Liver, liver, whaddya know?

Wednesday - April 30, 2014

A liver biopsy is quick, painless, and generally complication-free.  The only real inconvenience is the waiting and resting before you are cleared to go home.  Altogether, Megan and I were at the hospital for 6 hours today.  Ultrasound, then biopsy (LONG needle), then hours and hours in the recovery room waiting for any internal bleeding to manifest (it didn't) and for a later blood test to come back clear (it did).  I used my medical moxie today to lobby successfully for a liver panel to be added to the customary post-biopsy blood draw.  It's always good to have more data points to try to determine where my enzymes are and why they might be at that level.  "Good idea," said the doctor.  "At this point I am an old-hand, self-advocating, professional patient," I thought.   BOO-yah for getting more tests with one blood draw!

Megan prepared for her upcoming qualification exams alongside my gurney while I read and at one point gave in to the temptation of resting supine for hours and just napped.  Although we were only curtained off from a very busy and crowded recovery room, it was surprisingly peaceful and free of interruptions.  Rather calm.

The liver specialists believe that my methotrexate infusions may have scarred my liver.  Perhaps the biopsy will confirm this theory.  Results may be in within the week.