AMA

[Alynn]

All my liver enzymes are high, my AMA..The Doctor just diagnosed me with PBC...Fixing to see a Specialist to see how far advanced this is..Wow, what a shock..Already been having joint pain, and itching all over...So I guess we will see how everything else comes out..I hope it's good news..

[Hidden]

Hello Alynn.

I was diagnosed with PBC December 2010 when I was 46. Started itching early 2010 and that is what took me off to see a GP 2 weeks later when it wasn't vanishing. I just had the itching and was fatigued at the time (but fatigue vanished some point during 2011), nothing much else except it was found my liver function test (LFTs) were abnormal as in high. I had a scan a few months later, that showed pretty much normal liver and surrounding organs.

I saw a consultant at hospital later 2010 and he did the antibodies test on my first visit. He said my scan looked pretty much normal and he could even see clear bile ducts at the time. He wrote to my GP who informed me I had PBC and that the consultant recommended I start on urso. The consultant reckoned I had started with PBC a few years prior. I've not had any biopsy for what some call staging (it can also diagnose PBC if there is any doubt or other checks come up relatively normal but I fit the criteria for diagnosis without). I've no desire really to know about staging of PBC, I prefer to just keep on trucking day to day and decided long since I'd deal with things as and when as with this PBC lark anything seems to go. Itching isn't supposed to correlate how PBC is as it varies from patient to patient as does fatigue which are apparently the 2 commonest symptons that we know we have.

I just don't worry about how PBC may go for me, I think it might just be worrying about things that might just never be so in my mind not worthwhile.

[Chrisprio]

Welcome to this community Alynn and good luck with your consultant.

If you haven't already contacted the PBC foundation, link above, I'd recommend it. They are very knowledgeable about all aspects of this disease. The diagnosis seems to be a shock for all of us but it seems to something we all get our head around eventually. Get all the support you can and be gentle with yourself.

Wishing you well, Cx