Numbers

[Jaycee]

I have a problem understanding my numbers, I was at my consultant yesterday, he gave me my numbers as follows, Bilirubin 8, alk phos 118, alt 14 can anyone tell me if this is ok, he says they are good, What is AMA & Albumin, I'm getting very confused with it all, I don't and never have, had the Urso, I now have varices and am getting seen every 6 months and ultrasound every 6 months, any info gratefully received, Thanks.

[butterflyEi]

The parameters can vary from laboratories but at my hospital the Bilirubin range is 3-20 so a bilirubin of 8 is good. Alkaline Phosphatse (ALP) 30-130 so 118 is well within the range and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) range 7-35 again at 14 you are well within parameters.

AMA is the anti mitochondrial antibody test. I don't have any results for this test so cannot give you any better idea. There is a page on the PBC Foundation web site which gives an explanation of the AMA. There is also a good link on the MayoClinic website explaining bilirubin and albumin which you may like to look at.

mayoclinic.org/tests-proced...

Why have you never had Ursodeoxycholic Acid, it seems the wisdom generally is that as soon as PBC is diagnosed or suspected then URSO is prescribed?

Glad you are being given regular ultrasounds to keep an eye on things.

If in doubt it may be worth a chat with the PBC Foundation their contact details are on their website.

best wishes

[Ash322]

Don't know much about AMA and albumin but your other levels seem within the norm. You are lucky that you get frequent scans. I've been on URSO for years now and have put on a lot of weight. Not sure if they are correlated, but asked my Gastro if I could come off it and she said that my bloods have been good since 2016(3 years) so to give it a try. Why didn't anyone tell me that? Why haven't I had another scan? Only ever had one. My GP said I'd be on URSO for life? But the Gastro also said that she'd never heard of URSO being a cause of weight gain, so not sure on that. I've only been off it now for a month, so time will tell.

[ninjagirlwebb in reply to Ash322]

I am not a doctor but I am quite sure that if you have pbc, urso helps slow its progression. Not sure why your gastro would say okay to you going off it. Is your gastro a hepatologist? You might want to get a 2nd opinion.

[Ash322 in reply to ninjagirlwebb]

All I know is that she is a Gastroenterologist. Don’t know her other qualifications.

[ninjagirlwebb in reply to Ash322]

I really think you should get a 2nd opinion before stopping urso. Not having meds will impact your liver. Better to have weight gain than liver issues. With pbc, it is best to see a doctor who specializes in liver disorders. Usually liver specialists do a fellowship in a liver transplant program as part of their medical training after their training as a gastro. All liver specialists are gastros, but not all gastros are liver specialists.

[zinchunter]

Blood results look good to me. Well done!