# Anyone with any medical knowledge who can advise me please?



## Sonesta (May 10, 2005)

I am so worried and have had a terrible nights sleep worrying about our 27 year old daughter and would appreciate some advice from anyone who may have a some medical knowledge?

She is in hospital at moment due to a bad reaction to a lumbar puncture and has ended up with low pressure headaches and as a result has to lay down flat and be on a drip for fluids. This happened last time she had to have a lumbar puncture and although the reaction is very unpleasant, it in itself it is not a serious condition just very painful. She has been diagnosed with a rare but treatable condition known as BIH, which I too also suffer from and this condition causes high pressure in the brain and needs drugs to reduce the pressure etc. If not treated it can lead to vision impairment or even blindness and a lumbar pucture is done to measure and decrease the pressure levels. 

However, during a routine blood test she has had whilst being in hopsital an abnormal liver function result has come back and today they are going to peform an ultra sound scan of her liver to see exactly what is going on. Obviously she is quite worried about this and I have tried to reassure her it is just to rule out every possibility but deep down inside I feel sick with worry! Very stupidly I have looked this liver function test result up on google and the word cancer keeps on cropping up whenever I read anything about an abnormal liver function test result being detected! I know it is not the only problem this test can detect and I know I shouldnt have googled it in the first place but I did and now I truly wish with all of my heart that I hadnt done this as I keep bursting into tears and feel absolutely sick with concern now. I know I cannot expect anyone to give me a diagnosis or anything like that but I just want to know if a liver function test result can come back as abnormal and turn out to be something not too serious and if so what other problems can this test reveal besides cancer? Has anyone else ever had an abnormal liver function test result and if so what was the problem?

I have rung the hospital this morning to ask when the results of the scan are likely to be back and they say it would probably be tomorrow sometime!

Thanks for listening but I just needed to get this off my chest!

Sue


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## Nora+Neil (May 1, 2005)

Sonesta. 

I have no answers for you but just to say that I hope and pray that you will get good results tomorrow.

Why is it at night that we mothers always worry about our kids.
I suppose thats why we are Mothers.
Not good at this writing but my heart goes out to you.
Thinking of you this beautiful sunny morning.
Nora


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## Sonesta (May 10, 2005)

Thanks Nora.

Sue xx


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## StephandJohn (Sep 3, 2007)

I jsut thought I'd say that my thoughts are with you.


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## cabby (May 14, 2005)

Sorry cannot help with the medical side, but as said it is always during the night hours when things play on your mind,I do understand what you are going through and can only offer help through words on here.hope it helps.



cabby


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## Boff (May 10, 2005)

Hi Sue,

my thoughts are with you!

Regarding the abnormal liver values, there are _many_ possible reasons for those, not only cancer. The liver is the body's "waste treatment plant", so it will react to many influences. It could be an infection (not necessarily a hepatitis), a reaction to drugs, but it could also be the result of a not too healthy way of living. Many of these liver conditions are fully reversible.

Best Regards,
Gerhard


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## MaxandPaddy (Mar 18, 2006)

Big hug from me Sue,sorry to hear your daughter is unwell and I hope she feels better soon.
Take care.

Val
x


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## greenasthegrass (Oct 27, 2007)

Aw Sue hope everything goes ok big hugs

Greenie


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## clianthus (Jul 8, 2006)

Hi Sue

Sorry to hear your daughter is in hospital and hope all the tests come back ok. 

Mothers are here to do the worrying and like you say it's always worse at night.

I'm sure our resident medical expert Mrs W will do all she can to put your mind at rest when she sees this post, in the meantime try not to worry.


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## kontikiJo (Dec 31, 2007)

Hi Sue, one important thing is that your daughter needs you to be healthy and well enough to look after because this sort of thing could really get you down and then it becomes difficult for both of you.
I do sincerely hope that everthing works out and that she is out of hospital soon. We will say a prayer for her. My thoughts are with both of you.

Joe


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## zulurita (May 9, 2005)

My thoughts are with you Sue.

Liver function results can be many things so I wouldn't want to speculate.

I hope all goes well with the scan results and your daughter is better soon.


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## carolgavin (May 9, 2005)

Hiya Sue I work in a hospital laboratory which performs te tests you mentioned. I also have abnormal liver function test results, but to be honest without knowing which one it was am afraid can shed no light on your daughters. From a purely laboratory perspective, some test results can be skewed due to various things eg poor sample collection, delay in getting to lab and also can differ due to drug interactions/reactions.
I have sent you a PM.


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## Sonesta (May 10, 2005)

Hello everyone  

Firstly, let me say a great big thank you to everyone for your kind words and all the lovely PM’s I have received from so many people all so willing to offer me help and advice, not to mention a shoulder to cry on. I was very touched and I cannot begin to tell you how much I appreciated the friendship that so many of you have shown me today. 

However, as I am sure you can see from the smiley face - it is excellent news!!!!    

Natasha rang me earlier today after they had taken her down for the ultra sound scan, to tell me that the lady carrying out the scan had kindly explained during the procedure that everything looked clear with no signs of any real problem. She did comment that Natasha’s liver looked a little bit fatty – which, she felt could be due to my daughter's gradual weight gain over the last couple of years, but other than that, everything appeared okay. Also, Natasha had been given another blood test in the morning, which thankfully she has been informed had come back normal this time, so all in all, everything seemed pretty much okay! Since then the Doctor has been around and confirmed he had examined the results and all was clear and he was happy to discharge her! Her husband has just collected her and she is now back home in her own home safe and well! 

She has been advised to lose weight, which thankfully she was already addressing anyway, and both Natasha and I joined slimming world a month ago but I think this little scare has really made her sit up and think about her whole diet and lifestyle and she is determined to shed those excess pounds once and for all!

I cannot begin to tell you how relieved I am feeling right now and the last 24 hours has been one of the most worrying times of my entire life and when I heard her little voice on the end of the phone today saying she was okay, I simply could not hold back my emotions any longer. I am not particularly religious although I do believe there is more to life than this, but today I have called out to God and all those I have loved and lost along the way and prayed with all my heart to take care of my precious child and I thank them from the bottom of my heart for answering my pleas!

I know one thing for sure though ...... never again will I ever look up any medical condition or health problem on google cos it frightened the life out of me I can tell you! 8O

Anyway, thank you, thank you, thank you all you lovely, kind and caring people and your warm wishes and thoughts will live in my heart forever and I will never forget you all honestly!  

Sue xxx


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## locovan (Oct 17, 2007)

Oh thats just great and Im so pleased the news is so good.
give her that extra hug tonight :BIG:


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## Nora+Neil (May 1, 2005)

Sue.

I'm so glad to hear your good news.
Life is precious.
Sleep well.

Nora


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## GypsyRose (May 9, 2005)

I have only just read this...very glad to read through it and then see the happy ending!! :wink:  Bet you'll spoil her!! Ana x


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## PAT4NEIL (Jul 21, 2007)

hello Sonesta

Glad the news is great.

I was just about the post something on the thread when I read the good news.


I was meant to have a cholesterol test last year, and by mistake they did a liver function test. This came back abnormal. When I went to see the doctor he was not over concerned, and said it could be just a faulty reading.

Anyhow I have been applying for Life insurance, and they asked my doctors for a copy of my records. They were concerned with the abnormal Liver function test, I told them what my doctor had said to me. Well anyhow the longshot of it is I have had to have a medical, and a blood test for LFT, and await their results.

Also I have known several people who have had abnormal Liver Function tests, and they were asked if they drank too much alcohol. Two of these people have come back after further investigations as have Fatty Liver Syndrome, or something like that. So I think that is fairly common.

regards Pat


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## Jezport (Jun 19, 2008)

I just noticed this thread. We have had all sorts of health worries with my wife and son, so I know how you must have felt. I am glad that the news is now good.

Regards
Jeremy and family


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## JockandRita (Jun 1, 2005)

Hi Sue,

I was saddened to read of your initial concerns for your daughter's health, but so pleased to read your last post, regarding the results of the tests, thereby lifting your spirits.

Good news, eh?

Best regards,

Jock.


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## MaxandPaddy (Mar 18, 2006)

Brilliant news Sue,have another hug to celebrate  !

Val


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## Sonesta (May 10, 2005)

I certainly do not want to bore you all with another post saying thank you as I am sure you must all know just how much your posts and PM's have and do mean to me? To be honest I would love to individually list all of the names of each wonderful person who has contacted me and taken the time to PM or post, just so that I could truly emphasise my appreciation for so many people being so caring  but if I did, then this thread would end up being pages long! 8O 

However, all I want to say to you ALL is that if I ever bump into you during our travels It will be a privilege to meet you, and if ever any of you ever NEED someone to talk to or listen yourselves, then please remember that I would be honoured to try and help you like you have all certainly helped me!  

Have a wonderful day!

Love n Hugs.

Sue xxx


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## Invicta (Feb 9, 2006)

Dear Sue,

I have just read this thread and firstly let me say how pleased I am that your daughter's condition appears to be not as bad as first feared.

As another member of the nursing profession who is a member of MHF, what does worry me from your posting is that you felt you had to write on a forum such as this to get information about your daughter's condition. One can appreciate that information about patients cannot normally be given to relatives over the phone but I wonder in your case how much information was given to your daughter by the medical /nursing staff?

Giving information to relatives either by face to face contact or by phone has always been a tricky subject but there should be some scheme where patients can give their consent for selected people to be informed of their conditions. Perhaps there are in some places but personally I don't know of any.

I know when my elderly aunt who was in hospital 250 miles away I could not be told of her condition over the phone. Because of this I was getting ready to make the journey in the middle of the night to see her. Fortunately there was a handsfree phone available so the staff took it to my aunt for her to speak with me. She told me not to make the journey as she was comfortable and assured me she was in no pain. This was just hours before she died. I was at least so pleased that I had been able to speak with her just before she died. I am sure it was a great comfort to her too to hear my voice and know I was thinking about her.

Of course as we know from MrsW, there is always NHS Direct who relatives as well as patients can ring and hopefully get information about conditions. In my experience however as both a nurse and a carer, direct face to face contact is the preferable way in which to relate information, especially if it is not good.

Peggy


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## Sonesta (May 10, 2005)

Hi Peggy,

Thanks for your reply.

Regarding the information the doctors and nursing staff gave my daughter I'm afraid to report that this was not very forthcoming at all and apart from asking my daughter if she had been abroad recently, used intravaneous drugs, or drank heavily she was not really informed what their concerns were regarding exactly. All the doctor said was that the test had come back abnormal and he wanted to carry out an ultra sound on her liver to rule out all possibilites! As previously mentioned I googled "abnormal liver function test restult" and what google came up with and I read scared the living daylights out of me! 8O However, I am so glad it's all over now though and I am just so very, very relieved that it turned out that there was nothing sinister going on!  

When I rang the hospital up to check when the results of the scan would be back etc I did voice my concerns and explained that both my daughter and I were worrying ourselves sick about the test results, and what the problem could be etc! The young nurse I spoke to said she would have a word with Sister and ask her to arrange for someone to go and have a talk with my daughter so as to put her mind at rest. I thanked the young nurse for her kind assistance and told her that knowing someone would talk to my daughter made me feel a lot happier! Sadly, when I spoke to my daughter later on that day, she informed me that no such visit had taken place! :roll: 

Unfortunately, the Pilgrim hospital, Boston where my daughter was, has got quite a bad reputation re patient care and from what I have heard, this non communication between staff and patients is quite common! Apparantly lot of people have complained about the care they or their relatives have received when they were a patient on the wards and it would appear that a lot of negative comments have been left on the Pilgrim Hospital website regarding such matters. 

I know my best friend Nette (Briarose) feels very disappointed with the care her 82 year old mother in law received recently when she was admitted to Pilgrim and Nette says she would never accept treatment there herself if ever (touch wood) she had to be admiited to hospital!

Thanks again for your reply Peggy and I hope I have answered your query?

Sue


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## Invicta (Feb 9, 2006)

Your reply Sue and from personal experience at times I am ashamed of my own profession. Of course there are some excellent nurses like those at the Bradford Royal Infirmary who cared for my elderly aunt and took the phone to her to enable me to speak with her the day before she died.

I would urge everyone who is less than satisfied with treatment given in hospitals contact PALS (Patient Advice and Liason service) there is one attached to every hospital, the phone number can be found in local telephone directories. Unless patients/relatives complain about poor service nothing will be done to improve it.


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## zulurita (May 9, 2005)

So glad it is good news Sue


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## Briarose (Oct 9, 2007)

Invicta said:


> Your reply Sue and from personal experience at times I am ashamed of my own profession. Of course there are some excellent nurses like those at the Bradford Royal Infirmary who cared for my elderly aunt and took the phone to her to enable me to speak with her the day before she died.
> 
> I would urge everyone who is less than satisfied with treatment given in hospitals contact PALS (Patient Advice and Liason service) there is one attached to every hospital, the phone number can be found in local telephone directories. Unless patients/relatives complain about poor service nothing will be done to improve it.


Hi my own Sister trained in Boston many years ago, and from the things I have been telling her ref MIL, not to mention my own Mum's treatment 8 years ago, she too says she is ashamed to call it her training town, although back then it was a different hospital, when Pilgirm opened it was a fantastic hospital and someone said it was named the flagship of the fens.................communication is to say the least appalling now, between staff and patients, not to mention keeping relatives informed.

We have also had problems with the social service side and MIL, despite promises that help will be given and phone calls returned it never happens.

As Sue said the website for the hospital and comments left by patients and families makes interesting reading..............its quite sad really though.

MIL has told us that she will never ever go back there.


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