

a decongestant can help. I have blood pressure and rapid pulse(problems)

so I can't use them, I just use antihistamine and sometimes need

an antibiotic.

One other thought, did you have a flu shot? It sounds like almost a

virus type thing, I'm not sure if that could raise your liver enzymes.

Good luck in finding answers.

[red345]

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[gf4life]

Judy, Sorry it took me so long to get back to you. I never got an e-mail telling me I had replies and just missed this one.

Anyhow, I am NOT sure about anything in regards to what was going on with me. It didn't appear to be my sinuses, but it also doesn't appear that the liver enzymes thing and the headaches/dizziness/nausea were related. My son had the same symptoms, including the pain in the side, but no elevated enzymes. No one at my house has ever had a flu shot, except my husband. He is high risk because of where he works, but even he didn't get one this year with the shortage.

The headache eased up after about 3 weeks and then the pain lessened and then went away completely after about 5 weeks. It certainly could have been viral, but the doctor is still checking me. They just did another blood test to see how my enzymes levels are at this point.

Anyhow, I was just wondering if anyone else had any answer for the elevated enzymes thing.

[darlindeb25]

this post was sent to us by accident i think--it belongs here--its from kimberly--kim, be sure to click on reply at the bottom--not report--ok

Hello.. I have a lot of the same problems that you are experiencing. I stay dizzy about 50% of the day and my liver enzymes are always elevated. It seems to get worse if I eat something that I shouldn't. I was diagnosed with celiac disease in September of this year and have done really good with the diet until the past couple of weeks and I broke over. At first I didn't really feel that different and then the dizziness started, the rapid heart beat, bloated all of the time a feeling that I really can't explain. The dizziness was a lot better when I was totally gluten-free. I am due a blood test after Christmas and I dread the results. I do believe there is a connection between elevated liver enzymes and vertigo, or it seems like it. What is something I can do to stay on the diet and get the self control I need? I hate the way I feel.

deb

[Kimberly]

Sorry, I am new to all of this:)

Kim

[darlindeb25]

Kimberly--no problem--the forum can be very confusing to the newbie, but once you get the knack of it--seems so easy--keep posting--just use the "add reply" button and not the report--otay---MERRY CHRISTMAS--deb

[gf4life]

Well my third set of liver tests came back normal. So now I have no idea what was wrong. I don't really care as long as I am feeling better. I did end up with a bladder infection (from the catheter they insisted on using to get a clean urine sample!) and also a really nasty Staph. infection (from the needle they used for the demerol shots). It took one kind of antibiotic to get rid of the bladder infection and three different antibiotics to kill the staph infection, so now I have a yeast infection, since I have been on antibiotic overload for the past month! The last two antibiotics(given together) for the staph really messed up my digestion. They were Bactrim and Tetracycline. I was horribly ill from those two and just happened to be on them while we were out of town on vacation. Not fun. I finally finished them last Monday and am feeling much better now. I believed both (and all the others I had taken) to be gluten free, does anyone know otherwise? The only one NOT on any of my gluten-free medicine lists was the tetracycline, which was the one that made me feel the worst. It is listed as a drug given to people with DH, so I figured it must be alright. It certainly made me feel very sick to my stomach, nausea, dizzyness, light sensitivity, loss of appetite. And by the end of it I had some diarrhea. Does anyone know if this is normal for tetracycline? I HAD to take it, since the strain of staph was very resistent to almost all antibiotics and I had to get rid of the infection.

Oh well, I hope my liver problem doesn't return.

Kimberly, I hope you feel better soon. I was a bit confused though, are you currently gluten-free and experiencing dizzyness, and other problems, or are you back on gluten pending the test results? Let us know what the results say, alright?

Happy New Year.

God bless,

Mariann